Death Under the Ice: An award-winning chilling mystery by Deborah Sprinkle

It’s always a pleasure to have one of my friends who is also an author with Scrivinings Press, to be a guest here. Being able to celebrate this book winning Novel of the Year for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) Golden Scroll Awards is priceless!

Here is what Deborah had to say about the win:

Last December, the fourth book in my first series, a romantic suspense series, Trouble in Pleasant Valley, came out. I’m not sure to this day why I felt the urge to write another Pleasant Valley book. I thought the series was finished at three books. But, God. So, I wrote Death Under the Ice.

This year, I entered it and the Mac and Sam book I also wrote last year in several contests despite the fact that in four years, I’ve never even been a finalist.

When my name was called as a finalist for the AWSA Golden Scroll awards, I was one happy girl! However, there were so many incredible authors named as finalists, I knew that would be as far as I got, but that was fine by me. I was a finalist!!

Little did I know what He had in store for me! A friend called to tell me Death Under the Ice won Novel of the Year! I still have a hard time taking it in!

A peek at Death Under the Ice:

When Homeland Security Analyst Claire Green’s brother urges her to come visit, she clears her desk in Chicago and heads for southern Ohio. But when she arrives, the house is deserted and her brother, Alan, is missing.

Claire enlists the help of Alan’s neighbors, Madison Zuberi and her husband, Captain Nate Zuberi of the Pleasant Valley Police Force, in the quest to find her brother. But she’s in for two surprises.

First, Alan has been keeping secrets from her—secrets that may have gotten him killed, and put her life in danger.

Second, Private Investigator Rafe O’Connell, the only man she ever loved—and lost—is a close friend of Madison and Nate’s, and they ask him to be part of the investigation.

Claire needs their help, but can she put past hurts behind her as she not only tries to find her brother, but stay alive?

What are you working on right now?

First, I want to say thank you, Ellen, for having me on your blog. As you know, it’s a blessing anytime we have a chance to talk about writing and our books. I started this journey late in life. My first novel came out the year I turned seventy! It took me five years to write it, find an agent, and get it published, but since then, I haven’t looked back. This year, my tenth book will be coming out in October!

As for what I’m working on right now, I just finished my latest book in the Mac and Sam Mysteries series, The Case of the Other Brother, Book Six. It will be available next March.

At the same time, I’ve been finishing the editing process for The Case of the Intentional Accident, Book Five of the series, that is already available for preorder on Amazon for Kindle.

What is your next writing project?

My next writing project is a novella, A Wedding to Die For, that will be part of a collection called Bedlam at Bridal Falls. Two of my favorite people, Jen Dodrill and Sharon Carpenter, are working on this with me. We’re using the same characters we introduced in our novella collection Trinity Sands Beach Club which came out this past June.

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you like?

Energy!

How do you relax and recharge when you step away from writing?

I love playing games—card games and dominoes with friends and family. I love eating meals with friends and family—and if we can combine the two, I count it a perfect evening.

And I nap a lot! LOL!

What is the one thing we’d never guess about you?

When I was in college, Les and I used to volunteer as corner workers for the Sports Car Club of America. I was a communicator. Les was a crash and burn person. It was road racing on a small track outside St. Louis. Fun times.

What is your superpower?

According to some of my friends, I am Mrs. Fix-it. When I’m at a group thing or at the beach, if something doesn’t work right, they always say, “Get Debbie. She can fix it.” Lol.

What is your best advice for other writers?

In view of what has happened to me in my writing life, I urge anyone who is getting discouraged to hang in there, keep striving, and pray. And when you’re successes come, remember who is the real Author of your books and your life. Be thankful.