Susan Sleeman, hostess of The Suspense Zone, makes her author debut this fall with two books—a romantic suspense from Steeple Hill and a cozy mystery from Barbour.

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing all of my life, in one form or another, but I have seriously been writing with the goal of publication for the last six years.

Do you (or did you) have other career aspirations?

None. Not a one. I have held many rewarding jobs over the years and I have many interests that I could see doing as a career, like web design, graphic arts, landscape design, or interior design, but I’m so happy as a writer that I need look no further. Unless of course being a professional grandma would pay the bills then I would most gladly move to Oregon and spend my days with my adorable grandson Jack.

How long have you hosted The Christian Suspense Zone (www.thesuspensezone.com)? How did that come about?

I launched The Suspense Zone four years ago when I was searching for great Christian suspense books to read. I’d discovered Christian suspense thanks to Linda Hall’s terrific books. Once I read all of her novels, I wanted to branch out and find other Christian suspense authors, but I struggled to find more books. So I started scouring the Internet and created a list. Before long, I had over 300 books on my list, and I thought I should share this list with others who might be looking for Christian suspense novels.

So I launched www.thesuspensezone.com, a book review website dedicated to Christian suspense. We now have hundreds of reviews and author interviews as well as a library listing of over 800 suspense titles, along with the book cover and book description. The site has been so successful, and I continue to marvel as the site expands beyond 600 pages and the readership continues to grow beyond any expectation I had at the onset.

Who/what has influenced your writing career the most?

I don’t think there is a particular person that has influenced me but there is a person whose books introduced me to Christian fiction in general, author Linda Hall. I still love reading her books. She has great character development, strong female protagonists, and wonderful, thought provoking stories. She now also writes for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense line and I consider it a great honor to be her fellow writer.

As a debut author—with two books releasing this year—what advice would you give to unpublished writers who need encouragement?

If you are called to write, never give up. I can look back on my journey and see that I wasn’t ready to be published for so much of the journey, yet the Lord provided encouragement to me in many ways. I finaled in a contest, secured an agent, and received rejections. But the letters also complemented my writing and I connected with just the right person at the right time to give me encouragement and move my writing forward. Each little victory is a brick in a foundation that if you keep laying them one by one it will lead you to your goal.

You write romantic suspense and romantic cozy mystery. When brainstorming a story, which usually comes first—the suspense/mystery or the romance thread?

I always plot the suspense/mystery story first because it sets the main framework for the book. Suspense and mystery require intricate planning to release the right information at the right time and to withhold it as well. Then you must also plant enough red herrings so the reader can’t figure out who the bad guy is. After that, I choose characters and their internal struggles, which sets up the romance aspect of the book.

How does your faith play into your writing?

My faith is the reason I write. I once contemplated writing books without a spiritual element in them, but soon discovered conveying a spiritual message in an entertaining format is what I am all about. I think fiction has the power to changes lives by making faith applicable to everyday life. Readers can see the characters either live out their faith or fail to live it out, either way they can see how much easier and richer life is when lived with faith.

Has God ever provided an unexpected “detour” in your life that turned out to be positive?

Oh my gosh, yes. In fact, that is how I started writing. The life long love of reading inspired me to want to write a book, but it was God who arranged free time for it to happen. I’ve always enjoyed writing, from creative to technical writing I’ve done in the corporate world, and I said for years that I was going to write a book, but I was so busy working full time, raising children, and volunteering at church that I never made the time. Then in 2000, I began having health issues that limited my physical activity. Forced to sit for long periods of time, I started to research the craft of writing and began my first book. As my health deteriorated, and I had to quit working, I had more and more time available and soon I was writing fulltime and actively pursuing publication.

Let’s talk about your books! Please tell us about High-Stakes Inheritance, published by Steeple Hill in mid-September.

High-Stakes Inheritance is a romantic suspense book published by Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line. In High-Stakes Inheritance, family counselor Mia Blackburn’s Uncle Wally dies and leaves behind a will that requires her to return to Logan Lake, Oregon to live at the rustic Pinetree Resort for one full year in order to inherit the valuable property. If she fails to stay at Pinetree for the full year, the property reverts to her brother.

But on her first day in town she receives a threatening message: Leave Logan Lake or you will pay. Despite the warning, Mia won’t let anyone scare her from the rustic resort. But when a fire traps her in a burning barn, she fears that she won’t get out alive. Just in time her ex-boyfriend, volunteer firefighter Ryan Morgan, rescues her from the deadly blaze. He had once broken her heart, yet she still has feelings for him. With Ryan insisting on keeping a close eye on her, Mia feels safer-and closer to Ryan than ever before. Yet the threats haven’t stopped, and soon Mia’s high-stakes inheritance includes a murder—and Mia could be the next victim.

You have a cozy mystery, Nipped in the Bud, releasing from Barbour in October. Please tell us about it.

Nipped in the Bud is book one in my Garden Gate Mystery Series. Read Between the Tines and Seed You Later, books two and three, are not contracted, but if this new mystery line does well, I hope they too will be published. These books take place in Oregon in a fictional town named Serendipity and feature Paige Turner, a landscape designer and host of a local radio show with more wacky callers than legitimate gardeners. Paige, more at home with plants than people, has a quirky habit of thinking of people by the plants they resemble and treating them accordingly. She has a knack for finding trouble and there is no trouble bigger than discovering a dead body, which she does after she bickers with a town official—and that day he’s discovered dead in a mound of mulch. She finds herself in . . . well, a pickle! With no alibi, she struggles to prove her innocence, but she soon enlists the help of lawyer Adam Hayes. The question is, will his knowledge of the law keep her out of jail and will he win her love?

I understand you are an avid gardener and include something “special” at the beginning of each chapter of this book.

