Debby Giusti Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?
A. I’m a medical technologist by profession and worked in the clinical laboratory after college. My specialty was blood banking. Once my husband and I had our first child, I became a stay-at-home mom. When our children were little, I published a few articles in magazines, but as they grew, I put my writing on hold to volunteer in their schools, at church and in the community. After we moved to Georgia in the 1990s, I realized if I didn’t start writing again, I never would. For a number of years, I freelanced for magazines but always wanted to write full-length fiction. That dream came true in 2007 when my debut novel, NOWHERE TO HIDE, was published by Love Inspired Suspense.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release AMISH SAFE HOUSE?
A: AMISH SAFE HOUSE is the second story in an exciting, new Amish Witness Protection continuity from Love Inspired Suspense. The series has an overarching theme and includes three books written by three different authors. In AMISH SAFE HOUSE, Julia Bradford’s teenage son witnesses a gang killing, forcing the single mom and her two children into the WITSEC program to elude the street thugs who have them in their cross hairs. Abraham King left law enforcement after his wife and daughter were murdered and returned to his Amish roots. When a U.S. marshal friend asks if Abraham can house a family in danger, the cop turned Amish farmer agrees, never thinking how the down-on-her-luck mom and two fatherless children will tug at his heart and disrupt his peaceful, albeit lonely, life.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?
A: My wonderful editor, Emily Rodmell, came up with the idea of the interconnected series. When she asked if I wanted to take part in the Amish Witness Protection continuity, I eagerly said, “Yes!”

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: Both Julia and Abraham must view the mistakes they made in the past through God’s tender gaze of forgiveness. Only then can they overcome the guilt they’ve carried and embrace a new life together. I hope this story will encourage readers struggling with their own past mistakes to accept God’s loving mercy and forgiveness.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?
A. The Kansas setting for AMISH SAFE HOUSE was chosen by my editor. For my Amish Protectors series, I created a fictional Amish community in the North Georgia Mountains. The setting for my new Amish suspense series is Amish Mountain, also located in North Georgia. Both series feature a fictional German settlement called Willkommen.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?
A: Although my characters spring from my imagination, they soon take on a life of their own and become real to me. Sometimes a secondary character will appear from nowhere and demand his or her own story. Those “surprise characters” make the writing even more fun.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m excited about the new Amish suspense series that I’m working on, which features heroes and heroines living on or near Amish Mountain in Georgia. I just submitted the first book to my editor. It’s an amnesia story with a working title of HER FORGOTTEN AMISH PAST and is scheduled to release in November of this year.

Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why?
A. My husband and I visited the Holy Land two years ago and I’m eager to return. Walking in the footsteps of Christ for a second time tops my to-do bucket list.

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?
A. I like costumes and have worn silly outfits, along with scary Halloween masks, to play jokes on family and friends. I once wore a mask, hat, wig and long Mumu to a military wives’ crazy hat luncheon and never told anyone who I was. Eating and drinking with the mask on was difficult to say the least, but I won the Most Unusual Award and went home never having revealed my identity.

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?
A. I’m an Army brat and Army wife, and in addition, my son is retired military so for many years I was also an Army mom. Although I’ve moved frequently throughout my life, saying goodbye is always hard. My son was deployed to a warzone four different times. Those goodbyes were the hardest. I pray each day for our brave men and women in uniform, especially those in harm’s way. I also pray for the families awaiting their return.