Into the Fire

Introducing readers to Winter Austin (aka Winter Peck), Part Two:

I know you do some research for your novels. How much and how do you choose to get your information? 

Research is come as I need it situation. For my novel Atonement, the main character dealt with PTSD, that was easy, as it’s been plastered all over the news and social media. I belong to a lot of Facebook pages where veterans suffering from the disorder talk about what they're dealing with. Articles from reputed publications help me dig a bit deeper. I’ve seen first hand how this affliction affects the sufferer and their families. I’m pretty stingy on where I get my information, too, because there are so many biased pieces out there. 

I write about cops, and I have a few friends who are police officers I can consult with. I tend to stay away form watching certain TV shows because of the misinformation they show in order to create the drama. 

For the third book in my McIntire County Series, I’ve been reading and researching TBI’s (trumatic brain injuries) this came about after reading a long article in National Geographic while in my chiropractor’s office. I knew the next lead role in this book would have it, and it's a deceptive disorder, because many people, most veterans and NFL players, never know they have it until the symptoms get really bad, or worse, they commit suicide. 

These are the subjects I don’t shy from. And no subject matter is off-limits to me. 

Do you have a set pattern for your writing time? Is your family accommodating to your allotted times when you’re off in storyland? 

I recently started a new job that was a prayer come true, I have more leeway with work time so I can get in my writing time. I enjoy the job I do, and that really, really helps with the creative juices. 

Yes, my kids have been ‘groomed’ to know when to bug off and leave me alone. In fact they love where we currently live because they can run off to a friend’s house and give me hours of alone time to work—even their friends come over asking if I need to be left alone and they can take my kids. My husband is an Ag teacher/FFA adviser and so if I need him to be somewhere else, he just goes to his shop or his classroom to work. But if the family is bugging me, it’s a good indication it's time to stop and focus on them. Writing will always be there, my kids won’t be kids much longer. 

Although you are a woman of faith, you’ve chosen not to write the “typical” Christian novels. You usually include a mention or demonstration of faith in your stories by a particular character, but you also inject some profanity and occasional circumstances which might offend the more rigid Christian readers. Generally speaking, this usually has to do with the audiences a writer hopes to reach. What is your reason for writing the way you do? 

When I hoped to be published in the CBA market, I couldn’t break the curtain that editors demanded for books that were to be published. I struggled to even write a faith element that was accepted. To me, my faith is not in what I write, or what I do, it’s who I am. I’m not perfect and my characters aren’t perfect, they live in the real world, they’re influenced by the same things I am and how they react to it shows their faith. 

I went where God led me. And He’s opened doors that were shut/slammed/locked in my face. I know His hand is in everything, because I have an editor who shares my faith and knows what I want my characters to say or do without flaunting it. I’ve been given a freedom that was never an option before, and that’s what Christianity is about: Freedom in Christ. 

I write dark, gritty, bloody at times. I don’t mince words when it comes to the horrors men inflict on each other. And like I said before, when I’m told I can’t do something, because of x, y, or z, I rebel. I’ll prove you wrong. Personally, I don’t realize what I do until it’s on paper, but ask my editor, ask my readers, somehow, someway, I write characters that reach people, I don’t spew flowers, and rainbows, and God solves it all with His angels in the end. Life is hard, dirty, and ugly, and I don’t ever want to sugarcoat it. 

What do you want your readers to take away from your books? 

An understanding of what that person next to you might be going through. That maybe your life is reflected in the characters I’ve created. And that there is hope, and love, and faith, and the battle doesn’t have to end on a bad note. 

Do you have a favorite story and/or character from your collection or are they all individually satisfying for you? 

Right now, it’s hard to say, but I really loved writing Nic Rivers. She’s everything opposite of what a woman is supposed to be. I had a lot of fun just letting go with her, and she’s always been that way. 

Her sister, Cassy Rivers, was great to write, too, but I had to be careful with her to not make her, as my editor said, a Nic 2.0. And she’s not. 

Finally, what do you want readers to know about you, your writing, your opinion of “Christian fiction”?  

Know that you’re going to get a great read, while I write more toward a thriller/suspense style the book is still a romance at the heart and my characters tend to show a more real life progression to their relationships than you might find in a mainstream romance. 

As to my opinion of “Christian fiction,” I think there needs to be some huge changes made and for them to pay very close attention to the audiences coming up and what is being read in the indies, because that’s where the readers are going. Quite honestly, unless it’s been a non-fiction book my husband and I are reading, I have not read a Christian fiction novel in over 3 years. 

So, there you have her. Thank you, Winter, for taking the time to share your thoughts on reading, writing, and Christian fiction. A lot of people who visit here share some of your views. I'm almost ready with my review of Born to Die, and I too loved Nic Rivers in Atonement. I believe I've read all of Winter's novels and have truly enjoyed them. Talented and entertaining with some twists you just don't see coming. Good writing.

Lord, hold her close and keep her safe. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.