"Secret Past" by Sharee Stover ... and a GIVEAWAY!

Sharee is here to share a bit about her latest release, Secret Past.  She publisher has offered to give away a hard copy of the book (U.S. ONLY) or an electronic copy (outside the U.S.).  You can enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the end of the post. (Giveaway ends November 2 , 2018. If you are the randomly chosen winner, I'll contact you.)  Here's Melanie...

Leslie, thank you for having me here today. I am so excited to share the development of Secret Past, my debut novel with Love Inspired Suspense. The story is currently a stand alone, but I’ll admit, I love Katie and Daniel, so they might just pop up somewhere else someday! Stay tuned!

The book focuses on Katie Tribani’s façade of a life. As the story opens, Katie is dealing with the loss of her mother. She doesn’t get time to grieve before she’s thrust into the protection of US Marshal Daniel Knight. He warns her that the father and brother she’s never known have discovered her location and they’re coming for her.

Every reality in Katie’s life tumbles down as Daniel whisks her away to safety. Katie has no one left to verify Daniel’s story, and this stranger is her only hope of uncovering the truth before her family kills her.

Katie’s in for a series of surprises and must decipher who is telling the truth.

The US Marshal’s Witness Protection Program is quite fascinating and has an interesting history. I wanted to write a story that showed how instrumental the US Marshals are in the protection of those witnesses. Although I’d read several books with characters in that predicament, I needed more facts. That sent me on a research journey which can be dangerous, because for me, I start out Googling one topic, and before you know it, I’m all over the place. Occasionally, I end up on Pinterest and DIY projects which have absolutely nothing to do with my research, but it’s fun. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case in this particular story. I wanted facts, and what better way to find those than to start with the program itself?

I found great information right on the US Marshals website including the fact that the program has been around since the early 1970s. I also searched pictures, movies, and books, and somewhere along the line, I came upon a black and white picture of a child with his mom in a story about the program. That’s when I started to play “what if.”

What if my heroine was placed in the program as a child and grew up always under protection? If that was normal, if her family didn’t want her to know the truth … as an adult, how would that effect a person? When is a good time for a parent to tell their child the truth? And that posed my target question: What if you’d been raised in witness protection and never known it?

From there, Katie developed into a strong, intelligent, green-eyed beauty who’s determined to find the truth about herself.

The funny thing is, I had been watching a lot of the show, Quantico at the time I was writing Secret Past, and Katie and Daniel both took on the physical attributes from two of Quantico’s characters.

Research doesn’t happen just at the beginning of the book. It occurs all the way through and sometimes long before the story is ever conceived. Such is the case with this novel. Nearly two years before the conception of Secret Past, I’d gone hiking with a friend in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and she recommended we do the Manitou Incline. I can honestly say that was one of the toughest, most rewarding adventures of my life. Strangely, halfway up, an idea for a shootout scene came to mind, and it easily worked its way into Katie and Daniel’s experience.

I also work to ensure my scenes are accurate, so my law-enforcement husband has endured some creative research, too, including me tying him to a chair to see if he could escape.

That’s the messy history of Secret Past. For those who haven’t read it, I hope you’ll get a copy and enjoy Katie and Daniel’s journey. Thanks again, Leslie, for having me on your blog!

Thanks for stopping by, Sharee, and sharing the "story behind the story." I'm sure my readers will enjoy learning how Katie and Daniel's story came to life. 

Link to my review on the RT Bookreviews website.

(I rated it 4/5 stars.)

Amazon purchase link

About Sharee...

Colorado native Sharee Stover lives in Nebraska with her real-life-hero husband, three too-good-to-be-true children, and two ridiculously spoiled dogs. A self-proclaimed word nerd, she loves the power of the written word to ignite, transform, and restore. She writes Christian romantic suspense combining heart-racing, nail-biting suspense and the delight of falling in love all in one. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America and Nebraska Writer’s Guild. Sharee is a two-time Daphne du Maurier finalist and the winner of the 2017 Wisconsin Fabulous Five Silver Quill Award. When she isn’t writing, Sharee enjoys reading, crocheting and long walks with her obnoxiously lovable German Shepherd. Visit her at www.shareestover.com.

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