Interview with Mystery Author JoAnn Arnold

JoAnn and her husband, Brent, have 4 amazing sons, who all live out-of-state with their families—so the Arnolds do a lot of traveling to visit 15 grandchildren. Her first book, Miracles for Michael, was the product of a Christmas Musical she had written for her Community Theatre. After that, writing became a passion. She has written a fantasy Prince Etcheon and the Secret of the Ancient and three mysteries: Journey of the Promise, Pages from the Past, and The Silent Patriots.

Welcome back to my blog, JoAnn. Please tell us about your mystery novel, Pages from the Past.

After the sudden death of her husband, John, Betsy Braden struggles to find meaning in her life. With some help from her mother and a lovable golden retriever named Dorado, she slowly works her way through her loss. When Dorado digs up John’s watch in the woods, Betsy discovers that her husband’s death was not an accident. Next John’s notebook, written in his personal shorthand, is found in one of his jackets. Then six more notebooks are found in his safe. Suddenly Betsy and her family are drawn into a mysterious plot of science and technology. Along the way Betsy learns just how important freedom and liberty truly are.

Two of my favorite heroes in this book are Elmira, an 80-year-old woman, who knows more that she lets on, and the Golden Retriever, Durado—a brilliant sleuth.

This book sounds fun. Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

I was reading about the Constitution, one day when something that was mentioned really struck me. After the Constitution was signed, men were called to become the “Watchers” of the Constitution. They were to protect what was written and make sure it was never defiled or trampled on. I thought to myself, if there were watchers then, perhaps there are watchers, today. That became the theme for this book.

Your idea sounds intriguing. What kind of research did you do for this book?

I bought a book that gave the history of the Constitution and those who brought it to life. Then I had my son, who designs computer chips, give me some details of how a chip can do what I wanted it to do in this story.

Thank you, JoAnn. I bet it was so interesting to learn about our Constitution and what brought it to life. It is the foundation of our freedom.