Carla's Book Crush

Waylaid by Jerusha Agen
Series: Windy City Westons – Book 1
Publisher: SDG Words, LLC
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

​​Someone wants to kill her. She wants the killer to finish the job.

Spring Weston will do anything to rise in the ranks of pro cycling and prove she isn’t the one failure of the five Weston siblings. Anything except cheat. When she learns of doping on her cycling team, she’s determined to uncover the truth. But she can’t if she’s dead.

Sergeant Torin Cotter may not be the hero the public thinks he is, but he recognizes fear when he sees it. When he takes over the investigation of the collision that landed Spring in the hospital, he’s compelled to protect her from whatever danger she’s in, even though he knows he might fail. Again.

Spring’s faith in God isn’t enough to help her face the living nightmare she awakened to after the accident. But neither she nor the handsome sergeant see the greater threat that’s coming until it’s too late.

If they’re going to survive, Spring and Torin will not only have to confront their worst fears—they’ll have to find a reason to live.

Waylaid is the first installment in the thrilling Windy City Westons series that features five siblings who encounter danger and love in the city of Chicago.

PURCHASE LINKS:
 Goodreads | Jerusha Agen | Amazon
Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

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More In This Series

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About the Author

Jerusha Agen imagines danger around every corner but knows God is there, too. So naturally, she writes suspense infused with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ. With a B.A. in English and a background in screenwriting, Jerusha is a speaker, writing instructor, and Fear Warrior who sounds the call to battle against fear in our everyday lives. Jerusha loves to hang out with her big furry dogs and little furry cats. You’ll often find her sharing irresistibly adorable photos of them in her newsletter and on social media.

Connect with Jerusha by visiting jerushaagen.com to follow her on social media, subscribe to email newsletter updates, find more of her thrilling, fear-fighting novels and get a free suspense story.

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Author Q&A

CB: Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Jerusha. I enjoy learning and sharing more about the writing process and what is behind the books we read.  

Agen: Carla, thanks so much for hosting me and asking such insightful questions!

CB: What draws you to romantic suspense? 

Agen: I’m sad to say I’ve always been a pretty fearful person. We all have sins that are particularly hard for us, the weak spots where Satan targets us the most, and fear is mine. As the Lord led me on a journey to confront my sinful fear, I discovered I am not alone! The majority of people struggle with fear (though we like to call it stress, worry, and anxiety instead).

When I realized that romantic suspense could be used to help me and others beat their fears, I was hooked. Because the antidote to fear is love—God’s love (which in my stories, often starts with a representation of His love in romantic love between a couple). Once we understand the breadth, power, and indestructible nature of God and His love, the result is hope.

“Fear. Love. Hope. Repeat.” This is the tagline I use for all my writing because it’s the message that drew me to romantic suspense and keeps me going!

CB: Your journey to becoming a novelist took an unexpected detour into the film industry. How has your experience in screenwriting and directing influenced your approach to writing romantic suspense?

Agen: My film industry experience has definitely influenced my writing in many ways. The biggest impact is probably that it contributed to making my writing highly cinematic. That’s perfect for the suspense genres, which incorporate more action and visual storytelling than some other literary genres.

I naturally use scene blocking and visual aspects to help tell the story and convey emotion. For example, I’ll use the positioning of characters and their movements or stillness to communicate subtext, elements that are unspoken and not told in the narration. I also convey symbolism through those same visual elements of movement, blocking, and positioning in the way a film director and screenwriter does. Silence and expressions are also elements in a filmmaker’s toolkit that I enjoy using in my stories.

CB: You’ve spoken about seeing life in terms of story—both God’s overarching story and individual ones. How does this perspective shape your character development and plot choices?

Agen: What a great question. In a word, the answer is redemption. I took a course for writing professionals that had us identify the theme that we are most drawn to in our favorite stories. The common theme across my all-time favorite stories is redemption. I think that is one of or perhaps the most important element for a story to have for it to be truly powerful and impact readers.

There is so much hope, joy, victory, and life-changing power in redemption. So being wired for story by God Himself means I have the desire and direction to shape my characters and plots to tell His story of redemption through the many individual stories that make up our real world and my fictional world.

CB: How do you keep your love of scripture going and know when to incorporate specific messages or passages into a book?  

Agen: There’s definitely an art to when and how to incorporate Scripture into a story. But across the board, I always aim to write extremely realistic fiction. In the quest to make my stories as realistic as possible, I realized that, contrary to what the secular world would have us believe, that means my stories can’t ignore that God exists, Christians exist, and real Christians are going to live like real Christians. Shocker, right? 😊

I use the commitment to realism and the Lord’s leading to know when including Scripture fits each story, the characters, and each character’s journey. Incorporating Christian messages into the story also happens organically, suited to and driven by each character’s journey and integrated realistically into the plot.

As for how my love of Scripture keeps going—God’s Word is the Truth, the only infallible written word, and the ultimate romantic suspense story. How could I not love that?

CB: In Waylaid, Spring struggles with fear and self-worth. What inspired the creation of Spring’s character?

Agen: Her character came about in more of an unusual way for me in that it began when I met a physiatrist, a physician who oversaw and coordinated the care of spinal injury patients. Because I’m a fiction author and think in terms of story, as we discussed, I was fascinated by her unusual profession and started thinking of a novel I could write about a physiatrist in that specialty.

But then as I studied that world, I realized the story could be far more compelling if I wrote about a patient in such a setting instead of the physician. That idea spawned the beginning of Spring Weston’s character!

CB: The world of professional cycling isn’t a typical setting for romantic suspense. What inspired you to place Waylaid in this environment?

Agen: Since my stories are so character driven, I chose the professional cycling element because it was the best choice to meet the needs of my character’s spiritual and emotional journey, as well as the plot that is constructed to serve that journey.

CB:  The Windy City Westons series follows a family of five siblings. What makes Spring’s story the right one to begin the series, and what can readers expect from future installments?

Agen: I think Spring’s story is an appropriate start to the series about the Weston siblings because the devastating challenges she faces impact each of her siblings, too. They all come around Spring to support their sister, showing the love they have for each other. But their involvement in what happens affects them in different ways.

We’re going to see in the following books how the events in Waylaid continue to shape and affect Spring’s siblings as they face their own troubles that make them come face to face with God.

CB:  As a Christian author, how can readers support you—not just as a writer but also in the faith-centered work you’re doing through your books?  

Agen: Please pray for me! Christian authors, like many people who are engaged in ministry for the Lord, experience attacks and hindrances that seem targeted to keep us from doing the work God has called us to do. I really appreciate hearing from readers that they are praying for me.

And, of course, since I and other Christian authors can only keep serving God in this ministry if our books sell, purchasing our Christian fiction makes a huge, tangible difference in allowing us to keep writing and publishing for our readers and the Lord!

CB:  Thank you for taking the time to share your insights! I wish you all the best with Waylaid and your future projects—I’m sure readers will be blessed by your work!   

Agen: Thank you so much! Your blog and this interview have been a blessing to me, as well.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed paperback of Waylaid, a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, and a Waylaid mug, notebook, and magnet!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight April 14, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on April 21, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!