Interview with Janet Sketchley

Janet Sketchley is a Canadian author who is published in suspense, romantic suspense, and non-fiction.

Janet, Secrets & Lies is the second book in your Redemption’s Edge series, yet the genre has changed with the addition of romance. Did you plan the change when you first envisioned the series?
I originally thought Heaven's Prey would be a stand-alone, and the situation in that novel didn't support a traditional romantic thread. (There are some non-traditional romantic moments.) As I explored the series, I discovered the next two stories would include romance and also take a lighter suspense tone. That likely breaks the rules for a proper series, and in hindsight I should perhaps have presented each one as a stand-alone, but there are links between them and a definite chronological order.

You’ve connected the books with the redemption theme and then strengthened it through family. Does your next book have the same connections?
I'm working on book three, No Safe Place, now. Again, it's a story of romantic suspense and redemption, involving a third member of the Silver family. As with the first two novels, it has a new set of characters with occasional references to the other family members.

Why did you pick Calgary and Toronto as the locations for Secrets & Lies?
Carol's husband moved the family to Calgary before housing became so expensive, and after he died, it was cheaper for Carol to stay than to move and find a new job.

Toronto made the perfect place for Carol to hide, or so she thought. It has the highest population of Canadian cities, and she and her son should have been invisible. Unfortunately, it's where her brother lived before his arrest, and his enemies were already watching her. They thought she moved to find his hidden money, which they wanted for themselves.

How does the music in Secrets & Lies relate to your personal listening choices?
I've developed a real appreciation for Billy Joel through writing Carol's story! Much of the music in the novel is also found on my mp3 player, but my favourite genre is contemporary Christian. I did work in a reference to Todd Agnew through one of the other characters, but "my" music didn't really fit Carol's world. Carol's music is mostly classic rock. The songs are only mentioned by title in the novel, so I made a YouTube playlist for the curious and/or nostalgic: http://bit.ly/SLplaylist.

How long had you been writing before your first publication credit?
I'd been writing personal experience-type articles for a few years before any of them were published, and I had some short fiction published after that, but novel-wise, it was over nineteen years between my earliest notes and signing my first contract. Persistence...

Where do you write?
I write at home, these days mostly in the living room with my laptop. I love the portability of being able to write anywhere that's quiet.

How often do you write?
Now that I have novels in print and more planned, I need to write every day during the week. That includes planning and editing, but somehow working on the current project. I don't meet that goal in December, but I do the best I can.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
Spending time with family, listening to music if I'm on my own, cross-stitching and knitting, and of course, reading!

Any parting words?
Thanks so much for interviewing me, Anita. I enjoyed your questions. I hope you and everyone reading will experience the hope and joy of Christmas, no matter what our external circumstances may be. Blessings!

Thanks for sharing with us, Janet.