.jpg)
buy on Amazon
ISBN 978-0983070887
$2.99 ebook
$12.95 pbook
About the Book:
The Vengeance Squad helps one of its own when the bookmobile fund is stolen. Two years after the death of his fiancée, Chris McCowan begins to feel normal again. As normal as the situation allows. Sarah had told him to find a new love and be happy, but he never dreamed he would. That was before he fell in love with Angela. Did she feel the same about him? Perhaps he would soon find out. She had invited him to visit her at her home in Bath, England during his time off between semesters. He had his plane ticket before his fall teaching obligations were finished.
Tex Thompson had worked part time at the library while attending college full time ever since he'd married Jane. Adding the Vengeance Squad's criminal investigative work on top of that left little time for her or the children. This time, Tex's wife had put her foot down. No more Vengeance Squad activities until he'd stayed home long enough for his children to get to know him again. And, she added, she expected some quality husband and wife time as well. This semester break would be different, Jane said, and Tex was looking forward to it. Chris and Tex were ready to spend more time with the ones they loved. But that was before they learned Liz Siedo, the third member of the group was the victim of a crime that could break her heart.
Will Liz, the hugger, the cheer leader, the one who was always optimistic and always supportive, need their help? Will Chris and Tex abandon their plans to assist her? Will Liz allow the guys to break the law to rectify her mistakes?
What you love about this latest
book?
What I
love about The Vengeance Squad Goes to England is the way Liz has evolved.
Everyone seems to like her and she is in all my books. However, she has been a
supporting character at most. In this latest book we get to know her a little
better. Even though she always puts on a happy face, we now know she has
feelings the way we all do. She lets her guard down a little in this book. I
didn’t plan it that way, but it seemed natural. To tell the truth, Liz was
supposed to be the main character in my first book, originally called Mrs.
Pickle’s Bookmobile. But as I wrote, it turned into a book about Brian and
Karen getting back together after thirty years, with Liz’s help. I’m working on
the next book now, and am pleased to say it is all about Liz. It is told in
first person and in a cozy mystery format just perfect for her. She’s also
retired, married, and living on a farm near Georgetown. There’s a bookmobile,
of course.
Sid, share something new you
learned during the process of writing/publishing this one.
I
learned to build the Kindle edition before publishing the paperback. I use a
process of converting a scene at a time into html for the Kindle. For some
reason, several errors popped out when I did. Unfortunately, I had already
approved the paperback edition and ordered three dozen copies. I fixed the
paperback and used the copies already printed as review and giveaway copies.
What are some of the challenges
writing a series?
In
general, I think writing a series is easier than not. You already have a good
handle on your characters as well as settings. I thought I had two separate
series. The first being Where Love Once Lived and Love Lives On
and the second The Vengeance Squad and The Vengeance Squad Goes to
England. However, I complicated things by having some characters in all
four books. There is a chronology from the first to the last, but the vengeance
squad books are different from the Brian and Karen books. The biggest challenge
has been to make each book enjoyable on its own without repeating too much.
What do you like to read?
As a
reviewer for several major Christian publishers, I read authors such as Davis
Bunn, William Sirls, and Dee Henderson. I always learn something about writing
from these authors. I also read many others that are different from what I
might ever write. In addition, I am a member of a neighborhood book club where
I find many excellent books I might never have read otherwise. I also enjoy
Grisham and Sparks, but never read their books while I’m writing. They don’t
tend to worry much about POV. Finally, there are a bunch of books I read for
fun. I like Kathy Reichs, Elizabeth Berg, and Susan Wittig Albert, all quite
different. I intend to follow Albert’s China Bayles series as a guide for my
next book.
You’ve been a Stephen Minister
and talk about it in your books. What does the ministry mean to you, Sid?
When
my wife got sick in 2008, we were both Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders.
She was a hospital chaplain as well. We had attended classes on dying and had
taught classes on grieving. I had ministered to eight men over a period of a
couple of years. But, when we learned my wife had pancreatic cancer, it became
the only thing my life for the next eight months. I was with her around the
clock even when she was in the hospital. I needed a Stephen Minister myself,
but there was no time. When one of the kids or a friend gave me a break all I
wanted to do was shower and sleep. My wife and I had time to talk, though, and
I’m thankful for that. In the end, she taught me how to die.
She
died the day before Thanksgiving in 2008. I spent Christmas and New Year’s
alone in Halifax, a place we’d never been. I thought it would give me time to
write and finish Where Love Once Lived, but it didn’t work. However, I
grieved and returned ready to go back to work. I still didn’t get a Stephen
Minister, because I didn’t want to talk about it. And I never went back to
ministering to others. In a way I feel more qualified because of my experience,
and I may volunteer again. I didn’t return to church for about six months and
when I did, I met Celeste, a new member, and the woman I eventually married.
What’s new at Christian
Bookmobile?
The
Christian Bookmobile is my blog. I post book reviews, and talk about things of
interest to both readers and writers of Christian books, fiction and
nonfiction. Recently, I’ve started a new blog. It’s called Around the World of
Inspired Fiction and is coauthored by writers from Australia, Canada, Scotland,
and the United States. We plan to slant it for readers of Christian fiction.
You can check it out here: http://christianfictionreaders.blogspot.com/.
Thank you, Sid, and best wishes
with your newest endeavors.
About the author:
Sidney W. Frost is a former Stephen Leader and Stephen Minister, and is a member of his church choir at First United Methodist Church in Georgetown, Texas. He has served on the session at a Presbyterian church, and has been on the vestry at Episcopal churches. While singing with the Austin Lyric Opera Chorus, he was in 42 productions. He and his wife, Celeste, sing with the San Gabriel Chorale and have been in several Berkshire Festivals.
He was an Adjunct Professor at Austin Community College where he taught computer courses for more than thirty years. He received the adjunct teaching excellence award in 2005.
While attending the University of Texas in the 1960's he worked part-time at the Austin Public Library driving a bookmobile after completing service in the U.S. Marines.
He is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Writers League of Texas, and the San Gabriel Writers' League.
He has a Master of Science degree from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Long Beach.
Awards for Where Love Once Lived include First Place -- 2007 SouthWest Writers Contest in the Inspirational/Spiritual Category, First Place -- 2007 Writers' League of Texas Novel Manuscript Contest, Romance Category, Third Place -- Fourteenth Annual Lone Star Writing Competition, Northwest Houston Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Inspirational Romance Category and Finalist -- 2006 Yosemite Writers Contest Novel Category.
