Author Interview (and a Giveaway!): Ramona Richards & Circle of Vengeance

Please join me in welcoming Ramona Richards to the blog today to chat about her newest Star Cavanaugh Cold Case mystery, Circle of Vengeance! I really enjoyed the 1st book in this series and I’m looking forward to reading this one soon too.

Ramona Richards is a 40-year publishing veteran who has worked for Thomas Nelson, Abingdon Press, and Iron Stream Media. She writes devotions, nonfiction, and fiction, and is the author of 18 books, including her latest novel, Circle of Vengeance, part of the Star Cavanaugh Cold Case Series.

You can connect with Ramona on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

CIRCLE OF VENGEANCE by Ramona Richards
SERIES: Star Cavanaugh Cold Case #2
GENRE: Inspirational Mystery/Suspense with Romance
PUBLISHER: Kregel
RELEASE DATE: October 18, 2022
PAGES: 318

Revenge is best served cold–and this family has been waiting decades to dish it up

Twenty-five years ago, a body was discovered in the Turney family barn–and folks around town were all too ready to believe that killing blood ran through all the Turney’s veins. Every member of the family came under suspicion, their reputations crumbled to pieces, and with no convictions, no one could be cleared.

Daughter Jill, now a Chicago lawyer, is ready for this case to be solved and for her broken family to be repaired at last. Who better to find the answers than cold-case P.I. Star Cavanaugh? But as Star begins to dig into generations-old secrets, the killer resurfaces to make sure none of those skeletons leave the closet–no matter what the cost.

As the danger mounts, Star again joins forces with police chief, Mike Luinetti, and begins to uncover truths that the whole town has kept hidden. But becoming the target of the determined killer isn’t the way Star wants to find the answers. It’s a race to solve the case before it becomes a matter of her life or death.

Readers will love jumping back into the Star Cavanaugh Cold Case series as their favorite plucky heroine drives her vintage Airstream home straight into the heart of another town’s mystery.

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Hi Ramona! Welcome back to the blog!

Ramona: Winter. I despise being hot. I freely admit this might change if I lived elsewhere. My ideal climate is 50-70 degrees, often rainy, which is what passes for much of winter here.

Carrie: Same, although my ideal temps are 30-60. I know. I’m weird. But I tolerate the 30 degree temps so it will snow. Which it never does here in Atlanta lol

Ramona: Tea. I never learned to drink coffee. I’m a big fan of chai, Irish breakfast, and Lady Grey. Also addicted to a tisane from Simpson and Vail called Apple Pie Chai.

Carrie: Hmm… I might actually enjoy a tea with ‘Apple Pie’ in the name!

Ramona: If I can’t have both, then mountains. Muir was right. They call to me.

Carrie: yes! me too!

Ramona: Again, both. Also audio books. I just love books, no matter the format.

Carrie: right?

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

Ramona: If there’s one where I could destroy all the hate in the world, I’d go with that one.

Carrie: yes please! Thankful that Jesus will do that one day ♥

Q: When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first?

Ramona: The sales table. Best ROI. I’m very methodical in a bookstore. New releases, special displays and endcaps, then Christian living and fiction, followed by history, romance, magazines, swag, speculative, mainstream fiction. Hopefully, the store has baskets or buggies.

Carrie: a bookstore without at least baskets is a very sad thing…

Q: If I asked your characters to describe YOU as an author, what would they say?

Ramona: That I am far too eager to get to the ending. They are constantly telling me to slow down, that I need to tell the reader THIS or THAT. Once they told me my villain was the wrong guy. (Seriously, writers’ brains work like this…) With Circle of Vengeance, Star stopped me at one point and told me I was getting ahead of the investigation, that I had skipped some key details. She was correct.

Carrie: haha that’s so fascinating to me!

Q: If Hollywood wanted to produce Circle of Vengeance as a movie, who would you want to be cast as the lead roles?

Ramona: Casting my roles is something I always do—it’s a major part of my writing process and gives me a working model, so that I never forget such things as eye color. For Star, the only choice I ever had was Charlize Theron, and I think Kregel did an amazing job of finding a cover model with those looks.

Mike was far more difficult to cast because he’s based loosely on someone who I knew well. When I was originally creating the character of Michael Luinetti, my working role model was Timothy Olyphant, still a favorite actor of mine. But Mike is about 20 years younger than Mr. Olyphant now. I haven’t really REcast him to my satisfaction, but the closest is a young Spanish actor named Jesus Castro.

Carrie: I love the covers already and now that I know you ‘cast’ her as Charlize Theron I love them even more 🙂

Q: Did you have the whole plot outlined before you started writing, or did you let the characters dictate what came next?

Ramona: My process is to start with a general outline and an ending. I know where I want to go and generally how I’ll get there. Basic plot points, etc. Then I write start to finish in an organic way, which means the characters can tell me all sorts of things. Mike doesn’t talk to me too much, unless Star oversteps into his jurisdiction. Star is quite chatty and opinionated, and not all of her comments make it onto the page. In Circle of Vengeance, the most talkative character was Lee, who had a lot to say about what happened in the past. The entire climax of the book changed due to him.

Carrie: again, I remain fascinated by this process lol

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from Circle of Vengeance & why do you love it?

Ramona: “God sometimes drops you into some odd places. You may not understand at the time, but He does not make mistakes.”

Something I believe wholeheartedly since I’m a living example of it. God has put me into some truly odd places. I didn’t realize it would resonate with folks though, until a member of my launch team wound up making it into a meme for the book.

Carrie: amen ♥

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.

Ramona:My agent has four proposals she is currently circulating, and I am always working on another book.

Carrie: best wishes on those four proposals!!

Ramona Richards is offering signed copies of Burying Daisy Doe and Circle of Vengeance, along with a $10 Amazon gift card to one of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read Circle of Vengeance by Ramona Richards?