I do love to garden, though I have to admit since we moved to Florida I don’t do much of it. I really don’t do well in heat and, as you may guess, it can get hot here. The beginning of each chapter starts with gardening hints brought to the reader in humorous snippets from previous airings of Paige’s radio show. In these situations, the callers to the radio show have misunderstood Paige’s advice and find themselves in a mess. I hope that reader’s who are avid gardeners will find the snippets funny and those who want to garden will learn something about the subject in a fun way.

A few fun questions…

When the words aren’t flowing—or when you want to celebrate if they are—what is your favorite comfort food and why?

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Why? Because it’s chocolate. LOL

This website features writers as well as musicians, so I like to mix it up a bit. Do you have musical, as well as literary, talent?

I am married to a music director, does that count? I do play the trumpet, though I haven’t played in several years and I love to sing, but really shouldn’t in public.

If you were a song, what kind of song would you be?

I’m not really sure I see myself as a song, but if I were to be compared to a song I would want someone to think I was praise and worship music. When faced with chronic health issues, you learn to praise the Lord for everything, the good and the bad, because the good—well, why wouldn’t we thank Him for that, but the bad, that’s when it gets hard but it is the time I most grow as a person. So I have to praise Him for loving me enough not to leave me as I am.

Are you a major or a minor chord?

Hmm, I don’t know. I asked my hubby and he says I’m both, depending on the time of the day and or the circumstances. Maybe I’m more like our cat than I thought. I would like to think I’m more upbeat and positive like a major chord.

In the story that is your life, are you the strong, female lead; the girl next door; the mysterious woman behind dark glasses; the super heroine; or the little girl trying to walk in high heels?

Definitely the strong female lead. I am independent, strong-willed, some might say stubborn, and not afraid of a challenge. I embrace change and am willing to learn new things to obtain my goals.

Please tell us about you pets.

We have a very neurotic cat who has multiple personalities. Seriously, she can turn on you in the middle of petting and chomp down on your hand so hard you think she hates you. She is a tortoiseshell and though beautiful cats, they are known to be temperamental. We’ve had her since she was a kitten and she has only ever let three people touch her. At the vets office they take out the long leather gloves to handle her and often aren’t able to get the necessary tests completed.

Thanks, Susan! It’s great to have you at DivineDetour.

Thank you for having me. I loved answering your questions.

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For additional information about Susan and her books, visit www.susansleeman.com.

To purchase Susan’s books at Amazon, logon to http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=susan+sleeman&x=0&y=0&ih=6_4_1_2_0_0_0_0_0_1.64_75&fsc=10.

To purchase Susan’s books at Barnes & Noble, logon to http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=susan+sleeman.

To purchase Susan’s books at ChristianBook.com, logon to http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find/1098474009?Ntt=susan+sleeman&N=0&Ntk=keywords&action=Search&Ne=0&event=ESRCN&nav_search=1&cms=1&search=.

A graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy, Kathryn Cushman began writing only five years ago. Each of her first three books—A Promise to Remember, Waiting for Daybreak and Leaving Yesterday—were nominated for “book of the year” in the Women’s Fiction category by American Christian Fiction Writers or Inspirational Readers Choice Awards.

Katie co-wrote Angel Song with author and Grammy-nominated musician, Sheila Walsh.

You began your writing journey after establishing another career, but you have said you ‘always wanted to write a novel.’ How did you go about finally realizing your dream?

I sat down one day and started writing. I will say, I went about this the hard way. I completed an entire manuscript and started on a second before I went to my first writers conference or started reading “how to write” books. I would not recommend doing things in this order : -)

What was your big break in publishing? How did it come about?

It happened at my third Mount Hermon Writers Conference. I had just completed A Promise to Remember. I had an agent who had started sending it out just prior to that, but it was in the face-to-face meetings with editors at that conference that brought a lot of interest. Dave Long, an editor from Bethany House, was one of those editors—he is still my editor today.

Who/what has influenced your writing career the most?

It’s impossible to pick just one. James Scott Bell was my writing mentor for several years at Mount Hermon. He was very encouraging yet very realistic. I have several writing friends that have been so encouraging—Carrie Padgett, Julie Carobini, Shawn Grady, and Michael Berrier. Dave Long has been so wonderful at guiding me through the process, too.

How does your faith play into your writing?

Faith plays a HUGE part in my writing. I want my stories to all portray some element of faith because that is the reason I write. But there have also been times in the past year—I did the edits for Angel Song while “sleeping” on a cot at my daughter’s hospital bedside for 29 nights, I did the edits for Another Dawn (out next spring) at my father’s hospital bedside and then in the aftermath of his death. If I had not been ABSOLUTELY convinced that God had called me to write those books, I would have quit.

Has God ever provided an unexpected “detour” in your life that turned out to be positive?

My entire life has more or less been an unexpected detour this year—and yet looking back, I can see where God was pointing me in the direction I needed to go through it all.

Angel Song, which you co-wrote with entertainer Sheila Walsh (Thomas Nelson, 2010), is your fourth book. How did the collaboration come about?

Sheila had an idea for a novel, but she’d never written adult fiction. She went to my literary agency and asked them to help her find a co-writer. They sent her several books by different authors, and she picked mine (this still blows me away!). I then flew to Dallas and spent the day with her talking through characters, plots, etc.

How did you handle the logistics of co-writing?

Other than that original meeting, it was all done via email and conference calls.

Please tell us a little bit about the book.

It is the story of Ann, an interior decorator in New York who believes that she can’t count on anyone but herself. When she goes back to Charleston to see her younger sister graduate, they are in a car wreck which takes the life of her sister. During this time, Ann begins to hear music in places where there shouldn’t be any. Her sister’s next door neighbor has a son with Down Syndrome, and he keeps telling her that there are angels around her. The story is Ann’s journey through the midst of all this.

