Tag: #authorinterview

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Tin Men by Nelson DeMille, Alex DeMille

Book Description

Army CID Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor team up for their toughest assignment yet as they are dispatched to Camp Hayden to investigate the death of Major Roger Ames, the chief scientist in charge of the top-secret war games being conducted between a platoon of Army Rangers and a fleet of “lethal autonomous weapons.” Brodie and Taylor find themselves at ground zero of the next generation of warfare, and must untangle the complex web of alliances, animosities, and secret agendas among the men and women of the isolated facility.

In a place cut off from the world and exposed to the harsh desert elements, everyone is a suspect—from the zealous camp commander who pushes his men to the limit, to the Rangers slipping into madness due to isolation, grueling training, and rampant abuse of performance-enhancing drugs, to the late Major Ames’s own research colleagues. Brodie and Taylor must uncover layers of deception to find the hidden hand behind the murder of Major Ames, and the real purpose of the activities at Camp Hayden and its terrifying arsenal of next-generation weapons.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Alex DeMille is carrying on the torch of his father.  Nelson DeMille passed away on September 17th, 2024, from esophageal cancer. He was resilient, caring, non-woke, and a perfectionist. Readers will see many of the Nelson DeMille traits of the characters in this book, written by Alex, where wokeness does not exist, they are sarcastic, wisecrackers, and are out for justice.  As with Nelson DeMille’s plots, this storyline masterfully builds suspense, takes on relevant topics, and has humor and wit. Yet Alex puts his own imprint on the story and characters by having them do things that might shock readers in a good way.

The newly released book in the series Nelson DeMille’s The Tin Men, was written by Alex DeMille. Army CID Special Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor are dispatched to Camp Hayden to investigate the death of Major Roger Ames, the chief scientist in charge of the top-secret war games being conducted between a platoon of Army Rangers and a fleet of “lethal robotic autonomous weapons.” Brodie and Taylor find themselves at ground zero of the next generation of warfare robotic fighters.  They must uncover layers of deception to find who is behind the murder of the robot’s creator, Major Ames. The investigation is thwarted by the complex web of alliances, animosities, secret agendas, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs in this isolated desert facility.

The second book of the series, Nelson DeMille’s Blood Lines, is written mostly by Alex DeMille; with an assist from his father. Army Criminal Investigation Agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor have been separated for five months following their last assignment. Working together again, they are sent to Berlin, tasked with investigating the murder of one of their own: CID Special Agent Harry Vance of the 5th MP Battalion. Vance is an accomplished counterterrorism agent who had been stationed in western Germany, and whose body was discovered in a city park in the heart of Berlin’s Arab refugee community. The authorities suspect this is an act of Islamic terrorism, but Brodie and Taylor soon believe there is more than meets the eye. They work to discover what the murder victim was doing in the days and weeks preceding his death, becoming immersed in the many conflicts and contradictions of modern Germany: the Arab refugee crisis, the dark legacy of the Cold War, the Stasi secret police, and the imminent threats of a rising neo-Nazi movement. At the same time, they are butting heads with both the German and American authorities.

The first Nelson DeMille book in the series, The Deserter, was co-written with his son. The story seems to be based on Bowe Berghdal, a US soldier stationed in Afghanistan who walked away from his post, had two of his peers killed trying to find him, and was caught by the Taliban who kept him in supposed captivity. But then the plot takes a twist and turn. Delta Force Army Officer Kyle Mercer, the “Berghdal” character, has escaped the Taliban by beheading his captors and fleeing to Venezuela. After being spotted by an old army buddy the top military brass decides to send two members of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) to that socialist evil country to find Mercer and bring him back for trial of desertion.

All three books have a riveting plot. Readers are taken on a roller coaster ride in this action-filled story with surprise twists and turns.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: There are three books in the series, what were the differences?

Alex DeMille: The first, The Deserter, was written fully with my dad and was set in Venezuela, the second, Bloodlines, was set in Berlin, and this one was set in America’s Southwest at an Army base like Fort Irwin. The setting came first and the plot with AI/autonomous weapons/robots came later.

I also wanted in the plot something I was reading about, drug abuse in the military. Specifically with the Special Operation elite soldiers using strength enhancing drugs.

In the first two books the main characters had to suck it up, keep their mouths shut, and not talk about the secretive stuff they found out. I wanted this book to be different.

EC: What was it like writing this story, mainly without your dad?

