#authorinterview – Page 28 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Meant To Be and Presidential Advantage by Jessica James

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Meant to Be Book Description

It started as a chance encounter on the beach, and ended 24 hours later when they parted to go their separate ways.
Or so they thought.

Actually it was just the beginning.

WHEN LAUREN CANTRELL said goodbye to the guy she had just met on the beach, she had no way of knowing their paths would ever cross again. But fate had another unexpected meeting in store for them—this time in a place where danger was part of the culture and the stakes were life and death.

THE LAST PERSON in the world Rad expected to see at a special ops briefing in Afghanistan is the girl he met at the beach two weeks ago—the one he can’t stop thinking about.

From the sundrenched beaches of Ocean City, Md., to the snowcapped mountains of Afghanistan, this thrilling tale of espionage and intrigue takes readers on a spellbinding journey into the secret lives of our nation’s quiet heroes—and answers the question:

What do you do when the person you most want to protect is the one risking everything to make sure you survive?

MEANT TO BE recounts the dedication of our military, the honor and sacrifice of our soldiers, and a relationship that is tested and sustained by the powerful forces of love, courage and resolve.

Elise’s Thoughts

The first national security novel, by Jessica James delves into the meaning of honor and duty. This is a story of hope and love along with patriotism, conviction, and perseverance.

The story begins with a chance encounter between Rad and Lauren, on a beach in Ocean City Maryland. They spend the day together doing fun things along the Boardwalk including going to Ripley’s Museum, an arcade, and a Ferris wheel. In the evening, the hero, Michael Radcliff, asks the heroine, Lauren Cantrell, to meet his buddies at a party on the beach. She is impressed with his friends and their partners, with their humor, compassion, and helpfulness. That is except one person, Angela Powers, a power-hungry journalist who will stop at nothing to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, for Rad and Lauren, at the end of the day they both go their own ways, never revealing their occupation or last name.

But soon they find themselves reunited on a Special-Ops mission. She is a CIA operative, embedded in a Pakistani village to gain intel on a terrorist. Rad is the leader of the Navy SEALs who has been assigned to take out this powerful terrorist. They reunite after she arrives at the base to share her intel. Readers will think of the Osama Bin Laden take down but also understand how 9/11 plays into the story. Lauren’s parents were on flight 77 as it flew into the Pentagon, the reason she became a spy.

Both Rad and Lauren realize their intense emotional connection cannot interfere with their common goal: take down and eliminate one of the greatest threats to world safety. After they separate, neither knows if they will ever see each other again.

The story involves love, heartache, healing, and hope. Readers will be on the edge of their seat. A bonus is the great job the author does showing military life, the difficult choices faced, and how love, courage, and resolve can conquer all.

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Presidential Advantage Book Description

Secret Service Agent Clint Brody is tasked with protecting the new First Lady. But the threats he encounters are more complicated than he imagined, and the danger he confronts isn’t what either one of them expected.

When a shy, country girl from Virginia marries a prominent Georgetown attorney, her life is bound to change. But when that attorney is catapulted to the office of President of the United States, she is thrust into the role of First Lady—and uncovers a world of secrets and betrayals that alters everything she once knew.

Due to a twist of fate, Elizabeth Vaughn is forced to leave behind the quiet country setting she loves and enter the nefarious world of politics. After recovering from her initial missteps and negotiating the obstacles of her new public life, she begins to understand the nature of politics.

But as another election approaches, turmoil in the White House intensifies. Leaks. Lies. Deceit. Deception. People she thought were friends desert her and the true character of people she thought she knew is revealed.

When the stakes become life and death, the First Lady uncovers the ultimate betrayal and is forced to come to terms with her own role in the political process. Only with the help of Secret Service Agent Clint Brody, can she hope to find her way out of the danger and discover who can be trusted—and who will do anything to keep control.

Elise’s Thoughts

Her latest novel, switches from the military to political intrigue. It is very realistic showing the dark world of politics with leaks, lies, deceits, deceptions, betrayals, and secrets.

In the plot, readers learn that Elizabeth (Liz) Vaughn always prefers to spend time with her horses, not people. This shy country girl who works on a horse farm met her Prince Charming, a Senator, Ethan Collins, who became Vice-President. After the President dies, Collins is catapulted to the office of President of the United States, while she is thrust into the position of First Lady. At first, she listens to all her advisors, but then realizes she must become more assertive to survive the Washington swamp. She must overcome Camilla, her personal advisor, and the Chief of Staff, Chandler who want to thwart her at every turn. They constantly try to obstruct her good intentions and feed the media news stories that show Liz in a bad light. Knowing she only has her Secret Service Agent Clint Brody as someone she can trust she decides to take matters into her own hands. This works to her advantage as the nation finds her a breath of fresh air.

