Our own Voni Harris and her New Release Burning Rivals

Popping in to say, Voni is celebrating! And all of us here at the Diamond Mine are so excited for her. Her sophomore release, Burning Rivals hit the virtual shelf just a few weeks ago. It's an Alaskan adventure just in time for the boiling heat of July! Leave all that humidity behind along with those temperatures pushing passed ninety and pull up a iceberg for our chat with Voni!

Hey, Voni! So excited to highlight your new book. Refresh everyone’s memory and tell us where you are from and where you live now.

I live in the constant beauty of Kodiak, Alaska—a rain forest island— fishing village homes, mountains, the gorgeous and powerful Pacific Ocean, towering spruce forests, and the sky with a mix of colors, and bears, fish, sea lions, otters, all reminding me of God every day. Even on the rainy, icy, wintry days.

Of course it was also beautiful in Southern Indiana—rolling hills and farm country— where Rich and I lived after we were married…

…In Iowa, where we met in college in Des Moines. Also beautiful with corn farmland around and the Des Moines River running through town.

But I grew up in Wyoming, with mountains in the distance, and wind blowing with gusts that wanted to blow me away some days. Oh, the beauty and power of God!

Do you have pets?

You don’t know me if you have to ask that, lol. I’ve never been without dogs in my life, except you know, college where they weren’t allowed in the dorms. Rich and I have a black and white Australian shepherd (Sting, who thinks we exist to play tug every moment of the day.) and a black and white Boston Terrier (Kip, who thinks she must dart around and make us laugh, and beg for food every moment of the day).

What’s the most unusual animal you’ve seen in person not just in a zoo.

On our first hike in Kodiak, we saw Kodiak bears in the distance. A Kodiak bear several years later walked down our street. Another left some scat in our yard. Also, bald eagles are abundant here, majestic and threatening to small pets—one sat in our yard and ate our neighbor’s chicken with his partner.

Let’s talk favorites. Favorite recipe? Favorite dessert? Favorite color? Favorite book? Favorite Bible verse?

Recipe: I keep thinking of white chicken chili lately.

Dessert: Chocolate lava cake. Or butter pecan ice cream.

Color: I would say I don’t have a favorite color, but I love yellow with a soft green, yellow with blue, yellow with black, yellow with white, yellow with gray, yellow with red (not like a convenience store)…so, anyway, I’ll have to say yellow, especially a buttery yellow.

Book: Anne of Avonlea series from my childhood, or any Nancy Drew book. As a grown up, Dee Henderson books or Ronie Kendig or Lisa Phillips. I can’t pick one, lol.

Bible verse:

 [Jer 18:1-6 ESV] 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me:  "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”

God goes on here in Jeremiah to talk about His power to shape Israel and the countries of the world. But I also see here God shaping me and the awesome life He has given me. May my heart always be soft like the clay in the potter’s hand.

Do you have a job outside of the home? Did you ever work outside the home, and if so, where?

I worked in restaurants as a server for a while. I worked in a company who was putting newspaper articles online for searches. I tutored (sometimes still tutor). But mainly, I homeschooled our daughter all the way through. Now, I write.

How did you get into writing, and how did you get into writing suspense?

I was an obsessive reader—reading while standing on my head and I had to be reminded to stop reading while walking. So there’s that. Also, Mom was a newspaper reporter, then editor of the paper. And Dad was the law enforcement instructor at the community college, friend and teacher of the cops in the local police department. So how else could I NOT end up writing suspense?

Your book Burning Rivals is set in Alaska. Tell us how your experience in Alaska fed into the setting.

When Rich and I were in Anchorage, we drove out to the city that inspired the setting of the Chasing Fire: Alaska series. It was so fun, and so full of people driving from Anchorage to Denali, or just touristing. Such interesting pictures to take and send to the other authors in the series.

What was the most exciting scene to write in Burning Rivals?

You know, I really enjoyed writing the scene where Cadee and Vince have to go to help rescue the people in the village she grew up in. They choose to, but they are smokejumpers, so if they’re needed, they go. It helps open their eyes to each other, especially Vince seeing Cadee’s past, like her growing up years.

Oh, and the scene with the river filled with dead salmon…fun to write, since they end up in that oily water. Typical Alaska during the salmon life cycle.

Can you come up with 5 things about Voni Harris that have nothing to do with writing?

1.      I am a whole 4’6”. My life is unique! Anyone wanna go shopping with me to reach the stuff on the top shelves for me? LOL.

2.    I have a degree in Radio-Television (Journalism)…but fiction writing is where I’ve always been headed, even while I thought it was just a hobby.

3.    I may be obsessed with movies—but call me a film buff. Okay, TV series as well. NCIS, Blue Bloods, etc. But doesn’t “film buff” sound so meaningful and consequential?

4.    Hubby and I love to travel. Of course, how else are we going to see family?

5.     Our family fills my heart. Daughter, Son-in-law, Grandson, and Granddaughter. 

What’s your next writing move? Writing? Editing? Publishing?

