Its my pleasure today to welcome author, Rosetta D. Hoessli to talk about her book, Falling Through Ice.
RB: I heard this was a true story. What can you tell us about the subject of your book?
Rosetta: Falling Through Ice is the true story of a San Antonio, Texas woman named Carolyn Sue Huebner who, at age 29, was arrested on May 27, 1987 for conspiracy in a plot to have her husband murdered. This in itself might not have been so shocking, but Huebner was the founder and president of Texas Child Search, Inc., an organization that had located 59 missing children since its inception in 1982. Much appreciated by law enforcement and called upon for assistance by child abuse experts all over the country.
Falling Through Ice brings the reader directly into Carolyn’s courageous struggle to come to grips with the secrets in her past and the disastrous effects those secrets had on her life. Carolyn’s incarceration saved her life and gave her the opportunity to discover the only lost child she had ever been afraid to find—the child within herself.
RB: Is there an overriding theme you hope your readers take away from your book?
Rosetta: There are two overriding themes for me. One is that our society must recognize that child abuse affects far more than just its littlest victims. Child abuse victimizes everyone. Child abuse victims fill our prisons, mental institutions, and homeless shelters.
The other theme is even more important, and that is that God exists. He’s alive, and He’s just waiting for us to acknowledge His Presence. In Falling Through Ice, God stayed with a little child and helped her survive unspeakable torment, only to take a backseat in her life until she welcomed Him back again. God doesn’t force His way into our lives. He waits for us to call out to Him and then He comes. His blessings are so much more than we deserve.
RB: How long have you been writing and does your background influence what you write?
Rosetta: My background influences me in that I’m an only child and I’ve been reading since I was about four years old. I learned early to create characters to play with. Also, because I’m a military brat, we moved every two years and I always had to set up a new home in a new environment. That taught me to describe places and cultures. So, by the time I was about twelve, I was writing anything that interested me.I started my first book (long since thrown into the trash heap) when my daughter was a toddler and I needed a creative outlet to keep from going crazy. It was a lousy book, but I finished it and that was the most important thing. So—and this is a shock to me!—I’ve been writing more than 50 years!
RB: Oh my goodness, that is a long time. Do you have a favorite book on the writing craft?
Rosetta: My favorite book is one on character development called Fiction is Folks. I use this book no matter what I’m working on—fiction or nonfiction, books or articles. If the piece requires a human being, I pull out Fiction is Folks.
RB: What is your advice to struggling authors out there?
Rosetta: Be persistent. Never give up. Believe in yourself. Read, read, read! Study the work of authors you admire and pay close attention to the way they put their stories together. Don’t copy them, but learn from them. RB: That's great advice. What’s coming up for you in terms of your career?
Rosetta: I’m finally starting to work on a historical family saga trilogy (with a paranormal slant) that I’ve wanted to work on for years. The first book, the one I’m working on now, is called Comanche Winds. Set in Texas, it’ll cover about 50 years of two families—one Anglo, one Indian.
RB: Thank you so much for visiting with us.
To find out more about her book, Falling Through Ice, visit her on Amazon.