With her husband Ethan involved in his own presidential duties, Liz realizes their marriage is growing apart. Readers might be reminded of Jack and Jackie Kennedy. Ethan realizes that Liz is helpful in securing voters for the upcoming election. She is no longer the shy person who felt overwhelmed but has a growing confidence that displays compassion. The second half of the book becomes a thriller as Liz and Brody struggle to overcome the many betrayals.

This is a story about a shy Virginian woman who not only survives extremely nasty politics but holds true to her own values. Readers will not want to put this book down with a plot that is a page turner.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The first book does not put journalists in a good light and the last book does not put politicians in a good light.

Jessica James: Yes. I was a journalist, a reporter, and an editor for over eighteen years. The journalist in the story is what I see happening today. She is power hungry, would throw anyone under the bus, and there is some fake news. I am old school and that is not how journalism was when I worked in that occupation. Politicians are just as power hungry and deceitful.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Rad, in Meant To Be?

JJ: Serious, patriotic, devoted, big-hearted, sincere, generous, and protective.

EC: How about the heroine of that book, Lauren?

JJ: Competitive, trusting, calm, reserved, resourceful, friendly, and courageous.

EC: How about their relationship?

JJ: Cautious because of their occupations. They are both wary. They do trust each other and realize there is a chemistry and intensity between them. Both are strong-willed.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Brody, in Presidential Advantage?

JJ: Smart, courageous, stubborn, a professional. He is also calm, reliable, authentic, and a warrior.

EC: How about the heroine of the book, Liz?

JJ: Introverted, kind, naïve, generous, compassionate, and fearless. I based her not on Jackie Kennedy but on Melania Trump who seems uncomfortable when in the spotlight.

EC: What about the advisor Camilla?

JJ: She is evil, malicious, a power grabber, a backstabber, and represents everything people do not like about politics.

EC: What is the theme?

JJ: How money and power create deceit and betrayal.

EC: What about your next book?

JJ: Presidential Advantage was the first book in the “Phantom Force Tactical Series.” In late 2022 the next book will be published, with a working title of Relentless Truth. It has a new President whose child gets kidnapped while at a summer camp. The group is assigned to rescue her.

THANK YOU!!

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Unheard by Nicci French

Book Description

Maybe Tess is overprotective, but passing her daughter off to her ex and his new young wife fills her with a sense of dread. It’s not that Jason is a bad father–it just hurts to see him enjoying married life with someone else. Still, she owes it to her daughter Poppy to make this arrangement work.

But Poppy returns from the weekend tired and withdrawn. And when she shows Tess a crayon drawing–an image so simple and violent that Tess can hardly make sense of it—-Poppy can only explain with the words, “He did kill her.”

Something is horribly wrong. Tess is certain Poppy saw something–or something happened to her–that she’s too young to understand. Jason insists the weekend went off without a hitch. Doctors advise that Poppy may be reacting to her parents’ separation. And as the days go on, even Poppy’s disturbing memory seems to fade. But a mother knows her daughter, and Tess is determined to discover the truth. Her search will set off an explosive tempest of dark secrets and buried crimes–and more than one life may be at stake.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Unheard by Nicci French, the pseudonym for husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, is a gripping psychological thriller. Anyone who is a mother can relate to this story where the emphasis is a mother knowing and understanding their child.

Tess Moreau is the mother of three-year-old Poppy. She and her partner, Jason, have gone their separate ways and have agreed on a custody timeline. But something has gone very wrong after Poppy spends a night with Jason, his current wife, and her brother who is living with them. The child is clingy, wetting her bed, cussing, and drawing pictures of death. None of these behaviors were evident before. Tess goes into overdrive as she tries to figure out if Poppy witnessed a murder, saw an act of violence, or was abused. As Poppy continues to act out, Tess goes to the police, convinced a crime was committed, but has no evidence. She is frustrated because no one believes her, not the police, her friends, her mother, her current boyfriend, her estranged partner, and school officials.

Readers sympathize with Tess, understanding her feeling of helplessness. She experiences every parent’s nightmare of a young child. Her daughter does not yet have the words to express what was upsetting her and could only try to do so through drawings and behavior. But a mother knows her daughter. Tess knows something is wrong, and she is determined to find the truth because she understands more than anyone that something is seriously wrong. The reader takes a journey with Tess as they try to figure out what happened to Poppy, as suspects pile up.

