Christina Freeburn Interview & Giveaway

Joining me this month is fellow Desert Breeze author Christina Freeburn. Be sure to comment throughout the month for a chance to win her new book, Lost Then Found, which releases today. In case you can't wait until the end of the month to see if you won, you can purchase it from our publisher, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and most online bookstores. Here is the blurb and cover.

Skip-tracer Renee Stratford-Knight's life is becoming stable again. Eighteen months prior, the murder of her sister and the soon-to-follow collapse of her marriage left her reeling. She made it through those dark days with the help of family, embracing faith and starting her own skip-tracing business, New Beginnings, which specializes in relocating abused women. Now, her ex-husband -- and former business partner -- Jonas Knight shows up asking about her most vulnerable client.

Jonas knows his ex-wife helped embezzler Gina Howard elude the authorities and plans to bring the young woman to justice. When Renee is threatened, Jonas grows suspicious of his client's reason for finding his niece. In order to uncover the secrets their clients hold, Jonas and Renee must struggle through distrust and the pain of their pasts to work together to save the life of a teenage girl -- and their own.

Doesn't it sound great? Okay, on with the interview.

[Anne]Name one of your favorite books as a child.

[Christina] Black Beauty

[Anne] Do you have a favorite author?

[Christina] I always get stuck on this question. So many of my friends are authors that I hate to pick one as my favorite. It would be like choosing a favorite child.

[Anne] Out of all the books you’ve read, which one comes immediately to your mind? If there is a favorite scene you remember, please share.

[Christina] What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys #10) by Franklin W. Dixon. There's a scene where Joe is kidnapped and Frank does everything he can to find his brother. I always loved how warm and caring the relationship of the brothers was portrayed.

[Anne] Your favorite vacation spot (whether you have been there or not)?

[Christina] Disney World

[Anne] Which would you rather have: A custom closet or a custom kitchen?

[Christina] Custom kitchen

[Anne] It’s Saturday afternoon and you’re home alone. What are you wearing? And yes, you must have clothes on.

[Christina] Yoga pants and a t-shirt

[Anne] What’s your favorite dish?

[Christina] Mozzarella and tomato salad, especially with balsamic dressing and a nice, warm roll on the side.

[Anne] Other than writing, what do you enjoy doing?

[Christina] Quilting

[Anne] You’ve just landed a multi-book contract with a major publisher! Which vehicle would we be more likely to see you driving after you’ve collected your huge advance: a Hummer, RV, truck, muscle car, or BMW?

[Christina] BMW

[Anne] What’s your favorite television show? Movie?

[Christina] American Idol, The Man From Snowy River

[Anne] You’ve won a talent show! What act did you perform?

[Christina] I'd have performed a reading of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. My singing and dancing abilities are best left in the privacy of my home, or to perform if I ever want to embarrass my teens.

[Anne] Would you rather have the power to be invisible or be able to fly, and why?

[Christina] Fly. Then I'd be able to travel more as my costs would be lowered. I could go to Disney World every month!

[Anne] What was one of the most surprising things you learned during your journey to publication?

[Christina] The path for everyone is different and there isn't a right way, just a right way for each writer. So many times, we close ourselves off to possibilities and ways to achieve our goal of publication by setting out on a very narrow path and never even pausing to take a look and see if there really is only way to get to where we want.

[Anne] What was the most interesting research you did for a book?

[Christina] Participating in a citizen's police academy.

[Anne] Where do you go when you need to get inspired to write?

[Christina] Hanging out with other writers. There's something about being around other authors and taking part in shop talk that inspires me and makes me excited about writing.

[Anne] Do you have any writing quirks?

[Christina] Sometimes I act out the fight scenes I write with Rescue Heroes figures. I want to make sure it looks right and is possible. When my son outgrew them, I kept some to have on hand for research purposes. Okay, I'll admit that I also kept some Matchbox cars. Those are great for chase scenes.

[Anne] What do you think makes a good story?

[Christina] Characters who feel and act like real people rather than characters in a novel.

[Anne] What are you working on now?

[Christina] Led Astray, the second in the New Beginnings series

[Anne] What's one of the more interesting experiences you've had with one of your readers?

[Christina] When I used to attend a critique group at a bookstore, there was one woman who'd always stand nearby when I was reading. I didn't think anything of it until the other members pointed out she always came near when it was my turn to read and left when I was done. I was amazed that she wanted to know what was going to happen in the new book so much, that she visited the critique group every week for months to find out what was going to happen.

[Anne] Complete this scene: It was raining. The man came out of nowhere, and before I knew it...

...his bicycle careened out of control, heading straight toward the barrier that kept pedestrians from venturing onto the private property owned by ... no one was sure and have ever dared to find out.