Angela Carlisle resides in the hills of northern Kentucky and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN. Angela is an editor by day and prefers to spend her free time reading, baking, and drinking ridiculous quantities of hot tea. Her unpublished works have won awards in ACFW’s Genesis and First Impressions contests and placed in the Daphne du Maurier contest. Her shorter fiction works, including the prize-winning flash-fiction piece Mansion Murderer, have appeared in Splickety and Spark magazines.
In this interview, Angela talks with us about her latest novel, Secondary Target.
FF: Secondary Target is your debut novel. Can you please tell us a little about this book?
Corina Roberts is a small-business owner whose past has been marked by grief. Rather than risk more loss, she prefers to keep her relationships few and superficial. But when her father disappears and she discovers someone is determined to wipe out her family, she has no choice but to accept the help of her ex-boyfriend to stop a ruthless killer before he ends her life.
FF: In addition to being a super fan of romantic suspense, you also have a career as an editor. How do you feel your background in editorial work helped you write your new novel?
Funny enough, I actually wrote Secondary Target while I was working in data entry. Although I had “proofread” for a family member during my childhood—which likely helped train my brain to spot errors—and I’d always been an avid reader, it wasn’t until I became involved in the writing community as an author that I began to consider editing as a career. So, in a sense, writing Secondary Target led me to editing—a job I dearly love.
FF: What type of research was required for writing Secondary Target?
So many little things! Everything from possible Underground Railroad routes (yes, that can be applicable even in contemporary settings) to sunset times to which sidearm is carried by certain military branches, to how to quietly break in through a window. Hopefully, I’m not on too many watch lists now, lol.
FF: How do you manage balancing romance and suspense in your writing? Do you feel one is more important to the story than the other?
As a reader, I prefer books where the suspense sits heavier on the scales, and I follow suit with my writing. If I had to dissect things, I’d probably say the ratio of suspense to romance in Secondary Target is 70:30. But although the romance is lighter, it is still integral to the story.
FF: What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
That they aren’t alone, and that there is hope and healing even in the darkest places. Yes, bad things are going to happen in this fallen world, but those who know Christ don’t go through them alone—no matter how bad the situation may be. Hopefully my readers don’t have to face the things Corina did, but the truth is that none of us goes through life unscathed. We lose people and things we care about. We face illness. We grieve. Sometimes we feel like we can’t handle one more thing. But we’re not held in our own strength. God doesn’t want or expect us to face life by ourselves.
Secondary Target
The Secrets of Kincaid Series
Angela Carlisle
Bethany House
Genres: Mystery/Suspense, Romantic Suspense
Release Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN-10: 0764242504
ISBN-13: 978-0764242502
Book Summary:
A ruthless murderer. A deadly secret. An unbreakable love.
After the brutal murder of her mother and brother twelve years ago, Corina Roberts built a new life in Kentucky. But when strange things begin to happen, she is thrust into a perilous game of life and death. With nowhere else to turn, her best hope of survival depends on her ex-boyfriend, army veteran Bryce Jessup.
Recently returned from service, Bryce has every intention of staying away from Corina, but when threats close in around her, he isn’t willing to leave her safety to chance. As their search for answers uncovers lethal secrets her detective father kept hidden, Bryce and Corina must untangle the mystery of the merciless killer intent on terrorizing and eliminating Corina’s family before it’s too late.
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