Followers and Return Readers will remember Beverly Nault from me reviewing her books!
Well I am so happy to say SHE'S BACK and she's got a brand new book! :D
What inspired you to write Misdirect, a Novel of Spies, the Sahara, and Searching for God?
I’m a fan of spy novels, and I have had a germ of a story about a mother-daughter relationship that started on a long car trip with my own daughter years ago. We brainstormed plots and characters, and that story was in the back of my mind started working on writing a spy story.
For the espionage angle, I had a lot of work to do because as I studied the craft, I realized their greatest strength is lying, or as they call it, “misdirecting” so that whatever they’re doing won’t be discovered until they can accomplish their objective. I studied spycraft, interviewed an intelligence expert about ISIS recruiting, read about the Sahara, and what it’s like to ride a camel. The desert part was pretty easy since I live in Southern California and we’re surrounded by them.
I wanted to include the reader in the misdirection to pull off a surprise twist at the end, so I had my work cut out for me. This probably took me the most amount of time making sure the details worked for the ending.
Is there a Bible verse that the story centers around?
The plot itself can be defined by 2 Corinthians 4:18-
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
because of what’s going on as far as the spy-craft, and the events that unfold. In a broader, more eternal application, it also applies because of how God works in our lives even when we don’t recognize his presence until all is revealed in His time.
What is you're favorite Bible verse right now?
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8
This has been a scripture I’ve prayed for those who either muddy His truths, or downright choose to ignore Christ’s death and resurrection and believe falsehoods of man-made religions.
Is this going to be the first in a series?
I don’t plan on a series, but I also wasn’t sure if I was ever going to accomplish this book until God kept prodding and equipping me, so I’ll just say, we shall see!
Is there anything else you want readers to know?
Eve, the main character in Misdirect, is a CIA analyst who’s been on desk duty after botching an op several years ago. When she’s thrown back into the field, she knows her tradecraft is rusty but she hits the ground running in the most important op in her career. While that storyline is exciting and important, her parallel storyline is also important because it reveals her walk with Christ, which has also grown rusty. When she encounters a young Muslim teen who challenges her beliefs, she has to sort out answers to his questions, and quickly brushes up on her own faith.
My hope with her story is that readers realize that even when we don’t feel our walk or answers are adequate, as Eve worried, God is still there for us. He can work through us, even in our inadequacies to reach others we meet along life’s paths, whether we’re in the Sahara on camel back, or chatting with a neighbor on our own street corner.
What are you working on next?
We’re hitting the road in our motor coach for a couple of years, so for the time being the only writing I’m planning will be updating my travel blog, http://flywiththenaults.blogspot.com. As I said, I don’t have plans for a sequel or another long novel, but you never know what God will prompt!
Thanks for having me!
Book Description:
A mission failure has confined CIA covert operative Eve Parker to desk duty and she’s left to pick up the pieces of her broken personal life. But when her daughter’s fiancé is taken hostage, Eve must return to the Middle East armed with rusty tradecraft, and dubious credibility shrouded in her peers’ skepticism. Will she get it together in time to thwart the biggest threat to America since 9/11, or will her old-fashioned ways cause her to fail again?
And if a suspected mole, a missing thumb drive, and a camel ride through the desert weren’t challenging enough, a young Muslim boy with questions about God cause Eve to struggle with her own faith. As the most important assignment of her life draws near, events unfold to demonstrate that, particularly in espionage, things are not always as they seem.
Join Eve Parker as she confronts her past, a national threat, and a crisis of faith in this spy thriller layered with intrigue, suspense, and surprise ending from an award-winning author reviewers call “a master storyteller."
Misdirect is on sale for .99 cents from now (July 18th, 2017) until the July 25th, 2017!
Misdirect is on sale for .99 cents from now (July 18th, 2017) until the July 25th, 2017!
Find Bev:
Twitter @BevNault
The Kaleidoscope San Diego Book Award Finalist, Reader’s Favorite Award
Disclaimer: I have not yet read this book therefore I can not give my opinion nor recommendation yet. ~ASC
