Looking out the Window: Multi-award-winning, Best Selling Author Nancy Mehl talks about Her Latest Book, Cold Threat, the Second Novel in the Ryland St.Clair Series. Giveaway.

A Warm Welcome to Nancy Mehl

Nancy will give away a print copy of her latest book, Cold Threat (U.S. residents only). To enter to win leave a comment and an email address below and enter the Rafflecopter contest.

Hi Nancy, first, tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a wife, mother, and a writer. I’ve been writing for over twenty-five years and recently had my fifty-third book published. I don’t have a lot of free time, but I love to read and watch TV to relax.

Lots of writers enjoyed reading as children. Were you an avid reader as a child?

Yes. I would stay up all night and read books under my bedspread, using a flashlight so I could see. I suspect my mother knew, but she didn’t say anything.

Why do you write?

I write because I believe God called me to do it.

Tell us about your latest book.

Cold Threat is the second book in my Ryland and St. Clair series. River Ryland and Tony St. Clair travel to Burlington, Iowa, to help Tony’s father with a very cold case. A serial killer, nicknamed The Snowman, seems to have started killing again after a twenty-four year hiatus. River and Tony will do everything they can to bring his trail of death to an end.

What inspired you to write Cold Threat?

I love snow. I started wondering about a serial killer who only murders when it’s snowing. That led to Cold Threat.

Where do you get ideas for your books?

I’ve never had any problem coming with ideas. They come from other books, TV shows, stories in the news, and just an idea that pops into my head.

In three words describe your style of writing.

Edgy. Suspenseful. Inspirational.

How do you get to know your characters?

I explore my own feelings and experiences when I create them. I also try to write out some kind of biography so I can understand them as much as possible.

What is your writing schedule and where do you write?

I like to write in the morning, but sometimes the afternoon works better. Depends on whether or not my husband interrupts me too much in the morning. LOL! I have an office, but sometimes I like to write in the living room so I can look outside through the sliding glass doors that lead to our deck. I especially enjoy it in the winter when it’s snowing, and I have a fire burning in my fireplace. However, working from my recliner isn’t great for my back!

Does your faith affect your writing? If so, how?

It’s the most important thing to me. If I couldn’t fold my faith into my writing, I wouldn’t want to write.

What are you working on right now?

A new series that introduces Erin Delaney, an ex-cop who left the police force after losing her partner and accidentally shooting a child during a gang fight in St. Louis. She decides to write a book and needs someone to help her with information about the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. A friend introduces her to one of my previous characters, Kaely Quinn. Erin and Kaely become friends, and they are thrown together into adventures I hope my readers will enjoy.

I can't wait to read those. What would you be doing if you weren’t writing?

I would probably still be working in social services. I spent many years working for The Salvation Army and then running a HUD program for the city of Wichita, Kansas.

More About Cold Threat

Twenty years ago, several people were murdered in Des Moines, and the only evidence left behind was a snowman ornament hanging ominously on a tree in the victims' front lawns. With a suspect behind bars, the killings have come to an end--or so everyone thought. But now crimes with a similar MO are happening in a small Iowa town, and a local detective believes the killer is back and ready to strike again.

With little time left on the clock before they have another murder on their hands, private investigators River Ryland and Tony St. Clair must work alongside Tony's detective father to find evidence that will uncover an evil that has survived far too long. As the danger mounts and the suspect closes in, it will take all they have to catch a killer--before he catches one of them.

Buy Cold Threat

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Christianbook.com

Baker Book House

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Bio: Nancy Mehl is the bestselling author of over 50 books. She’s won the Daphne Du Maurier Award, as well as an ACFW Mystery Book of the Year Award and a Carol award. She was also a finalist for the prestigious Christy award. Her short story, Chasing Shadows, was in the USA Today bestselling Summer of Suspense anthology. Learn more about her on her blog, the Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com or on her website, www.nancymehl.com. She lives in Missouri with her husband Norman, and her Puggle, Watson.

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