Christian fiction romantic suspense author, Patricia Bradley, is the author of fan favorite books like Justice Delayed, Justice Buried, Justice Betrayed, and Justice Delivered, as well as the Logan Point Series. Bradley won an Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award for romantic suspense, a Daphne du Maurier Award, and a Touched by Love Award, and she was a Carol Award finalist. In this interview, she talks about book two in her Natchez Trace Park Rangers Series, Obsession.
FF: What was the inspiration behind your new novel, Obsession?
Mount Locust on the Natchez Trace. Let me explain. I’ve been in love with the Natchez Trace for years. I knew I wanted to set my series in Natchez and decided to drive the Trace to Natchez. Before I reached my destination, I stopped at Mount Locust, which is the oldest stand (or inn) on the Natchez Trace. The inn is still standing and is a museum now. Beyond the house is the slave cemetery and where the cabins were located. As I walked through this area, I knew I wanted to tell a story about Mount Locust and bring recognition to those slaves buried there. Obsession is that story.
Here’s what the National Park Service says about Mount Locust…Mount Locust Inn and Plantation, at milepost 15.5 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, is the only stand or inn of the more than 40 that lined the route of the Old Natchez Trace open to the public. At Mount Locust, you can see where travelers on the Trace, such as the famed “Kaintuck” boatmen stayed as they begun the arduous journey back home from their Mississippi River travel by walking along the Natchez Trace.
You can also explore the remnants of the once thriving cotton plantation. During the years of King Cotton, anywhere from 40 to 50 enslaved African Americans called Mount Locust their place of bondage and the Chamberlain family their owners. Today, the outbuildings these enslaved persons inhabited are long gone, but the memory of their suffering and heartbreak remains.
FF: Obsession is set in Natchez, Mississippi, the oldest city on the Mississippi River. Why did you choose this unique location?
Natchez has long been known as the oldest and most beautiful town on the Mississippi River. Once visitors come to the town populated with stately mansions and huge oaks draped with Spanish moss, they want to return over and over again. I was no exception. I knew I had to set a book in the town.
FF: In what ways is this series different than some of the other novels you have written?
The series is about National Park Service rangers, and I’ve loved researching about the different careers in the park service. As a twentysomething, I wanted to be a park ranger, but it was not to be. Now I can live vicariously through my characters.
FF: Obsession is the second book in the Natchez Trace Park Rangers Series. What ties the books in this series together?
Emma Winters was introduced in the first book, Standoff, and I knew I wanted to tell her story. Both Standoff and Obsession are primarily set on the Natchez Trace.
FF: The main characters in the book, Emma and Sam, share a past. Can you tell us a little more about their backstory?
Emma’s life has been defined by her brother’s disappearance and her last words to him she’s never forgiven herself for. She broke up with Sam because of what happened and doesn’t let anyone get too close.
Sam left Natchez when he went away to college and had no intention of returning until his sister needed him to be her son’s surrogate dad. Because his own dad never saw him as worthy, Sam struggles with being good enough and he wants to make sure his nephew never has that problem.
He’d hoped to distance himself from Emma when he returned, but he’s a law enforcement ranger and they’re thrown together when someone shoots at her and then a body is found at Mount Locust, where Emma is the interpretive ranger.
FF: In this story, Emma deals with a stalker with an unhealthy obsession. Why did you choose this plotline for the book?
The stalker actually evolved—he didn’t start out a stalker. While I’m not normally a seat of the pants writer, the character just took over as I was writing. He told me about the other victims and it went from there.
FF: What themes do you hope readers wrestle with as they read the book?
Unforgiveness and unworthiness. Emma struggles with forgiving herself and Sam struggles with unforgiveness as well and with being worthy.
FF: What is one of the main takeaways you hope your readers gain from reading Obsession?
Forgiveness and second chances are themes in Obsession. I hope readers will see how unforgiveness, especially of ourselves, can wreck our lives. That we get a second and third and fourth chance.
FF: How do you approach writing a new suspense novel? What does your process look like?
While every book is different, there are certain things I must know. What is the crime that will happen and why does it happen now? If it’s a cold case, why does someone want to solve it now? Why not six years ago? What is the trigger? Once I know that, I get to know my characters, then at some point I simply have to start writing to see where the story will go.
FF: What projects are you currently working on?
Right now I’m working on the third book in the series, Crosshairs. When ISB Ranger Ainsley Beaumont is sent to her hometown of Natchez, Mississippi, to investigate the murder of a teenage girl, she doesn’t suspect she’ll become the murderer’s next target or that she’ll be thrown together with her old flame. After almost killing a child, former FBI sniper Lincoln Steele is no longer able to fire a gun until Ainsley’s life is in danger. But will it be too late to save her?
Book Summary:
When shots are fired at park ranger and historian Emma Winters within the Natchez Trace, she turns to law enforcement to figure out who’s behind the attack. But the officer assigned to the case is the last person she ever wanted to see again, her ex-fiancé, Sam Ryker.
Thrown together by the ensuing investigation, Emma and Sam must track down an obsessive stalker. With both their lives on the line, the pair must set aside their personal history and past regrets to put the culprit behind bars—and potentially find a second chance at love.
Obsession
Natchez Trace Park Rangers #2
Patricia Bradley
Revell
Genres: Suspense, Romance
Release Date: February 2, 2021
ISBN-10 : 0800739620
ISBN-13 : 978-0800739621
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