This story will have anyone who reads it sharing Tess’s emotions of anger, fears, suspicions, and worries. Just when someone thinks they know who the culprit is the authors throw another twist, keeping them guessing and the tension elevated.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Nicci French: We had children and remember that strange transition with three-year-olds. A strange mysterious time. They would bring home these drawings from pre-school. When we thought about that period we wondered if we could make it into a thriller. A three-year-old girl draws what looks like a murder and is too young to explain it.

EC: Sometimes children are not believed?

NF: Yes, they can be unreliable witnesses as they try to tell their mother something. Poppy, the daughter, cannot express in words so she tells Tess something is wrong with her behavior of clinginess, bed-wetting, acting out, and cussing. Three-year-old children are not articulate. They cannot describe what happened to them. Children think differently about the world.

EC: How would you describe Tess?

NF: Fragile, a single mother, at times over-protective, fearful, vulnerable, and anxious. As the story progresses, she becomes a mother who will do anything to save her child. Tess takes a journey and finds self-realization. She becomes strong and realizes her own self-worth. But she is put through hell and back.

EC: Tess cannot trust those in her life?

NF: We examine this theme in all our novels: how can someone know anyone completely since everybody has secrets.

EC: Should the detectives have investigated Poppy’s symptoms?

NF: Symptoms of abuse are like symptoms of trauma and distress. Tess is now in a world where nothing is clear. The detectives see this as a nontraditional investigation where there is no reliable witness and no crime committed. Look at it from the detectives’ point of view. All they had was a drawing of a three-year-old child.

EC: How would you describe Poppy?

NF: Before her trauma she is bright, connected, eager, energetic, with a rich imagination. She thinks the world is on her side. But then she becomes violent and aggressive and seems to have an intuitive sense that something is wrong.

EC: How would you describe Jason?

NF: He appears charming, likeable, and trustworthy. He is an alpha-male who is a strong authoritative figure and feels entitled. He does what he wants to do. He becomes more and more self-centered, impatient, a cheat, liar, and bully.

EC: How about Aiden, Tess’ current boyfriend?

NF: In many ways he is the opposite of Jason. Aiden is quieter, more introverted, geek-like, a listener, non-judgmental, and patient.

EC: What about the relationship between Tess and all the males in the story?

NF: They are all manipulative in their own way. Somehow their masculinity has gone awry. They use her vulnerability against her. She starts to feel she is surrounded by illusions and wonders who to trust.

EC: Poppy tells Tess she is dead?

NF: Poppy knows she saw something and is wondering if the future will be like the past. Poppy does not understand the difference between dying and being dead. She does not have a normal sense of cause and effect in the past and future.

EC: In some ways this plot reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”?

NF: We are big Hitchcock fans. If we did it, we did not do it consciously. But we have seen that film many times. We understand how you could think it since both have someone seeing a crime and are not believed. We share with Hitchcock the real horror of relationships, especially between a man and a woman.

EC: Your next book?

NF: A young woman, a doctor, has her ex-boyfriend ask for a favor. Then things go very wrong. It will be out in October 2022 and is titled The Favor.

THANK YOU!!

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

Book Description

Think twice before you swipe.

She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?

But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.

Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn’t that always what women think—that they’re the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she’s looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she’s not sure whether she’s the predator—or the prey.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger is a gripping psychological thriller. Anyone who wants to be taken on a roller coaster ride should read a Lisa Unger book. This one explores secrets, obsession, vengeance, and social media. The storyline is dark, disturbing yet believable and realistic. It delves into fake identities, ghosting, stealing funds, and the troubling aspects of technology use.

The main character, Wren Greenwood, writes the advice column “Dear Birdie.” Because she has no social life, her best friend Jax talks her into trying the dating app Torch. After a few misses Wren meets Adam Harper, an IT executive, and there is an immediate connection between the two. Things heat up and are getting more intimate until three months into the relationship he stands her up. Then he disappears: profiles deleted, phone disconnected, and no evidence he ever existed. Adam ghosted her.

Wren isn’t one to let things go so she starts digging, realizing she was not the only one who fell for his lines. After being contacted by Bailey, a private detective who is looking for Adam, she discovers that three other girls went missing. Agreeing to join forces, she, and Bailey search for Adam and the three missing girls, both wondering if they are the predator or the prey.

There are so many twists and revelations that the readers’ heads are spinning. The story shows the value of friends.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: You expose dating apps?

Lisa Unger: I talked with a young friend of mine who uses dating apps. She said there are several choices and wondered how to tell if the choice was correct. I was saddened by that question because I thought people are not shopping for a toaster. Love is not an algorithm.

