Spotlight on Jill Elizabeth Nelson and Reluctant Smuggler

Today, I am happy and honored to host another one of my web site clients as a spotlight author. Jill has been a good friend and thanks to her husband, she provided me with my first real good picture of my husband and me before we were even involved in a romantic relationship. It's my pleasure to feature her latest book, the third in her To Catch a Thief series featuring the unique world of art thievery rings and detectives trying to stop them.

Enjoy!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jill Elizabeth Nelson writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure, pathos, and intrigue spiced with humor and faith. She and her husband of over 25 years live in rural Minnesota and have raised four children. They love to camp, hike, and participate in short term mission trips. They've been to Jamaica, New Orleans during Mardi Gras (a most bizarre and challenging mission field), and Thailand. For more about Jill, her books, and a chance to win a signed copy in a monthly contest, go to http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com/.


RELUCTANT SMUGGLER
by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Published by Multnomah Publishers

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ABOUT THE BOOK

They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer...but what if you can't tell the difference?

For security consultant Desiree Jacobs, the assignment is simple: make off with an ancient Mayan artifact, and hand it over to the good guys in time to plan her wedding to ultra-fine FBI agent, Tony Lucano.

Yet, in a world where no one is as they seem, Desi must decipher who the good guys are—before she ends up in the hands of a ruthless enemy.

Suddenly, artifact recovery turns into archaeological espionage, and the woman who finds all the answers must now ask questions. Who's looting priceless antiquities underneath the nose of the baffled Mexican government? And what does a violent gang of drug and human traffickers have to do with missing artifacts?

Even with Tony on her side, she'll need way more than luck to survive against the odds. She'll need the truth—not just to set her free, but to liberate many innocents caught in the snare of calculating evil.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

1. This is book 3 in your To Catch a Thief series, and you continue with the story of Desi and Tony. What gave you the inspiration for this story?

Each book in the series stands alone as a complete story that will be understandable to readers starting anywhere in the series. The main characters and some of the secondary characters continue from book to book. Of course, relationships develop as each tale unfolds. In Smuggler, I drew together a number of on-going character threads, which was a lot of fun. The plot idea came from current concern in the news media regarding the spread of gangs and the tragic issue of slave trafficking, which can be a gang activity. I dedicated Reluctant Smuggler to the International Justice Mission (http://www.ijm.org/), a ministry that works tirelessly throughout the world on behalf of the captive and the helpless.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced the characters of Desi and Tony? What aspects became traits that were theirs and theirs alone?

I share Desiree's task-oriented focus, but in many ways she's what I wish I was rather than what I am. Her quick wit and boldness in the face of opposition inspire me. Most of the time, the snappy come-back occurs to me after the fact, and I tend to avoid confrontation. In Tony, I worked to create a strong man with a deep faith that affects his daily life. Then I threw into the mix a poignant vulnerability that makes him human and relatable. My husband shares all these traits, plus he likes his easy chair in the living room. He is not, however, a martial arts expert and has never arrested a crook in his life.

3. What themes exist in Reluctant Smuggler that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren’t overt but developed as the story progressed?

The core theme in Smuggler is the vital role of hope in the health of an individual and society. Gangs develop as a false and negative answer to the hopelessness and powerlessness experienced by certain segments of society. I trust readers will see the ultimate hope anyone can have in Jesus Christ. Truth is also a theme in the book, because it will take Desi and Tony discovering the truth for any of them to survive and be free. Tony's search for personal identity after a crisis event was a theme that developed as the story unfolded. I hope readers will apply his new understanding of self-worth to themselves.

4. What were your most difficult parts to write? Your favorite?

I struggled with Tony's medical crisis to give him believable and character-consistent reactions to his unaccustomed helplessness. Most guys make very bad patients, and Tony needed to be real in that way, while illustrating a healthy resolution to his issues. I loved writing a long-awaited culmination in Desi and Tony's relationship. I strove to achieve deep emotional resonance for the reader without dripping over into sappy. My readers will have to let me know if I succeeded.

