Sunday, April 5, 2015

Interview with Dianna Benson

Recently, I interviewed Dianna T. Benson. 




Dianna T. Benson is the award-winning and international bestselling author of The Hidden Son and Final Trimester. Persephone’s Fugitive is her third release. An EMT and a HazMat and FEMA Operative since 2005, Dianna authentically implements her medical and rescue experience and knowledge into all her suspense novels. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three children. www.diannatbenson.com

What made you want to become a writer?

I was in fifth grade the day President Reagan was shot. From that real event that day, I developed all sorts of fictional scenes and dialogue, something I did on a continual basis daily. When I asked friends and teachers what scenes and stories they created because of the attempted assassination, none of them had a clue what I was talking about. At that moment, I realized I was the only person I knew who did this sort of thing every day.

As time passed I recognized my zeal to write suspense novels, and like my respiratory system inhales and exhales, each day throughout the day my mind instinctively creates scenes and dialogue, always suspenseful in nature. Being an EMT, being a mom, and being blessed with this writer brain, the stories never stop flowing. Developing a good story, however, is where the real writing occurs. Fortunately, I love the arduous revision process, as it is where I take my shell of a story and make it worth reading (hopefully).

Tell me about your latest release.

Persephone’s Fugitive, Book Two in the Cayman Islands Trilogy 

When a routine 911 call turns deadly, Paramedic Sara Dyer finds herself held at gunpoint by Jason Keegan, an injured psych-ward patient charged with murder. The situation spirals out of Sara’s control when the confrontation becomes a tense standoff between Keegan and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

As Keegan’s hostage, Sara fights to save them both before he blows them up. She realizes his warning to the Cayman police is no empty threat since he’d rather die than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Sara soon discovers Keegan is just as determined to survive as she is - provided he can escape Grand Cayman and disappear forever. As she struggles to trust in God’s protection, help from an atheist turns her struggle into a lure away from her faith. 

Your latest release is based on a true story. How can fans find out more about the true story on which the novel is based?

With HIPPA and other privacy laws, I’m unable to reveal the true story about that day during one of my EMS shifts. But I can share that on one of our calls that day, my partner and I were treating and transporting a handcuffed and injured psych-ward patient to the ED (Emergency Department), and per protocol, a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) was escorting him. I can thankfully report that no one was injured and the situation ended well and quickly—not the makings for good fiction; however, my writer brain visualized the possibilities in that situation and took off writing a fictional story, thus Persephone’s Fugitive was born.      

How many books have you written?

The Hidden Son (released 2013) is my fifth completed book—I signed with my first agent in 2007 with this book. Final Trimester (released 2014) is my sixth. Persephone’s Fugitive is my seventh. I’m currently writing my next book. Someday I may revise at least one of my first four completed books. I also started writing an Amish suspense trilogy and a western suspense trilogy, but neither the Amish nor western genres fit my writing voice.     

How can fans connect with you?

All my books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, etc. (anywhere books are sold).
I’m on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – all the links are on my website.
If interested in viewing the book trailer to Persephone’s Fugitive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyn2vxPh8zE


Thank you for featuring my newest release, Persephone’s Fugitive. I enjoyed my time here on Sleuths and Suspects.  





Persephone’s Fugitive
Book Two
Cayman Islands Trilogy
By
 Dianna T. Benson

*** SPOILER ALERT *** Reading Persephone’s Fugitive (including the book blurb) before The Hidden Son (Book One in the Cayman Islands Trilogy) will ruin the ending of The Hidden Son. However, both books are standalones. 

When a routine 911 call turns deadly, Paramedic Sara Dyer finds herself held at gunpoint by Jason Keegan, an injured psych-ward patient charged with murder. The situation spirals out of Sara’s control when the confrontation becomes a tense standoff between Keegan and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.
As Keegan’s hostage, Sara fights to save them both before he blows them up. She realizes his warning to the Cayman police is no empty threat since he’d rather die than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Sara soon discovers Keegan is just as determined to survive as she is - provided he can escape Grand Cayman and disappear forever. As she struggles to trust in God’s protection, help from an atheist turns her struggle into a lure away from her faith.

Hyperlinks for Persephone’s Fugitive









1 comment:

  1. Nice interview, Heidi. Love getting to learn more about other suspense writers!

    ReplyDelete