1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.
My name’s Kim and I work as a youth care worker at Hope Manor a faith-based detention facility for young offenders founded by my father. Recently there have been several drug-related crimes in Miller’s Bay that are being linked to our facility and giving us a bad reputation in the community. So bad that the province may rescind our funding. I’m determined not to let that happen. My father put his heart and soul into helping these kids. Seeing this facility go under would kill him faster than the cancer that’s sapping his strength.
2. I understand you have a new staff member, Ethan Reed. Tell us a bit about him/her. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?
Since the first time I saw him I was lying in a ditch and he was standing over me like an angel come to my rescue, I’d have to say the first impression was…really good. He was very concerned for my welfare, and unlike my brother, took an immediate interest in my desire to save Hope Manor. There wasn’t much not to like. Then I found out why he was really here! How could I love someone who would ruin everything my father had worked for?
3. What strengths/skills do you have? What is your greatest weakness?
I’m very good at self-defense, and at subduing out-of-control youth. And I have a lot of compassion for them. I care about seeing them turn their lives around. These kids need to know that even if they repeatedly mess up, God will forgive them. I guess others would say believing in them is my greatest weakness.
4. What scares you?
What the detention center’s closure might do to my dad. I can’t fail him.
5. I guess he’s the most important person to you?
He’s my hero. I admire him a lot. As busy as he was running this place, he always made time for me; asked me about my day; read me stories. My favorite was Charlotte’s Web. It’s kind of a picture of what Dad did for these kids. And like Charlotte had done for Wilbur, Dad would try to help these kids to his dying breath.
6. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would never have given my heart to Nate in college. His betrayal—marrying my college roommate when we were supposed to be courting—really messed me up.
7. You’ve got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
Yes, it’s “The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” From Isaiah 65:17b NIV A lot of the kids that come through our facility think that God could never forgive them for the bad things they’ve done. Or they turn their lives around for awhile, then mess up again, and think that’s it, there’s no way God would forgive them again. This scripture reminds us that when we are truly sorry and turn away from those things, God blots them out, never to be remembered again.
While several scenes from my original draft of Shades of Truth were extensively modified and others were added, only scenes in my villain’s point of view were deleted. The scene below was in Chapter Six. As explained in “Editor’s Cuts”, these scenes were deleted, because they gave away too much of the suspense plot, so if you haven’t already read the book, be warned that this could be a spoiler.
Derk kicked the door shut behind him and switched his cell phone to his other ear as he shrugged out of his jacket. “You’ll have to finish him off,” he growled, loosening his tie.
“Don’t worry. The kid isn’t going anywhere except the morgue.”
“Are the cops buying that he attempted suicide?”
“Too early to tell.”
Derk sank onto the sofa and picked up the paperwork on the new Hope Manor employee. “I don’t like it. The chief’s bound to get suspicious. I’m still not convinced Reed’s not a plant.”
“Ethan Reed’s story checked out. He never returned to active duty after he was shot. He took an extended leave and then resigned.”
“Once a cop, always a cop. And cops are notoriously curious. If Reed hears about the string of suspicious deaths, he’s going to start asking questions.” A smile toyed with Derk’s lips. Part of him anticipated the challenge—one at last worthy of his attention.
Every man had his Achilles’ heel, and Derk intended to find Reed’s. Just in case.
The scene below (from chapter two of my original draft), from the villain’s point of view, was cut from the final version at the Editor’s request. Reason: it gives away too much of the suspense plot. (so…if you haven’t read the novel, the scene below could be a spoiler. Scroll down to next paragraph in bold for additional commentary.)
Derk scraped open the patio door, and hot, humid air hit him like a brick wall. No, like a block wall. A prison block wall. The kind he’d been slammed against more times than he cared to remember. And the dank prison air had smelled just as foul.
Taking a long drag on his cigarette, Derk paced the backyard, his backyard. The crunch of brown grass under his feet mocked him. Guys like him never got the wife and kids to go with the house and yard. Business was good. Real good. But decent women took a dim view of guys with a murder conviction hanging over their head.