AD: I spoke with my dad about the plot for this book and he pushed for this idea of robotics and AI. He said we can do this and make it real where science fiction become science fact. Because he was so sick, I wrote the whole plot of this book on my own. Although, we did the proposal together: the stage, the characters, and the premise but after that the plot was not blueprinted out. I tried to follow his style whether he wrote with me, or I did it on my own. However, he has a unique voice so I could not parrot him exactly.  With that said, he is my parent and have a sense of how he speaks in his writing, humor, and what he finds interesting. A lot of his style came to me through osmosis where a version of his voice melted with my voice. I really did hear his voice in my head when I was writing this book. In a way I felt connected to him after he passed away. I came to the realization, as many children do, that our parents’ voices are in our heads.

EC: Were you in the military?

AD: I was not in the military. This book does lean into the military more than the other two. While writing the first book together, I would have this conversation with my father who was a veteran so I felt comfortable, knowing if there was something that sounded wrong or was factually wrong, he would catch it. For this book, I did go to Fort Irwin where war games are cloned with logistic and combat training. I got to ride on a Blackhawk helicopter.  I thought about what kind of weapons would be used by Army Rangers and Titanium Alloy humanoid weapons as well as how a base runs and how each type of officer relates to each other. I had a friend, a former officer in the Marines, read the book for authenticity since CID officers must operate without any consideration of rank.

EC:  Were Maggie and Scott both in combat?

AD:  Yes. Scott Brodie was a former infantry soldier in Iraq, now a top CID investigator. Maggie Taylor a former Civil Affairs E-5 in Afghanistan, is Scott’s CID partner. Their knowledge of combat was used in this plot. He was in one of the most vicious battles of the Iraq war, the Second Battle of Fallujah.  She was a Civil Affairs Officer on the ground that was exposed to danger. Maggie’s first foot forward was diplomatic, and the guns came out if necessary. 

EC:  Why the drug use in this story?

AD: Partly because it was set in the desert, which I associated with hallucinogens. One can argue that these performance enhancing drugs that soldiers use in real life make them less human and become more like robots. I also had this drug used by many Native Americans where the user reconnects with nature, having ways of altering body and mind.

EC:  Has Maggie and Scott, the CID Agents, changed over the course of the three books?

AD: I think they have changed.  In the first book Scott was the brilliant crude arrogant rule breaking maverick while Maggie was brilliant but a rule follower who stayed between the lines. Through the course of the three books readers will see Maggie not by the book as she seems and Scott realizes he has limits. I really enjoyed writing Maggie, who was the junior officer to Scott, as she came more into her own and more confident. They both ended up having problems with authority, were untrusting, and rule breakers because the system was corrupt.

EC: What about their relationship?

AD: It began with sexual and professional tension. It grew into a deeper bond with a mutual respect and love for each other. Maggie became more like Scott because she saw through his eyes that these institutions are complicated, and she could not always defend them.

EC:  How would you describe the robots, the D-17s?

AD: They are strong, and have the skills to run, jump, flip, roll, and dive. The first image of them is that they are like Terminators. They are not frightening because of their brains, but because of their brawn. They are killing machines. Despite being very powerful and agile they are designed to not have any sophisticated learning. They only engage in certain ways and certain places with certain rules on how they could be deactivated. The goal was to give the Rangers this incredible physical challenge fighting against them.  The Rangers never win because they cannot overcome these unstoppable monsters. Throughout the course of the book readers see the humans wonder how they can prevail after the robots became like the “Scarecrow,” getting a brain. The story shows that with AI things can go wrong. I read how it cannot be autonomous without being intelligent and cannot be autonomous if it is too lethal. The military must balance how much the person can be taken out of the loop.

EC:  How did you come up with the names for the robots?

AD:  I do not remember if it was my idea or my dad’s idea to use baseball player names. I know he said the robots need names because the military names everything. The CEO of Simon & Schuster suggested instead of Wade Boggs to use Bucky Dent.  I thought Bucky is an interesting name for a robot.

EC: What about the AI effect?

AD:  I dislike it because I see all the ways it replaces human communication and human art. But a friend, a radiologist oncologist, pointed out, how it quickly can identify breast cancer.  To me, in this case, humans were not taken out of the loop, and the machines were used as a machine. AI should be doing the grunt work so we can do art, not the other way around where AI does the art, so we all become grunts.

EC: Do you agree with David Baldacci that says AI companies are committing plagiarism and piracy of authors’ works?

 AD:  I completely agree with him.  It is theft where learning models are taught on the work of the creators. They are using real artwork. How can someone trace what intellectual property feeds into it?  I do not trust Congress to do anything. I am not optimistic that government is going to put any of this on a leash.

EC:  What do you want readers to get out of this book?

AD:  What it is like to lose humanity and then to regain it.  Do the soldiers become the machines they are fighting against?

EC: Next book?

