Foxholes follows a combat veteran now working as a paralegal who is haunted by things that happened back in Afghanistan and the man who got away with murder. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I was stationed in Afghanistan during my time in the Air Force. When the U.S. started withdrawing from the country in 2021, I thought a lot about my time there. As the memories came back, the writer part of my brain realized that a military outpost in Afghanistan would make a great setting for a murder mystery, and the idea behind the story was born.

Vince struggles with his past and the ghosts he brought home from Afghanistan he tried to forget. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

I wanted Vince to have a strong personal motivation for solving the mystery, so I connected the murder to his combat experiences, which were life-changing for him. I wanted to show how those experiences continued to impact him years later. Ultimately, Vince’s inner conflict is deciding between two opposing ideals that arose from his time in Afghanistan: a desire to live a safe and quiet life and taking risks to see justice served. Navigating that internal conflict, coupled with the external conflicts he has with Nick Batson, gives him some complexity and provides an opportunity for him to grow and change during the story.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

The long-term effects of war is one of the themes I explored in the book; it was challenging to do that in the context of a thriller, so I tried to keep a light touch on it and make it a factor in the story without overpowering the action. I also explore the idea of conflict and how we show what we really believe under extreme pressure. The title of the book alludes to a military saying, “There are no atheists in the foxhole.” Vince has to decide what he really values and who he’s going to be in the face of danger; his foxholes are both in combat and in civilian life as an amateur sleuth. Finally, the entire Marcotte/Collins series explores the idea of the past shaping our present.

What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?

I enjoyed Hadley Collins’ character in Foxholes so much that the next book, Captives, will tell her story. It’s about Hadley, Vince, and Eddie investigating a missing child case and discovering some personal connections Hadley has to the case. Like Foxholes, the team makes some powerful enemies during their investigation, and the danger factor is ratcheted up a few notches this time. I’m really excited to share it with everyone; it comes out on June 6, 2024.

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