EC: The story delves into ghosting?

LU: If they were not the right choice, it is easy to ghost them. They were a stranger before and become a stranger afterwards. Technology is rewriting the primal struggle of searching for a mate. Once upon the dating pool was small, but now it is global.

EC: Technology also has its faults?

LU: It can be one of the worst things. Our brains are being re-wired by technology. I put strict limits on my children. I did not want them to disappear into the technology world. I want them to be able to use it only as a tool, and not lose their creativity.

EC: Social media is not the greatest way to communicate?

LU: Yes, we get information now through texts, emails, social media, and notifications via phone. It affects how we relate and communicate with each other and can be very frustrating like when someone is ghosted. For example, I called my brother and he texted me back. I don’t answer him until he responds through a phone call. There is micro ghosting which is getting a response but on their terms. The other type of ghosting is where someone takes on the identity of someone who dies and lives their life.

EC: The world of dating can be frustrating?

LU: I explored this with the short story, House of Crows. It is an exploration of trauma and how it can inform our choices. This is a theme that I’ve explored again and again in my work. The interaction can be fantastical. Someone has a right to say I don’t want to be with you and the other person cannot say anything. They do not have a vote. Then there is the person who can choose to ghost someone making it seem the relationship was imaginary even though there was a real person.

EC: How would you describe Adam who ghosted Wren?

LU: He decided to go off the grid, acting as a survivalist in the woods. He slipped in and out of the shadows. The reader only sees him through Wren’s eyes. He is smart, a loner, obsessed, mysterious, and well read. He can be considerate, kind, and funny, but there is another side to him where he appears as a predator, dangerous, and a destroyer of lives.

EC: How would you describe Wren?

LU: Struggling from her dark past, but a survivor. She has found her way going forward with a super successful career and a community of friends. Through her work as a columnist with “Dear Birdie” she can help people go from the darkness into the light. She left her dad’s world of being a Doomsday Prepper and thinking humanity has ended. She does not think that the world failed her, but her father failed her. She did take skills away from him that helps her to survive. She is very kind, loyal, smart, and caring.

EC: What about the victims?

LU: They are mostly wealthy with a troubled past, have PTSD, and had a childhood trauma. Some have an addiction and prefer to take a break from the world. They fall for the predator fast and heavy. He is like the person who comes to the door with roses not a knife, very unassuming: LOL

EC: What about the relationship?

LU: It was imaginary, created by Wren. A fantasy of him because she does not know him well enough since they only dated for three months. She is obsessed with finding him to see who Adam really is. He is mostly a figment of her imagination. This story struck a chord with a lot of readers who understood what Wren was going through.

EC: How would you describe Bailey?

LU: I was not expecting him, but he evolved. He is the complete foil to Adam. He came to the light because he lacks trauma in his past. Bailey is a puzzle solver, someone who cannot let things go. He believes something lost can be found. Basically, a good person. I do not usually have a traditional hero because it is not how I think of the world. But he is probably as close to a heroic figure I have ever had.

EC: What about Jones Cooper?

LU: He has an analog view of the world. He has been a character in several my books along with his wife Maggie. They first appeared in the book, Fragile. He is a fixer.

EC: Isn’t Wren a bit too old to have an imaginary figure?

LU: Deeply traumatized children can manifest imaginary friends, like a splinter psyche. Eventually as the child heals, they say goodbye to that comforting figure and integrate the imaginary figure into themselves. Robin connects Wren to the land, the natural world. She represents the place where Wren retreats to something she loved. In some sense she took the persona of Wren’s dad’s good qualities where he taught her skills. She put these in Robin because she could not forgive her dad.

EC: Jax is the exact opposite of Robin?

LU: She is a real person that connects Wren to the modern world. She is Wren’s best friend and has helped to ground her.

EC: Next book?

LU: It will be my 20^th Novel. I do not talk about my stories until they are published. I will say it will be a psychological thriller with bad things happening. It comes out in October 2022.

THANK YOU!!

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Enemy At the Gates by Kyle Mills

Book Description

Picking up where the “tour de force” (The Providence Journal) Total Power left off, the next thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series follows the CIA’s top operative as he searches for a high-level mole with the power to rewrite the world order.

Mitch Rapp has worked for a number of presidents over his career, but Anthony Cook is unlike any he’s encountered before. Cunning and autocratic, he feels no loyalty to America’s institutions and is distrustful of the influence Rapp and CIA director Irene Kennedy have in Washington.

