Featured Interview With Justine (B. S. K.) Sanders
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Gary, Indiana, and my mother later moved our family to rural Mississippi, where my brothers and I filled our days with outdoor adventures, mischief, and the kind of childhood that teaches you grit without announcing the lesson. Moving to the city brought a different kind of survival: new rules, new risks, and new stories.
School mattered to me early. I graduated valedictorian and earned medals in Mathematics and English. Later, I collected degrees the way some people collect souvenirs: biology (B.S. and M.S., Jackson State University), medical laboratory technology (A.A.S., Hinds Junior College), nursing (B.S.N., Mississippi College), and nurse anesthesiology (M.S., Xavier University), which led to my work as a CRNA.
Now retired, I live in Brandon, MS, without any pets but those childhood memories still fill me with warmth and serve as a reminder of the strength I gained from those early experiences. My adult son lives out of state, and I’m the proud grandmother of three granddaughters and two great-granddaughters. Even across miles, we stay close, their love and resilience keep me inspired.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It started young. My first poem came out of those loud, fast childhood days outside with my siblings. Even then, I loved what words could do: freeze a moment, sharpen a feeling, or turn a memory into a story. Earning medals in Mathematics and English proved invaluable. Math gave me logic and structure, while English taught me how to vividly portray characters, scenes, and build suspenseful plots. These experiences sparked my passion for writing and showed me how creativity and structure together help me grow as an author.
Once I began working full-time, leisure reading got crowded out by life, and I leaned on television to unwind. But I never stopped writing: family papers, résumés, essays, graduate dissertation, and later professionally.
As an Epic trainer, I help develop and teach from anesthesia training manuals. I approached this role with enthusiasm, striving to make complex concepts accessible and engaging for every learner. That work trained me to translate complexity into clarity—step-by-step, with pacing and intention. Looking back, it’s not far from fiction: you’re still guiding someone through tension, stakes, and reward.
Through each stage of my journey, my passion for reading and writing has been the thread connecting my personal and professional life, shaping my commitment as an author.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I always come back to Stephen King and James Patterson. King’s psychological tension and the way he lets ordinary people reveal extraordinary darkness stays with me. Patterson’s pacing taught me how to keep pages turning with layered clues and quick, sharp turns. I gravitate toward murder mysteries, horror, and true crime, anything that asks, Why did this happen, and what’s hiding underneath?
True crime feeds my imagination, too. I’ve binge-watched documentaries like Making a Serial Killer, Swamp Murders, and Deadly Affairs, and the emotional fallout in real cases often sparks new fictional questions. Films such as Strange Harvest and The Exorcist also remind me how suspense can tighten, scene by scene, until the reader can’t look away.
A single documentary about serial killers once made me wonder how a seemingly ordinary person becomes a monster and that question shows up again and again in my characters. I’ll branch out into science fiction or martial arts for fresh angles, but I’m always hunting the same thing: the hidden motive, the buried truth, the moment everything changes.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
An Eternity to Burn in Hell follows five women—known as “Aphrodite’s Ladies”—whose lives intersect in the aftermath of sex work, abuse, and addiction. They want what everyone wants: safety, dignity, and a clean start. But the past doesn’t loosen its grip easily.
Their hope for a new beginning shatter when a former client, warped by trauma and rage after being diagnosed with AIDS, decides they are to blame for his suffering and the choices that ruined his life. He begins hunting them one by one, leaving brutal murders across the country in a campaign of revenge.
Because the victims were sex workers, early leads are dismissed, connections are overlooked, and the pattern stays hidden in plain sight. When one detective finally recognizes the women’s shared history as members of Aphrodite’s Ladies, the case clicks into focus and the race to stop the killer becomes personal.
Told through relentless danger, ignored cries for help, and one investigator’s refusal to look away, the novel confronts the cost of stigma, and the urgent need for compassion. It’s a dark, fast-moving thriller with a beating human heart.
If you’re drawn to stories where the danger is real, the motives are messy, and justice has to be fought for, An Eternity to Burn in Hell is for you. Turn the first page and see how far vengeance will go.
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Justine (B. S. K.) Sanders Facebook Page
If you enjoyed this writer’s interview, check out our Featured Authors page. We have some of the best authors to learn about. They are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below. Sharing is caring! If you are an author and want to get exposure to new readers submit your book to our book promotion service.