First Dates: Carrie Stuart Parks

2015/July by Marji Laine 3 Comments

The love story blooming in my second book, Grime Wave, inspired me to explore some first dates by some of the best in Christian fiction romance and suspense. Before I put them on the spot, I shared one of my experiences HERE.

Today, I’m delighted to welcome one of my new favorite authors, Carrie Stuart Parks to share her rather awkward first date. (I would bet it was also the last date with this guy! LOL!) Make sure you check out her new suspense (and I mean SUSPENSE) below. And if you enjoy the genre, you MUST check out her debut novel, A Cry from the Dust. Outstanding!

Carrie’s Story

In  high school, I rode the bus with a young man who I thought was quite cute. He had a face like an old fashioned “Arrow Shirt” model from the turn of the century. Okay, so I was an artist even then! He had a lean nose, full lips, chiseled jaw, and blond hair. When the semi-formal dance approached (the one where the girls asked the boys,) I asked him. That was the first time I’d even spoken to him.

Bad idea.

I should have actually had a conversation with him. I would have realized he had no social skills, couldn’t dance, couldn’t carry on a conversation, and his touch gave me the creeps. My older brother, with his date, drove us to the dance. I started hounding my brother to take me home.

Lesson learned. If someone looks good, talk to them and see what they’re really like. You really can’t judge that ole book by its cover.

Don’t Miss Carrie’s Latest!

And, speaking of covers (note the smooth segue,) I’m thrilled to announce the launching of my next suspense from Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins Christian: The Bones Will Speak.

When Gwen Marcey’s dog comes home with a human skull and then leads her to a cabin in the woods near her Montana home, she realizes there’s a serial killer in her community. And when she finds a tortured young girl clinging to life on the cabin floor, she knows this killer is a lunatic.

Yet what unsettles Gwen most is that the victim looks uncannily like her daughter.

The search for the torturer leads back in time to a neo-Nazi bombing in Washington state—a bombing with only one connection to Montana: Gwen. The group has a race-not-grace model of salvation . . . and they’ve marked Gwen as a race traitor.

When it becomes clear that the killer has a score to settle, Gwen finds herself in a battle against time. She will have to use all of her forensic skills to find the killer before he can carry out his threat to destroy her—and the only family she has left.

Your Turn: I can imagine Carries awkward first date with this poor handsome fellow. Did you ever have an awkward first date?