What is your personal writing routine? Do you write every day?

I try to write every weekday. A couple of those days I try to do nothing but write, and the other days include household chores and errands, etc.

Your next book (Another Dawn, Bethany House) releases in February 2011. Where do you get most of your ideas for your books?

Most of them come from a real life experience I’ve seen or heard about. Another Dawn was based on a radio program my editor sent me about a measles outbreak in San Diego.

A few fun questions…

When the words aren’t flowing—or when you want to celebrate if they are—what is your favorite comfort food and why?

Chocolate is good for all occasions!

This website features writers as well as musicians, so I like to mix it up a bit. Do you have musical, as well as literary, talent?

Absolutely not. In fact, my singing is so bad that I have to be careful when I’m in church not to disturb the people around me : -). That said, I still go around the house singing all the time. My family tolerates this—most of the time.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re relaxing with the radio or an mp3 player? Does music help you write?

I like Casting Crowns, Third Day, Tenth Avenue North, Switchfoot…I could go on forever.

Music does sometimes help me write. I listened to the Vienna Boys Choir when I was writing Angel Song.

If you were a song, what kind of song would you be?

I’d like to be something really powerful, like The Voice of Truth, more likely, I’d be The Song that Never Ends : -)

Are you a major or a minor chord?

Minor, definitely.

In the story that is your life, are you the strong, female lead; the girl next door; the mysterious woman behind dark glasses; the super heroine; or the little girl trying to walk in high heels?

I am the girl next door—that is the story of my life.

Rumor has it that your pets have made cameos in your books. Please tell us about them.

Dusty the dog appeared in Waiting for Daybreak. He had a mostly paralyzed front leg (due to a run-in with the FedEx truck) and so did his cameo stand-in. Boots the cat appeared briefly in Leaving Yesterday. Popcorn the turtle, and Chance the new dog, are both anxiously awaiting their moments in the sun.

Thanks, Katie! It’s a pleasure to have you at DivineDetour!

Thank you so much for having me!

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For more information about Katie, logon to her website at http://www.kathryncushman.com/index.html.

For links to purchase Katie’s books, logon to http://www.kathryncushman.com/html/books.html.

For information about Sheila Walsh, logon to her website at http://www.sheilawalsh.com/index.html.

Kassy Paris & Elaine Bonner Powell make up the writing team known as Kasandra Elaine. Their Lazy M Ranch Series (First, I’m Nobody, Redigo’s Choice, and Beneath the Texas Sky), published by White Rose Publishing, was recently released in e-book format.

Welcome, Kassy and Elaine! It’s great to have a writing team at DD. Please tell us about your series.

Kasandra Elaine: THE LAZY M RANCH SERIES is a set of contemporary inspirational romantic suspense novels set on a thoroughbred horse ranch outside of Denton, Texas. The romantic leads change in each of the three books, but the characters the readers meet in First I’m Nobody continue to appear and support one another throughout the series. Being romantic suspense, we do have to have a solution to the suspense, so our series has a strong secondary character, Clayton Carlisle, who is a “retired” Texas Ranger. Clayton is called upon to “organize” things.

How does your faith play into your writing?

Kassy: Faith is the foundation for everything I write. It is my ministry. God didn’t mean for me to be a preacher, but He gave me a writing talent. It is my prayer that anyone who reads my writing will meet Jesus in whatever way that person needs.

Elaine: If it weren’t for my faith in Jesus, I wouldn’t write. Like Kassy, I pray that my readers will see Jesus in whatever we write as a team or I write solo.

Please tell us about your personal writing journey. How long have you been writing?

Kassy: I began “writing” as a child. I would create stories in my head as we traveled between our home in East Texas and my relatives’ homes in the Dallas area. I spent long hours riding my bicycle alone and often used that time to daydream. Sometimes these were new episodes for a TV series I watched, and at times they were how I would have written the ending of a book I had read or a movie I had watched. I began putting words on paper during college, but never got very far because the process was too slow. The computer and word processing software with its “cut and paste” ability opened up the world of writing for me. Elaine and I actually first collaborated during our senior year when we wrote a Christmas play for church.

Elaine: I have always had a vivid imagination and felt that I had at least one book in me. As Kassy mentioned our first effort as a team was a Christmas play when we were in high school. As a kid I made up stories in my head all the time. I guess that came from playing by myself a lot.

Who/what has influenced your writing career the most?

Kassy: I would have to say Elaine has influenced my writing career the most. If it weren’t for her, I might not have had the confidence to believe I could become published. I do have some genetic heritage, my father was a journalist working for several newspapers including the Dallas Morning News at the beginning of his career.

Elaine: God. It’s a talent He gave me and Him I want to serve. My mother would be second. She was my biggest fan and when she read my work, and our work, and liked it I knew it was the right path. Believe me, she would have told me if she didn’t like it. She was an avid reader, especially of Christian fiction.

Has God ever provided an unexpected “detour” in your life that turned out to be positive?

Kassy: The few major detours in my life have simply made me a stronger person, reinforcing the knowledge that with Christ we can come through any battle. That doesn’t mean we won’t have scars and it won’t be difficult to go through, but we will come out on the other side better for the journey.

Elaine: Where would I began, they are just too numerous to tell. But as Scripture says, He works all things to the good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.

How long have you been writing together? How do you divide the duties and work systemically toward the final draft?

Kasandra Elaine: We began writing together in March of 1997. We had read and shared a great number of books over the years and had commented that we should write together. Elaine got the idea for a novel of her own in January and began writing it. In February, she shared it with Kassy. She had come up with a second idea designed to be written by the two of us. We started that project during Kassy’s spring break.