He peered through the shrubs at the woman hanging laundry next door, and a childhood memory of his mom tucking him into bed sifted through his thoughts. The sheets had smelled sunshine fresh, and closing his eyes, he’d inhaled deeply to block out the lingering odor of stale cigarettes from her latest boyfriend.
“I thought you’d like that,” she’d said, ruffling his hair, and his chest had swelled to think that she’d hung out the sheets just to please him.
He ground his cigarette into the dirt. Those moments had been few and far between.
His cell phone rang. He stepped inside the house before answering.
“You seen the paper?” his partner barked.
“I saw it.” Derk folded a stick of Nicorette into his mouth and crushed the wrapper in his fist. This wasn’t how his plan was supposed to go down. If those bureaucrats wanted Hope Manor closed, he’d give them a reason to close it. On his terms.
His old buddy deserved everything that was coming to him. Twenty years he’d stolen. For twenty years, Derk had rotted in jail while his so-called buddy got married and had kids, and pretended to be something he wasn’t—innocent.
Not once did he call or write or visit. Not once did he try to make amends. Not once.
A spider dropped from the ceiling and scurried along the glass. Derk caught the web and set the little guy outside—free. His old buddy wouldn’t escape so easily.
“This could mean trouble. Our man might talk,” his partner pressed.
Derk braced a hand against the frame of the sliding glass door and looked out over the yard. “Already taken care of.”
“Taken care of how?”
“Don’t worry about it. Anything else I need to know?”
“Yeah. The manor hired a new guy. Not from around here.”
“So?”
“He used to be a cop.”
A fly buzzed around Derk’s head. “The chief’s finally wised up, huh?”
“Could be.”
Derk caught the fly in his fist, glanced at the open window, crushed the fly anyway. “Email me everything you’ve got on the guy.”
“Done.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.” Derk checked his watch. Two minutes until shift change. He dialed the number. If their inside man thought he had an out, he was about to get a lesson in negotiation tactics.
The guy’s cell rang five times, and then went to voice mail.
Derk hit redial.
On the third ring, his pawn answered. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want. Don’t think that these latest turn of events will release you from your obligation.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, if I were you, I’d start making travel plans, because your hold over me is dying faster than the grass.”
Derk threw back his head and laughed. “Don’t be so sure. This morning’s little accident was no accident.”
Silence.
He smiled. “Yes, I think you’re getting the picture. She’s a pretty young woman. Very pretty. Be a shame if something happened to her.”
“You leave Kim out of this,” the upstart growled as though he actually expected to be obeyed.
“What happens to the girl depends entirely on you. But know this. If you go to the police, next time the car won’t miss.”
Editor’s Commentary on original draft: Elaborate more on Kim’s emotional conflicts. Kim needs a convincing motivation that prevents her from falling in love and makes her doubt love.
The introduction of Kim’s romantic conflict following revisions:
Ginny glanced from the road to Kim. “You like him.”
Kim tried not to squirm. “Sure, he’s nice,” she said, and not wanting to admit to anything more, quickly added, “I wonder why he quit police work.”
“He told you.”
“Not really. He could’ve gotten a job on a small town police force if he just wanted out of the big city. I think something bad must’ve happened to him.”
“Of course you do,” Ginny said in her indulgent, eye-roll voice.
“I’m serious. Maybe he got shot. Or maybe he shot someone and couldn’t cope with the emotional fallout.”
“Or…” Ginny said, stretching out the word for effect. “Maybe he wants a quieter life away from the big city and nosy females.”
Kim poked out her tongue. “Your marrying a cop has taken all the fun out of our guy talks. You do know that?”
“You’re interested in this guy?” Ginny’s gaze flicked from the road to Kim. “I thought you were dating Aaron. Which is a miracle in itself considering that since Nate, you haven’t dated anyone for longer than two weeks.”
Heat blazed through Kim’s chest and flamed into her face, the flare instant and embarrassing. She dropped her foot to the floor with a thunk, cranked up the air conditioning. “Nate who? I never dated anyone named Nate. Oh…” She covered a mocking gasp. “You mean that guy who courted me for eight months and then married my college roommate?”
