Vannetta Chapman reveals hidden talent for romantic suspense with new release of "HIDDEN"

Today we're welcoming a favorite author of mine, Vannetta Chapman. Most readers who have heard her name know her for her excellent fiction revolving around the Amish and their communities. Always, her stories are faith filled - that is something that you can count on with Vannetta. Well, let's chat with her a bit, shall we?

Romantic suspense is a new genre for you. Why the change?

Actually suspense is probably my first-love as far as my own personal reading pile. It’s also the first thing I submitted to my agent, but romantic suspense wasn’t selling well at the time. Fortunately the publishers we submitted to liked my writing and asked me to write something else—AMISH. I’ve really enjoyed the genre, both the romances and the mysteries.

What would you like to tell us about HIDDEN? 

It’s set in Taos, NM, which I visited on my honeymoon 15 years ago. It is a suspense, but it also has a bit of humor and a lot of romance. I know that sounds like a lot of areas for one book to cover, but it came together very naturally.

Favorite memory of the Taos area? 

Hiking up a stream bed to fly fish with my husband and being caught in a summer hail storm. We sat on a log, under our parks, and waited it out – but that was a BIG CHANGE for this Texas girl.

This is an inspirational romantic suspense. What is your spiritual message in the story? 

You’ll read in the prologue about my character’s childhood, which was far from picture perfect. Dana keeps the scars of her past hidden, buried deep down. I think a lot of people are like this, walking around wounded. Though my childhood was absolutely all I could ask for, I’ve personally dealt with difficult situations with my extended family—there have even been a few family members who have been incarcerated (as Dana’s father is). God ultimately used those situations for good, but while we were going through them the future looked quite gloomy. I wanted to write a story that would show God’s grace and hope even in the midst of such troubles.

Talk a little about the romance in the story. 

Dana Jacobs is tough and smart and has risen to the top of her field as a local director of Homeland Security. Ben Marshall is a simple guy--just doing his job, a tad over eager, but dealing with his own past in the military. The difference is that Ben has his faith to strengthen him. He firmly believes that God guides his steps and that he has been placed on Dana’s team for a reason. He’s honest and true and faithful, everything a hero should be. The relationship thing is something he is clueless about, and dating his boss? That would be foolish. But God’s plans are not always the same as our plans, and I think readers will enjoy where this relationships goes.

You published this book independently. Tell us a little about that. 

Indie publishing is somewhat in its infancy. It’s easy enough to publish a book, but how do you help readers find it? Although I have had offers from traditional publishers to publish HIDDEN, I wanted to write a book where I could set the price at a low, affordable price. The ebook will remain at $3.99, which I think is a good price for an ebook. The paper book is a little more, since I had no control over production costs ($9.71 through Amazon and $12 for an autographed copy from my webpage). I like having control over things like that, and I’m looking forward to publishing the second book in this series in early 2015.

So what is next? 

Book 2 in the Jacob Family Series, which will tell the story of Dana’s sister. You’re going to love this one. My assistant says it is her all time favorite of all the books I’ve written. In addition I have 7 more Amish books coming out in the next two years. In December, I’ll release Murder Tightly Knit, and next year we’ll release Murder Freshly Baked (both Amish Village Mystery). I’ve also turned in book 1 of a new Plain & Simple Miracles series. It’s titled Anna’s Healing, and my prayer is that it will touch reader’s hearts and affirm their faith that God is still in the business of making miracles.

Parting words? 

Please give HIDDEN a try! You can read the first few chapters for free at Amazon and also at https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/37273i7-hidden. And thank you for having me on your blog!

GIVEAWAY: Vannetta has graciously agreed to bless one of Chat With Vera's readers with their own copy of  HIDDEN. Just use the Rafflecopter form below to try win your very own copy. Begins October 12 & ENDS November 17 @ 12:01 a.m. EDT. Open to USA addresses only.

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Watch for Chat With Vera's review of HIDDEN coming soon!