Venturing to Other Worlds

If you like stories of faith mingled…with murder & mayhem, then meet Lillian Duncan. Comment below for a chance to win an ebook copy of Deadly Communications, her new novella.

Hi Lillian! Thank you so much for venturing to other worlds with me today. I’m really excited to host an interview with you today, particularly since we have so much in common. I also work with students with disabilities–a very rewarding career. To get started, please tell me a bit about where you’re from.

I live in a small town in Ohio. I mean small—we only have one traffic light. But I love living here. I grew up in the area I now live in, but moved to the big city of Cleveland for many years. Like Dorothy, I love being home again.

Well, there certainly is no place like home. Tell me a bit about your journey to salvation.

I became a Christian in my teens, probably fourteen or fifteen. Unfortunately, I fell away from my faith during my college years and it took me a long time to find my way back home. But I’m here now and I’m determined to stay the course for whatever years God grants to me.

One of my favorite forms of entertainment is watching film adaptations of my favorite novels. What is your favorite film adaptation of a book?

Uh…Silence of the Lambs. I know, I know…but what can I say? Why? Because when I read the book, I said this would make a great movie and it did. I just love being right! It’s the only horror film to win the Oscar for best movie.

What is your favorite genre to read? Write?

The answer to both is Christian mystery and suspense with a little horror thrown in from time to time.

Where did you get the idea, as well as continued inspiration, for your novel?

I get my ideas from all sorts of places. Sometimes, it just flashes in my mind as a moment of inspiration. Other times, I have an idea about a character or an event and go from there. Sometimes, it’s even from a TV show or movie.

As far as my continued inspiration that comes from God and only from God. I know it sounds a bit arrogant but I believe God has anointed me to write. I was diagnosed with bilateral brain tumors a little over two years ago and have had quite the struggle. But no matter how bad I was feeling (and believe me when I say I felt really bad!) I was still able to continue writing. And what a blessing that has been!

Not arrogant at all. God does anoint us and it is a blessed child who responds to His callings. Who does your intended audience include? Believers and nonbelievers? In what ways do you believe your story reaches each?

My intended audience is other believers, but I think I write in such a way that nonbelievers would enjoy my stories as well. I like to say that my books have all the action of mainstream suspense without the smut!

How long did it take you to write this book?

Deadly Communications is a novella so it didn’t take anywhere near as long as a full-length novel would. I would say I finished my first draft within a month. And this was at a time when I was really NOT feeling good. Then another month to revise and polish before I submitted it.

Novella or not, I’m impressed, especially in the wake of your health issues. What a testimony! Tell me a bit about your main characters. Who did you have the most fun creating? Why?

I had a great time creating Maven Morris—a crime-fighting speech pathologist! In many ways, we are quite similar. I was a speech pathologist for more than 30 years! She’s short just like me, but not as short. She has Bell’s palsy, just like me. But we’re also different. I would never get myself into the trouble she gets herself into. I’m not very adventurous!

What message do you hope your readers will take away after reading your novel?

I want them to know that life can be difficult, but God can see you through the bad times as well as the good times.

Are you planning a sequel?

At this point, I have three novellas written featuring Maven, the crime-fighting speech pathologist. The second has been submitted to my publisher and I’m waiting to hear back. It’s titled Nowhere To Belong. It’s about a little boy found abandoned in a park that Maven ends up fostering. He refuses to communicate with anyone but Maven has her ways to get past that!

Improving communication skills is never easy. In this case, it could be murder!

Maven Morris is a speech-language pathologist on medical leave–or as she likes to put it: out to pasture.

When she’s offered a lucrative position by one of the community’s most powerful men to help his traumatic-brain-injured daughter improve her communication skills, Maven discovers deadly secrets behind the iron gates of the mansion.

Now, she must find the courage to seek justice no matter who gets hurt–even if it’s her.

Deadly Communications

Release Date: July 18

Link to Amazon Page: http://buff.ly/1kvNGQh   

Lillian is a multi-published author who lives in the middle of Ohio Amish country with her husband, two parrots, one Jack Russell, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel she’s thinking of renaming Clifford since he keeps growing and growing and….

As a speech pathologist in the public schools for over thirty years, she worked with students of all ages with a wide variety of conditions. She specialized in working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Whether as an educator, a writer, or a speech pathologist, she believes in the power of words to transform lives. especially God’s Word.

Lillian writes the types of books she loves to read—fast-paced mystery and suspense with a touch of romance that demonstrates God’s love for all of us. To learn more about Lillian and her books, you may visit her at www.lillianduncan.net or www.lillian-duncan.com. She also has a devotional blog at www.PowerUpWithGod.com.