Fairfield author sets novels in Southeast Iowa

FAIRFIELD — Winter Peck of rural Fairfield is making a name for herself in the publishing world thanks to her success as an author writing novels on romance, mystery and military thrillers.

Peck’s second book in her mystery series goes on the market today, Jan. 27. It’s called “Hush, My Darling,” and it’s her 13th book. She’s already written No. 14 and is working on No. 15, though release dates for those have not been announced.

Set in Iowa

Peck is a product of Southeast Iowa. She grew up north of Bonaparte in Van Buren County, and for a while lived in Stockport and Lockridge. She attended Lockridge and Van Buren County schools, then enrolled at Harmony, before spending her senior year of high school at the old Fairfield Christian School in the late 1990s.

As Peck was making her way as a budding author, she noticed that very few books are set in Iowa. She saw an opportunity to set herself apart from the crowd by placing her characters in Iowa, specifically Southeast Iowa.

“My agent said to me, ‘Winter, what do you know?’ So I made a list. I know Iowa. I know the Midwest. I know how people talk and act. I know the layout of the land,” Peck said. “I’m all about breaking glass ceilings and doors. I thought, ‘Let’s put us on the map.’”

Peck’s characters live in fictional towns and counties in Southeast Iowa, but they’re often based on real places. She did a lot of research into Iowa history to ensure she wasn’t using names of old towns that no longer exist. Her mystery series is set in the fictional county of “Eckardt” which includes the towns “Juniper” and “Three Points.”

“I’ve taken little bits from all the towns in my life to create Juniper,” Peck said. “Part of its courthouse looks like the courthouse in Davis County. It’s a little bit like the courthouse in Fairfield, too.”

Peck said that in one of her books, the main character and the sheriff meet at a park based on the park in Bonaparte on the Des Moines River. She incorporated buildings from Bonaparte’s downtown, while changing their names.

“It gives the book flavor when you know the setting,” she said.

One of Peck’s books is set in New Orleans, and for that she traveled to the city to get a better feel for it.

“It comes out in your books when you can visit a place, and make readers feel what you feel,” she said.

Getting started

Peck realized she wanted to be an author at a young age. She came from a family of great storytellers. One of her dad’s uncles was an old cowboy who worked in Arizona. When he came back for family reunions, everybody sat around to listen to his stories.

When Peck was in fourth grade, she entered a contest for young writers at William Penn University in Oskaloosa. Her story was selected as one of the top stories.

“I decided then and there, this is what I want to do in life,” Peck said.

Peck continued to hone her talents, attending a young writers’ conference when she was in high school. After high school, she was a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband Shawn, a teacher at Fairfield High School, have been married 23 years and have three sons and a daughter.

While Shawn was finishing his college degree, Peck decided to pick up her pen once more, since writing was something she could do from home. Peck published her first book, “Relentless,” in 2013. It’s a romantic suspense novel, a genre Peck was comfortable in. In fact, Peck’s first eight books had heavy romantic themes.

When Peck’s publishing house closed, she decided to shift the themes in her novels. She moved out of romance and focused more on stories that revolved around the military and police.

“My husband was in the military 20 years. I was a military wife, and now I’m a military mom, so I talk their lingo,” Peck said. “I have a lot of good friends who are cops, too. At one point, I thought I’d be a cop, but I realized I liked writing about them more. I still have romance in my military thrillers, but it’s not as heavy. They’re very action-oriented.”

Just like Peck noticed there were few books set in Southeast Iowa, she also noticed a lack of female leads in the spy and action novels she loved to read. She wanted to change that. She decided that she was going to write the books with the “kick-butt” heroines. In her novel “Atonement,” the main character is a woman who becomes the first female Marine reconnaissance sniper. The mystery series that includes Peck’s most recently published novel is about a female sheriff, Elizabeth, trying to clean up a county. That first book in the series is “The Killer in Me.” “Hush, My Darling” is the second book in the series that follows the activities of a female deputy named Lila, who has a tragic past that comes back to haunt her.

Pen name

Those who search for Peck’s books online should know that she writes under the pen name “Winter Austin.” Peck said her agent encouraged her to do this for a few reasons, one of which was to better protect her family, and the other was because Peck changed writing genres. About a decade ago, she was in the Christian publishing market, writing anthologies under her real name. Her agent told her that she should change her last name, but had to keep her first name because it was unique. Peck hit upon the last name “Austin” because “Winter Austin” was the stage name of a soap opera actress in the 1970s.

Peck said she hopes to hold book talks in the near future where she can share insights into her books with her fans. She’s trying to coordinate one at the antique store in Bentonsport, though a date has not been determined.

Those who wish to purchase Peck’s books can find them on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, or by visiting the publisher’s website at https://tulepublishing.com/authors/winter-austin/. Peck maintains a personal website at www.winteraustin.com.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com