AD: I would be happy to write another Taylor/Brodie book, and I also have another idea for a thriller book.

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 Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie

Book Description

In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.

As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.

The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie blends history with fiction.

In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.

As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents, most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists. They claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community.

The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.

This story is multi-layered and intertwines culture, history, and suspense.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Vanessa Lillie: I moved to Rhode Island in 2011 which is the setting of this book.  The first book in the series, Blood Sisters, was set where I am originally from, Oklahoma. I made friends with those in this tribe and attended a Pow Wow, the oldest continuing Pow Wow in the country. There is a lot of history of here.  I am Cherokee but did think about the history of the Narragansett Tribe. It is interesting of a writer to come in with my own Cherokee background and look at this tribe through my own lens. I have Syd Walker, my main character, an archeologist, sent there to investigate the remains found that were tied to the Great Swamp Massacre. She also finds that a Narragansett teenage girl is missing. It will all come together.

EC: What was the role of the Warden Journal?

VL: There are a lot of journals and texts from colonial days.  I studied about the Massacre. The journal to me represented the historical perspective of the period and draw the reader back to those days. 

EC: Why the opening quote?

VL: Maria Pearson was one of the first people who questioned why the remains are dug out and put on shelves and not treated with the same respect as white people. I decided this quote resonated with the story. Archeology has deep roots in colonialism. Family members buried their dead in the ground with the intention that is where they would stay. People who do not even understand the life they lived, dug them up and put them on a shelf with no context. There are a lot of remains that are in a museum and have not been returned to the tribes.

EC: Has Luna from the first book changed since she achieved freedom?

VL: Yes.  In this book she has a chance of having freedom, joy, and hope.  She is no longer captive but does have a lot of traumas from it.  In this book she is trying to find purpose. Her background story is how she is trying to fit in a world that she has not really been a part of for a long time. Her narrative is to connect with her daughter and Syd.  I wanted to make it realistic, so I did not make it an easy road for her. She realizes she is good at investigating and surviving.

EC: Is it true that Indigenous children were taken out of their community?

VL: Yes.  There was a law that was enacted, ICWA (the Indian and Child Welfare Act). Religious people were taking the children out and giving them to white families to adopt. I have friends on that journey where they are trying to reconnect.

EC: Was Bud a good person or a bad person?

VL: Everyone is grey in my books.  He is a man of his times. He thought working with the Founder’s Society and the children at the camp was his job. Syd is the next generation of archeologists in BIA who sees her job as being more engaged with the tribal community. Bud saw his job to be engaged with the white communities. By the end he did try to redeem himself and pushed back.

EC: Next book?

VL: Hopefully there will be more.  I am also working on a stand-alone thriller set in Oklahoma.

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: Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap

Book Description

She thought she and her loved ones would be safe here. The lovely farm nestled in the heart of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle looks like the perfect refuge from the backstabbing maelstrom of DC politics. But this seemingly peaceful new home is anything but safe for former FBI director Rivers and her children.

Troubles begin when Irene’s 12-year-old nephew finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Powerful forces will do anything—including kill again—to protect their interests. Soon Irene’s family is the target of the kinds of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates . . . but this time, the enemy determined to tear them down is homegrown.

Then comes the attack she most fears. With everything she cares about at risk and an impossible deadline looming, Irene knows she won’t get any help from the local police force. And she’s burned too many bridges in Washington to get help from the FBI. This time, Irene Rivers is on her own.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap is a riveting mystery.  This series is a spin off from the Jonathan Graves series where the featured character, Irene Rivers, is moving on from her position as FBI Director. No matter what genre Gilstrap writes, whether a thriller or mystery, his stories are always gripping, intense, and action filled.

The plot shows how “you can take the job out of the woman, but you cannot take the no-nonsense attitude from Irene.”  This becomes clearer as the story unfolds. She must combat a range of villains including corrupt officials and lawbreakers. They are greedy, powerful, like to intimidate, blackmail, and think nothing of resorting to violence.

The first couple of chapters explain that Irene took down a corrupt President and left the FBI. But now Irene Rivers is looking for a quiet life. She has moved to West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in Jenkins County with her teenage daughter Kelly and 12-year-old nephew Wyatt. She thought they would be safe on her grandparents’ farm she had inherited. Irene’s trying for a fresh start, raising Kelly and Wyatt after both his parents died. She is hoping to improve her relationship with the children she is raising.

But her desire for a peaceful and quiet existence is shattered when Wyatt finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Soon Irene’s family is the target of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates.