Meanwhile, when Kennedy discovers evidence of a mole scouring the Agency’s database for sensitive information on Nicholas Ward, the world’s first trillionaire, she convinces Rapp to take a job protecting him. In doing so, he finds himself walking an impossible tightrope: Keep the man alive, but also use him as bait to uncover a traitor who has seemingly unlimited access to government secrets.

As the attacks on Ward become increasingly dire, Rapp and Kennedy are dragged into a world where the lines between governments, multinational corporations, and the hyper-wealthy fade. An environment in which liberty, nationality, and loyalty are meaningless. Only the pursuit of power remains.

As “one of the best thriller writers on the planet” (The Real Book Spy), Kyle Mills has created another nail-biter that not only echoes the America of today, but also offers a glimpse into its possible future.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Vince Flynn’s Enemy at The Gates by Kyle Mills brings back Mitch Rapp, Irene Kennedy, and Scott Coleman. There is no coincidence that the 20^th book in the Mitch Rapp series coincides with the 20^th anniversary of September 11^th.

In this thriller, Rapp and Kennedy are dragged into a world where the lines between governments, multinational corporations, and the hyper-wealthy fade. An environment in which liberty, nationality, and loyalty are meaningless with only the pursuit of power remaining.

The book opens with a meeting between the new President, Anthony Cook, and CIA Director Irene Kennedy, who is very distrustful of him. Meanwhile, Mitch is contemplating his future realizing he is not getting any younger. He feels a strong draw to a quieter life with Claudia and Anna in South Africa, getting out of the CIA, and diving back into the world of competitive triathlons. But life does not go as planned. Irene asks him for his help after discovering evidence of a high-ranking mole scouring the Agency’s database for sensitive information on Nicholas Ward, the world’s first trillionaire. She asks Mitch and Scott to protect him and find the scientist Ward hired to develop a vaccine for all viruses. In the coming decades, Ward’s technologies will help make Saudi oil worthless. And along with Dr. David Chism, Ward hopes to transform health care worldwide. Ward is a menace to the general world order, and to Cook’s financial empire. With the help of the Saudis, President Cook and the First Lady hire the crazed Ugandan warlord Gideon Auma, aka God’s representative on Earth, to neutralize David Chism and stop the research. Cook and his wife will do anything in their power to rid themselves of Kennedy and Rapp who they see as an existential threat.

President Cook is easy to hate and along with his wife, Catherine, they are a formable duo to challenge Mitch and Irene. They are both egotistical, self-centered, cunning, autocratic, and feel no loyalty to America’s institutions. Plus, they are distrustful of the influence Rapp and CIA director Irene Kennedy have in Washington.

This story has counterintelligence, geo-politics, wealthy individuals who want to change or at least influence the world order, and betrayal at the highest level. The last sixty pages are classic Vince Flynn: suspenseful, gripping. captivating, and riveting. This story does have somewhat of a cliff hanger, leaving readers to wonder what will happen next. But that is also classic Vince Flynn a la Separation of Power and Executive Power.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Last time we spoke you said this would be a three-book arc, will that happen?

Kyle Mills: No. I’d planned for the next three Mitch Rapp novels to follow the destruction of America’s democracy from within. Power-hungry politicians, a co-opted military, and multiple foreign actors would work in concert to degrade our freedoms until there was nothing left. America would become a democracy in name only. The problem was that the claims of fraud in America’s 2020 presidential election and the subsequent Capitol riot made the book feel a little too close to reality. In the end, I decided to abandon the grand political arc. I rewrote the first ten chapters. For the first time in his life, Mitch is working for a president who doesn’t like or trust him. I hope to wrap everything up in the next book.

EC: Is there is new Mitch in this book which also seems more personal and has humor?

KM: I added quite a bit of humor to the series when I started writing. He is calmer, more efficient, and is trying to tone down his actions.

EC: The enemies appear to be more than just Islamic terrorists?

KM: The world has changed since Vince has gone. He would never imagine the divisions within the US. The threat profile is much more complex: China, an unfriendly competitor, Russia, an Internet troll, and the threat from within. I think at the time Vince was writing the fundamental threat was Islamic terrorism. Just like when Tom Clancy was writing the fundamental threat was the Soviets. Mitch sees the polarization in America where certain people root for America to have problems so they can use it against their foes.

EC: There is a very relevant quote about power?

KM: You must be referring to this one, “Power is like a drug. In the right dose it saves lives. Too much though, and it becomes deadly.” And the other quote, “We give willingly to precisely the ones who shouldn’t have it.” Washington does not reward loyalty and courage. Those who get the power are the ones that thirst for it the most. The goals of politicians are to create strife and not to solve any problems. We are to blame because we reward these people by voting them into power.

