Terri Reed Interview

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

A: I’m a full-time writer with two young adults and a husband underfoot.

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

A: I can remember as far back as sixth grade wanting to be a writer. I didn’t start seriously pursuing a career in publishing until my late twenties.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A: My first writing break came through a friend. Author Birdie Etchison asked if I would be interested in joining her and a few other authors in an anthology for Barbour Publishing. Of course I said yes. I wrote a novella that was included in Romance on the Rails. That was in 2001. I sold my first novel to Love Inspired in 2003. In 2006 my second book with Love Inspired romance was a RITA finalist.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Murder Under the Mistletoe?

A: This is the story of a widow and her young son who are unexpectedly thrust into a drug smuggling investigation on their Christmas tree farm. In order to stop the villians from using her farm, Heather must trust and work with DEA agent Tyler Griffin, a man she blames for her brother’s death.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Murder Under the Mistletoe?

A: I wanted to write a Christmas themed story and started doing research on Christmas trees and stumbled across an article about a drug bust that involved smuggling drugs across state and international borders using Christmas trees. I like bases stories off real-life events.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: That life is full of second chances and love comes at unexpected times.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A: My favorite scene is always where good triumphs over evil. I like when the bad gets what they deserve.

Q: What inspires you to write?

A: I can’t claim any one particular inspiration. I see snippets of story everywhere and my mind likes to build on those snippets.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: There is much more busy work that must be taken care of in addition to the actual writing of the book.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Learn your craft and never give up.

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

A: I’m working on book five of the Northern Border Patrol series. This is also a Christmas themed story set in Maine and the hero is one of the secondary characters in Murder Under the Mistletoe. CBS officer Nathanial Longhorn finds himself in danger in a small town with no memory of how he got there. Deputy Sheriff Audrey Martin is determined to uncover the mystery of the man who’s life she saved.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A:I love to Zumba and take walks with my husband and lunch with my friends.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A: I so appreciate hearing from readers both personally and when a reader takes the time to post reviews.

Terri Reed interview with Susan Sleeman

November 09, 2015