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

I have a two book contract with Steeple Hill for their romantic suspense line. Evidence of Murder comes out in February 2009 and the second book in June of 2009. Here's a short summary for Evidence of Murder: When a new business owner discovers on her property photos of a decade-old mass murder, she and the surviving son of the massacre become the target of a powerful and desperate killer.

Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Tiffany. You ask great questions!

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Thanks, Jill, for being in the spotlight with us.

Readers, leave a comment for your chance to win a FREE copy of Reluctant Smuggler. If you don't wish to be entered, say so when you post. Make sure you also leave your email address (name at domainname dot.com) or that it's available for viewing in your blogger profile, since many of you don't return to check the winner notification. Wouldn't want you to miss out on winning a book. :)

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

CFBA Blog Tour - Karen Ball and What Lies Within

You'd never believe from the content of her latest books that this author is a side-splitting riot when she does speaking engagements and live talks. Not only is she a prolific and established author, but she's been an editor of many top names in the Christian book industry and worked for Zondervan, among many other publishers.

Now, partnering with David Webb of B&H Publishing, she is helping to relaunch their fiction line with a new and innovative brand.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What Lies Within
Multnomah Fiction (November 20, 2007)
by Karen Ball

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karen Ball , bestselling novelist, is also the editor behind several of today's bestselling Christian novels. Her love for words was passed down through her father and grandfather - both pastors who shared God's truth through sermons and storytelling. Blending humor, poignancy, and honesty, Karen's writing style is a powerful force for revealing God's truth. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, and their "kids," Bodhan, a mischief-making Siberian husky, and Dakota, an Aussie-terrier mix who should have been named "Destructo."

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Nothing’s going to stop Kyla…

until the ground crumbles beneath her feet.

Kyla Justice has arrived. Her company, Justice Construction, is one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful companies in the Pacific Northwest. And yet, something is missing. Not until she’s called on to build a center for inner-city kids does she realize what it is: her sense of purpose. Now nothing can stop her, not the low budget, not supply problems, not gang opposition, not her boyfriend’s suggestion that she sell her business and marry him–and most especially not that disagreeable Rafael Murphy.

Rafe Murphy understands battle. Wounded in action, this Force Recon Marine carries the scars–and the nightmares–to prove it. Though he can’t fight overseas any longer, he’s found his place as a warrior in the civilian world. So he soldiers on, trusting that one of these days, God will reveal to him why Rafe survived the ambush in Iraq. That day has arrived.

Kyla and Rafe both discover that determination alone won’t carry them through danger and challenges. When gang violence threatens their very foundations, there’s only one way to survive: rely on each other, be real–and surrender to God. In other words, risk everything…

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Readers, leave a comment for your chance to be entered in a drawing for a FREE copy of this book. If you do not wish to be entered, say so when you post. This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

Blog Tour for Tricia Goyer and Shadow of Treason

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tricia Goyer has published over 300 articles for national publications such as Today's Christian Woman, Guideposts for Kids, and Focus on the Family, and is the co-author of Meal Time Moments (Focus on the Family). She has led numerous Bible Studies, and her study notes appear in the Women of Faith Study Bible (Zondervan).

She has written seven novels for Moody Publishing: From Dust and Ashes (2003), Night Song (2004), Dawn of a Thousand Nights (2005), Arms of Deliverance (2006), A Valley of Betrayal (2007), A Shadow of Treason (Fall 2007), A Whisper of Freedom (February 2008). Night Song was awarded American Christian Fiction Writer's 2005 Book of the Year for Best Long Historical. Dawn of a Thousand Nights won the same award in 2006.

Tricia has also written Life Interrupted: The Scoop on Being a Young Mom (Zondervan, 2004), 10 Minutes to Showtime (Thomas Nelson, 2004), and Generation NeXt Parenting (Multnomah, 2006). Life Interrupted was a 2005 Gold Medallion finalist in the Youth Category.

Also, coming out in the next year are: My Life, Unscripted (Thomas Nelson, 2007), Generation NeXt Marriage (Multnomah, Spring 2008), and 3:16-the teen version of the a book by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson, Spring 2008).

