Karon Ruiz Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A: Happily married to Armando for thirty-six years. I work part time as a bookkeeper in our air conditioning business in Fresno, California. We are empty-nesters, having raised three daughters: Natalie, Bethany, Amanda and one son: Luke, who were homeschooled a number of years. My husband and I are currently blessed with five grandchildren and look forward to an upcoming wedding of our third daughter, Amanda, in October.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. As an upper elementary student, my mother often would look at my school work and tell me, “You are a good writer, Karon. You ought to pursue writing when you grow up.” Those were seeds of inspiration for me. Because of a very busy life with children, I never found the time, though I began many stories which were tucked away in filing cabinets in my home (before the age of hard drives.)

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?
A: To be honest, Grace In The Shadows is my first novel. I do not have a professional writing career. I am working on a sequel: Grace In The Darkness, but it is still being plotted and in its creative-editing phase. A third novel, Breathe, is also being worked on. Breathe is a working title; this will most likely be tweaked.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Grace In The Shadows?
A: E-book Release: December, 2017 and Print Book Release: January, 2018
A Christian suspense novel about a prominent man in a small town who hides a secret. (don’t want to give away too much) Sub-plots include: Theft and treachery, an EMP disaster, death of a child, a strained marriage, followed with a climatic resolution of redemption.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Grace In The Shadows?
A: My inspiration of church culture came from my many years as a Christian and from working at a church office of a very large church for five years. The character’s brokenness prevented him from understanding the love of God. This has been similar to my own life. I had a dysfunctional upbringing which produced a skewed view of God’s love. (Just like Dalton in the book!) The scripture that weaves itself throughout the novel is found in Isaiah 42:3 from The Voice translation: What is bruised and bent, He will not break; He will not blow out a smoldering candle.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?
A: Corrie ten Boom’s quote on the front cover sums it up: “There is no pit so deep, that He is not deeper still.” No one is beyond God’s redemption. He meets us on the floor in our own vomit (as happened with my main character.) Chapter 45: The Way Up Is Down is a pivotal chapter which displays grace, where Dalton comes to the end of himself and discovers a God he’s never known.

Q: What inspires you to write?
A. I glean things from real life, the news, current events, and the hard things that people walk through.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I shared that above: two books: Grace In The Darkness (Book Two in the Journey of Grace Series) and a third book, Breathe. Here are the details:

Grace In The Darkness continues with the tight-knit community of McCormick, Arizona as they pull together, coping after a national disaster. Something tragic happen’s to Dalton’s wife, Samantha and Dalton, his son Gordon, and several men from the town form a posse rescue her. I am still very much in plotting/development/editing stages of this book.

Breathe is a political thriller about a young woman who is escaping a smothered life that has been rigidly determined by her politically-connected mother who happens to be a control freak. Their relationship is strained throughout. The mother will be the antagonist throughout. This book is in the plotting/development stage.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?
A: Grandkids, grandkids, grandkids …. Traveling to the coast with hubby. Then grandkids, grandkids, grandkids! Need I say more?