CRITICAL IMPACT INTERVIEW

Today we're welcoming Deputy Sheriff Stu McCabe , the hero of CRITICAL IMPACT by Linda Hall and out in October.

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've been a deputy sheriff here a few years, and mostly, I tell you, Whisper Lake is quite a quiet place to work. We're quite rural and located on the beautiful shores of Whisper Lake in Maine. And so when the order came down that the three communities around Whisper Lake were going to take part in a mock disaster. These happen all the time and personally, I've been involved in three. Maybe you've had one in your community - it's when the community stage a 'mock disaster' and the police, the hospital, Search and Rescue, EMTs - we're all involved. It's excellent practice to see how well our services are coordinated. This one was to be a 'bomb' in City Hall. Well, no one could have predicted that this 'fake' bomb would turn into a 'real' bomb, and that people would be killed! I was right there - right on the scene, eating a hot dog of all things, when the building blew.

2. So, during the book you met Anna Barker Tell us a bit about her. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?

I'd met her at one of the planning sessions. No, let me back up a bit. I didn't meet her then. Seen her? Yes! But there were so many of us who came to those planning meetings that we didn't formally meet. Okay, let me back up even a bit further. When I saw her at the meeting drinking a cup of coffee, let's face it, she looked way out of my league. Boy, that was for sure!

Her job on the committee was to do the make up on the actors who were playing the 'victims'. It was her job to make up facials wounds and compound fractures look real. Little did anyone realize that Anna would end up with 'real' facial wounds and a compound fracture of her wrist.

And that's when I met her - when that building blew, with her trapped underneath it. I was first on the scene. I'd looked up just in time to see her stand right next to the building, when it blew up. I don't know what happened to my hot dog, I must have dropped it, because my sole focus was on getting her out!

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

Strengths? Physically I would say I'm pretty strong. I'm kind of into extreme sports, mountain biking on steep trails, rappelling, climbing - just about anything like that. But, I know, that's not the question you are asking, is it? As for personal strengths, I like to think I'm loyal. Once I make up my mind to do something, I'll do it. As for weaknesses, maybe I'm a bit too impulsive. Sometimes I do things first and think later.

4. What scares you?

Not a lot. :) Oh, you didn't mean physically, right? Not a lot scares me on a physical level, which is a good thing because I'm a cop, but I guess what scares me on the inside is way worse. I'm afraid of being hurt again, the fear of being close. My wife died in a bomb accident in Iraq. She was in the military. And so to be where that bomb blew, I don't know, something happened to me - I knew I had to get that girl out.

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
That I could trust more. That I wouldn't hold back, I know it's because of what happened to my wife. And so I hold people away - all people, even the people I work for.

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

Pretty shaky, I would say. I didn't understand how God could love me on the one hand, and then have my wife die on the other.

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

Much better. I'm much closer to God at the end. And I have Anna to thank for that. We grew pretty close during the course of the book - but it wasn't always a steady growth of a relationship. She had a bunch of issues to work through too. Turns out she'd been pretty hurt in her life, too. We had a lot to work through, but by the end of the story, both of us realized that God loves us. I guess that's the main thing we learned - that God loves us.

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
Isaiah 40:31 - But 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; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This verse means a lot to both Anna and me. Both of us have had to learn to 'wait'.

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

Pancakes with real maple syrup. As for why? I don't know. I just like them.


Thank you Linda for sharing Sheriff McCabe with us today. Can't wait to read this exciting story!