Tricia and her husband John live with their three children in Kalispell, Montana. Tricia's grandmother also lives with them, and Tricia volunteers mentoring teen moms and leading children's church. Although Tricia doesn't live on a farm, she can hit one with a rock by standing on her back porch and giving it a good throw.

SHADOW OF TREASON
By Tricia Goyer
BUY YOUR COPY TODAY

ABOUT THE BOOK

Book 2 in the Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series

Sophie discovers that nothing is as she first imagined. When Walt, the reporter who helped her over the border, shows up again after Guernica is bombed, Sophie is given an impossible mission. She must leave behind the man she's fallen in love with and return to the person who betrayed her. Another layer of the war in Spain is revealed as Sophie is drawn into the international espionage schemes that could turn the tide of the war and help protect the soldiers from the International Brigade ... she must find a way to get a critical piece of information to Walt in time.

SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW

1. A Shadow of Treason follows A Valley of Betrayal. This is the first time you've written books as a series instead of stand alone. Which way do you like better?

I love writing in series. It was great to continue with the same characters. In my stand-alone books I fell in love with these people and then I had to say good-bye after one book. It was wonderful to be able to continue on.

2. In A Shadow of Treason Sophie must return to the person who betrayed her in an effort to help the Spanish people. It makes the book hard to put down because the reader has to know how Sophie's heart will deal with it. What gave you the inspiration for this element in your story?

There are very few of us who go through life without giving away a part of our hearts to someone who didn't deserve it. Even though Sophie had the best intentions, she gave away her heart and she was hurt-not only that she must revisit those emotions. I wanted to include this element-to delve into the topic that emotions are sometimes as big of a trap as any physical cage. Emotions are real and they guide us -- even when we don't want to admit it. Poor Sophie, not only does she have to deal with a war around her -- she also has to deal with a war within herself. It's something I've battled, and mostly likely others have too.

3. Spanish Gold is an interesting element that arises in this book. Without spoiling the story, can you give a brief history of this gold?

Sure. When I was researching I came upon something interesting. The Spaniards, as we know, had taken much Aztec and Inca gold during the time of the conquistadors. Well, at the start of The Spanish Civil War much of this gold was still held in Madrid. In fact Spain had the fourth largest gold reserves in the world at that time. The Republican government was afraid Franco would take the city and the gold. They had to get it out of Madrid and this included transporting priceless artifacts. The element of gold does make its way into my story. It was great to include this little-known (and true!) element into my story.

4. Another historical fact involved the Nazi involvement during this time: not only were the Germans active in Spain, but they had spy networks busy around the world. How did you find out about this?

I love reading tons of research books. Usually I find one little element that I dig out and turn into a plot line. This is what happened with my plot-line for the Nazi pilot, Ritter. I dug up this bit of research of Nazi involvement in Spain -- and the United States -- because a lot of people aren't aware of the Nazi involvement prior to WWII. The truth is they were busy at work getting the land, information, and resources they needed far before they threatened the nations around them. The Germans knew what they wanted and how to get it. And most of the time they succeeded!

5. A Shadow of Treason is Book Two. When will Book Three be out? Can you give a hint of how the story continues?

Book Three is A Whisper of Freedom. It will be out February 2008. The characters that we love are all still in the midst of danger at the end of Book Two. Book Three continues their stories as we follow their journeys in -- and (for a few) out -- of Spain. It's an exciting conclusion to the series!

6. Are you working on any non-fiction?

Yes, I have two non-fiction books that will be out the early part of 2008. Generation NeXt Marriage is a marriage book for today's couples. It talks about our marriage role models, our struggles, and what we're doing right as a generation. It also gives advice for holding it together.

I've also been privileged to work on the teen edition of Max Lucado's book 3:16. It was a great project to work on. What an honor!

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Important Links!

First Chapter

Book 1, A Valley of Betrayal

Tricia's Website

Tricia's blogs:
BlogSpot
Gen X Parents
My Writing Mentor
My CCM
Shout Life

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Thank you, Tricia, for being in the spotlight. Readers, leave a comment for your chance to be entered in the drawing for a FREE book. If you don't wish to be entered, say so when you post. The contest is open to US/Canada residents only, but anyone may comment.