Ginny’s voice softened. “Kim, don’t. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
“Who’s pretending? I dated Zach for four weeks. That’s a lot longer than two. And Aaron is just a friend.”
His touch sure didn’t zing up her arms the way Ethan’s had.
“And if this Ethan asks you out, you’ll keep him around for what, six weeks? And then what, Kim?” Ginny’s eyes hardened with determination. “You can’t keep punishing yourself, and other men, because of Nate.”
Editor’s Commentary on original draft regarding the suspense: Draw out the mystery/suspense element via the addition of more threatening situations.
I obviously can’t share all the scenes I added or modified, but if you’ve read the novel, you can decide for yourself if I succeeded in addressing this request. Did you want to keep reading to figure out who the bad guy was? Were you surprised?
For the most part, only minor clarification and phrasing revisions were made. Below are some examples of the kind of changes requested:
From Chapter 2:
Kate dug her nails into the Formica. “How can she drink a tea without knowing what’s—?” Kate clamped her mouth shut. Good grief, what was she doing ranting at the poor counter girl?
Since Kate’s thoughts and emotion were adequately shown through her action and dialogue, the editor cut these thoughts from before Kate’s outburst:No, no, no. She should know what’s in her tea. She should know.
FromChapter 4
He sprinted toward the sound of the scream—certain it had been Kate’s. He prayed that she’d merely been frightened by a wild animal.
Tree branches slapped his face. With no idea of the true situation, he didn’t dare call out and risk alerting an attacker of his approach. He hurtled a log, laser focused on the direction of the scream. Why hadn’t she just trusted him to look into this?
Explanation: sentence deleted for improved pacing
From Chapter 24:
What if I’m wrong? What if Daisy did kill herself.”
“You don’t believe that.” Keith sunk into the chair next to the bed, his chest deflating like a pricked balloon.
“I don’t want to believe it.” Kate fisted the bed sheets in her hands. “Daisy was the one who showed me who God is. If she took her own life, where does that leave God?”
“Is your faith in who God is, or who you thought Daisy was?”
Sunlight edged its way past the curtains. Kate longed to feel its warmth. She didn’t doubt God. Did she?
Julie had accused her of pushing for this investigation because she couldn’t accept the police department’s findings. Wouldn’t accept them.
Because if she had, that meant Daisy had taken her life into her own hands … on purpose. “I don’t know anymore.”
Keith patted her arm. “We all face doubts from time to time, but that’s when more than ever we need to go to the source.”
Editor cut the following from the above for succinctness to improve impact and pacing:
[Keith’s father continues] “What does the Bible say?”
“Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
“Yup, and just before that verse, the apostle Paul tells us to imitate the faith of our leaders. Daisy led you to faith. Following her example is a good thing, but she can’t be a substitute for the true source of your faith.”
Interview with secondary characters, Dr. Whittaker, intern Dr. McCrae, and nurse Alice Bradshaw.To help you better follow the interview, allow me to first share a brief description of the other main characters.
Zach Davis (aka Zach Reynolds) ~ Undercover cop working as an IT specialist at Miller’s Bay Memorial Hospital to figure out if a murderer is behind recent suspicious patient deaths.
Tara Peterson ~ Head nurse of the cancer ward at Miller’s Bay Memorial. She brought the deaths to the police’s attention after a patient and the patient’s husband died. The husband’s dying request was that Tara stop the killer
Sandra: Alice, I understand that you were pretty upset that Tara Peterson was recently appointed head nurse instead of you.
Alice: Of course, I was upset. I have ten years seniority to her. That should count more than the couple of extra years of schooling she’s had. Experience is the real teacher in our profession.
Sandra: Some would have us believe that you were upset enough to sabotage her work, to make her look incompetent.
Alice: That’s ridiculous. She’s quite capable of digging her own grave without any help from me.
Sandra: Dr. McCrae,I understand you’re pretty passionate about helping cancer patients find cures. Can you tell us a little bit about what drives you?
Dr. McCrae: All doctors are passionate about helping their patients become well, but I have a particular heart for cancer patients, because I lost my brother to cancer.
