Today, I'm delighted to welcome Ronica Stromberg to Austenitis for an interview! I recently read her book,
A Shadow in the Dark and enjoyed it. My review of that book came out earlier today. Now, on to the interview!
Welcome, Ronica! I’m glad to be talking
with you about your book, A Shadow in the Dark. Could you please give us a little auto-biography?
I’ve been a
book lover most of my life. I had difficulty learning to read, but once I
caught on, I seemed to always have a book as a hand extension. To this day, I’m
hard to catch without a book.
As a child,
I wanted to be a writer, librarian, judge, or missionary. I’ve worked (paid or
volunteer) as all but the judge. I’ve found most of my writing falls in the inspirational
market, which nicely blends my lifelong interests in being a writer and a
missionary.
Mmmm, book hand extension sounds like me. :) Please tell us a little bit about the plot
of A Shadow in the Dark.
Following
her parents’ divorce, young teen Kirsten Hart reluctantly moves to the country
with her mom and brother. She goes door-to-door to the neighboring houses,
attempting to introduce herself and make friends. A four-year-old neighbor boy
tells her a girl her age lives in the farmhouse across from hers. When Kirsten
goes there, an old woman answers the door and, after hearing what she wants, slams
the door in her face.
Kirsten
meets another neighbor girl, Gail, and the two keep seeing signs that a young
person lives with the elderly woman, but she never comes outside. Kirsten and
Gail become fearful that someone is being held captive in the home. They step
deeper into danger with only the God that Gail believes in as backup.
What inspired you to
write A Shadow in the Dark and Living It Up to Live It Down, the other book that’s in the series?
An incident
similar to what occurs in A Shadow in the Dark happened to me when I was
younger than Kirsten. I
had been visiting my grandmother in small-town Minnesota, and she had warned me
away from a neighboring house. She wouldn’t tell me why she wanted me to stay
away, but she seemed scared. Years later, I discovered what she knew. This
served as the spark for A Shadow in the Dark.
The sequel,
Living It Up to Live It Down, shows Kirsten’s life after Gail has gone away and
Kirsten returns to school as a new Christian. Her old friendship with Danette
and Madison disintegrates, and she attempts to befriend Sarah, a preacher’s
daughter and popular ninth grader. Kirsten believes pretty popular Sarah will
make a great role model for her as she grows in the faith. But Sarah cheats,
lies, pulls pranks, and dates guys against her father’s wishes. Sarah becomes
another mystery for Kirsten: If Sarah believes in God, why doesn’t she
straighten up?
How long did it take you to write A Shadow
in the Dark?
I think it
was a little over a year.
What is the biggest thing you’d like a
reader to take away from A Shadow in the Dark?
Knowledge
that even if life seems rough, they are never alone in what they’re
experiencing. God has gone before and is with them even now.
Your biggest fan and supporter is…
My best
friends, Diane and Cheryl. They always buy my books, donate them to libraries,
and talk them up. They’ve helped me get into schools as a visiting author and
have both served as subjects for magazine stories I’ve written. Neither one has
as much interest in writing as I do, so I think that shows what wonderful
people they are that they care about something because they know I care about
it.
What wonderful friends! Is there a random fact about you that most
people don’t know?
I probably
spent more time in the principal’s office than outside it in third grade. Most
people don’t know this because my family moved while I was in third grade. In
my new town, I was considered a goody-two-shoes and star student. But both
experiences contributed to what I know about life as a child and influence what
I write.
What is one thing you dread doing?
Public
speaking. For some reason, though, TV interviews and question-and-answer
questions at conferences and schools don’t bother me. I guess I like speaking
off-the-cuff more than formally presenting.
What are you currently reading?
I just
finished Bliss (a novel about
modern-day life in Turkey) and have switched to nonfiction (a travel guide) to
plan a family trip to New York this summer.
Thanks for coming, Ronica! Do you have a
website where our readers can learn more about you?
They can
also read more about my books and order them at
Thanks,
Charity, for inviting me to spend time with you and your readers!
Thanks again, Ronica. :) I hope you all enjoyed getting to know her better! I sure did. Let me encourage you to read A Shadow in the Dark!
