Cobweb on the Soul - Nadene Carter

What’s her name?

Abigail (Abby) Carlson is the heroine in my novel, A Cobweb on the Soul

Why did you pick that name?

I went to several baby name sites and pulled up names that mothers gave their daughter back in 1977 when my heroine was born. I already had the bare bones of my story plotted out. The name, Abigail, was on that list, and it fit this character of this story.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.

Abby stands 5 ft. 8 inches, has shoulder-length auburn hair, and gold-flecked brown eyes.

Where does she work? Does her work add anything to the story?

Abby is an architect with the McNeil Clark architectural firm in Park City, Utah, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Her work allows the reader to see another side of Abby’s personality as well shows how she reacts in this setting.

How would a friend or co-worker describe Abby?

Positive traits: Type A personality, can do attitude, dependable … almost to her detriment, kind, patient but with a breaking point.

Negative traits: Impulsive, so hard working that people sometimes take advantage of her, sometimes over-thinks things, lets old memories gnaw on her.

Who does she love? Why?

Jared Norton is Abby’s love interest, but … he is a cop, and she has long-standing issues with cops in general. She thinks she has put all that behind her until she discovers the body of a teenage girl who resembles her sister, Lianne, who disappeared nine years ago.

[A clip from the novel]
Abby studied the contour of the face she’d come to love. What was he thinking? Usually she didn’t care for a mustache, but the way Jared wore his neatly trimmed and not at all ostentatious gave him a classic look. A most handsome thirty-two-year-old man, and the contrast between his soft hazel eyes and strong square jaw often got him an admiring glance from the casual passerby. He took some good-natured ribbing from the guys because of the unsolicited attention that came his way.

How did they meet?

[A clip from the novel]
(Abby) smiled at the memory of the first day she met him last fall when she moved to town. She had sped along Kearns Boulevard to catch up with the mover’s van before it reached her condo, and a policeman had pulled her over. She turned on the charm and talked her way out of a ticket.

While the officer wrote up a warning, someone stopped to talk to him, obviously someone from the department, because he had a portable red light on the dashboard of his car. He was so strikingly handsome, in a rugged sort of way, it was difficult not to stare. He met her gaze with an equally appraising look of his own. It made her think of that old song . . . I was looking back to see if he was looking back at me . . . something or other.

Does this person love her?

Yes, but … he so mourns the past that he misses the joy in the present. Even after all these years, he still grieves for Cindy (his first wife who was killed inside their apartment in a robbery gone bad). How can (Abby) possibly compete with that image of perfection?

Tell us about her family and where she is from.

Frank and Birdie still own the ranch outside Greeley, Colorado where Abby grew up.

[A clip from the novel]
She thought of her father’s words: ‘One acre or a hundred takes ’bout the same machinery to run. Remember that, Ab, when you get rich enough to buy a place of your own’. Her eyes refocused from mental images of the Colorado ranch where she grew up back to the Bradford Estate.

Does where she grew up affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?

She has retained the work ethic and dependability she learned while growing up and working with her father on the family farm.

What does she want out of life?

Abby is to the age where she would like to be married, but she is hesitant to go there until she is very sure of the man she loves.

What's her biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't a spoiler in the story.)

[A clip from the novel]
As a child, Abby never tired of hearing her mother tell the story about the day they brought ten-day-old Abby home. Frank and Birdie had waited such a long time to adopt, and they accepted the likelihood that Abby would be their only child. Then Lianne had come along.

Lianne. Abby still remembered the day they brought her home to live with them. At first, five-year-old Abby had been so excited to have a little sister, but her enthusiasm quickly cooled. Lianne was tiny for being almost three years old and so pretty, long blond curls and a smile that melted everyone’s heart, and they all made such a fuss over her. Abby recalled feeling ugly by comparison. With a stab of guilt, she also remembered wishing Lianne hadn’t come to live with them, a regret buried deep in her soul, one that she had never shared with anyone.

What does Abby do that makes her a heroine in your story?

Abby unwittingly becomes a target for a serial killer. He kidnaps Megan, Abby’s best friend’s three-year-old daughter, and uses the child to try to control Abby. Abby uses her brains, spunk, and courage to defeat this killer.

Did you write more than one story about her?

I have a sequel planned for Abby, but it is still in the simmering stage.

It was wonderful to meet her. Thank you for bringing her to meet us.

For more information, visit - http://www.nadenecarter.com/