Thanks for dropping by the page today. We have author Donnette Smith with us to talk about her novel BURIED ALIVE. Welcome, Donnette!
SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
DS: Jenna Langley is the kind of woman who takes matters deeply to heart. Like for instance, when Cole Rainwater, the teenage love of her life promised her it would be she and him forever, that was as good as written in stone as far as she was concerned. Even though tragedy struck in their lives at the age of seventeen, and they were forced apart for ten years, there wasn’t a day that went by she didn’t think of him and remember the vow they’d made so long ago.
Jenna has a way of sympathizing with others on a profound level. And I believe it is this gift that awakened her clairvoyant abilities at a young age. Although she sustains these incredible, psychic talents, she would give anything to just be a normal girl living an average life. But she finds the longer she must content with these psychic episodes, the more she begins to realize that being ordinary will never be in the cards for her. And she struggles to find a way to accept that.
Jenna also has an independent streak a mile wide. More than anything, her take-charge attitude came from her mother’s constant meddling in her life. Too many important decisions had been taken away from her when she was a teen, and the penance paid for her mom’s intrusion was Jenna’s happiness. When she became a woman, she decided no one would be responsible for the course of her life other than herself. And when something happens that makes her rethink that, she must decide if letting go of her independence is worth the reward she stands to gain.
SC: We all certainly have some tough decisions to make on our journey. Sounds like Jenna can handle it. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
DS: I believe when people fully open themselves up to the world around them, they will be blessed with an insight into things they can’t see. Call it a sixth sense, an intuition, whatever label you want to stick on it. Like white noise…there are things out there beyond the realm of our knowledge. And the awesome thing is, we can all tap into it, simply by paying attention to what we can’t see, and allowing ourselves to believe we are not the only ones exiting on earth.
There have been times in my life when I’ve seen things before they’ve happened. And I’ve heard people say things before they had an opportunity to speak them. For instance, I’ll never forget what happened right before my husband’s father passed away. His bone cancer had progressed, and we got the call they were transporting him to hospice. We drove down as quickly as we could. We’d spent a few days with him, and we knew the time was drawing near. But he’d held on for so long that the nurses were baffled as to what was keeping him from letting go.
I remember sitting in his room with the family. We all knew he was waiting for something, and everyone began to ask what it could be. The nurse, who stood by his bedside looked at us and announced he was waiting for his youngest son, Michael. I remember at the time thinking how strange it was she would say that when she didn’t know who Michael was and had no idea that he was on his way to hospice to see his father. It wasn’t long after Michael arrived to say goodbye to his dad, that his father passed away.
Hours later, the family and the nurse who had been in the room with us, gathered outside. We were all sitting around the picnic bench when someone asked again why he had held on so long. Me and my husband’s sister looked at each other, and we both said in unison that he had been waiting for Michael to arrive. Everyone stared at us in shock. And I said, remember. The nurse said as much in his room. The nurse shook her head and insisted she’d never spoken any such words. Everyone else agreed they hadn’t heard her say that at all.
But me and my sister-in-law heard her say it as clear as a bell. I knew that day from the bottom of my heart that was my husband’s father’s way of reaching out to us to let us know who he had been waiting for.
SC: Thanks so much for sharing that with us. Sounds like you've met the Clair's... i.e. Clairaudience. For those who can't see into the future, what titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
DS: I’m working on book 3 of the Spirit Walker Series, The Stolen. In book 3, Jenna Langley faces her biggest challenge yet. She gets kidnapped by a human trafficking ring, and she must rely on the guidance of a dead girl who was once their captive to survive this latest horror.
Writing about the subject of human trafficking was something that pressed upon my heart. Human trafficking has become the second most profitable criminal activity in the United States, second only to illegal drugs. Yet, it doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. There are an estimated 27 million victims of trafficking. 50% are children, and 80% are women and girls. That’s a frightening statistic. And it begs the question of what exactly it’s going to take to stop these monsters.
SC: Best of luck with that! Thanks for chatting with us today. Let's take a look at Book Two from your Spirit Walker series now.
Excerpt:
At the same time
a sharp intake of breath filled her lungs, Jenna’s eyes snapped open. Blackness
surrounded her; panic set in instantly as soft whimpers set off a series of
echoes. It took a moment for it to sink in the sounds were her own.
Raising both
hands, her palms struck a hard object not a foot above her head. She slid her
palms over a rough surface, searching, feeling across the top and down the
sides of what felt like a wooden crate.
That embodied
her like a tomb.
She let go a
shriek, crying out in agony, “No! no! please, no!” There was no doubt she was
in the very place that stoked the deepest fear in her heart. Just the way her
vision forewarned. She was buried alive.
This sounds like a very suspenseful book. I look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kelly. I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having me on your blog today.
ReplyDeleteStop by anytime!
DeleteThis sounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteGreat interview, excellent excerpt and Buried Alive sounds like my kind of book! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a fantastic week!
ReplyDelete