Sandra: That’s admirable, but as an intern, you must have a heavy debt load from your years of education. Heavy enough perhaps to be tempted to pilfer a few pills here and there to sell on the street.
Dr. McCrae: Absolutely not. I’m the one who requested more security cameras to combat precisely that concern.
Sandra: Does that mean you believe a thief killed the husband of that patient, because the husband caught him stealing the patient’s pills?
Dr. McCrae: As I explained to the police when they questioned me, it is my medical opinion that the patient died due to complications from a seizure, and the husband died of a heart attack. Since Miss Peterson claims someone else had been in the room and rushed out upon her arrival, it seems reasonable to assume that perhaps this person had a confrontation with the patient’s husband before his heart attack.
Sandra: You report to Dr. Whittaker is that correct?
Dr. McCrae: Yes.
Sandra: Has he ever asked you to falsify reports so that patients, who normally wouldn’t qualify, might be allowed to participate in experimental treatment protocols?
Dr. McCrae: Absolutely not. I would never do such a thing and he knows it. Personally, I have serious questions about the efficacy of his current pet project, but clearly, his rapport with the pharmaceutical companies brings much needed funding to the hospital, as evident by the newly built cancer wing.
Sandra: Ah yes, the wing they named after him.Are you suggesting he’s testing drugs that he knows are of no value purely for the profit it brings him?
Dr. McCrae: He’s not interested in the profit for himself. He thrives on prestige. You’ll have to decide for yourself if that hinders his judgment with respect to his patients’ treatments.
Sandra: Some of his patients have started to request to see you rather than him. Can you tell us why?
Dr. McCrae: I care about getting them well, not about satisfying a treatment protocol.
Sandra: But I thought patients called Dr. Whittaker Dr. Wonderful because of his wonderful bedside manner.
Dr. McCrae: (laughs) I believe that’s what the single nurses call him, which probably has more to do with his good looks.
Sandra: Dr. Whittaker is it true that you’ve solicited donations from patients toward the construction of the new cancer wing?
Dr. Whittaker: Absolutely, and I’m proud of the level of donations brought in by such personal requests.
Sandra: I understand one couple donated their entire estate, then died soon after.
Dr. Whittaker: Yes, very sad case that. But at least their money will go on to help others.
Sandra: Tell us a little more about the experimental drug you’re providing patients.
Dr. Whittaker: Only terminal patients are permitted into this program, and yet we have seen some stunning reversals in tumor growth in several participants.
Sandra: Isn’t it true that those shrinkages of tumors occurred after the patients withdrew from your program?
Dr. Whittaker: Yes, several withdrew due to the side effects. But clearly the drug has a remarkable latent effect. There is no other explanation. Unless of course you believe in miracles.
Sandra: And what about those who suddenly died? How would you explain those deaths?
Dr. Whittaker: As I said, all of the participants are terminal. We cannot predict whether they will react favorably or unfavorably without further testing.
Sandra: Are you concerned that Tara’s allegations about murders on the cancer ward will have negative repercussions on the hospital’s reputation?
Dr. Whittaker: Of course I am. They couldn’t help but sour people’s opinion of our work here.
Sandra: Are you concerned enough to put a stop to the allegations?
Dr. Whittaker: Yes. I’ve warned Tara several times to keep her opinions to herself.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.
I am a nurse at Miller’s Bay Memorial Hospital, and while answering a call bell, I found the patient seizing and her husband collapsed on the floor. Someone pushed me from behind and ran out of the room. I summoned help, and as medical personnel struggled to save my patient, I struggled to save her husband. We all failed, but the man’s last words haunted me. “You have to stop the killer.” I went to the police and they sent Zach Davis to work undercover in the hospital.
Tell us a bit about him. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?
The first time I met him, he didn’t look so good, like he might faint. Some people get that way when visiting the hospital. My heart went out to him, but then after I gave him a glass of juice to help bring back his color, he really looked at me. Looked at me as if he knew me. As if… he could see right to my soul. And he was wonderful with my three-year-old, Suzie. She took to him instantly. She calls him Dak. A tiny part of me probably loved him from the moment he took an interest in Suzie, something her father had never done.