I am planning out my next book (I am a plotter!), but working on figuring out the backstory of the crucial computer…this is hard for some reason. But SO fun to travel down some fascinating research rabbit holes.

 Thank you for the opportunity to share the beauty and fun of the life God has created for me. And the fun of your questions!

And thank you for your answers and sharing your new release with us! Win a copy of Burning Rivals by leaving a comment of entering your info on our contact form. If you can't wait (and why would you?), follow the links to grab your copy of Burning Rivals by Voni Harris right now!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a super-spectacular reading day!

Cara Grandle: Christian Historical Fiction and Her Life of Creativity

  Hello, Everyone! I'd like to introduce you to Christian historical author, Cara Grandle.

Cara Grandle writes historical Christian romance with all the heart, grit, and wagon-trail wonder you never knew you needed—think prairie sunsets, courageous heroines, and swoony moments set against the rugged beauty of the Oregon Territory. Author of the Sisters of the Porcelain Doll series, including The Rock, The Ribbon, The Rose, and The Ruby, Cara spins tales where faith and hope are never far from the trail dust and frontier challenges.  

A born storyteller and unabashed history fan, Cara’s stories blend adventure, tender romance, and the kind of resilient characters who make you cheer out loud. Whether it’s an independent woman baking her way through timber camps or a former outlaw with a heart that softens as gently as a mountain sunrise, her characters feel like friends you’re happy to meet and hate to leave. 

And here's her interview!

Hi, Cara, my friend! So glad to get this interview-on-paper chance with you!

     Voni, thank you for asking me to do this. When I’m thinking of how we met way back on periscope and the friendship we forged over years… Years it makes my soul feel good.

      I agree! And when we get to see each other in person, particularly.

 

To start out fun: What is your favorite food? Make it at home or eat at a restaurant?

I guess I would have to say that I am an at-home meal girl. We have this beautiful view of a creek in our backyard, and my husband loves to sit out on the patio with a fire pit burning. I like to make either salmon he caught or venison. We harvested with a big garden salad that has so much fresh earthy flavors that it doesn’t need salad dressing. That meal with my favorite person, my hubby, ticks so many boxes. Not that I don’t enjoy a good restaurant date from time to time.

Ooh, I want to come over for one of those meals!!!

 

 Now, here’s the real first question…what led to you becoming a Christian fiction author?

I’m kind of an anomaly in the author world. So many of my friends have started their love for words when they were young and in school or even pursued it in college. I didn’t do that at all. I think I read my first books cover to cover, minus a small handful, after I was married when I was swimming in little babies. I had five kids in 7-½ years. So that made for a lot of home days. My sister-in-law got me hooked and we didn’t have the Internet so we read out our local library, and we would sit and talk about what kind of books we loved the best and which ones we hoped our favorite authors tried to write next. I was a big Lori Wick fan. I still am and I hope my readers find similarities between her and I. At one point, I said to my sister-in-law, “I know I’ll write a book, and you can edit it.” She was like Beaker on the Muppets. (if that doesn’t date me, I don’t know what does.) She got that trapped look in her eyes. But that is exactly what I did. I started writing as escapism and then 10 years later the Lord legitimized my play and what I so enjoyed doing into something that He valued. I’m forever grateful for His words that happily came before all the work of being a novelist.

  

Would you please tell us about your very first published book?

Crazily enough, my first book, The Rock, is actually the fifth book I wrote. Learning to be an author is no joke. I love the story. It’s a true rags-to-riches, underdog-overcoming adventure. I like to write settlers books, where they have to start a new life over on the Oregon end of the Oregon Trail 1850-1885. So that definitely gives the fish out of water feel for my poor heroine, Heather. And don’t forget the bad guy. One of my favorite pieces of the story is that I got to write a curmudgeon. Don’t you love a really good grumpy guy. Not as the main character, in this book the curmudgeon is her father. He loves her in his own way, and that’s part of the problem.

I don’t know why, but curmudgeons are always fun and beloved. And loving.

 

              What was the spark behind your Sisters of the Porcelain Doll series?

What a fun interview question. I’m not sure anyone has asked me that yet. When I wrote my first series that didn’t get published, yet, one story grew out of another. But I didn’t know what to do. I had all these other really fun story ideas that seemed like they would never get their day in the sun, because I was constantly, organically, coming up with a story that was an offshoot of another. I asked the Lord for help on how to create a series out of four individual story ideas. The next thing you know, I was at a friend’s wedding. She was much younger than me, and I was a mentor to her. She had a dance after, all of her friends, her dearest closest friends were in a line holding hands. Each one was so different and had such a different life story, and each was in a different season of life, but they had created a tight sister bond. Sisters by choice rather than blood, if you will. It’s kind of like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Do you remember that movie? I still have a black-and-white picture of that moment on my wall.

Sometimes inspiration is just a moment. What a moment!

(To check out the Porcelain Doll series, check out Cara's website: caragrandle.com)

What makes writing a challenge when you’re sitting at your computer?

