Where Secrets Lie

Where Secrets Lie is a riveting exploration of one family's reliance on secrets, how those secrets affect their relationships and alter the directions their lives take, and where those secrets all began.

Sara and Katie's mother, Lee, spends her life deploying secrets in order to protect her loved ones not only from difficult truths, but also from the prejudices they elicit. In spite of the torment her own secret laden past causes her, Lee raises her daughters to repress inconvenient truths.

As a result, both sisters' relationships with their significant others are in jeopardy. Sara chooses an unorthodox way to reconcile her own unresolved guilt concerning a pregnancy her husband knows nothing about, and Katie cannot muster up enough courage to defy their mother's behavioral boundaries. That is, at least, not openly.

Set in Colorado, Where Secrets Lie shifts between the unique foothills community of Boulder, the mile high city of Denver, and the majestic Rocky Mountains as it moves from the sisters' stories to their mother's story weaving them all together and merging each woman's past with her present circumstances.

My next novel, Whoever You Are , is a stand alone story, but it features the main characters from Where Secrets Lie and provides insights into how their lives progress.

Excerpt READINISTA interviews Donna Marie Lanheady:

Q. Can you tell us a little more about Where Secrets Lie? What was your inspiration for this story about family secrets?

A. Secrets intrigue me! Not necessarily the secrets themselves but their dynamics, the reasoning behind them, and the havoc they inevitably cause in peoples lives.

When I first began to develop the story, I started with one woman and her secret. As I delved into her character, other characters emerged who were impacted by her secret. From there the interplay of a family became the focus of the novel.

Q. The main characters in your book are Sara, Katie, and Lee. Please tell us more about their characters. Among the three, do you have any favorites?

A. Sara’s secret was the seed that started it all. Why would a woman do what she did? How would she handle the consequences? Would people find her choices understandable or deplorable? The questions go on and on for me! I was completely enthralled by her dilemma.

In my mind, Lee is the central character in the novel because she is the central character in this family. The story is all about her husbands, her children, her choices. The events in her life and the decisions she makes have a ripple effect on her family.

Katie is by far my favorite! Even I can’t put my finger on exactly why. There’s just something about her I really like. She makes me smile, and I would love to be able to hang out with her, chat over a drink, go for a hike. I really like that girl!

Q. When writing Where Secrets Lie, did you find yourself pulling from real life experiences?

A. People often ask if the novel is autobiographical. My answer is an emphatic NO! I am way too private to write anything that’s true. That being said, I do abide by the rule to write what you know.

I was born in a suburb of Denver and moved near Boulder as a teenager. Growing up I went to camps every summer. I love Boulder creek! I’ve always been an avid reader. I am scared to death of snakes! You see where I’m going, right? There are bits and pieces of me strewn throughout the novel without any of it actually being about me.

On the emotional side, I often tap into my own emotions to help me relate to what the character is feeling. For instance, I know how it feels to fall in love, to be terrified to tell my mother something, to be told my husband has passed away. Although my characters don’t feel the exact same way, at its core the emotion is similar enough to help me imagine their feelings and in that way, bring them to life.

Q. Do you have any funny habits, quirks, or pet peeves related to writing or organizing your writing?

A. Of course not! Perhaps those close to me would disagree though, so let’s not ask them. I prefer to imagine I’m not eccentric.

Q. Is there anything else you want to say to readers and fans?

A. For those of you who enjoy the characters in Where Secrets Lie , my next novel, Whoever You Are , is a stand alone story, but it features the main characters from Where Secrets Lie and provides insights into how their lives progress.