Elaine usually begins our projects. We discuss them and plot them out together mostly over the phone or during a vacation we take together. Since 2001, we have been sending files back and forth via email because we live 150 miles apart. We both contribute through all phases of a project’s development. When we first started writing together, most writing partnerships consisted of a researcher and a creative writer. We were different; we both created. We “research” as necessary and as little as possible. : )  Elaine is better at writing the queries.

What are the special challenges of writing as a team? What are the advantages?

Kasandra Elaine:

The main disadvantage of writing as a team for us is the difference in our writing speeds. Elaine will put two to three times as many words down on paper in the same amount of time spent as Kassy does. We’ve learned to work on different projects at the same time to relieve the stress when we’re working in the same space at the same time.

The advantages of writing together are that we each usually do only about half the work. If we run into a snag, there is an automatic brainstorming partner to consult. Or we simply send the file to the other one and say, “Your turn!”

Any other collaboration in the works?

Kasandra Elaine: We have several projects in various stages of development. Some are romantic suspense and we have started a series of cozy mysteries. We’re having a tough time finding a “home” for the cozies since very few CBA houses publish cozies. Those that do usually want them submitted through an agent, which we don’t have at the moment. It’s a shame, too. Edna and Klara are some pretty feisty middle-aged sleuths. Any recommendations?

A few fun questions…

When the words aren’t flowing—or when you want to celebrate if they are—what is your favorite comfort food and why?

Kassy: Tortilla soup from Posados, a local Mexican food chain, when I can get it. Or Alberts Hot Sauce and tortilla chips. Alberts is also a local creation of the East Texas area which has spread to a larger area than where it originated in Kilgore.

Elaine : Ice cream cures anything. Especially Blue Bell milk chocolate.

This website features writers as well as musicians, so I like to mix it up a bit. Do you have musical, as well as literary, talent?

Kassy: I took years of piano lessons. I learned to play clarinet and was in a school band from the sixth grade through the first two years of college, but as they say, “If you don’t use it you lose it” and those skills have fallen by the wayside. I love singing, spending the final years of college in a Baptist Student Union choir. I sing while I drive (usually to the radio or CDs) for my own pleasure. I usually sing in the church’s Christmas cantata, but I’m by no means a soloist.

Elaine: I sing. I love to sing. I love it more than writing or anything else. I do sing at my church and sometimes I am invited to other churches to sing. My dream has always been to be in music ministry full time but for some reason that has not occurred yet.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re relaxing with the radio or an mp3 player?

Kassy: As a child of the ’50s and ’60s, I love that era of music—The Lettermen, Glen Campbell, The Association, Mamas and Papas, and John Denver are among my favorites. But I also love other genres of music from classical, including some opera, to country/western. I grew up watching old movies and love the Big Band era music as well. Just about the only types of music I don’t listen to are hard rock and rap.

Elaine: I love southern gospel, the oldies (anything from big bands to ’50s and early ’60s). I like the old country music, and I do like western, the kind the Sons of the Pioneers sang.

If you were a song, what kind of song would you be?

Kassy: I would be a romantic ballad with an orchestral background.

Elaine: A good old southern gospel song, giving praises to the Lord.

Are you a major or a minor chord?

Kassy: I would say that I’m a major chord.

Elaine: Major.

In the story that is your life, are you the strong, female lead; the girl next door; the mysterious woman behind dark glasses; the super heroine; or the little girl trying to walk in high heels?

Kassy: LOL. The answer depends…within my own family I’m the strong, female lead, but within my friendship with Elaine I’m the BFF girl next door.

Elaine: The strong female lead because most of my adult life that’s what I’ve had to be even though it wasn’t necessarily my choice.

Drawing of Elaine & Kassy by Elaines's grandson Allan

Please tell us about your pets, your hobbies, your family, etc.

Kassy: Currently, I’m the caretaker of a solid, black shorthaired female cat named Vader who lives indoors with my sister and me. Krissy has a medium-haired tortoiseshell calico named Frosty. Living outside our house are between five and eight feral cats that we feed. Don’t call the SPCA on us; they eat better than we do! Of course the cats aren’t the only creatures taking up residence around our house. There are a couple of raccoons and an opossum or two who love the cat food we put out. The squirrels and birds residing in our trees are too numerous to count.

I’m also a quilter with a room full of fabric and sewing machines. Traveling to sparsely populated areas of the U.S. (especially Wyoming) and reading are among my other favorite things to do.

I’m the oldest of four daughters born to Sam and Dorothy Paris, who both now reside in Heaven. Besides my three sisters and two brothers-in-law, I have three nephews and four nieces, and four great-nieces and two great-nephews. Since I never had any children, Elaine kindly “shares” her granddaughter and grandsons with me from time to time.

Elaine: My hobby is writing and traveling. I am the mother of two beautiful daughters. My oldest daughter lives in Heaven. She had Cystic Fibrosis and was a double lung transplant patient; her book is in the works. My youngest daughter is wonderful. She is married to a terrific fellow and they are the parents of the three most terrific children in the world. My only granddaughter is a senior in high school this year (telling my age here), and a great human being. She still likes me. The oldest boy is a freshman this year. He has cystic fibrosis but is doing great. He is excited about being in FFA this year and raising a pig. The youngest is in eighth grade and just loves life. He’s the comedian of the group and just rolls with the flow.

Thanks, Kassy and Elaine!

For more information about Kassy and Elaine and their books, including Elaine’s solo project, Sonora, logon to www.kasandraelainebooks.com.

The Lazy M Ranch Series is available at: http://www.whiterosepublishing.com/Kasandra-Elaine-325?osCsid=b3fa5621526767174e7441d6729888f3.

To purchase The Lady M Ranch Series in e-book format logon to either the White Rose Publishing site or for Kindle logon to www.Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Kasandra%20Elaine).

In memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and in honor of those who defend our nation today, DivineDetour continues its military theme this week. May we never forget.

