My book Shadow in Serenity has an interesting history, much like its colorful characters. In the mid-nineties, I was writing secular romance and women’s fiction. During that time, I came under intense conviction that I wasn’t using my writing gift the way God intended. At the time, I was working on a book for HarperCollins. I wound up making the decision that it would be my last book in that market, and I bought back the rest of the contracts I had with other publishers. I then started over with my career, writing Christian suspense novels under my real name instead of the names I’d been using. (I’m deliberately withholding those other names and the title of that book, because I don’t want you to buy those earlier books.)

That last book in the secular market was a favorite of mine, and I’ve since wished that my current readers had the chance to read it. I was delighted when my current publisher, Zondervan (part of HarperCollins) agreed to publish it again, and allowed me to revise it so that it more closely fit my worldview and my Christian conscience. In the original version, well-meaning editors had insisted that I take out the Christian content so that it would be more “ecumenical” to readers. Zondervan allowed me to put that back in. There were also some elements that I wanted to change after deepening my walk with Christ.

I got the idea for the book after reading Catch Me if You Can by Frank Abagnale. He was a con artist who, from a very young age, learned to get rich by scamming everyone from banks to airlines. He wound up serving several years in prison, then went to work for the FBI, teaching them how to fight this kind of crime. That book later became a movie, and now is a Broadway play.

My character Logan Brisco is modeled after this type of con artist, and he comes to a small Texas town to fleece the residents of their life savings. But he’s surprised to run into Carny Sullivan, who knows a con artist when she sees one, because she used to be one, herself.

Carny was raised in traveling carnivals, and her parents trained her early to pick pockets and create diversions for their scams. When she was led to Christ, she settled in the little town of Serenity, where she was loved and discipled, and given a chance to start a new life. So when Brisco comes to town, she knows right away that he’s trying to scam her loved ones. She’s determined to fight him every step of the way, and expose him for the fraud he is.

The book is kind of a modern-day Music Man, except Carny is anything but a Marion-the-Librarian. Both of these characters are among the most interesting I’ve created, and I smile every time I think of them. To research them, I delved into the lives of other carnies and con artists, to make sure I had their language right and could think like they would think.

If you’re interested in reading Chapter One of this book, watching the video trailer, or pre-ordering the book, go here. The book will be available in hardcover, paperback, audio, Kindle, and Nook, as well as other digital formats.

Thank you for being a loyal reader. I think of you every day as I create new worlds for you to read about!

Terri Blackstock