Author Interview ~ Lillian Duncan

LILLIAN DUNCAN writes stories of faith mingled with murder & mayhem. She writes the type of books she loves to read—suspense with a touch of romance. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives, especially God’s Word.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net. She also has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com.

Her latest book DARK ALLEYS (Lost and Found Books) was released in September. She will also be releasing a novella just in time for Christmas-THE CHRISTMAS STALKING (Harbourlight Books).

Tell us a little about yourself. How did your writing journey begin?

My “day job” is as a speech language pathologist so between that and writing, I guess I’m a language lover. I’ve always been a huge daydreamer, but my daydreams were stories with vivid characters and very specific story lines. One day as I approached my 40th birthday, it occurred to me that I should be writing my daydreams down. I did and I got hooked. I’ve been writing ever since.

How long did you write before you sold your first book?

I wrote for 15 years before I received my first traditional book contract but I self-published my first book and had two more print-on-demand books published before that.

Wow, that's patience! What book(s) are you reading, or have read lately?

Right now, I’m reading Dan Walsh’s The Discovery. I usually stick to reading mysteries and suspense so he’s a little out of my genre. But as a writer, it’s good to read many different types of stories and so I do.

I love Dan Walsh's books! The Unfinished Gift was my favorite. Which fictional literary character most inspired/inspires you?

Scarlett O’Hara, of course!

Of course! LOL! Now that you are published, do you still experience rejections? If so, how are these rejections different or similar to the ones you received before becoming published?

I do, but they are different in that once your writing and talent has been “validated” you can better understand that not every book is for every reader or every publishing company. Instead of assuming, I have no talent I assume that this book doesn’t appeal to that specific person or company.

Tell us a little about your latest release:

DARK ALLEYS is a suspense novel that tells the story of a “regular” person who becomes homeless due to her alcoholism and witnesses a murder in a dark alley (of course). She goes into rehab and commits to rebuilding her life. The problem is she doesn’t remember the murder, but the murderer remembers her.

If you could only share one line from DARK ALLEYS, which one would you choose and why?

The rituals of death.

That’s the first line of the book. It’s not a complete sentence but I think it’s powerful enough to make the reader keep reading.

What inspired you to choose the setting for your novel?

I chose Cleveland because I lived there for many years and wanted to use a large city as the setting for the story. It was a lot of fun to include some of my favorite spots in the city in the story.

What kind of research did you have to do for this book? Can you share some articles or website links you found particularly helpful?

I didn’t really have to do much research for this particular book.

Tell us what new projects you’re working on.

I have a Christmas-themed suspense novella releasing in time for the holiday season, THE CHRISTMAS STALKING. Don’t you love that title? It’s about a country music star who is being stalked.

That IS a great title! Looking forward to it. Now, what is the one question you were afraid I would ask…and how would you answer?

I was afraid you’d ask why all my stories involve dead bodies! The answer is I’ll never tell!!

LOL! Okay, then answer this. Where can readers connect with you?

My website is www.lillianduncan.net. I also have a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com My twitter handle is @LillianDuncan.