Founded in April 2001, Judy Seale International Inc., is an entertainment conglomerate. Its President/CEO, Judy Seale, has 30 years experience in the entertainment industry, from artist management to international festival and tour production. But Judy is also dedicated to a higher calling, that of providing entertainment for U.S. troops serving overseas.

For the past seven years, Stars for Stripes has co-produced with MWR, MNC-I, USAREUR and AFE, more than 50 tours entertaining our troops deployed to remote locations overseas. Top name entertainers including Charlie Daniels, Richard Marx, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Aaron Tippin, Chely Wright, Karri Turner, Dave Price, Craig Morgan, Jim McMahon, Kevin Butler, Dierks Bentley, Diamond Rio, Trick Pony, Mark Wills, the Bellamy Brothers, D.B. Sweeney, Bo Bice and Darryl Worley, and many others, have generously donated their time and talents in conjunction with Stars for Stripes in support of U.S. military men and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries around the world.

Part II, Q&A with Judy Seale, Stars for Stripes

What’s a typical day like when you’re on a military tour?

There really isn’t a “typical” day, it varies depending on whether or not the entertainers are musical, comedic, or sports. A typical day with a musical artist would be:

Bags out VERY early for musicians (like 5 a.m.!) so they can be palletized. Quick breakfast at the DFAC (dining facility) and then go to the flight line for processing. With any luck, we only sit there for two-three hours if our plane is on time. Usually we take advantage of that time to either sleep or sign autographs if there are troops waiting for flights in the same area. Since we don’t have a dedicated aircraft and have to hitch rides, there’s never any guarantee that the flight will arrive and depart as scheduled. We are at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to an emergency medical evacuation, movement of troops, etc. (as we should be). So, it’s a lot of “hurry up and wait.” Usually about a one hour flight on a C130 to the “main camp”—somewhere large enough that a C130 can land. Typically, we have two pallets of equipment/luggage, so taking helicopters isn’t an option.

Arrive at the Main Camp, download all the equipment/luggage and go to lodging. Lodging can be a tent, a building with bunk beds or cots, a trailer, or one of Saddam’s former places. We may have individual rooms at some of the larger camps, but in the early days and even now at some of the remote camps, we all sleep in one tent. Rarely is there a bathroom IN the building where we sleep. Usually, it’s a hike to the latrines for toilets and showers.

Depending upon our arrival time, first thing on the agenda could be lunch at the DFAC. Immediately afterwards, the sound techs begin setting up the stage and if the entertainer has agreed to do acoustic FOB hops, then the entertainer, a couple of musicians and I take Blackhawks to a remote FOB. FOB stands for Forward Operating Base and those guys/gals rarely receive celebrity entertainment. That’s usually a 30-60 minute flight. We quickly set up an acoustic PA, perform for 30 minutes, sign autographs, and take photos for about an hour, then chopper back to the main camp. Upon returning to the main camp, there is a quick sound check and then dinner at the DFAC.

We usually do interviews just prior to show time, and shows usually run about 75-90 minutes in length. As soon as the show finishes, the entertainer signs every autograph and takes individual photos with each person in line. That usually brings us to midnight where there is an option for midnight chow or a visit to the MWR center to check email and make phone calls home. When FOB hops aren’t an option, we visit hospitals and the troops on the base that won’t be able to attend the concert that evening.

Since I always have more email to answer than anyone else, I usually take a shower at around 2 a.m., get in bed by 3 a.m. and back up at 5 or 6 a.m. Everyone learns to be “military” early on in the tour—eat when there is food even if you’re not hungry, sleep anywhere you can—especially on aircraft, and never pass up a toilet even if you don’t need to “go.” All this said, because you never know when you’ll have access to any of those three things again.

It sounds like a hard tour, but when you consider that we are in country for seven days and our troops are deployed for 12 to 18 months—and many of them on their fifth or sixth deployment—no one whines! Also, our lodging and hospitality extended is equivalent to a visiting general and much different from the conditions for our troops.

What drives your sacrificial efforts on behalf of our troops?

Honestly, all it takes is one email from someone in the military who met me or saw the show or from a family member of someone serving at an area where we visited. That is what inspires me to want to do more. It’s embarrassing when the troops thank us for visiting (and they always do!), because our sacrifice is so insignificant when compared to what they are doing for all Americans in defending our freedoms. How could I ever do enough to even begin repayment to them or their families?

You also facilitate international festivals and concert tours. What’s the funniest thing that has happened to you on one of your international tours?

Oh, wow. I could write a book but most of the things can’t be printed. : )   The Bellamy Brothers were confirmed to perform on New Year’s Eve 1999 in Interlaken, Switzerland. Everyone was a bit uptight about the whole Y-2-K thing for the Millennium. We booked the date so that we arrived several days early and stayed over for a couple of days. David Bellamy’s wife had the “brilliant” idea that we should take the dog sleds down the Igor (largest mountain in the Jungfrau Alps). Unfortunately, the dogs had supposedly already been put up for the winter. Our promoter offered a sled ride down the Alps instead and provided us with a volunteer as a guide. I was thinking it would be a nice, scenic 20-minute slide down a slope.

We took a train halfway up the Igor and our guide gave us each four slats of wood with metal runners—no rope, no brakes, nothing. David was trying to find duct tape to put two sleds together to accommodate his “bottom.” He was sitting at the top of the slope trying to get a feel for how to handle the sled when some lady from Germany got frustrated that he was blocking her route and ran up behind him and shoved him. He was barreling down the mountain out of control when he saw me in front of him, slowly easing my way down. He rolled off his sled but the sled clipped my wrist which resulted in a painful knot and swelling. It was a brutal descent down the Igor—hairpin turns and at times crossing the slope where skiers were flying down the mountain.

