1–What is the title of your latest release?
2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
When Carly’s grandmother proposes she and her two sisters restore the family’s large Beaufort home and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, she gets to work clearing out the house. In the attic, she uncovers a family secret her dead husband kept hidden. And an heirloom that the wrong person wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.
3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I love seaside settings and fell in love with Beaufort SC. The gorgeous historic homes charmed me, and I picked out one that Carly’s grandmother might own.
4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I would love to! She’s smart, vulnerable, and family-oriented. Plus, she has a baby – and I love babies.
5–What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Widowed, new mother, antique dealer.
6–What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learned so much about Faberge eggs! I’ve been obsessed with them for decades but hadn’t really researched them. The surprises inside are all unique and beautiful.
7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I get down the rough draft as fast as possible then go back and layer and add things. I love that process and it works well for me.
8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Debrand truffles. My favorite is the mocha one with coffee beans. Yum!
9–Describe your writing space/office!
It’s a small office with a window wall looking out on the green grass of my neighborhood. I write in a recliner with my MacBook on my lap where I can enter my dream world and write down what my characters tell me.
10–Who is an author you admire?
I adore Lisa Gardner! Her intricate plots take my breath away and I’m always surprised. When she endorsed Fragile Designs I was out to dinner with my son and his family for my husband’s birthday. I literally screamed in the restaurant, “Lisa Gardner loved my book.” I didn’t sleep that night. Like AT ALL.
11–Is there a book that changed your life?
The Bible
12–Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
This is one of my favorite stories so I’m glad you asked! I’d been sending out proposals for six long years. I didn’t know another writer back then and it was like wandering in a wilderness alone. When the call came that Barbour was going to publish Where Leads the Heart, I screamed so loudly the cat hid under the bed and wouldn’t come out for hours. I called my pastor to tell him, and his answering machine picked up. I was crying and babbling so much he thought someone had died and didn’t know who to call back. True story!
13–What’s your favorite genre to read?
Hands down, suspense.
14–What’s your favorite movie?
Don’t laugh but I love The Princess Bride. My readers love my Rock Harbor series and I secretly think it’s because of all the Princess Bride quotes.
15–What is your favorite season?
I love autumn. The color, the weather, but also the memories. My first book came out in October and my first romantic suspense book, Without a Trace, also came out in October.
16–How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I’m all about family so I’m never happier than when we can all be together for celebrations. My favorite is a family vacation at the beach with our kids and grandkids. Kauai is a particular favorite though I’ve never been on my birthday.
17–What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I would blather on about all Lisa Gardner’s books, but her last one was a year ago, so I’ll share my bestie’s amazing new novel, Love Unscripted. Denise Hunter’s sweet romances are layered and nuanced and oh so romantic.
18–What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Mexican! I could live on it.
19–What do you do when you have free time?
Read, travel, think about the next book. I’m also addicted to home improvement shows. Dave and I love doing projects together! My favorite HGTV shows right now are No Demo Reno and Unsellable Houses. Jennifer Todryk in No Demo Reno is the cutest thing and I’m tempted to pattern my next heroine after her. And the twins from Unsellable Houses have such a fun relationship.
20–What can readers expect from you next?
I’ve started writing with my good friend Rick Acker. He’s an attorney (CA Attorney General’s office) and an amazing writer. I always wanted to write a legal suspense but I knew I could never do it justice. He writes the male protagonist and I do the female one. I’m a pantser and he’s a plotter but it works! He has our plot all figured out and then I take us off-roading and he has to redo it, but he never minds because I generally have some interesting side trips. What We Hide will be out in July 2024 and is the first in a new series set in the Gulf Shores area my readers love. Some familiar characters (Jane Hardy for example) make reappearances. We are having SO. MUCH. FUN!! Beta readers loved it.
FRAGILE DESIGNS by Colleen Coble
There’s only one thing more dangerous than family secrets.
Since her police-officer husband Eric’s mysterious murder, Carly Harris has been struggling to support herself and their infant son. Her career as an antique dealer isn’t sustainable, nor is her dream of becoming a novelist. So when her grandmother proposes she and her two sisters restore the family’s large Beaufort home and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, she immediately gets to work clearing out the house. In the process, she uncovers a family secret that Eric kept hidden. And an heirloom that the wrong person wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.
Homicide detective Lucas Bennett isn’t his neighbor’s biggest fan, not since she broke his brother’s heart years ago. But when Carly turns to Lucas for help, believing she’s found a lost Fabergé egg that would be worth millions and that could put her family’s lives in danger, he can’t help but get involved. Soon, they’re entangled in a mystery with threads that lead all the way to the Russian mafia. Lucas has gotten in deep, and while he trusts his ability to keep Carly and her family safe, he begins to realize he’s vulnerable to an unexpected kind of danger. And he’s helpless to stop the freefall. As they continue working closely together, Carly and Lucas realize they may have found something more precious than gold. Yet it’s only a matter of time before Carly—or, worse, someone she loves—gets hurt.
Romance Contemporary | Mystery | Suspense [Thomas Nelson, On Sale: January 2, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780785253853 / eISBN: 9780785253839]
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About Colleen Coble
USAToday Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has over five million books in print. When she’s not writing, Colleen is playing Pokemon Go! with the family or traveling to the locales where she sets her novels. She’s a perpetual learner and a natural health nut. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.
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