Christian Bookworm Reviews -

Jill, describe yourself for our visitors.

I’m your basic quiet and solitude-loving introvert, unless you hit certain talk buttons . . . and then hang onto your ears. I love to talk about the goodness of God, writing, and books. Michael W. Smith is my favorite singer, and my all-time favorite song is Secret Ambition. But when I’m writing, I find Maire Brennan’s Celtic praise very conducive to creativity. My favorite pastime, other than reading or writing, is camping in a woodsy environment with my family.

How do you find time to connect with God?

I try never to disconnect. Following my morning shower, the first half hour of my day is devoted to hearing the Word preached by a prophet and teacher that I trust. Each year, I set Bible reading goals for myself. I don’t always reach them, but it gives me a target to shoot for. I can’t say I spend large chunks of time in prayer. It’s more like a continuous habit throughout the day, an on-going dialogue that I don’t care to live without. I’m blessed to be an active member of a local body of believers devoted to becoming living epistles of Christ to be read of all men.

Tell us about your journey to publication.

My dream of becoming a novelist was born in the sixth grade when I penned my first book—a ridiculous mystery about a group of kid sleuths. I did lots of different kinds of writing after that—journalism, essays, short stories, poems—but book-length fiction remained my first love. Marriage and family detoured the dream for a time as I concentrated on raising four children. In the year 2001, when the eaglets started leaving the nest, the compelling urge to write returned. By 2002, I was actively seeking publication by networking with writers, agents, and editors on-line and attending writers’ conferences. In 2004, a fine agent took me on, and in 2005, Multnomah Publishers offered me a three-book contract for a romantic suspense series, which ended up titled the To Catch a Thief series. The first book, Reluctant Burglar, came out in September 2006 amidst a lot of great buzz. I’m forever grateful to my agent, my editors, and the influencers and fans that are enabling and supporting my fledgling career.

Tell us about your current book?

Reluctant Runaway is a March 2007 release and features many of the same characters that are in Reluctant Burglar. The series heroine is a museum security expert with cat burglar skills, and the hero is an FBI agent. In Runaway the pair finds themselves teamed up to find a missing young wife and mother, stolen Anasazi Indian artifacts, and the secret headquarters of a deadly cult.

How did you come up with ideas for your current release?

The series was born from a literal sleeping dream. I woke up one night all tense from a dream where I watched a woman dressed in black remove a painting from a wall and replace it with another painting. The painting she took was the fake, and she was returning the genuine. As if that weren’t strange enough, if she were caught in this act of reverse larceny disaster would follow for many innocents. I played with this amazing sequence in my waking mind, asking myself what sort of career this woman would have in order to be a skilled cat burglar and yet not a criminal. I also needed to figure out a scenario that would put her in an impossible situation requiring drastic action. The answers became Reluctant Burglar.

In Reluctant Runaway, I continued with the same main characters, but in a different caper. My goal for the book was to explore the human need to find belonging and acceptance, and how our choices along that line can affect generations down the road. People will go to extraordinary lengths to satisfy the drive to fit in. A hunt for a missing woman involved with a cult fit the bill nicely. I wove the art theft theme in by connecting the woman to stolen Anasazi Indian artifacts rumored to have been used in bizarre ancient rituals. Then I enhanced the “need to belong” aspect by throwing an outlaw motorcycle gang into the mix, along with back story for one of my main characters that traces back to the mob. All in all, a pretty wild ride that I had a blast writing.

List your most recent books.

Reluctant Burglar came out in September 2006
Reluctant Runaway releases now.

What’s next for you?

Reluctant Smuggler comes out in October 2007

Where can visitors find you online?

http://www.jillelizabethnelson.com

I’ve got an ongoing monthly contest for a signed copy of my latest release. Click on my Stealth and Wealth page to enter. For continuing updates on releases, the latest news in the art theft world, and special offers, my Contact page offers a chance to sign up for my newsletter.