At one point, Howard Bellamy couldn’t make a turn and rolled off his sled. The sled kept going, went over a cliff, and hung in a tree! It took us a couple of hours to make our way down—with me walking in waist deep snow and carrying my sled when I could! Since we weren’t prepared for this type of adventure, everyone was wearing jeans or sweat pants. Snow went up our pants legs and froze. When we finally got on the train to go back to Interlaken, we basically “melted” in the warm train car and flooded the floor. As we were walking back to the hotel, we saw the dog sleds in the city square. They had been brought down for free rides for the tourists! Everyone purchased bath salts and soaked, but we were all stiff and bruised for weeks. Looking back, it was pretty funny but not so much at the time.  : )

You are tenured in the music business. What advice would you give young singers and songwriters who are looking for their first break?

If I quoted my mentor Minnie Pearl, it would be, “Don’t do it unless you are willing to give up everything to succeed—love, family, everything to follow your dream.” I wouldn’t trade my life with anyone’s, but there have been sacrifices. I think it’s important to always have a “Plan B” and be willing to take a risk to attain your dream. Positive thinking and trying not to use the word no, but instead saying, “Let me see what I can do” in answer to difficult tasks has always been good advice.

For the first part of Judy’s interview with DivineDetour, logon to http://www.divinedetour.com/?p=446.

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For more information about Judy Seale International, visit http://www.judysealeinternational.com/.

For more information about Stars for Stripes, visit http://www.starsforstripes.com/.

Books for Soldiers was founded during the first Gulf War as a means of providing entertainment for U. S. military personnel stationed in the Middle East. Two decades later, the organization is processing about a thousand requests a month from U. S. troops.

Janet Cagle, a member of the BSF administrative team, helps coordinate daily operations for the organization.

How did you become involved with Books For Soldiers?

I was listening to the radio as I worked in my clay studio on an August night in 2003. I had to press my ear to the radio to hear through the static when I heard about a program that sends books to soldiers. That same night I became a member of Books For Soldiers. Today I work in the Administrative area of Books For Soldiers. It’s very exciting to be behind the scenes working with Books For Soldiers.

What is the history of the organization?

Books For Soldiers began during the Gulf War 1 when founder, Storm Williams, asked his friends to send books to his brother’s college buddies who were deployed to Riyadh. Storm created the Books For Soldiers website in 2003 after the onset of operations in Iraq. BFS started out small back in 2003 and today BFS is a huge website with lots of traffic.

About how many books have been shipped through BFS to U. S. troops to date?

It would be difficult to put an exact number on it, but we receive 1000 new requests each month from the troops for every type of reading material imaginable. Most will receive more than one box of books and some will ask for only one book. It would be in the thousands. Last year our volunteers sent an estimated $2.7 million in care packages.

If someone would like to help you, what should they do? Are there different ways to become involved?

First they need to get an account on our website.

Go to http://booksforsoldiers.com/forum/index.php?action=register or go to www.booksforsoldiers.com/forum and look for the “Register” button. For troops’ safety the Department of Defense asks that everyone fill out a short application (found at the top of every page) and have it notarized. This verifies that you are who you say you are. It takes around two weeks to process your application. You will receive an email notification of Official Volunteer approval, then the private portion of the website with troop addresses will open up to you. Another way to become involved is to list any books ready to ship in the “We Have Books Ready to Ship” Forum for the troops to pick and choose. This forum is open to the public and doesn’t require Official Volunteer status if they want to skip becoming one of our Official Volunteers.

How does your faith play into your work?

“Ask and it shall be given unto you,” has been a scripture that I have fallen back on a lot. There have been times when there was a request that I had no idea how I was going to fill and I would pray and ask for help and help would come. For example, one time I had a request to supply underwear for 500 Navy female personnel on a ship. I had no idea where I would get the funds to meet this request. I prayed to God to provide a way to make this happen. Within a week I received a letter from Fruit of the Loom saying that they had a lot of female underwear to donate and wanted to know if our organization could use it. Not only did they provide enough underwear to outfit the 500, but we had underwear left over to send to other military personnel. To this day I don’t know how Fruit of the Loom knew to contact me. I just believe it was the answer to my prayer.

Has God ever provided an unexpected “detour” in your life that turned out to be positive?

I have to say that there haven’t been any detours in my life. My life has pretty much been a straight path that God has laid out for me and I have followed.

How do you spend your average day at BFS?

I post requests on a daily basis from our military in the Army, Air Force, Marine, Navy, Afghanistan, PenPal, Wounded Warriors, Coast Guard, Group Request, Operation Forgotten Soldiers forums. I also check in by email with the troops once a month to see if they need anything new or to see if their address has changed. There are days I email an author to see if they can donate their book requested by a military member.

I also remove any spam throughout the day that might get posted and ban any suspicious characters on our site. I also answer any questions that our OV’s have and discuss any Administrative issues with my colleagues.

I also collect books, DVDs and other supplies and mail them out to soldiers.

What steps are required for a member of the military to receive a book?

U. S. Military deployed outside of the United States can make a request on our homepage, http://booksforsoldiers.com. They must fill in the simple form on the right side of the page.

How do you match books and/or donors to recipients?

We use the “tag” feature of the software to categorize the requests the best we can. If you click onto a tag such as Potter, it will take you to all the links requesting Harry Potter books. This saves time for someone who wants to match a book to a request.

Do you often receive feedback from the troops about the books they have received?

I have received thousands of emails and notes of thanks from the troops thanking me for my work with soldiers and for remembering them, and that keeps me going. We get comments like:  ”You have no idea what it means to us.” “It’s a morale builder.” “It keeps us going as we put our boots on, knowing someone back home is thinking of us.”

Does Books For Soldiers facilitate other gifts besides books?