But the day Zach folded me in his arms after we’d chased a prowler from the house, I knew. I wasn’t used to having someone in the middle of a crisis focus on my wellbeing. And I was tired of fighting. Fighting to stay out of a murderer’s sights. Fighting to protect my daughter, and my job. Fighting my attraction to Zach.
What strengths/skills do you have? What is your greatest weakness?
In the words of my sister, I’m smart, creative and have more energy than anyone she knows. I can whip up a delicious five-course meal without breaking a sweat. But I can’t balance a checkbook to save my life.
What scares you?
My daughter getting sick or hurt. Maybe because I’m a nurse, I always fear the worse. If she gets a fever, I fear it’s meningitis. If she gets a cough, I fear she has strep. If a guy starts wanting to hang out with us, I fear Suzie’s going to get too attached and have her heart broken when he walks away.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I’d try to see myself the way God sees me, the way Zach sees me, as loved and cherished and worthy.
Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?
I have doubts about God. I take my daughter to Sunday School, and I want to believe there is something better after we die, but being a nurse I see a lot of prayers go unanswered. I didn’t blame God. Most of the time, I blamed myself for the bad things in my life.
Where are you in your faith at the end of the story?
Zach helps me see that just because God doesn’t give me, or my patients, the answers we want, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care or isn’t listening. His answer may simply be no, or not now. I also learned to stop blaming myself for things that weren’t my fault.
You’ve got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
Proverbs 4:18 “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” This verse is special to me, because it reminds me that I’m a work in progress, and that’s okay. I’m not perfect, nowhere near. But I’m on the path God wants me to be on, and with each step I take, the love and hope he pours into my life shines ever brighter.
If you could be a dessert what would you be and why?
Cake—the special chocolate cake that Gran used to invite me to make with her as a child. She fostered my love of cooking and the smell of that cake always reminds me of her. She was the sweetest person I’ve ever known, accepted me just as I am.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.
I’m a police officer with the Niagara Regional Police and recently worked undercover as the owner of a computer shop. So when an old friend, Rick Gray, who now works out of Miller’s Bay, asked if I could go undercover in the hospital’s cancer ward as an IT consultant to investigate suspected murders, I didn’t have a good excuse to say no. At least, not one that I wanted to admit to. You see, I became a police officer after my wife died, and I’d never told anyone on the force that I was a widower, let alone that my wife had died of cancer.
So, during the book you met Tara Peterson. Tell us a bit about her. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?
Tara is a nurse who cares deeply for her patients and seeing justice served. She is a single mom to an adorable three-year-old. When I first met her, I was taken aback at how much she looked like my wife. She didn’t really. I think it was just that being in the hospital brought memories flooding back, and her eyes are beautiful large brown doe eyes like my wife had. I felt very protective of Tara from the beginning, probably because I so admired her fierce protectiveness of her daughter. You’ll have to read my story to find out when I knew it was love. J Little Suzie had me from the instant she threw herself into my arms.
What strengths/skills do you have? What is your greatest weakness?
I read people pretty well. I think losing my wife has made me more empathetic to those who are suffering. I’m also pretty good with children. My greatest weakness? I guess maybe that I’m too private, which makes it difficult for people to understand how I’m feeling.
What are you most afraid of?
Failing to protect those in my charge.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
That’s a tough one. I’m a work in progress, and I just want to be where and who God wants me to be. Sometimes, in the moment, I don’t like where that ends up taking me. But you can’t give up one without losing the moments you’d never trade that arose from those trials.
Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?
My faith is strong, but I can’t imagine that God would ever bless me with another love as wonderful as what I’d had with my first wife.
Where are you in your faith at the end of the story?
I realized that God wanted to give me so much more than I was willing to let him.
You’ve got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
Proverbs 4: 18 “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day.” My wife loved the Lord and even in all her suffering she never blamed him. She grew very concerned that I would blame him after she was gone. She made me promise that I wouldn’t. I found that as I trusted him more, the path shone brighter.
If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?
To the time before my wife grew sick. I would cherish each moment far more than I did at the time, believing we had years of such moments to come.
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