EC: How would you describe President Cook?

KM: Smart, charismatic, and ambitious. He uses the cracks in America’s democratic institutions to increase his own and his wife’s power and wealth.

EC: Did you model the President and First Lady on the Clintons?

KM: I made them up. I did not think of the Clintons because they are so far removed from the Presidency. The Obamas came to mind. Barak Obama is very smart and charismatic. Michelle had she run for President could have won. They could have been this massive power couple having a sixteen-year reign that would have transformed the way the US political system worked.

EC: Did you base the Ugandan rebel, and murderer, Gideon Auma, on Idi Amin?

KM: I could see why you thought that. It is hard to pick between all these psychopaths. I based it on Joseph Kony who has never been captured. He was the head of the LRA in Uganda. He and his forces have abducted and murdered masses of people. They are brutal. Most of the stuff I said in the book was accurate.

EC: Were you afraid that there would be reader’s remorse with the mentioning of a Covid virus?

KM: In this book there is no Corona virus. It was just a shout out to the past book, Lethal Agent. Mitch got the virus at the end of it, but it was called Yars, because it came from Yemen. In the Rapp universe Covid does not exist.

EC: Can you give a heads up about the next book?

KM: The prologue starts where this book left off. It will be written from Mitch’s point of view about the person who betrayed him. President Cook realizes that Irene and Mitch and Ward know what he did. It will be Mitch and Irene versus the President who has a lot of resources. My goal is to tie things up in the next book with the Cooks. It should be out about this time next year.

THANK YOU!!

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Gathering Table by Kathryn Springer

Book Description

From USA TODAY bestselling author Kathryn Springer comes a tale of starting over when life takes an unexpected turn.

Winsome Lake, Wisconsin, is postcard-pretty, but for chef Jessica Keaton it’s also a last resort. Fired from her dream job, Jess is starting over as a live-in cook and housekeeper. When she arrives, she finds her new employer is in rehab after having a stroke, and Jess expects she’ll be all alone in Elaine Haviland’s quaint house. A chef with no one to cook for.

But instead, she encounters a constant stream of colorful visitors who draw her back into the world. As Jess contends with local teenagers, a group of scrappy women and a charming football coach, Elaine faces some battles of her own that extend past her physical challenges. For both of them, all the ingredients for a fulfilling life are within reach, if they’re willing to take a leap. And maybe Jess will start to see that it’s not just what’s on the table that matters—it’s the people gathered round it.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

The Gathering Table by Kathryn Springer would be great for a Hallmark movie. The characters and the plot are relatable to anyone who has struggled with betrayal. Despite the many bumps along the way, the characters end up having hope after reinventing themselves. Readers realize how new friendships can help with overcoming past secrets.

Meet Jessica Keaton, who was unjustly fired from her job and accused falsely of improprieties. She decided to start anew by accepting a job offer to be a live-in cook and housekeeper for Elaine Haviland. Elaine had fallen, sent to rehab, and while there had a stroke. With Elaine recovering, Jess has her house to herself. While settling in, Jess is bombarded with Elaine’s friends and neighbors. Sienna Bloom is a girl who uses Elaine’s piano to practice for a recital where she can win a scholarship, but also uses the living room couch to sleep. Besides Elaine, it seems that Jess has a lot in common with Sienna regarding secrets and a past life. It is almost like they are The Three Musketeers.

There is also Nick Silva, a neighbor, and the high school coach, who takes an interest in Jess. Although attracted to each other Jess has built walls, which must be torn down. Another character helping Jess realize she no longer wants to be a loner is Christopher Benjamin Gardner, a young man who stutters, has a light case of Down Syndrome, and has become Jess’s sous chef. Jess allows him to venture out and realize he can have a job. His mother Nita, along with her friends, Peg and Marri, nicknamed the Scrappy Ladies, feel the need to protect Jess even though they are busy bodies. All these people, including Elaine who has returned home, help Jess to navigate the feeling of comradeship and family. Realizing she no longer needs to rely on herself she accepts the warmth and caring ways of those around her.

Elaine has also found romance with Matthew Jeffries, a former military Chaplain, who visited Elaine in rehab where they both realize someone in their fifties can find a relationship.

This story leaves a sweet taste in readers’ mouths. The characters are strong people with good values and are very caring. Anyone who wants a feel-good story should read a Kathryn Springer book. These are the type of friends everyone needs.

***

Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why did you make Jess, the main character, a chef?

Kathryn Springer: I have this secret dream of wanting to own a restaurant, something I will never do. If I can’t realize my dream, then my characters can. I was also inspired about what happens when people gather around the table together, to hear shared conversations and stories.

