It has been a long while since I have published a pick of the month post. One reason is because such outstanding reads have been few and far in between.
Loreth was kind enough to answer a couple of questions about the book and writing in general, for which I am grateful. Hope you guys find the interview as insightful as it was for me!
What made the book stand out:
- A Dark Lure was a book that warranted a 5-star rating from start to finish!
- The book is intensely emotional – there is no way you can be removed from what takes place in the story!
- There is darkness, depravity and hope in the story. Nothing can beat that.
- Dark romantic suspense of the well-written kind is rare in the world of romance today. All the more reason to appreciate it!
Interview with Loreth Anne White on A Dark Lure
MBR: What inspired you to write A Dark Lure?
Loreth: The story was born out of several fishing trips into British Columbia’s Cariboo country and fleshed out around campfires at night. While sitting under a vast northern sky, listening to coyotes cry in the Marble Mountains, and hearing the crack of hunters’ rifle shots at dawn, as all writers do, I began to wonder ‘what if’ there was a human hunter in those dark woods around us. And I began to braid these thoughts with inspiration that came from the real life serial killer, Robert Hanson, the so-called Butcher-Baker of Alaska who abducted, tortured, then set his victims out to be hunted in the wilds.
MBR: A Dark Lure deals with disturbing material. While writing this particular novel, which aspect of it would you say was the toughest to write?
Loreth: I think my greatest challenge came in trying to create a heroine who is both vulnerable, and afraid, yet also incredibly strong, resilient, and brave—a true survivor. Even the strongest of people have fears, yet they face them—I hope I’ve managed to show this. And I wanted to do justice to PTSD.
MBR: Olivia is a woman who has gone through more than most people for that matter would go through their entire lifetimes. Where did you draw inspiration from, in crafting her character?
Loreth: I have long been intrigued by real life survival stories of people who triumph against seemingly impossible odds, while others die when all they needed to do was wait for help. There appears to be some interesting common traits among these survivors, and they’re not what one might imagine … I wanted to show these traits in Sarah/Olivia, yet also show that while people can survive a devastating event, they remain forever changed in some form.
MBR: Are any of the events that took place in A Dark Lure drawn from real life events or experiences?
Loreth: As mentioned above I drew some inspiration from Alaska’s Butcher-Baker case. Other than that, inspiration comes from some of my own real life experiences. For example, like the dead character in the book, Melody (Tori’s mother), I worked as a journalist. And while working for the newspaper in the ski resort in which I live, I covered countless search-and-rescue and survival stories. People go missing in our mountains all the time. Some come back. Some never do, and what happened to them remains a mystery to this day. This in turn led to a personal interest in the psychology of survival. And like Melody, and Olivia, I’m also a mother. Like Tori, I lost a parent at a vulnerable age. And like Olivia, I am rarely without my dog.
I have also done tracking with my dog, Hudson. This was something else borne out of my obsession with people who just go missing, and are never found. Hudson and I have attended several BC Search Dog Association wilderness training camps where we were lucky to have tracking and air scent instruction from some of the best Royal Canadian Mounted Police K9 handlers and BCSDA volunteers. And I’ve done courses in man tracking through the BC Outdoor Association. My husband is also a keen fly fisher, and I do fish with him, too. We often camp at a place called Big Bar Lake in the Cariboo, which was the inspiration for the setting of Broken Bar Ranch.
MBR: What did you, as an author and as a person, learn from crafting A Dark Lure?
Loreth: In writing A DARK LURE I went deeper than my earlier/shorter romances into developing secondary characters and layering story lines, and I learned how much I enjoy digging into this direction. This book also veers further into mystery/thriller territory than my earlier romantic suspense stories which is something I am enjoying.
MBR: Is there any message or messages that you wanted to convey to your reader base with A Dark Lure?
Loreth: I hope the book shows the resilience of human nature, and how important forgiveness is, especially forgiveness of oneself. And how dark and dangerously powerful a sense of shame can be, however unjustified. I also hope to show how love, and how belonging to, or being welcomed into a family/tribe in its many disparate forms can help healing.
A Dark Lure, at its core, is a story of survival and finding the strength to accept oneself in spite of scars both inside and out, and allowing oneself to be loved.
MBR: Are you currently working on any projects? If so, would you care to share some information regarding that with us?
Loreth: I have a book coming out August 16 – IN THE BARREN GROUND. It’s a dark, atmospheric romance and police procedural with gothic/horror overtones set in a remote fly-in community just south of the arctic circle.
I’m also working on a more mainstream suspense/thriller, which I hope will appeal to those readers who enjoyed A Dark Lure, as well as a new romantic suspense police procedural series.
MBR: Looking forward to all of it! So excited! Thank you so much Loreth, for taking the time!
Giveaway!
You can choose either one of the following. Just state which one you would like in your comment below the post!
- One e-copy of A Dark Lure by Loreth Anne White.
- A US$ 10.00 gift certificate from either Amazon or B&N.
- A paperback version of A Dark Lure to those residing in US.
Giveaway Rules:
- Tell us the darkest romantic suspense you have read, to-date!
- Specify the number or which of the 3 options of the giveaway you would like!
- Leave a valid e-mail address as a way for me to contact you in case you are the winner.
Giveaway Timings:
- Giveaway begins: 00:00 hours, February 4, 2016 – Maldivian Time
- Giveaway ends: 23:59 hours, February 5, 2016 – Maldivian Time
- Maldivian Timezone: GMT+5
A Maldivian's Passion for Romance 