Interview with Peg Blann Phifer...and a Giveaway!

Today, I have the privilege of introducing my fellow author, Peg Blann Phifer. A retired executive assistant after twenty-one years in the Electrical Wholesale Industry, she lives in the ‘boonies’ of NW Wisconsin. A late bloomer, Peg didn’t start taking writing seriously until age fifty.

Her debut novel, To See the Sun, a contemporary romantic suspense, released in January 2012. A second novel, Somehow, Christmas Will Come, contemporary women’s fiction with a touch of romance and mystery, released in November 2014, revised and re-released in late 2015. Whispering Hope, an historical romantic suspense, set during the years of Prohibition, released in early May, 2018. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies over the past five years.

Peg is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not writing, Peg enjoys reading, blogging, and sharing her home with her daughter, son-in-law, and a Border Collie mix dog named Rocky.

Peg is here to tell us about her latest book, Whispering Hope. And she’s offering a free ebook copy to one lucky person who leaves a comment.

I’m especially interested in this novel because I grew up in southeast Wisconsin always heard stories of gangsters who kept a second home in Wisconsin as a retreat to get away from the police and the pressures of their life in Chicago. It was said they behaved themselves in Wisconsin to avoid drawing attention and suspicion. A lake house up the road from us reputedly belonged to a gangster at one time.

So I was excited to read about your latest novel. Tell my readers what it’s about.

What you heard about that northern Wisconsin retreat is true. The Capone brothers, Frank and Al, constructed a stone fortress on Blueberry Lake in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, a place for them to cool off when things got too hot for them in Chicago. It was not too long a drive from where I used to live … back in the day … long ago.

This book is about a Wisconsin country girl who was invited to spend a week in Chicago with her cousin. The year is 1930. While there her cousin takes her out ‘on the town’ to an East Side speakeasy, where they get caught up on a gangland shooting. They escape, but things get interesting when an FBI agent with the Chicago Bureau of Prohibition pays the girls a visit. Is that enough of a teaser? ?

It sure is! What drew you to the story and that era?

As I said above, the Capone ‘Hideout’ always intrigued me, though I never actually drove out to see it. It’s still there, but I understand it is now closed to visitors. Anyway, it may seem weird, but those tumultuous years always held a fascination for me, beginning with the WCTU and the enaction of the Volstead Act. On, and watching “The Untouchables” on TV years ago.

Did you learn anything unusual in your research for the story?

The whole research was a blast. I bought books about it, the bootlegging, the smuggling, and even bought a video Ken Burns (PBS) produced which covered the whole era. Hard to believe what all went on.

I understand. I was always fascinated by that era as well. Tell us a little about you. When did you start writing? How many books have you published?

Unlike many authors/writers, I didn’t always want to be a writer. I didn’t really start thinking about it until I was 50! Talk about a late bloomer!

I have three books published. My debut novel “To See the Sun” is a contemporary romantic suspense set in Las Vegas, where I lived for 33 years. My second book, “Somehow Christmas Will Come” is a women’s fiction with a touch of romance. And, of course, “Whispering Hope” – Historical Romantic Suspense.

What do you consider the hardest part of writing?

Discipline. I love writing, I even enjoy rewriting. But I tend to be a terrible procrastinator. This is not a good thing.

I can identify with that. What message do you hope readers will take away from your story?

I don’t think I actually had a ‘message’ – intentionally. But I suppose the book’s title would indicate that there’s always HOPE, not matter how dire or frightening the situation is.