Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #20

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 31 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 3 grand prizes!

• The hunt BEGINS with Stop #1 at Lisa Bergren’s site.
• Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer). 
• There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 11/6)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books.
• Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the clue on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #31. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

I'm so excited to introduce to you Carrie Stuart Parks. Not only does Carrie write Suspense, but she's actually an internationally known forensic artist. To a suspense writer like me, that is incredibly cool! Here's a short summary of her latest book, When Death Draws Near.

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey is between jobs when she accepts temporary work in Pikeville, Kentucky—a small town facing big-city crime. But before Gwen can finish her first drawing of the serial rapist who is on the loose, the latest witness vanishes. Just like all the others.

Gwen suspects a connection between the rapist and the “accidental” deaths that are happening around town, but the local sheriff has little interest in her theories. When her digitally-obsessed teenage daughter joins her, Gwen turns her attention to a second assignment: going undercover in a serpent-handling church. She could get a handsome reward for uncovering illegal activity—a reward she desperately needs, as it seems her breast cancer has returned. But snakes aren’t the only ones ready to kill. Can Gwen uncover the truth—and convince anyone to believe her—before she becomes a victim herself?

In a thrilling race against time, When Death Draws Near plunges us into cold-case murders, shady politics, and a den of venomous suspects.

Book Ideas

by Carrie Stuart Parks

It’s not uncommon for authors to be asked where we come up with our ideas. I currently have a job shadow—a high school girl—that believes we spend a great deal of time fighting writer’s block for lack of ideas.

No so with me. My husband, Rick, starts with a location he wants to visit. He gets to do some of the initial research. Once I go through telling him "no, we’re not going to put the next book on a river cruise up the Reine River or in Iceland," he settles down with a reasonable place. Step two is to figure out how a forensic artist will end up in such a place—what’s the crime? Third is the cast of possible characters and ending. Yeah, I figure out the ending early on. I don’t want to leave my heroine dangling by her ankles by a rope over a vast bed of alligators. Fourth, I need interesting real events—past or present—to weave into the story. Finally, I need a lesson or a theme tying the whole thing together.

You’ll find all of these features in my latest book, When Death Draws Near.

There you have it!

CARRIE STUART PARKS is a Christy finalist as well as an Inspy and  Carol award-winning author. An internationally known forensic artist, she travels with her husband, Rick, across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement professionals. The author/illustrator of numerous books on drawing and painting, Carrie continues to create dramatic, award-winning watercolors from her studio in the mountains of Idaho. She was awarded a Signature Member of the Idaho Watercolor Society.

Mentored by New York Times best-selling author, Frank Peretti, Carrie began writing fiction while battling stage II breast cancer. Now in remission, she continues to encourage other women struggling through the effects of cancer. You can visit her on Facebook at Carrie Stuart Parks, Author.

Here’s the Stop #20 Skinny:

• You can order Carrie’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD or at your local bookstore!

• Clue to Write Down: to come. . .

• Link to Stop #21 the Next Stop on the Loop: Carrie Stuart Parks’s own site!

BUT WAIT! Before you go, I’m offering a prize as well! A cool zebra mug as well as some yummy handmade chocolates from South Africa. All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter (top left of this blog, yellow box) then let me know in a comment on this post that you have subscribed. If you're already a subscriber, no problem. Just leave a comment as well and let me know, and I'll include you as I draw from the comments below on November 7th.

Happy Hunting! 

Lisa Harris