Yes, our name is Books For Soldiers, but it’s so much more. While overseas, they often run out of things fast, like toiletries. They depend on people like us at BFS for help.

We also send board games, socks, DVDs, CDs, toiletries, snacks, coffee, pillows, blankets, video games, magazines, Military Working Dog care package, phone cards, toilet paper, vitamins and supplements, tobacco products, puzzles, board games, crosswords, batteries, all free to the soldiers. At times, we send children’s books, which the soldiers read while being video recorded, and then send the video back to their children. There is also a PenPal Forum for soldiers requesting a pen pal, some requests are for birthday cards to be sent to a soldier, a memorial wall for those BFS soldiers we have lost and a Thank You forum from the soldiers themselves. We also have Operation Forgotten Soldier Forum for those men and women who have no one to send them anything. School supplies and toys are often sent to give to the locals to help develop trust between soldiers and the people.

Is there one story that stands out for you in your work with BFS as the most memorable or poignant?

There was a BFS member from my area who was in the Army stationed in

Iraq and was killed. He was well liked by all of the members and his posts made us laugh. I attended the funeral and it was obviously sad for those of us attending. But to add to the anxiety of the situation, there was a group that carried on a protest across the street from the funeral home. The family should have been allowed to grieve in peace and in private.

Please tell us briefly about BFS’s new affiliated mission for churches, SundayForSoldiers.org.

Sundays for Soldiers is a website created for our Christian members to build church awareness about Books For Soldiers, help churches start their own soldier outreach program, increase the number of Official Volunteers for Books For Soldiers, build soldier awareness of Books For Soldiers with military members of the churches.

We also have the Take The Pledge program. Get your church to pledge to donate $500 to BiblesForSoldiers.org by the end of 2010. Our goal is to recruit 500 churches to Take The Pledge to keep Books For Soldiers open for 2011. If they are interested they need to fill out the form and our founder will contact their church leaders and explain the program to them and help them set-up a soldier ministry in their church. Or, they can download our Guide for Pastors and Deacons http://sundayforsoldiers.org/sundays-for-soldiers.pdf.

A few fun and personal questions…

What kind of books do you like to read?

I like reading any Georgia O’Keeffe books, Art History and Ancient

Egyptian History books, poetry, and I love biographies.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re relaxing with the radio or an mp3 player?

I find traditional Hawaiian and Bluegrass music very relaxing. I love to listen to the radio music show, The Music Of Your Life, but when I want to get my blood flowing I listen to Elvis Presley and his old gospel tunes.

If you were a song, what kind of song would you be?

I would be a song that comes out of a cylinder music box.

In the story that is your life, are you the strong, female lead; the girl next door; the mysterious woman behind dark glasses; the super heroine; or the little girl trying to walk in high heels?

The super heroine—a member of the Incredibles family. But instead of fighting crime, I’m fighting the hackers of our website, I’m fighting to get hundreds of packages shipped overseas to soldiers for Christmas, fighting to get the word out about our cause, fighting to get more volunteers, more donations so that we can continue our work in 2011.

As a pet lover, I have to ask… are there any four-legged volunteers helping out at the Books For Soldiers headquarters?

Yes, my Nephew Dog (my sister’s dog), Max, licks the stamps.

Thanks, Janet, for all that you and others do for our military men and women.

Thanks, Kathy, for helping me spread the word about BookForSoldiers.com.

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For more information about Books For Soldiers, logon to their website at www.booksforsoldiers.com/.

To read the founder’s statement, logon to http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/aboutus.php.

To follow BFS on Twitter: http://twitter.com/books4soldiers

To follow BFS on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5349442735

If you like women’s fiction, contemporary or historical romance, suspense/mystery/thrillers, and/or science fiction, here are 34 reasons to read this month… all from American Christian Fiction Writers.

1. Across the Cotton Fields; Mississippi Brides, book 1 by Diane T. Ashley and Aaron McCarver– Romance from Barbour. Alexandra Lewis must find a husband before a family scandal follows her to Mississippi, but where does God fit into her plans?

2. A Door County Christmas; The Heart’s Harbor by Cynthia Ruchti, Ride With Me Into Christmas by Rachael Phillips, My Heart Still Beats by Eileen Key, and Christmas Crazy by Becky Melby, A collection of four Christmas-themed romance novellas from Barbour. A Door County innkeeper guarantees four single women that her Christmas cactus gifts˜and love˜will bloom by Christmas. As December nears, will barren plants and romances blossom into holiday joy?

3. A Hope Undaunted; Winds of Change series, book 1 by Julie Lessman — An Romance from Revell. While on a summer law internship, a sassy and modern woman of the Roaring 20s butts heads with her lawyer boss, a stubborn pest from her past.

4. A Memory Between Us; Wings of Glory, Book 2 by Sarah Sundin — An historical from Revell. During World War II, B-17 pilot Maj. Jack Novak has never failed to meet a challenge – until he meets Lt. Ruth Doherty, a striking nurse with a shameful secret.

5. A Prairie Christmas Collection by Deborah Raney, Tracie Peterson, Tracey V. Bateman, and six others — A collection of nine Christmas-themed romance novellas from Barbour. An instant holiday treasure, this fiction collection is penned by nine multi-published authors. Each novella promises a sweet Christian romance on the historical American Great Plains.

6. A Riverwalk Christmas by Elizabeth Goddard, Martha Rogers, Lynette Sowell and Kathleen Y’Barbo– A collection of Christmas-themed romance novellas from Barbour. Four young women find love in the most unexpected places at Christmas.

7. A Very Private Grave; #1 The Monastery Murders by Donna Fletcher Crow — A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Kregel. Felicity thinks she knows everything, until a brutal murder teaches her she doesn’t know anything.

