Hey all! My author friend JPC Allen joins us again for an interview. Read on to learn about her newest release, A Storm of Doubts!

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LB: Tell us a little bit about how you do your research for police and investigation scenes.

JPC: I knew absolutely nothing about law enforcement and needed to learn as much as I could about it because my main character’s father is the sheriff of their county. I took part in a free 11-week course in 2020 that my county sheriff’s department offered free to county citizens. That was an amazing experience. Detectives, dispatchers, K-9 officers, SWAT members, and many other types of law enforcement professionals talked to us about what they do. Since then, when I have law enforcement questions, I contact someone at the sheriff’s department. The officers have always been very helpful. For my latest cozy mystery, A Storm of Doubts, I spoke to a retired lawyer because I had to understand Ohio’s divorce laws and someone in the coroner’s office because I had questions about how to determine time of death.

LB: That’s great to have friends in the sheriff’s department that you can ask! Sometimes I worry that my Google searches will make me look like a deranged criminal. Your books are full of suspense, small town vibes, and characters who are so realistic I feel like I’m part of Marlin County. Unlike many books on the market, romance is not a major element in your stories. Why is that?

JPC: First and foremost, I don’t read romance. I couldn’t write it because I wouldn’t know what readers expect in a romance. Second, my interests have always been in mysteries. As my series has developed, I know I’ll have to introduce romantic elements but the focus will always be a traditional, fair-play mystery with the relationship between my main character Rae Riley and her newly found father, Mal, at its heart. The odd thing I’ve discovered is that the father-daughter relationship echoes tropes in a romance but in a platonic way. Such as, Rae has to work at trusting her dad.

LB: I love that the focus is on Rae and her dad, and I think it’s great to have books like this available. Why is it important to you to write for teens and young adults?

JPC: In many ways, I don’t have a choice. For some reason, when I think of a story, it usually unfolds from the point of view of a teen or young adult. I’m not sure why that’s where my imagination automatically goes. I also like writing for this age group because it’s important for the kids who don’t want the depressing, graphic stories that mainstream publishers crank out to have a choice of positive, decent storytelling. I know that from experience as a mom. My kids have serious trouble finding new books that don’t contain graphic or disturbing or negative content. 

I also want teens to know they can still have adventures. I believe so many stories for teens are in the fantasy or historical fiction genre because most adults believe the ever-present phone cancels all adventures and suspense. Life isn’t that dull yet. Adventures can be found and created for stories with some research.

LB: I can relate to getting story ideas from the perspective of a young adult, and I’m so glad you write adventure and suspense! What is the most important takeaway you hope readers gain from your books?

JPC: It depends on what the reader would like from the book. If they just want to get lost in a good mystery, I provide that. If they want to dig into the faith element, I provide that too. The most important takeaway is that if a reader is looking for a father, there’s one always available. Our Heavenly Dad is always hoping to add to His family.

LB: That’s an important takeaway, for sure! Do you know a new book’s ending when you begin your first draft?

JPC: I usually do. I don’t know if I’m odd in that habit. Knowing the ending gives me a goal to aim for. I can take any number of routes to get there, but at least, I know where I’m heading. The actual wording of the ending may change but the main points don’t.

LB: The process of writing a mystery is still a bit mysterious to me. Thanks for sharing that. Will Rae Riley have a third story?! I’m rooting for one!

JPC: Yes! I’m already plotting the next one. It will take place in October. The ending is set for Halloween. A huge bear is reportedly roaming Marlin County, but some people think it’s Bigfoot. There is a Bigfoot group in Ohio that investigates sightings in the state and I’m doing research about this area of interest. There’s also a strange will and a lost inheritance. Any of these elements could change by the time I put the ideas on paper because sometimes they look better in my head than in print. 

LB: Interesting! I look forward to the next story! Where can readers find you?

JPC: Readers can follow me to my mystery at Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads, and Amazon.

LB: Thank you so much for the fun interview! Readers, comment below with your favorite character from the Rae Riley series.

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JPC Allen started her writing career in second grade with an homage to Scooby Doo, and she’s been tracking down mysteries ever since. Her Christmas mystery “A Rose from the Ashes” was the first Rae Riley mystery and a Selah-finalist at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in 2020. Her latest Rae Riley novel, A Storm of Doubts , released in 2024. Online, she offer tips and prompts to ignite the creative spark in every kind of writer. She also leads workshops for tweens, teens, and adults, encouraging them to discover the adventure of writing. Coming from a long line of Mountaineers, I’m a life-long Buckeye.

If you like to “live” a story as well as read it, check out the latest novel in the Rae Riley mystery series.

About A Storm of Doubts: Her dad said nothing could hurt their relationship. But what if he isn’t her dad?

Summer gets off to a rocky start for twenty-year-old Rae Riley when the ex-wife of family friend Jason Carlisle claims their youngest child isn’t his and Rae’s con man uncle Troy returns to Marlin County, Ohio. Rae is already at odds with her father, Sheriff Walter “Mal” Malinowski, over her desire to help people in trouble. When she extends that help to Uncle Troy and Jason’s ex-wife, Ashley, she and Mal clash even more.

Then Ashley disappears, and Jason and his brother Rick are the main suspects. As Rae and her aunt Carrie, a private investigator hired to protect Jason’s kids, work to discover what really happened to Ashley, Rae wrestles with Troy’s insinuations that she may be calling the wrong Malinowski “Dad.”

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“JPC Allen writes beautiful descriptions. You can clearly ‘see’ the scenes. But more than that, it is as if you are there too. This book is a wonderful Christian mystery with words of faith interspersed with suspense.”

– Author Theresa Van Meter