What do you mean, it's wrong?

Have you ever registered for some blog or board or such and they ask you to write in the numbers and letters in that little box?
You did, right? Well, more often than not, they, (those big 'they's' out there) keep telling me I'm wrong. It just happened this morning as I tried to join the Kindle publishing board. After all, I have 8 books available on Kindle. And I should be able to successfully register on something out there.
Sure my fingers are dyslexic sometimes but if I slow down, peer hard and carefully craft the letters and numbers, I expect the same respect back from that big machine in cyber space.
It doesn't respond in kind.
So I try again. I'm wrong again. I try listening to it, and if that actually works, I still get it wrong.
By this time, I'm usually ready to pound out "#@^$^&##^$#&(&^" or something equally rude, but I restrain myself and only scream at the computer, which often brings my daughter running.
Oh, no, she's not looking out for my welfare. She's come to laugh at me. Like that big machine in cyber space is doing.
"Hee hee, let's see how mad we can make Barbara!" I can still hear them. (user friendly is such an oxymoron)
Then I calm down, remember that God is probably telling me to get off the computer and do something else.
Sometimes I listen. Sometimes I dig my heels in. Most often I am not that successful.
But I do win.
I put the computer on defrag. It's like pushups for computer disobedience.
It's stupid, goofy, and useless, but it makes me feel better.

A Thanksgiving Tale of Terror -Barbara Phinney

Automatically, Pamela’s training from her time in the Rangers kicked in. She elbowed her assailant hard, and then as he bent over, she flipped him over. He let out a painful exhalation as he hit the ground.

She gasped. Cranton! She bent over him, and immediately he pulled her down onto him.

“Where did you learn to do that?”

Oops. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know that. She smiled weakly. “I, um, took a self-defense course.”

“Oh." He looked suspicious. "I wanted your help, not to be beaten up. Is that guy out there, still?”

She scrambled up and peered out the window. “Yes! Oh, no, he’s headed over here. I think he saw me.”

“Get back!”

She hurried back, expecting her handsome neighbor to be still prone. But he was standing, and grabbed her. Within seconds, they were in her front hall closet.

The closet door clicked shut the very same moment a harsh rapping started at the front door.

Pamela held her breath. She’d wanted to get close to this guy, but this wasn’t what she had in mind. They stood there, her nose bumping his chest, his breath fanning the top of her head, and all the time, waiting until finally, the footsteps stomping off the porch told them it was safe to leave the closet.

“Now, we need to get out of here,” Cranton said.

“I’ll say,” she whispered back. “I had no idea I had this many coats and shoes. I really need to go through my stuff.”

“Not today. Today, we need to leave town.”

“We? You gotta mouse in your pocket?”

He slowly opened the door. “That guy who wanted to turn me into Swiss cheese must have seen you watching from your window. That means you’ve become a target, too.”

“We’ll call the police.”

“Yes, we will, but right now, we need to get far away from here.” He turned and cupped her face. She nearly melted when she looked into those brown eyes.

“What’s going on here? How did you get into my house and why is someone after you?”

“I’ll explain everything. But first, is there any place that only you would know about, and can get into?”

Pamela bit her lip. The day she left the Rangers she went straight there. That whole awful first month that she’d needed to get herself together, was spent…spent there. It would be safe for Cranton. But would it be safe for her? For her sanity?

“There’s one place you can go to. But I don’t think I should go.”

“You’ll have to. Is it safe for you?”

“Physically, yes, but, Cranton-”

“We’ll deal with the other issues later. You have one minute to grab what you can. Hurry!” He pushed her gently toward the stairs and she bolted up them, only to return a moment later with her purse, her toothbrush and of all things, a box of tissues infused with Vicks Vaporub.

He looked at them, then at her. “They smell good,” she explained with a shrug. “And you never know when you’ll need a good box of tissues.”

Cranton rolled his eyes. “Let’s go.”

She gave him hasty directions as they drove out of Maple, punctuating them with questions, for which she got no answer. And yet, as crazy as the situation seemed, she knew one thing.

She trusted Cranton.

They made it up the coast, hours later and close to sunset, to her grandfather’s cottage. It overlooked an inlet near Blueberry Cove, not far from Bar Harbor.

“Whose place is this?” Cranton asked as they pulled into the deserted driveway.

“My grandfather’s. He died last year.” She looked across the car at him. “But I own it now. I just had it closed for the winter.”

He stared hard out the windshield. “So, who is that guy standing on the porch?”

Silent Protector Interview

Today we're welcoming Liz Tate, the heroine of Silent Protector LIS by Barbara Phinney August 2010.
Wow, you've just had quite an adventure.

Adventure? We were shot at, attacked, poisoned, all during a hurricane! Adventure is too mild a word for what happened to us.

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

Well, my name is Liz Tate. I live in Maine and my sister’s young boy is simply the light of my life. So when he went missing, and the police wouldn’t help me, I was beside myself. Then when he called me late one night, I was able to figure out where the police had taken him. That’s pretty much how this ‘adventure’ started.

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

When I first met Ian, I just wanted to throttle him. He’d taken my nephew and seemed to think he had the rights to do so. I was furious. And yet, he was a bit of a mystery. Here was a US Marshall and pastor all rolled into one. He was both but neither at the same time. I didn’t know what to make of him, let alone know I had started to fall for him. In fact, I don’t know if I can pinpoint the exact time I realized it. The whole notion of loving him and telling him made me feel so vulnerable, that it must have snuck up on me.

