Monday, July 15, 2013

Interview with Suspense Romance Author Charissa Stastny

Charissa Stastny was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada...but she has never gambled and can’t shuffle cards to save her life. She is married, has four kids, and loves writing, reading, hiking, and imitating monkeys (although when she tried it at the zoo, one of the monkeys spit at her). She currently lives in Idaho, where she doesn’t have to be embarrassed by her poor card shuffling skills nor worry about being attacked by monkeys. Secret Keepers is her 2nd book available in the Eyes of Light trilogy.

Welcome back to my blog, Charissa. This book is the second in a series. Please tell us about your new book.

Secret Keepers has lots of suspense, clean romance, and gripping action as the past, with its powerful secrets, collides with the present, threatening to destroy all Suvi, James and Austan hold dear. Suvi flees to Israel, the land of her youth, to lure threatening forces away from James, and to seek help from her estranged father. James crosses an ocean to find her, but his discoveries may jeopardize his life and love. Austan returns as self-appointed guardian of Suvi when evil forces combine to destroy her. From Idaho to Israel, and with madmen, ruthless drug cartels, and Mossad assassins as key forces, the fight for light that began in Book 1, Eyes of Light, continues as perilous events lead Suvi to reevaluate her feelings and choose between the two men who love her.

My husband read your first book and loved it. He’s excited to read the second one now. Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

My inspiration for this story started with a door-to-door salesperson. An Israeli girl named Suvi with a nose ring and a vivacious personality knocked, charmed me into buying one of her oil paintings, and then talked to my daughters and me for an hour. After she left, a story started to form around her in my mind. As I wrote my imagined story for Suvi, I wanted to help my own daughters be aware of hidden secrets people carry so that they would be more merciful in their judgment of others. We never know what awful circumstances and experiences have led someone to act in certain ways.

What a wonderful lesson! What kind of research did you do for this book?

I researched the NCS (National Clandestine Service—CIA), and the Mossad’s kidon (assassins). The workings of the Mossad (Israel’s version of the CIA) fascinate me. There are some great stories out there as I read up on it. I didn’t get to use much of the information in this book, but great books could be written about it, and I would love to read anything on this subject (although it would probably be quite brutal). 

You love to write suspenseful romances. What intrigues you most about writing these stories?

I love reading romance (if it’s clean), and writing it is even better. My Eyes of Light series is intense and drags my characters through some very rough waters to test their faith and resilience. The most intriguing aspect of writing these books has been to watch my characters grow. I am always wondering what I would do in the same situations, and I feel that helps me grow as well to have to make choices in my mind as my characters make them on the written pages.   

Thank you, Charissa, for this wonderful interview. My husband was so impressed with your first book. I know this one will be equally as good.

12 comments:

Gail Pallotta said...

Hi,

What an interesting interview. Your book sounds fascinating. I imagine researching the Israeli CIA would keep me turning pages. With my limited knowledge, my impression is they're the best at what they do.

Tracy Krauss said...

The book sounds intriguing. I was especially interested in the 'inspiration' for it. :)

Charissa said...

Thanks for the fun interview, Linda. I'm glad your husband liked my books.

Holly Letson said...

Sounds like an interesting read, and I like the cover for it as well.

Becky said...

Great interview! I love finding new authors and new stuff to read. Your book sounds very interesting. I like the fact that your series tests your characters faith and resilience. I've added your books to my list.

Mary Preston said...

What an exciting story & the research would have been fascinating.

Miss Mae said...

Wow! Sounds awesome. After watching Ziva on NCIS, you become so much more interested in Israel's Mossad -and whatever else they use- so your plot is definitely intriguing!

Great interview. Loved learning more about this author. :)

Jamie Leigh Martin said...

I LOVE that you are teaching your daughters not to judge a book by its cover!

Unknown said...

Very interesting interview... I always cannot resist a romance story. Would love to win this book. Thanks you for giveaway
ariendy@yahoo.com

George A. Clarke said...

Hi Charissa. I thoroughly enjoyed The Eyes of Light and was able to use examples from the story on a troubled co-worker. It's been very inspirational. I enjoy the growth in the characters as the story develops. This new book, I found captivating and couldn't put it down. I thought the inner conflicts that the characters were experiencing were very realistic. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

AshleighSwerdfeger said...

Nice interview! I really like the inspiration. Also, I think that is a valuable lesson for everyone!

Charissa said...

I'm so glad it's helped you with your coworker, George. Just writing it has helped me as well. Whenever I'm tempted to judge, I wonder, "What hardships might this person have dealt with in their life?" and I tend to soften towards them, knowing we all have lots of secrets behind our calm or rough facades we show to the world.