This is the fastest answer of the whole interview. Picture me laughing. I feel like I have a bottomless supply of a story. But every story requires editing, and smoothing, and always better craft. I’m so much better at that part than I used to be, and I even enjoy it now that I feel like a sculptor with words. But the diligence and discipline to stay in the chair when it’s sunny outside and I could go play in my garden or with my grandbabies is a force. I frequently have to remind myself that I can do hard things.

For me, it’s a movie or a TV series or another book that wants to draw me away.

 

What book or books are you currently reading? (Or are you re-reading?)

I’m an avid reader. And I was before I became a novelist, and I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose my love for reading. So I have some non-fiction and fiction books happening on my desk right now. I usually have five books going at a time. I like a physical book, one on my Kindle, one audiobook, one craft book which I include history and research in, and one devotional style or self-help. So my devotional right now is Randy Alcorn’s Seeing the Unseen about eternal perspective, self-help is The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Ruben, my Kindle read is Roseanna White’s A Noble Scheme, my paper book is Pepper Basham’s The Highland Heist, and the audiobook I’m just getting started with is the newest hunger games book, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.

Wow. Five at once!

 

              What other creative projects do you enjoy?

This is a hilarious question for me, because I’m one of those people who is fueled in her creativity by doing creative things in different lanes. So, I like a lot of things and I actively do a lot of things, which makes me look scattered—until you look closer over years. I’m an avid gardener, I resale on eBay, which means I thrift and pick. My niche is collectible costume jewelry—think of your granny’s old brooches and you’re in the zone. Journaling, painting, and calligraphy are a few more. And I rotate them.

I think creativity in that “scattered” way spurs your writing creativity, for sure.

 

Since you’re from the wild Pacific Northwest, what outdoor activities do you like?

I never know if it’s very PC to say, but I’m a hunter—think head-to-toe camo, long wilderness hikes off-grid, and big guns—both big game and duck. Duck hunting has just come to an end, but let me tell you there’s nothing to relieve stress like shotgun therapy.

My hubby would sure love to hunt.

  

2026: New Year’s Resolution or Word of the Year? (And will you share?)

Being a planner girl and a journal-er, I most definitely have a word for the year. It’s always interesting to see what the Lord draws up out of a word that you weren’t expecting or couldn’t predict. My word for the year is Renaissance. I believe that 2026, for me, will be a year of renewed interest, growth, revival in dormant places…that I will find reinterpretation or discovery in things I’ve done before. Flourishing in the arts, ideas, and thinking discoveries. I think there will be exploration and potentially a pivot. (I can never say the word pivot without thinking of the Friends episode of TV “Pivot!”) I love words of the year. I would absolutely love to know what yours are. I think I grow and mature just hearing people talk about the way they take on a word for the year.

Mine has been Live for the last few years. Not as in You Only Live Once. YOLO means nothing to me. For me Live means to set my roots deep in my life—because God gave me this life.

 

Last, but not least, what is your next writing project? What can we look forward to?

This is fun to answer because I do have a book coming out this fall. It’s called Burnt Secrets. It’s a marriage-of-convenience, and reunion story mixed with a bank robbery, set in 1851. (Don’t you just love a good reunion story. I’ve been known to lose time watching military reunions on social media.)

So true! Easy to lose time on social media.

Burnt Secrets also includes my experience with both a house fire when I was young and being evacuated because of forest fires. So, picture of the old movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers time period and location with a biiiig fire… and bad guys.

OOOOOOooooh! I can’t wait for Burnt Secrets, Cara! 

Thanks for sharing all of this. I’m glad you had fun with the answers, because that made your interview fun. Happy Renaissance year!

A New Year is Dawning!

Welcome back readers! 

We are on the cusp of a new year and as usual, we have some goodbyes and some hellos to bid.

The Diamond Mine will say adieu to Gay N. Lewis/G.N. Lewis. We pray she continues to flourish as an author and hope readers will continue to support her as her time comes to an end on The Diamond Mine.

But we have a new member to welcome. I'm excited to share with you as I have met this author and even had lunch with her, and she is fantastic! Please welcome in Voni Harris! Check out her bio:

Voni Harris

With a law-enforcement instructor father and a newspaper editor mother, it’s no wonder Voni Harris grew up to write suspense novels. Voni writes from the home she shares with her legal-eagle husband on the beautiful and mysterious Alaskan island of Kodiak, where her creativity abounds. She belongs to American Christian Fiction Writers and has been published in two short-story collections: Heart-Stirring Stories of Romance, and Spiritual Citizens at http://drawneartochrist.com. 

Her debut book, Surge, released in November 2024 by Sunrise Publishing.

Check out Voni's book:

Welcome Voni, and what a gorgeous book! We're looking forward to reading your interviews in the the near future!

We here at The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction pray that all of you enjoy a beautiful blessed new year growing closer to the Lord and working to spread His love!

Thank you for visiting our site and supporting us. Tell your friends, share our links, read the books, leave the reviews, bless one another, and spread God's love and kindness wherever you go!