Debby Giusti Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: Thanks for inviting me to The Suspense Zone, Susan. I’m thrilled to be with you and your blog readers. First off, let me clear up the mystery of my last name. Folks always wonder about the pronunciation so I came up with a short rhyme: Think of JUICE and TEA to remember me! JUICE + TEA = GIUSTI.

I’m an Army brat, Army wife, and before my son retired from the military, I was an Army mom. I’m a medical technologist by profession and worked in the clinical laboratory until my children were born. Then I traded in my lab coat and became a stay-at-home mom. Any extra time was spent volunteering at my children’s schools, at our church and in our community. Ten years ago, I became a published author and write inspirational romantic suspense for Love Inspired.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A: I can’t remember when I didn’t write. I wrote my first book in third grade, penned a neighborhood newspaper around that same time and grew up entertaining friends with the stories I love to tell.

Q: What do you write and why this genre?

A: Inspirational romantic suspense. I blame Nancy Drew. As a girl, I lived vicariously through her exploits and got hooked on suspense at a young age. They say to write what you know…and what you read…so the suspense genre was a perfect fit when I started to craft full-length fiction.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?

A: My characters are real people, at least in my own mind. They reveal themselves to me. Interestingly, my Amish heroes and heroines are not as forthcoming as their Englisch counterparts. Often I have to prod them to reveal their stories…and their secrets.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release AMISH REFUGE?

A: AMISH REFUGE is the first book in my Amish Protectors series. Each story features one of three sisters caught in a human trafficking racket in the North Georgia mountains. Miriam Miller is on the run in AMISH REFUGE and falls, quite literally, into the arms of Abram Zook. The Amish farmer needs to protect Miriam as well as protect himself from the alluring English woman who threatens to steal his heart.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?

A: I wanted to write an Amish suspense that would take place in the fictional town of Willkommen, Georgia. Miriam, Hannah and Sarah Miller came to life and insisted I write their stories.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A: I’m working on the third book in the Amish Protectors series that features Sarah Miller, the youngest of the three sisters.

Q: Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

A: Hmmm? (1) I lived in Japan for three years as a child and wondered what America would be like when my family and I returned to the States. (2) Years later, my husband and I lived in Germany and traveled all over Europe with our three young children in tow. (3) I haven’t outgrown my wanderlust. Hubby and I take yearly trips to Europe and plan to visit the Holy Land this fall.

Q: Milk or dark chocolate? Coffee or tea?

A: Milk chocolate! Coffee in the morning. Tea in the afternoon.

Q: Favorite TV show or shows?

A: I love watching an unlikely hero and heroine find their happily ever after. Can you guess what I watch on TV? Hallmark movies, of course.