#Interview with @mweidenbenner1 - author of Cache a Predator #giveaway

Hi guys!  I'm back today with the author of Cache a Predator for an interview!  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!  Don't forget to make sure you entered the giveaway at the bottom as well!   As always, thanks for stopping by !

Cache a Predator

by  M. Weidenbenner

Publication:  July 2013
ISBN:  1490936394

Length : 264 pages
Genre:  Thriller/ Suspense

Book Description: 

Officer Brett Reed will do anything to gain custody of his five-year-old daughter, Quinn. But when the man-hating judge grants Brett’s drug-addicted ex-wife custody and slaps him with a protective order for losing his temper, he fears for Quinn’s safety. Who will protect her now? When Quinn is found abandoned on the streets, Brett’s worse nightmares turn toward a dark path. His daughter is placed in a temporary foster home until Child Protective Services can complete an assessment. It should only take a few days. But a lot can happen in a few days. Especially when there’s a deranged psychopath on the loose, someone who’s attacking pedophiles, someone who wants to protect children like Quinn, and someone who’s planting body parts in geocaching sites. Cache a Predator is a novel about a father’s love, justice, and the unhinged game of hide-the-cache.

Buy it :   Kindle   |   Paperback

Interview Time : 

1. Let’s start out easy. Tell us a little bit about your book.

I wrote the bones of this novel during NaNoWriMo in November, 2011. I interviewed our county coroner who owns the funeral home to learn how to open a casket, doctors about how to slice body parts, vet techs, child protective counselors, geocaching sports enthusiasts, and CASA volunteers. 

           Here’s my one-sentence blurb: 

  Five-year-old Quinn is found wandering the streets in Hursey Lake, Indiana and placed in a temporary foster home until her father, Officer Brett Reed, can convince a man- hating judge, child protective services, and a deranged psychopath that he’s a loving father.

Any story that involves foster care and children always touches my heart.  I have four kiddos adopted from foster care.  That in itself would have made me pick up your book. 

2. What inspired you to write this story?

My crazy imagination. Lol. I like to look at people in difficult situations and think, “what if.” Then I like to show both sides of the story so the reader can see the same problem and how it affects others, each with a different point-of-view.

3. What is the main lesson that your book is trying to teach?

Cache a Predator doesn’t teach anything per se, but there are several themes—father’s rights, pedophiles, and child abuse. This quote sums it up well: 

          “Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.” Herbert Ward 

Child abuse affects people not directly related to the victims—siblings, peers, spouses.

4. Moving on to your writing career, how long have you been writing? Did you always dream to become an author?

I’ve been writing for about ten years, five years seriously. No, I never aspired to be an author, but I’ve always enjoyed writing. When I was young my parents used to tell me I was a gifted writer, but I didn’t see myself that way.

  When I was a sophomore in high school I took a FILM and NOVEL course and absolutely loved it. The teacher was my all time favorite, a nun. She was a blast. When I’m writing I look back on that class and realize I learned far more than I realized. I think I was good at seeing books like movies, but at the time I thought everyone saw books that way, not just me.

5. I’m always curious whether or not authors read the same types of books that they write.  So tell us, what book genres do you love to read? to write?

This is funny. First of all, you have to know that my family calls me the random subject generator. I flit from topic to topic because that’s how my mind works. I try to squeeze a lot of topics into my conversation at one time. It’s not something I brag about because, well, it’s embarrassing. It’s just the way I am. A little ADD. 

 Since I began writing I’m known as the random story generator because I enjoy writing in all different genres. My blog is titled, Random Writing Rants. I teach adults and teens how to get published.

  You want to take a guess as to what types of books I read? Yep, that’s right. Random ones.  They’re never the same.

  I’m in a book group where we read a different book every month. Sometimes it’s fiction and other times it’s nonfiction. We try to read a wide range. I appreciate a lot of different writers.

6. What are you reading right now?

“Let The Great World Spin,” by Colum McCann, is our August book. Whoever has book group that month gets to choose, so I didn’t choose this one.

  But I’m also reading:
“Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World,” by Kristen Lamb   (This is a marketing book for authors.)
“Trust Your Dog, One Teen’s Journey,” by Sherri Gallagher“IXEOS (The Ixeos Trilogy) by Jennings Wright.  Jennings is another Indie author who’s helped me on my journey, so to get to know my fellow writers I often read their books and help promote them.

 “The Secret Zoo,” by Bryan Chick  I also write children’s chapter books and mid-grade novels, so I like to keep current with kid’s stuff too.

 “Crushing,” by Elena Dillon because I write YA and love to read YA. 

Oh my! You have a lot of books to be reading at once! lol! :) 

7. Have any particular authors inspired you to write? If so, can you name one and what you like about their style?

I’ve had several writing teachers who have really encouraged me by how they teach and encourage writers. 

Dr. Dennis Hensley is the head of the writing department at Taylor University in Upland, IN. I took many writing classes from him and the one thing that amazed me was how he encouraged his students. He went out of his way to get them published. I looked at him and thought, “Some day I want to encourage other writers like he does.” And I am. 

Susie May Warren is another writer who writes well, but teaches amazing fiction elements. She has a website called My Book Therapy where she shares many helpful tips. I’ve been to her retreats and find her writing and teaching abilities top notch.

8. Do you have any upcoming projects?

Always. Just a few random ones. None are adult suspense like Cache a Predator, but I do have my next suspense novel outlined. Maybe I’ll write it during NaNoWriMo this year.
 

My editor just finished editing my YA novel, Love is Just a Word, about a Russian teen orphan who’s adopted by an American family before she has a chance to say good-bye to her Mama or tell her a secret that haunts her. 

Willow, is my YA supernatural suspense novel that’s being shopped around by my agent. The sequel to that is, A Vision in a Kiss. 

Éclair is a children’s chapter book series about a seven-year-old girl who moves to her eccentric grandma’s farm when her parents aren’t able to care for her. Éclair is a little like Junie B. Jones only she’s more literal. There is a growing trend in America—grandparents raising grandchildren.
 

 Kelly’s Story, is a memoir about my husband’s niece who became a quadriplegic at the hands of a drunk driver when she was nineteen. It’s a love story and will definitely bring others hope. It’s similar to Joni-Erickson Tada’s story.

Okay, so what I'm getting from you is that you like to read a lot of different books at once, but you always work on several different books at once!  I'm impressed! I'm a one at a time type person, otherwise I'd get all confused. lol!  Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with me!

Michelle is a fulltime employee of God’s kingdom, writing and encouraging writers every day. She’s often a sucker for emotional stories, her sensitive side fueling the passion for her character’s plights, often giving her the ability to show readers the “other” side of the story.

She grew up in the burbs of Detroit with five brothers. No sisters. Each time her mom brought the boy bundle home from the hospital Michelle cried, certain her mom liked boys better than girls. But when her brothers pitched in with the cooking, cleaning, and babysitting—without drama, Michelle discovered having brothers wasn’t so bad. They even taught her how to take direct criticism without flinching, which might come in handy with book reviews. Michelle is living her dream—writing every day and thanking God for the stories He puts in her path. When Michelle isn’t writing she’s winning ugly on the tennis court. She’s known as “Queen of the Rim Shots.” No joke. It’s ugly.

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