Colleen, you’ve written several novels now featuring Bree Nichols. She’s been able to carry all of them with strength and tenacity, even though she’s vulnerable in so many ways. She’s unlike any character I’ve encountered. So, where did the idea of Bree, the unlikely search-and-rescue worker, come from?

I was sitting in a doctor’s office with nothing to read except for one, single hunting magazine. Not my favorite reading material! But I was desperate. I flipped through it and stumbled across an article about search-and-rescue work in Yellowstone. I was intrigued, so I went home and began to research it. Back then, I’d never heard of search dogs, but my research turned up what these amazing dogs can do, and I knew I had to write about a search-and-rescue dog team. As I thought about a dog searching for lost people, I remembered an old poem my beloved Grandma Eileen had in her Bible. It was called Hound of Heaven and was about how Jesus searches for us, chases us down. Bree isn’t a Christian in the first book, and I loved the metaphor for Jesus that Bree’s dog, Samson, became in this series.

Readers often comment about Bree’s unusual home. Why does Bree live in a lighthouse?

I’ve always been fascinated with lighthouses. I love the symbolism about Jesus they portray too-the idea that he’s the light in our lives and it’s our job to let him shine through so that he can be salvation to many. My early books were historical romances, and somehow I think I used a lighthouse to provide a glimpse into an earlier time as well. Plus, my husband and I live in a Victorian home and we’re into restoration of these beautiful old buildings that are disappearing. Lighthouses are part of that passion for restoration.

Did you always plan for Rob to re-enter Bree’s life?

Not at all! It surprised me as much as my readers. Bree is a character who is as real to me as a sister. I was thinking about Cry in the Night, which I’d already begun writing, and was half asleep in the car on the way home from a brainstorming session in Kansas City. I bolted upright and told my husband, “Rob’s not dead.” It took the book in a whole new direction.

That’s fantastic! I love that. Tell us, which character in Cry in the Night did you like the least?

Paul Rosen was just slime. He was cold through and through. At least the villain and Rob both were driven somewhat by passions. I’m more sympathetic to misdirected passion-I’ll take that over coldness any day.

Why did you choose Rock Harbor?

 When I was first planning the Rock Harbor series, I wanted a setting that I personally loved, but one that readers would find refreshing. I love Wyoming and Colorado. Ditto for  Montana. But there are lots of books with those settings. One of my favorite series is by Steve Hamilton and his depiction of the Upper Peninsula is just compelling. My favorite area up there is the Keweenaw Peninsula on the west side. It was settled by Finns, and I love, love, love the Finnish culture. One of my best friends in high school was a Finnish foreign exchange student named Anu. Now you know where I got that name! We hosted her daughter as a Finnish foreign exchange student as well, and we’ve been to Finland. So I knew and loved all things Finnish going into the series.

 Do you have a favorite book in the series?

 Oh that’s like asking me to say I love my son or my daughter more than the other! There’s something I love about each of those books. Even Abomination, which technically isn’t part of the series, is a story that I had to write with that great tie to geocaching. That’s probably my most suspenseful and perhaps darkest book–I’ve had geocachers tell me I made them half afraid to go out! When I reread Without a Trace I still cry at the ending. And the great wedding scene in Into the Deep. Sigh.

Was there any one book in the Rock Harbor series that was harder for you to write?

Into the Deep was difficult for me to write. Samson had become very important to me –as I said, he was based on my daughter’s dog. So when I was researching for this Rock Harbor book, I read about a crime against dogs that really hurt my heart: dogfighting. It became a threat to Samson–in my mind–and all dogs, in reality. Ultimately I decided to weave it in as a threat in the novel, Into the Deep, since it had so much effect on me. Though I never showed that horrid sport “on stage,” but the reality of the threat in real life pained me. I’m so glad Samson wasn’t hurt!

Your readers are crazy about Samson. Any idea why?

 Everything about Samson personifies that wonderful relationship that exists between a dog and his owner. He’s so completely focused on Bree, and he’s the ultimate protector. He personifies an aspect of Jesus in that. When you have a dog who would give his life for you, how can you not love him? Samson is based on my daughter’s dog Harley, and we lost him to bone cancer three years ago. But he lives on through Samson!

Your readers love Anu too. What is it about her that draws your readers?

She’s a lot like my grandma who was my soulmate. Unconditional love and acceptance radiated from her all the time. When I write a scene with Anu, I see my grandma’s face. That kind of love is compelling, and Anu is so wise. She always knows the right thing to say and do. And I liked showing how even the most perfect upbringing doesn’t always produce perfect kids. Every person chooses the narrow path for themselves. It’s not based on your parents or grandparents, but on your own determination to live a life out of self-interest or out of love. 

Several of your novels feature characters struggling to understand mercy and to either offer or receive forgiveness–those must be important themes for you. If there is one thing you want your readers to experience–to understand– on a spiritual level, what is it?

In my own family, I’ve seen how a bitter and unforgiving spirit hurts the bearer even more than the recipient. Who among us deserves God’s mercy and forgiveness? None of us. In being quick to forgive and extend mercy, we mirror to the world the heartbeat of God. Even when I start out writing about another spiritual theme, that core value creeps into my books.