Margaret Daley Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I’m Margaret Daley and I’ve been writing since the late 1970s. First I was an avid reader. I’ve always been a storyteller from childhood, making up stories in my mind. So I decided to put one of my stories down on paper (back then there weren’t computers—my first ones were written down on paper then I typed them after editing them. The rise of computers being used as been fantastic for a writer. I sold my first book in 1980 and now I’m working on my 110th story for Love Inspired Suspense.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. When I was teaching school in the late 1970s. I loved being a teacher for 27 years, but also for being about to write stories for others. Writing and teaching are my passions.

Q: What do you write and why this genre?
A. I write Christian fiction. The genre I write now is romantic suspense although I’ve written contemporary romance and historical romance. I love writing and reading romantic suspense the most.

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

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Deadly Secrets?
A: Secrets. Murder. Reunion.
Sarah St. John, an FBI profiler, finally returns home after fifteen years for her niece’s wedding. But in less than a day, Sarah’s world is shattered when her niece is kidnapped the night before her vows. Sarah can’t shake the feeling her own highly personal reason for leaving Hunter Davis at the altar is now playing out again in this nightmarish scene with her niece.

Sarah has to work with Detective Hunter Davis, her ex-fiancé, to find her niece before the young woman becomes the latest victim of a serial killer. Sarah must relive part of her past in order to ensure there is a future for her niece and herself. Can Sarah and Hunter overcome their painful past and work together before the killer strikes again?

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?
A. Deadly Secrets is my 10th and last book in Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations Series. When I started this series, I wanted to show a strong woman in different occupations and situations and how she deals with tragedy and grief. I wanted to have a story about a woman who left the man she loved at the altar. What would make her do that?

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I’m starting the first book in a new romantic suspense series called Everyday Heroes. I loved writing my Strong Women series, but now it is the men’s time to be showcased.

Q: Milk or dark chocolate? Coffee or tea?
A. Milk chocolate and tea.

Q: Favorite TV show or shows?
A. Right now I’m really enjoying four summer programs—Last Ship, Zoo, Salvation and Somewhere Between.