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

I like to think I’m logical and tenacious. But my biggest weakness is thinking I’m not doing a good enough job. I’ve screwed up in the past and am so scared I’m going to again.

4. What scares you?

That would be losing my nephew Charlie. To have something happen to him, and to not do anything about it, would be devastating to me.
5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d like to be able to trust myself more. I think I’ve learned that throughout this so called adventure. I would love to have more confidence.
6. Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?

My faith has always been strong, but I needed to learn that God is in control and I can do all things through Him.

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

Ian really helped me with this. He knows his Bible and he knows his own weaknesses. I was so much stronger and was able to trust that God was guiding me.

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.
Charlie really taught both of us about God. Naturally, he’s just a little boy, and he made deals with God, but he simply trusted and believed and came to Him as a child, like we should. That’s why Mark 10:15 is so important to me.

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

What an odd question! I would have to say, after being in southern Florida during the summer, I would want to be ice cream. Something creamy and yet fruity, like an orange sherbet. I’ve never been so hot in all my life!! And yet, here I am packing up to move down there to help Ian and that wonderful ministry he has started. Go figure!

Wow what an exciting story! Thank you Barbara for sharing Liz with us today.

FEATURED BOOK: SILENT PROTECTOR BY BARBARA PHINNEY

His life as a U.S. marshal was something Pastor Ian McNeal had left behind…until he's asked to care for little Charlie Troop. The boy witnessed a terrible crime and hasn't spoken since—except to his Auntie Liz, the one adult he trusts. Ian just wants to find the truth, something only Charlie can reveal. But Charlie isn't talking, and Liz is determined to protect Charlie against anyone who'd hurt, frighten or pressure him—including Ian. Yet with a killer dead set on making sure Charlie never speaks again, a protector like Ian is just what Liz and Charlie need.

Fatal Secrets Interview

Today we're welcoming Kristin Perry, the heroine of Fatal Secrets, Barbara Phinney, May 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.

Well, I don’t know if one could call it an adventure. After all, I had just lost both my parents and was still reeling from that when I found out I was adopted. So that was really what started my search for my birth mother.

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

Time wise, I guess it wasn’t long. In days, that is, but in what happened during that time, I feel it took ages. I mean, I’d hired Zane to help me find my mother, and he was rather reluctant to help me, and that just made me try harder to convince him, and find my mother myself. But as we began to work together, we began to really care about each other. With all that was going on, with all the attempts on my life, we didn’t have much time to think on how we were beginning to care for each other.

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

Hey, I’m just a university student. I’m still figuring out my skills. But I can learn quickly. I think my strength is my determination to prove myself. It’s also my weakness. I refuse to let go of something important to me.

3. What scares you?

Being alone. I mean, I was always with my parents. They were always there for me, and suddenly, they’re gone. Going on alone really scares me.

4. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Being so naïve. I want to be able to figure people out faster. I guess that will come in time.
5. Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?

It’s always been strong. I was really blessed with a great family, who loved God. But when I met Zane, and he threw questions about God at me, I was shocked. I didn’t know how to answer them. But I know that all I can do is explain about myself, and my actions should speak louder than my words.

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

I was stronger, in faith, in self confidence, everything. And I had a fiancé who had accepted my Lord as his Lord. But we’re both still learning.

7. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.

It’s “With God, we will gain the victory, and we will trample down our enemies.” It just gives me strength. It’s saying that with God all things are possible. I don’t feel so scared now.

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

Oh, you’ve got my weakness! I love to eat, and I eat when I’m stressed. I’m not one of those who can’t eat when they are nervous. Give me a decent dessert when times are tough! As for one in particular, I love cinnamon buns, and I love pies. My newly found mother bakes up a storm, too, so I can’t see my turning my nose up to food anytime soon!

Thank you Barbara for sharing Kristin with us today. Can't wait to read this book!

Shh, killing going on.

I have to admit to being a bit confused by the term "killing her softly". And I do admit to wanting to wait to read what others thought it meant. But I’m the impatient sort.
Oh, but Killing Her Softly is a good theme for suspense writers for the month of February. I keep thinking of that old song, Killing Me Softly. You know, it goes on to say, ‘with his words’
Well, I have to say that our blog subject makes more sense when I think of those extra words. Thinking of my hero, I can see how some women, especially a few of my heroines are killed by words.
In my upcoming book, Fatal Secrets, book #5 in 2010’s Love Inspired Suspense series, I can honestly say that my hero inadvertently kills the heroine. With his words, of course.
Ahh, but fortunately, we are fiction writers who believe in happily ever after endings.
And my hero saves the day when he realizes the affect his words have had on my poor innocent heroine.
But that’s pretty much the only soft killing done in my books. I have to confess that I’m a bit of an adventurous killer, always looking for a blockbuster movie style attack, rather than that suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock style of murder.
Though old Alfie did have a certain cool flare, didn’t he? I would love to write something so quietly desperate, so dangerously cunning, that all the villain would have to do is appear and my readers would be biting their fingernails.
Hmm, this is getting a few ideas to rattle around this ol’ head. Of course, there’s no guarantee that I won’t throw someone off a cliff, like in Deadly Homecoming, or have the villain appear at the door one day when there’s no one but the heroine around, as in Keeping Her Safe.
But maybe there will be a bit of quiet, soft killing before that big, murderous cliff scene.
I hope you have a nice, quiet Valentine’s Day, with lots of sweet chocolate, and a nice, trusting hero hovering behind you. Tee-hee.