As an Army brat, Army mom, and Army wife, Debby Giusti is extremely qualified to tell a story or two about life in the military. In her latest book she takes us to Fort Rickman, where a murderer is stalking the families of soldiers and Special Agent Jamison Steele is determined to stop it no matter what.
WHAT INSPIRED YOUR BOOK THE COLONEL’S DAUGHTER?
The military always inspires me. I’m proud of the men and women in uniform who defend our nation and equally proud of the strong military families who support them. That’s probably because my dad was career Army. We moved every two or three years so I’ve got a lot of wanderlust in me and am always eager to experience new things, which is one reason I love to write suspense. Every story is a new adventure.
My hubby is an army guy and my son is as well so, in additional to being an Army brat, I’m also an Army wife and Army mom. When my editor asked if I’d be interested in writing a military series, I jumped at the chance and eventually decided to write about heroes and heroines in the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. The Colonel’s Daughter is the third book in my Military Investigations series. The General’s Secretary will be out in January, and my editor just offered me a contract for two more stories, which will make thirteen books in total that I will have published with Love Inspired.
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF WRITING THE STORY?
My son has been deployed four times and each homecoming has been an emotional event that I wanted to share with readers so I built a suspense story around a homecoming. Writing the actual scene in The Colonel’s Daughter was extremely satisfying to me as an author.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE STORY WHERE YOU DREW ELEMENTS FROM REAL LIFE?
When I started the series, I created a fictional Army post, Fort Rickman, located in South Georgia. The post is a combination of Fort Benning, where my son is currently stationed, and Fort Knox, where I met and married my husband. The quarters pictured on the cover of The Colonel’s Daughter look very similar to the quarters I lived in as a girl. I had sent a few photos to the Art Department, and they did a great job of capturing the feel and the look of that old brick home.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE READERS GET OUT OF YOUR WORK?
Hopefully readers will have a better realization of the sacrifices our military make each and every day as well as the sacrifices their families make, especially during deployments.
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?
I’m working on the fifth book in the Military Investigations series, which will be about the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program. I’ve interviewed the Warrior Advocate in Atlanta, where I live, and hope to go to Fort Benning soon to talk to the folks who run the Wounded Warrior Battalion there. The Army does so much now to help our injured heroes, and I want to highlight the program in this upcoming story.