There's a new book you need to read, called A Cry from the Dust. It's exciting, full of suspense and twists, and fascinating, full of conspiracy and historical revelations. The author, Carrie Stuart Parks, is a forensic artist who has worked with law enforcement, as well as being the protege of the incomparable Frank E. Peretti.
Here's an endorsement I wrote for the book:
“Things
I loved about A Cry from the Dust: the fascinating and painstakingly
researched historical tapestry into which the story is woven, the frantic but
intensely believable arc of events that makes you hold on extra tight, the
compelling and flawed heroine who has absolutely no idea she's the heroine.
Part CSI, part Lie to Me, and all relentlessly original, A Cry
From the Dust blends rich characters, little-known history, and a dose of
conspiracy into a very modern storytelling style. Can't wait to tear into Gwen
Marcey's next adventure.”
You can buy A Cry from the Dust here (and you totally should).
I'm jazzed that our publisher is cross-promoting our books (meaning, a chapter of my book Playing Saint is featured in the back of A Cry from the Dust and vice versa) and I was lucky to have a chance to interview Ms. Parks a couple weeks ago.
You have one of the most fascinating backgrounds of any novelist I've read (forensic art). How did you get into that field?
I
was an artist. My dad was the director of the N. Idaho Regional Crime
Lab. He needed someone to prepare the trial charts and diagram the crime
scenes. He hired me because he said I was the best artist he knew. I
was the ONLY artist he knew. Ha! In 1985 he sent me to the FBI academy
to learn more about forensic/composite art. Interestingly, ten years
later, I was hired to teach the FBI artists. Starting in 1988, I taught
forensic art across the US and Canada. The biggest thing I think I bring
to the field of forensic art is my ability to teach anyone (without
learning disabilities) to draw a face:
Is it unusual for someone to be both a forensic artist and fine artist?
Hmmm.
There are a couple of us. I was an award-winning artist first.
Signature member of the Idaho Watercolor Society. I have a few folks
that I trained that were first artists. Some of my students learned how
to draw from me and went from there.
How did you make the leap from visual artist to the written word?
As
a teacher, I used words as well as visuals to teach art techniques.
When I started writing fine art books, I just wrote down what I said in
class. When I wrote a book on signs of deception, I fictionalized some
of my cases, and from that, I felt I could … just maybe … write fiction.
Were you a fan of Frank Peretti first, and then become his neighbor? Or vice versa?
I
had NO clue as to who he was. He became my “neighbor” (in an Idaho
sense--about four miles away.) I live on a ranch that’s been in my family
since the 30s. He was my husband’s banjo-picking buddy.
Would
it make you think less of me--as a person--if you knew that I went
three days and nights without turning my bedroom lights off in 1988
because I had read This Present Darkness and I was freaking out that demons were flying in and out of my house? Acutally, that may be more of a rhetorical question...
Naaaa.
I spent the night sitting upright in bed, terrified after watching The
Exorcist. Then there’s the small matter of not swimming in ANY body of
water after Jaws.
The
Mormon church and its history are at the center of your debut novel; do
you have a background in Mormonism? If not, what drew you to this
topic?
I’ll
go into a slightly different answer than what I wrote in the author
notes. Or maybe I should say, I’ll explain a bit further back.
I
started studying the LDS church when I became a close friend of a
staunch Mormon. We talked about beliefs at length, and I got to
wondering just how far “off” from Biblical Christianity someone could be
and still be saved. I mean, there are some pretty meaningful
differences between different Christian denominations: pre/mid/post
trib, speaking in tongues, Calvinism vs Arminianism. It was a dedicated,
two year study. Sadly, I determined that someone believing in the
tenants of the LDS church did not know the Biblical Jesus. Jesus is not
Satan’s brother, was not born of a physical union between God and Mary,
and is capable of completely covering our sins, and through grace alone
are we saved. This actually gave me a heart to reach Mormons. They
really want to know God, to worship, to live moral lives.
How much of your protagonist comes from you yourself?
Gwen
is prettier, younger, and slimmer! She is less secure, gets more
rattled at things, and doesn’t have as … rip-snorting? sense of humor.
The knowledge of all things forensic art is totally me. We’re the same,
but different. (how’s zat for a dumb answer?)
Have you ever gotten a little too personally wrapped up in a case?
I
have followed cases, but getting personally wrapped up is very
unprofessional—in fact, the first name for this debut novel was
“Superman Syndrome,” a negative term to describe someone who gets too
involved. I have cried with victims and prayed for victims.
When will Gwen Marcey's next adventure be hitting shelves?
I just turned in book #2 about the Phineas Priesthood and Gwen. I suspect next August, unless something changes.
How many books in this series do you have under contract?
It was a three book deal.
How many germs of stories in your head?
Several
strong ideas, one pretty complete plot. The books involve a lot of
research, so I have to look for the story idea long in advance. Then I
have to figure out how a forensic artist would become involved. I don’t
want a “Murder She Wrote” situation where Gwen shows up and someone
dies. I mean, you lose a lot of friends that way. No one wants to invite
you over… I also have to like the subject because of the time I’ll be
researching it.
What are some other themes you want to explore in future novels?
I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you……….
What was it like being mentored in writing by Frank E. Peretti?
OOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh,
it was heaven. I would bring over a chapter or three, sit at his
kitchen table, hand him a copy and have my own along with a highlighter,
pens, post-it notes, and my computer. Barb would serve munchies and
lattes. I’d read, Frank would comment. I kept a few pages to show my
notes (scrawled EVERYWHERE.)
Which of his books is your favorite?
Well,
I have to confess that the YA series, the Veritas Project, is loosely
based on my dad and I working together in the crime lab. I tend to like
his later books.
What's the most bizarre case you actually worked on as a forensic artist?
I
did a TV special for the History channel where I interviewed and
sketched folks who claimed to have seen bigfoot…..LOL. We are consulted
for local forensic artists to work on “The Dead Files.” I did refuse to
work on a case where the person wanted me to age Amelia Earhart. They
said she survived and was a Tupperware salesperson in New Jersey…..sigh.
If your readers take one thing away from A Cry From the Dust, what do you want it to be? Aaaah….just ONE?
Christian takeaway and emotion:
a feeling of satisfaction, that even through the darkest days, God has a
plan for our lives. We may not know it at the time, but someday we
will. In the meantime: all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
Non-Christian takeaway and emotion:
A satisfying story with a strong protagonist, life problems they can
relate to (acting out kids, divorce), and a message of hope.
Mormon takeaway:
I wove actual events from the LDS past together in such a way that
should they research it, they’ll be shocked that it’s true. Within this
story are additional points I want them to examine: does God change his
mind? Did Brigham Young and early leaders re-write their history? What
happens when someone has complete power and control (in the past:
Mountain Meadows massacre.)I hope they will experience a cognitive
dissidence.
Cancer survivor takeaway: the humor of being bald. And how useful it can be at times. :)
Carrie Stuart Parks has also written and contributed to more than twenty instructional books and DVDs about drawing (particularly drawing people and faces), some of which you can find here.
