Murder at Granite Falls Interview

Today we're welcoming Carrie Randall, the heroine of Murder at Granite Falls, in the Big Sky Secrets series, an April 2011 Love Inspired Suspense release by Roxanne Rustand.

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.

When I fell in love with a bad boy charmer who followed the rodeo circuit, I had no idea how that mistake would haunt my life later on. Billy was a handsome, daredevil bull rider, but he was also turned out to be possessive and lazy, with a mean streak a mile wide. Leaving him was a dangerous move, but my brother Trace (who had his own book, FATAL BURN) took me to his ranch. I was safe there--safe enough to finally develop the courage to move out on my own again. I moved to another town where I thought Billy couldn't ever find me and I would feel safe. Was I ever wrong...and worse, Billy wasn't the only threat to worry about, once I got there!

2. So, during the book you met Logan Bradley. Yep--I got a job teaching summer school in a small mountain town, with the promise that I would become full time in the fall. The tourist trade in those parts ratchets up the cost of living during the summer, and the only place I could find was an apartment above a river rafting office, quite a ways out of town. Logan and his sister own this business and business was good...until he was framed for a murder last summer and had to go to trial. Needless to say, there were a lot of townsfolk who still thought him guilty no matter what the jury decided--and then there was plenty of gossip being fueled by someone who wanted Logan out of the picture. At first, I was wary of him. But after getting to know Logan, I couldn't believe the gossips were right--even when another murder took place soon after I moved there.

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

I think I'm a good teacher. I sure love my job, and the kids in my classes! I can't believe our society doesn't value dedicated teachers more. We are educating the future generation, and where will they be without a quality education? Weaknesses--it's hard to know where to begin, because there are so many ways in which I should be a better person.

4. What scares you?

After dealing with my ex-husband Billy, I find my heartbeat faltering when anything goes "bump in the night." Unfortunately, he taught me that evil can lurk in dark places, and that some people take real pleasure in hurting others. But I take great comfort from my faith, and one of the verses I call to mind is, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Psalms 23:4

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would be taller. And, I would be more patient and more trusting.

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

After Billy, my faith was shaken. There were times when I prayed for help and I didn’t seem to immediately receive the answers I wanted. But in time, I realized that my prayers were answered. Not in miracles heralded with thunder and flashes of lightning, but in the people God brought into my life just when I needed them most. And, in the events that helped me become stronger and helped me escape my former life.

9. If you could be a dessert what would you be and why? I guess I've been rather like crème brulee in the past--soft-hearted on the inside, but with a brittle, protective shell of wariness and fear. And now? There's so much joy in my life; everything seems brighter, with more possibilities. Hmmm....maybe a nice rainbow sherbet?