Thanks for hosting me on your blog! You asked about the history behind my novel. My first novel, Killing Time, is actually my second release. Somehow, my second novel, Queen of Hearts came out first. Actually, it occurred because my publisher had a spot for a historical in April (my contract for Killing Time was for publication in August.)
Killing Time came about due to my work in a jail. I’ve always been an avid reader and had planned for many years that one day I’d write a book. When I began work as a counselor in the jail, my thoughts returned to the book. I thought it would be interesting to use the jail setting. My overactive imagination took over and questions began to surface, like, “What if a strong Christian woman is wrongly accused and incarcerated? Will she turn against God? Will her faith grow stronger? Will she crack under the pressure?”
It wasn’t long before this character took shape in my mind. I’d already been jotting down notes pertaining to the jail setting such as the sounds, odors, sights. Our jail was a new facility, but it had a distinguishable unpleasant odor. I can still hear the sounds of heavy metal doors slamming when I think of the place. The air was always frigid and I wore a jacket with my jail issue uniform most of the time. Everything was concrete and metal. There were no signs on the office doors and nothing on the hallway walls. I was told this was because if an inmate escaped from the pods, they didn’t want him/her to know their way around the building. All the corridors looked the same and it took me a while to get it mapped out in my mind.
As you can see, it wasn’t character or plot that inspired my first novel. It was setting. It’s an interesting environment, but one I’d never want to experience from the other side of the thick glass walls that separated inmates from jailers.
Bio:
K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance. Queen of Hearts, a WWII romantic suspense released in April and was Desert Breeze Publishing’s bestselling novel for the month. Killing Time, a contemporary romantic suspense released August 1, also with Desert Breeze Publishing.
K. Dawn Byrd is an avid blogger and gives away several books per week on her blog at www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com, most of which are signed by the authors. She’s also the moderator of the popular facebook group, Christian Fiction Gathering.
When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 14 years, walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home, and plotting the next story waiting to be told.
Blog: www.kdawnbyrd.blogspot.com
Book blurb:
Mindy McLaurin, thinks it’s the end of the world when she’s incarcerated on trumped-up embezzlement charges. While in jail, she investigates the death of an inmate who allegedly died of an overdose. Mindy suspects foul play when her cellmate dies and she learns that both women had ingested the same drug. Mindy trusts no one, including Drew Stone, the handsome counselor she can’t stop thinking about. She faces many challenges, including constant interrogation by the Major and emotional abuse from the other inmates. Upon release, someone is stalking her and framing her for the murder. Can she prove to Counselor Stone that she’s innocent of all charges before she loses him forever?
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story! ~Nicole
Recent Comments