EC: What is the role of cooking?

KS: Food is an icebreaker and brings people comfort. It brings people together. They have shared traditions and dinners have attachment to memories. It helps people bond. It helped Jess escape just as the piano helped Sienna escape.

EC: Community is important in this book?

KS: It was like a second family. Jess realizes that there are people out there for her and she is not alone.

EC: How would you describe Jess?

KS: She came from the wrong side of the tracks who had to overcome those unkind to her. She became isolated and a loner. By moving to Winsome Lake, Wisconsin, she reinvents herself and becomes successful. She wants to belong and be accepted for who she is as a person. In the beginning she was distrustful, afraid of failure, but also feisty, strong, sensitive, and kind.

EC: Jess had to overcome people’s cruelness?

KS: There is a character, Libby Tucker, who had to fight off many tribulations in her life. She wrote a diary about being betrayed, and felt her life and career were over. Jess relates to Libby, and is quoted in the book, “She left because it didn’t matter how hard she worked. It didn’t matter that all she wanted was to do the work that she loved. She knew no one would believe her. She knew good things didn’t happen to people like her… Libby’s mistake was thinking she could put the past behind her and start over again.”

EC: One of those characters was Gwyneth Donovan, Jesses former boss who fired her. She seemed to be demanding, difficult to please, and somewhat of a snob?

KS: Jess saw those qualities but also looked on her as a role model. She was the picture of success to Jess. Gwyneth was wealthy, independent, respected, well presented, and had friends in high places.

EC: How would you describe Elaine, Jess, and Sienna?

KS: All wanted to belong, and all have secrets. They did not want to be judged by their past.

EC: How would you describe Elaine?

KS: She is afraid if she is honest, she might lose her friends. She has strength, independence, and is caring.

EC: Why give Elaine a stroke?

KS: It happened to some people I know that were in their mid-fifties. They were in good health and then had a stroke. Some were able to recover.

EC: Nick is the male lead?

KS: He was the small-town high school quarterback who came back home. He has a strong sense of community and family. Overall, a good guy. Because he is now a coach, he has become sensitive to different types of personality. He is also funny and charming.

EC: How about Sienna?

KS: She is broken but wants something more from her life. As the story unfolds, she gains confidence. Jess helped her to trust again. Jess understood her because she was like Sienna at that age.

EC: Christopher was such a great character?

KS: He is tender hearted. I think he added a lot to the story. Jess allowed him to enter her kitchen and life. He is sweet, optimistic, and joyful.

EC: How about Elaine’s love interest, Matthew?

KS: He was not a character who appeared in the synopsis or in my head. He came about as I was writing the scene with Elaine in rehab. I typed the words “knock-knock” and thought who would be there. Matthew walked into the room. Their relationship was unexpected, but why should young characters always get all the romance?

EC: What about your next books?

KS: I am thinking of writing a sequel to this book. There is no contract and of course no release date. I am always thinking how I cannot say good-bye to these characters. They have become my friends over the course of the book. I would love to hear from readers about a second book. They can contact me at https://kathrynspringer.com/contact/ .

I am also going to self-publish and reissue a women’s fiction that will be out in January as a series of three books. It is the “Staple Hill Café” series make over.

THANK YOU!!

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Gone for Good by Joanna Schaffhausen

Book Description

Gone For Good is the first in a new mystery series from award-winning author Joanna Schaffhausen, featuring Detective Annalisa Vega, in which a cold case heats up.

The Lovelorn Killer murdered seven women, ritually binding them and leaving them for dead before penning them gruesome love letters in the local papers. Then he disappeared, and after twenty years with no trace of him, many believe that he’s gone for good.

Not Grace Harper. A grocery store manager by day, at night Grace uses her snooping skills as part of an amateur sleuth group. She believes the Lovelorn Killer is still living in the same neighborhoods that he hunted in, and if she can figure out how he selected his victims, she will have the key to his identity.

Detective Annalisa Vega lost someone she loved to the killer. Now she’s at a murder scene with the worst kind of déjà vu: Grace Harper lies bound and dead on the floor, surrounded by clues to the biggest murder case that Chicago homicide never solved. Annalisa has the chance to make it right and to heal her family, but first, she has to figure out what Grace knew―how to see a killer who may be standing right in front of you. This means tracing his steps back to her childhood, peering into dark corners she hadn’t acknowledged before, and learning that despite everything the killer took, she has still so much more to lose.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Gone For Good by Joanna Schaffhausen is the first in a new mystery series featuring Detective Annalisa Vega. She writes very intriguing serial killer mysteries and this one was no different.

