Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Nancy Mehl & the Kaely Quinn Profiler series

I am delighted today to welcome author Nancy Mehl to the blog to talk about her riveting new Kaely Quinn Profiler suspense series! I devoured the first book, Mind Games, and have been stalking Netgalley (and Bethany House’s fiction publicist) for an advanced copy of Fire Storm, which I am happy to report I now have in hand 😉

Nancy Mehl is a best-selling, award winning author who lives in Missouri, with her husband, Norman, and her Puggle, Watson. She’s authored over thirty books and is currently writing a new series for Bethany House Publishing. The Kaely Quinn Profiler series kicked off with book one, MIND GAMES, in December of 2018. FIRE STORM, book two, hits bookshelves in 2019. Also look for her books in The Mysteries of Lancaster County series (Guideposts) – co-written with her daughter-in-law, Shaen Layle.

Readers can learn more about Nancy through her Web site: www.nancymehl.com. She is part of The Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com, along with several other popular suspense authors. She is also very active on Facebook.

SERIES: Kaely Quinn Profiler #1
GENRE: Inspirational Suspense/Thriller
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
RELEASE DATE: December 4, 2018
PAGES: 336

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis.

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

SERIES: Kaely Quinn Profiler #2
GENRE: Inspirational Suspense/Thriller
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
RELEASE DATE: August 6, 2019
PAGES: 336

When FBI profiler Kaely Quinn’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, Kaely takes time off work to go to Dark Water, Nebraska, to help her brother care for their mother. Upon her arrival, she learns of a series of fires in the small town, attributed by the fire chief to misuse of space heaters in the frigid winter. But Kaely is skeptical, and a search for a pattern in the locations of the fires bolsters her suspicions.

After yet another blaze devastates a local family, Kaely is certain a serial arsonist is on the loose. Calling upon her partner from St. Louis, Noah Hunter, and her brother’s firefighter neighbor who backs Kaely’s suspicions, Kaely and her team begin an investigation that swiftly leads them down a twisted path. When the truth is finally revealed, Kaely finds herself confronting a madman who is determined his last heinous act will be her death.

coming march 2020

Hi Nancy! Welcome to the blog!

Nancy: Big time winter person. I love snow, cold, all of it. Except ice.

Carrie: Yay! me too! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow….

Nancy: Both. Can’t choose one. I am an intense animal lover and a serious advocate of animal rescue.

Carrie: We are firm advocates in animal rescue as well – we adopted our dog (who passed away a year ago) from a local shelter about 12 years ago… and when our hearts have recovered enough for another dog we’ll do so again ♥

Nancy: Coffee, but I love a good cup of tea. Especially Earl Grey with milk.

Carrie: I have never developed a taste for either one but i wish i could…

Nancy: Started out a big print book fan. I have a huge library. But then I got a Kindle and fell in love with it. So…I enjoy both, but I read almost everything on Kindle.

Carrie: I am exactly the same way…

Q: Around here I like to say that reading is my superpower. If YOU had a superpower, what would it be?

Nancy: Well, I hope writing is my super power, but some days I’m not so sure. LOL!

Carrie: Rest assured – it is definitely your super power! (I still haven’t recovered from Mind Games lol!)

Q: Who is your favorite book character from childhood?

Nancy: This is easy. Nancy Drew. I wanted to be Nancy. Those books installed a love of the mystery genre in me that I still have until this day.

Carrie: YES. Me too. You and I are definitely kindred spirits 🙂

Q: If I sneaked a peek in your purse right now (which I would never do, I promise!), what would it tell me about you?

Nancy: Maybe that I am always prepared? My daughter-in-law recently said something about her grandmother – how she carried everything in her purse she thought her family might need. Shaen laughed and mentioned Tic Tacs. I proudly reached into my purse and pulled some out. I like carrying things that someone might need. (Hand cleaner, disinfectant wipes, paper toilet covers, breath mints, Excedrin, notebook, pens…you get the idea. And yes, I am slightly germophobic.)

Carrie: <makes a note to hang out with Nancy at any conferences we mutually attend> lol

Q: Which of your main characters is most like you?

Nancy: Kaely Quinn in Mind Games and Fire Storm. No, my father wasn’t a serial killer, but I’ve had issues. Thankfully, Jesus has never let me down. Thanks to His love and healing power I’m not quite as disturbed as Kaely.

Carrie: I think that’s why Kaely is so relatable, even if we aren’t quite as messed up or didn’t have a serial killer for a parent (praise God). Because we all have issues that need redeeming by the love of Jesus.

Q: Which character was the most difficult to write?

Nancy: Again, Kaely. She is so injured by the past. She not only breaks my heart, she inspires me.

Carrie: Kaely hit me the same way… I wanted to hug her!

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from this series so far & why do you love it?

Nancy: From Mind Games: “Those who know God should be the ones to confront the darkness. Who chase evil. We have the weapons. Those who don’t know Him have only themselves. And trust me, it’s not enough. Not if you want to make it out in one piece.” (Kaely Quinn)

Carrie: I loved this quote when I first read it & I love it again now. Yes. This. 1000 times this.

Thank you so much for taking time to talk with me! 🙂 Before we say goodbye for today, tell us what‘s coming up next for you.

Nancy: Fire Storm, book two in the Kaely Quinn Profiler series releases in July. (EBook. Print in August.) Book Three, Dead End will release in 2020.

Carrie: yay! Can’t wait for both!

Nancy Mehl is offering a copy of Mind Games to one of my readers! (print – US only – OR ebook open to everyone) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

TRUST ME – you don’t want to miss this book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What about you? What interests you most about this series?