8. A Woodland Christmas by Janelle Mowery, Tamela Hancock Murray, Darlene Franklin and Ramona Cecil– A collection of Christmas-themed romance novellas from Barbour. Experience a nostalgic Christmas in the Piney Woods of East Texas where a traveling wood-carver dispenses wisdom that brings four couples to realize the gift of love.

9. Alpha Redemption by P.A. Baines — A Science Fiction/Fantasy/Futuristic from Splashdown Books. In man’s pursuit of knowledge, artificial intelligence was created. In the pursuit of love, artificial intelligence found God.

10. Baby Makes A Match; Love Inspired/Chatam House Series by Arlene James — A Romance from Steeple Hill. A rodeo cowboy rescues a stranded pregnant girl and with the help of three matchmaking aunties….well what else do you need?

11. Christmas Mail Order Brides by Vickie McDonough, Susan Page Davis, Therese Stenzel and Carrie Turansky– A collection of Christmas-themed romance novellas from Barbour. Ride the transcontinental railroad as marriage arrives by mail-order-and just in time for Christmas.

12. Finding Becky; Book 3 Winds Across the Prairie by Martha Rogers — An Historical from Realms/Strang. Rebecca comes home with a new attitude, but Rob wants to find the Becky he’s loved since their youth.

13. Formula for Danger by Camy Tang — A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Love Inspired Suspense. Dermatologist researcher Rachel Grant is pursued by an enemy trying to take her latest research and her life.

14. Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer — A Romance from Bethany House. When a recovering romantic goes to work for a handsome ranch owner, her heart isn’t the only thing in danger.

15. High-Stakes Inheritance by Susan Sleeman — A Romance from Steeple Hill. Claiming an inheritance turns deadly when Mia Blackburn returns to her hometown.

16. In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer — An Historical from Bethany House. Claiming an inheritance turns deadly when Mia Blackburn returns to her hometown.Three best friends, three cherished dreams, three searching hearts…

17. Judgement Day by Wanda Dyson — A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Random House/Waterbrook. One reporter’s love of sensationalism leads to a horrifying story and someone willing to kill her to keep her quiet.

18. Lily and the Lawman; Idaho Brides, Book Two by Erica Vetsch — An Historical from Barbour. A wary woman has no choice but to join forces with a local lawman to rescue her kidnapped niece.

19. Love Finds You Under the Mistletoe by Anita Higman and Irene Brand– A Romance from Summerside Press. Two heartwarming stories of Christmas past and present.

20. Lydia’s Charm by Wanda Brunstetter — A Romance from Barbour. Will the anonymous gifts left for Lydia bring her hope for a new life, and when tragedy befalls her yet again, will the mysterious gift giver be there to support her?

21. Making Waves; CHAIM series, Book Four by Lorna Seilstad — An Historical from Revell. After Mr. Boring presses for an engagement, a witting debutante meets an intriguing sailing instructor who is everything her hum drum suitor is not.

22. McKenzie; Montana Skies Series by Penny Zeller — An Historical from Whitaker House. She wanted to change him and mold him into the man she was supposed to marry. Instead, she was the one whose heart was changed.

23. Medical Error; Prescription For Trouble (book two) by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. — A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from Abingdon. Identity theft isn’t normally fatal, but this time it was.

24. More Than Words; Daughters of Amana #2 by Judith Miller — An Historical from Bethany House. Will Gretchen Kohler’s one impulsive decision cause tragic consequences for the entire Amana Community and cost her everything, even the love of her life?

25. Second Chance Brides; Texas Boardinghouse Brides #2 by Vickie McDonough — An Historical from Barbour. When the man they came to town to marry weds someone else, two mail order brides must find a way to survive in Texas–or find another man to marry.

26. Secret of the Shroud by Pamela Billings Ewen — A Suspense/Mystery/Thriller from B&H Publishers. A powerful Bishop reaches for revenge when he’s suddenly confronted with the secret of the Shroud and a choice that can destroy him.

27. Tender Vow by Sharlene MacLaren — A Romance from Whitaker House. When John Evans is killed in a skiing accident, his brother, Jake, reaches out to his widowed sister-in-law, but Rachel will have nothing to do with his charity, particularly since they have a “history” she’d rather forget–but God has other plans.

28. The Columns of Cottonwood; The Alabama River Heritage Series by Sandra Robbins — A Romance from Barbour. When a handsome stranger purchases a woman’s plantation for back taxes, she vows to recover her land, but they discover God has a greater solution–a compromise to benefit both.

29. The Doctor’s Blessing; #2 in The Brides of Amish Country by Patricia Davids — A Romance from Steeple Hill. A nurse-midwife to the Amish and the new doctor clash over her home deliveries.

30. The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson — A Romance from Zondervan. The Sleeping Beauty fairy tale comes to life when Rose, the apprentice to the town healer, falls in love with Lord Hamlin, the betrothed son of a duke.

31. The Newcomer by Laurie Alice Eakes — An Historical from Barbour. Marigold sacrifices things precious to her, for the sake of her young charges and isn’t willing to let their uncle take over when danger follows in his wake.

32. The Perfect Blend; The Tea Shop Series by Trish Perry — A Romance from Harvest House. A jilted bride encounters chaotic jobs, overbearing society matrons, and charming suitors in her quest for love, independence, and the occasional glimpse of God’s will.

33. The Wolf of Tebron by C. S. Lakin — An Science Fiction/Fantasy/Futuristic from AMG/Living Ink. A young blacksmith goes in search of his missing wife, journeying to the four ends of the world and solving riddles with a faithful wolf at his side.

34. Where Hearts Are Free; Darkness to Light Series, Book #3 by Golden Keyes Parsons — An Historical from Thomas Nelson. In the freedom and promise of the New World, Bridget Barrington and Philippe Clavell fall in love, but nothing about their love seems possible, apart from God’s intervention.