Readers are introduced to Chicago PD detective Annalisa Vega who has some personal experience with the new case assigned to her. Twenty years ago, in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, the Lovelorn Killer viciously murdered seven women. After hog-tying them with ropes, he watched as they suffocated to death. He also mailed hand-written love letters to the “Sun-Times.”

This serial killer has resurfaced, bringing back horrible memories for Annalisa. The Lovelorn Killer had murdered seven women including Annalisa’s neighbor, Katherine Duffy, who was also her high school boyfriends’ mother, and confidant, someone she felt close to. Her dad’s Parkinson’s disease, her brother’s alcoholism, and her boyfriend’s fear of commitment were all triggered by stress, fear, and sorrow wrought by the serial killer. The villain is diabolical, perverted, deceitful, and intelligent.

The current case finds Vega investigating the killing of grocery story manager Grace Harper. Grace is an amateur sleuth, part of the Grave Diggers group, and is found murdered in the same fashion. To make matters worse, Vega is asked to partner with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli, who was disloyal and a womanizer. In Grace’s apartment they find photos of women in similar poses, all victims of the Lovelorn Killer plus extracts from Grace’s journal that offer some great insights into a murderer’s mind. What makes the story even more interesting are chapters from Grace’s point of view, giving information about the cases that Grace and her team were uncovering as well as clues she discovered that would identify the killer. After the detectives appear to be zeroing in on the serial killer, he decides to target Annalisa by calling her cell, stalking, and threatening her. He is like a spider trying to entangle Annalisa in the web.

This story has many red herrings and twists. Just when the reader thinks they know who the killer is, it becomes obvious that there is another person of interest. Vega has a vicious cat-and-mouse game with an elusive killer. At the end of the book people start to sympathize with the detective as she must struggle with a painful ethical dilemma.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Joanna Schaffhausen: It was a combination of things: Online sleuths, the cases they take on, how they go about their business, as well as my interest in serial killers. This story came about when I thought what would happen if an amateur sleuth tries to find a Cold Case serial killer.

EC: Is the amateur sleuth group Grave Diggers realistic?

JS: Yes, there are some groups more organized and tend to have members with established credentials. They tend to take cases that track down missing persons and are willing to put in the hours. Localized law enforcement can only put in so much time so amateur groups can take the information and run with it. This is an area where they have pretty good success. Most of the cases taken on are not active investigations.

EC: So amateur sleuths can be helpful?

JS: Not all. Some do not produce results. Some are prone to conspiracy theories. The fantastical tend toward that. They create narratives but don’t solve any crimes unlike the Grave Diggers.

EC: How would you describe Annalisa?

JS: She is a second-generation dedicated police officer who is daring, determined, and fearless. She is caring and seeks justice. Because she comes from a broken family, she joined the police force to have a 2^nd family.

EC: How would you describe Nick?

JS: Charming. He makes each date feel like they are number one. But when married to Annalisa he was unfaithful.

EC: How would describe their relationship?

JS: He hurt Annalisa with his infidelities. Now he says he has reformed and appears more mature. It remains to be seen if she will give him a second chance. There is a love triangle where her old boyfriend Collin is back in the picture. Collin and Nick are competing for Annalisa’s affections.

EC: How would you describe Grace, the amateur sleuth?

JS: Smart, impatient, abrasive, usually right, and funny. She found the serial killer because of a clue she found. In searching for him she became fearless.

EC: How would you describe the killer?

JS: Someone who missed the “old glory days.” He was born with the devil inside, lacks human empathy, and just looks for an excuse to kill. He likes to humiliate his victims and is an egotist. He enjoys the hunt, the power, the control, and creating fear in his victims.

EC: Why Chicago?

JS: I first set it in Boston. To differentiate from the first series my publisher and I decided to set it in Chicago. I needed some place reasonably familiar to me that had neighborhoods with family generations staying there.

EC: What about your next books?

JS: In January will be the fifth book in the Boston Police Detective Ellery Hathaway series, titled Last Seen Alive. She and the FBI Agent Reed Markham must confront their old nemesis, serial killer Francis Coben. He claims he wants to make amends and will tell where the remaining bodies are buried but only to Ellery. Then a new body turns up with Coben’s signature.

In this series, the second book titled Long Gone will be out in August 2022. Annalisa is asked to investigate how a fellow police officer is shot in his own home with his much younger wife standing over the body unharmed. Her best friend is dating the number one suspect who has been accused of killing his girlfriend years ago. Now the family and some in the police force are estranged from Vega because of what she had to do in the current book.

THANK YOU!!