Leave a comment for Julie Cave, after the interview, to win a copy of her novel Pieces of Light.
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CFBR: Today we are speaking with Julie Cave about her Suspense Mystery novel "Pieces of Light". Thanks for being with us, Julie.
Julie: Thank you for having me, I really appreciate it!
CFBR: Tell us about Dinah Harris. What makes her tick?
Julie: Throughout the trilogy, readers will have come to know Dinah Harris firstly as a woman suffering from depression and alcoholism to one who has discovered hope and redemption in Christ. She is flawed in many ways - she loses her temper often and is sarcastic and impatient. However, she is genuinely growing in her walk as a Christian and learning how to re-define her life according to her faith. She is smart, funny and single-minded in her quest to find justice.
CFBR: She sounds like a lot of fun to write. What kind of mysteries will we unravel in "Pieces of Light"?
Julie: A serial bomber is determined to get rid of God from Washington D.C. by blowing up churches. Dinah's old FBI partner, Ferguson, asks her to consult on the case and they discover an intelligent, organised killer operating from a place of great rage. It all comes down to Dinah to reach out to the bomber and convince him to end his reign of terror over the city. Will she succeed before more lives are lost?
Readers will also meet Isabelle, a young woman dealing with the aftermath of a violent childhood and trapped in a loveless marriage. Will she escape her abusive husband and learn how to reconstruct her life? And what connection does she have to the bomber?
Finally, Dinah's nemesis Senator Winters is back, but for how long? This time he has met his match. Who could be powerful enough to bring down the evil Senator?
CFBR: What inspires your stories?
Julie: Anything that is currently happening in world current events. I get many story ideas from the news headlines. I try to research the issue behind the headline - such as euthanasia, atheism or domestic violence - with a view to explaining the impact on people's lives and what the Bible says about such issues.
CFBR: Who is your target audience and what do you hope readers will get from your books?
Julie: My books target both Christians and non-Christians who enjoy a thrilling, action-packed read. For non-Christians, I include a simple, accurate Gospel message in each book along with a reasoned defence of the Christian faith in the hope that their hearts are stirred into finding out more about God. For Christians, I hope to provide them with a non-threatening tool to evangelise to their friends and families, and to challenge their own understanding of Christianity and the controversial topics of our culture. All three Dinah Harris mysteries delve into some deep and shocking subjects, as I feel passionately about writing with authenticity about issues facing us all today - like alcoholism, racism, and domestic violence.
CFBR: What is the greatest obstacle to being a writer?
Julie: Having people know who you are and what you write about. Getting published is the first step - then the real work begins! It takes a lot of time, effort and hard work to build your profile. For anyone thinking of a writing career, I'd encourage them to build their platform now - work out who your audience is and how you will target them. If you have this platform in place and growing, it makes publishing and marketing your book more attractive to a publisher and easier on the writer in the long term.
CFBR: Are there more Dinah Harris stories in our future, or are you planning something else?
Julie: I could quite happily do either! There is so much character development I can still do on Dinah Harris and I have no shortage of ideas. However, the idea of doing something completely fresh appeals to me too. We'll have to see what the readers think I should do!
CFBR: Thanks for joining us, Julie.
Julie: Thanks again for having me.
Here are books by Julie Cave, available at Amazon.com
