ON THIN ICE INTERVIEW

Today we're welcoming Anna Barker, the heroine of ON Thin Ice, April, 2010.

Wow, you've just had quite an adventure.


1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.

I wasn't prepared for the adventure I did have - being right there when the bomb went off. I was hoping for a little peace when I came home to Maine from California - a place I did NOT fit into. I also came home not interested in any kind of romance either. I was so hurt by a man out in California and what I really needed, or thought I needed, was a bit of peace in Maine. Just me in the little rented cottage trying to put the pieces of my life back together again, and then teaching by day.

I guess I forgot to tell you. I'm an esthetician, which means I am a makeup artist, and teach esthetics at the local community college. I went out to California to seek my fame and fortune in movie make-up, but all I got was hurt.

Back home in Maine when the opportunity came up to volunteer on the Whisper Lake mock disaster team(It would be my job to make the 'victims' look as real as possible), I jumped at it.It was my job to make the victims' 'wounds' look as real as possible.

2. So, during the book you met Deputy Stu McCabe Tell us a bit about him. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?

My first impression? Extreme gratitude. When the mock disaster turned into a real one and I was pinned under a foot of rubble, his was the first face I saw. Love? I almost think I knew that right from the beginning. Although I wouldn't admit it to myself. He came to see me every day in the hospital, always asking questions about what I saw or heard. It got so that I looked forward to him coming. But I still had a journey before I would even admit that to myself.

3. What strengths/skills do you have? What is your greatest weakness?

I love makeup and hair and all the rest of those 'girlie' things. But maybe that's not your question exactly. I guess my greatest skill is also my weakness. I tend to trust people too much. I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. That's okay when people deserve the benefit of the doubt, but it's not okay when they don't. My biggest weakness is being able to tell the difference.

4. What scares you?

Losing the ability to work. I had the biggest scare during On Thin Ice. My right hand was badly broken and I'm right handed. It made me realize just how much I rely on my hands to work - to do anything, actually. It was quite a lesson.


5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would be less fearful.

6. Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?

I think I was pretty angry at God. I had basically quit my job in Maine in order to go after my Hollywood dream. I thought this was what God wanted me to do. But that whole thing ended up in disaster, and then when I came home and couldn't work because my hand was injured I didn't know what to think. Other than I was angry at my life in general, and so mad at God.

7. Where are you in your faith at the end of the story?

By the end of the story I realized that God loves me and that He has loved me all along. I have learned so much during the course of this book.

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
The verse is very significant to me. Isaiah 40:1 reads - 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary. they shall walk and not faint.'
When my hand was injured this verse began to mean a lot to me, because all I felt like I was doing was waiting. The first time I tried to eat soup with my left hand I spilled it all down the front of me. That made me burst into tears, because I suddenly realized that there were so many things I couldn't do, and wouldn't be able to do for a long time. That, plus what I went through before I moved back to Maine really made me feel like all I was doing was waiting. By the end of the book, I realized that God loved me. I learned many lessons while I 'waited.'

9. If you could be a dessert what would you be and why?

I think ice cream - because I like it.


Wow, this sounds great! Thank you Linda for sharing Anna with us.