Q: What one thing would you like readers to know about you?
A. That I’m a reader first. I love writing but it’s because of my love of reading. One of my favorite things to do is support other authors and share like crazy books that I’ve read and loved, which leads to my next favorite thing: hanging out with other readers and talking all things books!!
Q: What is the craziest, most risk-taking thing you’ve ever done?
A. I’ve done trapeze. For Valentine’s Day my husband and I usually treat our kids to an adventure of some sort and one year I picked a morning at a trapeze school. I thought climbing up the ladder was the scariest thing, but it was letting go of the bar and trusting that someone was going to catch you. It was fun but my head was screaming at me the whole time.
Q: Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
1. I’ve never read the “Classics”.
2. I’ve skimmed pages in a book to get to the end because I have a very hard time not finishing a book. I have to finish, even if it means I skip pages.
3. I write suspense, but I can’t watch crime shows because they scare me.
Q: Would you tell us about your current book release and where the idea for this story came from?
Silent Shadows is the third and final book in my Harbored Secrets series and introduces readers to Pecca Gallegos, a nurse at a veteran’s rehabilitation facility in Walton, Georgia. Her life there with son, Maceo, has been idyllic but it all comes to a screeching halt when the secrets from her past emerge threatening her and everyone she loves.
Captain Colton Crawford is a patient at Homes for Heroes and wants nothing more than to reclaim the life his movement disorder has stolen from him but when someone begins targeting his nurse, he wants nothing more than to protect her and her son—but will his disorder be a liability that could cost them their lives.
When the time comes, will Colton be able to overlook his weakness and find the strength to protect the woman who inspires him? Or will Pecca end up in the hands of a killer desperate to expose a deadly family secret.
The idea behind Silent Shadows originated a couple years ago when my daughter began showing symptoms of a movement disorder. The progression was rapid and without explanation or diagnosis. Watching her go from a healthy teenager to a completely dependent patient was heartbreaking and a huge struggle for her. Our family’s faith was severely tested as we witnessed her pain and suffering unable to offer any promise of healing. We had to speak hope in her life when she saw none and that’s what I poured into Colton’s character. To have this strong, healthy, American hero be stripped of everything that defined him and force him to figure out where God was in that and what it meant for his future was something our own family was figuring out. The other side of the story, Pecca’s, has some roots from my own life. Without giving anything away, there’s much in her life that are similar to my own, her experiences and decisions were some that I, myself, faced at some point in my life. It was really fun to create her character and I’ll admit that she might be my favorite in the whole series!
Natalie Walters
Natalie Walters is the author of Living Lies and Deadly Deceit. A military wife of twenty-three years, she currently resides in Hawaii with her soldier. They have three adult children and a son-in-love who assure her she’s their favorite author of all time. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, traveling, or trying a new recipe. She loves writing stories with memorable characters, gripping suspense, and speak to her belief that no one is defined by their past.
