People often ask where I get my ideas. For me, the answer is simple, particularly when it comes to THE PAST CAME HUNTING, my first published novel. I wanted to learn police procedure, I wanted to write cop stories, but, mostly, I wanted to get the law enforcement details right. So, I invested in the citizens academy, trained and served as a volunteer victims advocate, and went on several ride alongs.
During this time, I had a germ of an idea in my head from an old Tricia Yearwood/Don Henley song, Walk Away Joe, which, if you’ve ever listened to the lyrics, is about a 17-year-old girl who, against her mama’s wishes, runs off with her bad news boyfriend. While she sits in the car, he walks into the Texaco Station, and as the song goes, “robs it clean.”
A deputy and I discussed this song, and I asked, “What would happen to the girl?” His response, “Seventeen, in the presence of a felony, she might very well go to prison.”
Bam! Right there, as I sat in the passenger side of that deputy’s patrol car, I had my plot. I knew what had happened to my protagonist Melanie. And although I knew that the bad guy had to be part of the story, I didn’t want him to be the entire story. I wanted to write about the cop who arrested my heroine. And that is how Walk Away Joe (the unpublished, 2007 Golden Heart finaling novel came to be) and how THE PAST CAME HUNTING was born.
Photo compliments of Geralt & Pixabay
With 196 reviews on Amazon, The Past Came Hunting, takes place in the fall and over Christmas. So, just in time for the holidays, my publisher, BelleBooks/Bell Bridge Books, has placed my romantic suspense on sale. If you’ve never read The Past Came Hunting (or, heck, just want to read it again for nostalgia purposes), now’s your chance (on sale December 16 through 31 for .99!)
My books are about justice, forgiveness, and happy endings. I hope you’ll check them out and let me know what your think.
Wishing you good health and the happiest of holidays.
~ Donnell
