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Frequently Asked Questions
I've been very fortunate to have so many readers connect with my characters, and I absolutely love getting emails from y'all! I have always tried to personally answer each one, but on days when I have to pick between wading into my inbox and writing the next book, I assume most of you would rather I work on the new book, so I've put together this handy list of things I get asked often. I add to it periodically when a question starts showing up in messages a lot, so check back or click the contact button at the bottom of this page to shoot me an email if you don't find what you're looking for!
On writing
- Where do you get your ideas? Everywhere! I've spun entire plot lines out of everything from headlines to dreams to random comments my children made about something. It's kind of fun, moving through the world never knowing what will set off a brainstorm, and my family has learned by now that if I randomly snatch up my phone and start making notes, it's because I have a new idea.
- I have a great idea for a book, but I don't know how to write one—can I send it to you? I'm afraid not. I have a file in my computer with more ideas in it than I could possibly ever write, plus my agent really doesn't want me to venture into this—and the best person to write your story is YOU. Give it a shot, you're likely to be surprised.
- How often do you write? Just about every day when I'm working on a draft. It helps me keep the story flowing and meet my deadlines at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
- How long does it take you to write a book? Start to finish, a draft normally takes me three to four months, depending on how chaotic my life is at the time. Inside secret: the fastest I have ever finished a book was the first one. I wrote the draft of Front Page Fatality in five weeks, mostly because I didn't know where the story was coming from and I was afraid it would go away if I didn't type almost constantly.
Nichelle clarke
- I love Nichelle, I miss Nichelle, are there going to be any more Nichelle books? Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for asking for more time with Nichelle. She was my first grown-up imaginary friend, the one that made me a published author, and I promise that no one misses her more than I do. I would love to write at least one more, but I have to wait until my schedule allows me the time to. Until then, if you haven't read my Faith McClellan series, you should know that my favorite Richmond reporter goes home to Texas and lands in the middle of Faith's messiest case in books 6 and 7, Tell No Lies and No Secrets Remain.
- How much of the Nichelle books are based on your real life? Not as much as readers like to think (who am I kidding? Not as much as I'd even like to think!). While I cannot run in designer or any other sort of stiletto heel, and I have never been shot or had anyone break into my house, I did go toe to toe with a police chief who didn't like me (and threatened to arrest me once for breaking a law that several attorneys later told me in no way applied to my situation); I did cover police investigations and murder trials in my reporting days; and mostly, I swipe stories I actually worked on from my memory for the fun little side stories Nichelle covers in every book, like the junkyard owner in Front Page Fatality.
- What order do I read the Nichelle books in? The covers are in series order here.
- There are two novellas on the website, where do they fit in the series timeline? Dateline Memphis goes right after Buried Leads, as book 2.5, and Fatal Features goes after Cover Shot, as book 5.5. I'm so glad so many people ask this, because those are such fun stories and because as a reader I always read a series in order.
Faith Mcclellan
- I love Faith, I miss Faith, are there going to be any more Faith books? Again, thank you for loving my characters and their world so much you ask to have more time with them. I love each one of these messages, truly. To answer this I have to remind y'all that writing is an art, and publishing is a business. Books have to make money for publishers to want to buy them—I would love to write more about Faith, but not unless I can do several more books about her. I don't want to just write one more story that may seem oddly tagged onto the end of the complete arc in books 1-7, I'd like to pivot the characters to a big new story. If the series sales pick up enough for the publisher to want to do that, you'll be the first to know! So the best thing you can do if you want more Faith books is tell your reader friends how much you enjoy them!
- How did you decide to write about a Texas Ranger? There's so much history and legend, good and bad, around the Rangers as an organization that it's fascinating to a lot of folks, I think. As a young reporter in Texas, I covered a couple of cases the Rangers assisted on and was very impressed by the officers' skill and knowledge, as well as the broad list of things they investigate. When I found out women weren't considered for field agent positions until 1993, though—I became obsessed with the idea of a female Ranger as a heroine.
- What's your favorite Faith book? Oh my. I love them all for different reasons, but I am particularly proud of Leave No Stone and No Secrets Remain.
- Do we ever find out who killed Charity? We do—if you're not there yet, just keep going. I worked really hard to make that payoff worth the journey.
Other questions
- Can you help me get a literary agent? No. As much as I wish I had that kind of time (and influence!) you are the only person who can land yourself an agent. I can point you to a few of the resources I used way back when, though: query tracker and agent query are both great sites to see who's accepting what kind of submissions, writer beware and absolute write will warn you of scams and help you find your people, and the late, great Janet Reid's query shark blog will help you write a killer query letter.
- Do you do in person events? I do! I love meeting readers! While keeping up a calendar on this site is cumbersome, you can scroll to the top and click to follow me on Facebook or Instagram, where I always post upcoming events. Please come see me if I have one near you!
- What's your favorite deadline food? Depends on the day and the stress level, but usually M&Ms so I can get a chocolate fix while I work.
- What are you working on now?This evolves every few months, obviously, but as of the last time I remembered to update it, I'm excited to say I'm writing my first psychological suspense thriller! I just signed a new contract with the wonderful team at Bookouture, a division of Hachette, and I'm having so much fun writing a genre I have read for years now. The first book on the new contract, The Pastor's Wife, will be out in June 2025.
- Will you talk to my book club if we read your book? Very probably! I love book clubs, and if you're in the Richmond area I will join you at your meeting if I can. Everyone else, I'm happy to FaceTime or zoom with y'all if we can make the timing work! You can click "contact" at the bottom of this page to invite me, and I'll get back to you ASAP.