In addition, she has become a private investigator and her first case lands her on the wrong side of a powerful family that seems to control the town. A teenage boy is in prison for a possible crime he didn’t commit. The evidence looks overwhelming, but Irene finds a lot of things that don’t add up. She must combat a sheriff who looks the other way, and a local kingpin whose legacy drips violence. Unfortunately, she’s burned every political bridge behind her so there will be no help she can seek and must solve both crimes on her own while protecting her family.

This novel is packed with nail-biting suspense, riveting drama, and blazing intrigue. The complex plot has good guys readers root for and bad buys they will hope to get their just do. This is a strong start to this new series.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the Irene series?

John Gilstrap:  I thought Irene deserved her own series. She has been in seventeen of the Jonathan Graves books.  Irene is a cool character, and she was in my second book, At All Costs, that came out in 1998 as an FBI field agent. Ten years later I needed an FBI Director and decided to have Irene take that position. She now has her own book, and I do not think I will do any crossovers because Jonathan will be the hero of his books and Irene is the hero of her books. 

EC: Yet Venice was in this book. Why?

JG: I needed her level of expertise for that plot point.  Plus, it links this series with the Graves series. I think going forward the character Billy Stubblefield will take over the tech position in future books, but he is not near her level.

EC: In Zero Sum the last book, Irene saves the US from a corrupt President. Please explain the role that played in this book.

JG: In the second chapter I described why Irene chose to leave the FBI.  Eighteen months ago, she proved the President, Anthony Darmond, to be corrupt.  Unfortunately, the polls in the US showed how the nation was split down the middle on whether she was a hero or a spawn of Satan. During the Impeachment hearings it showed Darmond to be involved with drug smuggling, human trafficking, and treason. It effects Irene and Jonathan in his books because Irene is not there to help him out. But in future books I will moving away from this plotline.

EC: Why move her from Washington D. C. to West Virginia?

JG: I moved to West Virginia and decided to set a series of stories here with Irene moving here with her younger daughter, and nephew.  She leaves the FBI and goes to her family’s land in West Virginia.

EC: How did you get the idea for this first book in the series, Burned Bridges?

JG: I was walking with my dog and saw some caves. My dog was trying to go into one. I thought that Irene’s nephew, Wyatt, who was with his black lab, Ruger, finds a part of body stuffed in this cave for a long time. She decides to investigate who was this person. My dog gave me the idea.

EC: How would you describe Irene?

JG: Strong-willed, has a lot of backbone, a single mom in Washington D. C. that has now moved to West Viriginia. She is tough as nails, zero BS, very, very honest, and frustrated because she does not have the FBI perks she had as a director. Part of the fun of the series is watching Irene discover herself. She still seeks out justice, a knight of the round table.

EC: Where will Irene be going professionally?

JG: She will become acting sheriff and has a private investigating firm she started. I do not outline so I do not know if she will become the permanent sheriff. In general Irene does not trust politicians and sheriffs are inherently politicians while deputy sheriffs are career police.  The way I see it playing out right now is that she is not a politician. The deputies who worked with the corrupt Sheriff Monroe will not have a future but the ones there for actual police work will have a future.

EC: Does Irene also hate reporters?

JG:  I have this book quote, “Reporters are Jackals…they wait till their prey is weakest and then they pounce.” It is safe to say that she does not trust the media.  Does anybody trust the media?

EC: How would you describe the children?

JG: Kelly is the youngest daughter who never lets Irene forget she put career and country over mothering. As a typical teenager she blames her mom for everything wrong in her life and blames her for not being around enough.

Wyatt, her nephew, lost his father, and now his mother, and currently lives with Irene. He is a loner who does not have friends or enemies. He has been through a lot.

EC:  How would you describe the villain, Finn?

JG:  He is a sociopath, psychopath, with a lot of rage.  He is part of the Rutledge clan. They own pretty much everything in Jenkins County. They made sure the elected officials were in their back pocket so they could get away with pretty much anything they wanted. Irene as sheriff will be the honest one so they want to get rid of her. They did bring a lot of prosperity to the area, but they do not like competition.  

EC: Next book?

JG: The next Graves book, titled, Scorched Earth, comes out in late February 2026. Jonathan was an off the book’s contractor for Irene.  People are taking revenge on these contractors. Graves is also trying to prevent a terror plot trying to take out a group of young people. There is an influence of October 7th that triggered this idea. These books are of the global scale.

Regarding the next Irene book, I know if Irene’s children are involved in the plot, they must be in some form of jeopardy.  Irene books will be more of the local scale. But since I do not have it written yet who knows.

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 Last Assignment by Erika Robuck

Book Description

Manhattan, 1954.

Since her arrest for disobeying orders and going ashore at Iwo Jima almost a decade earlier, combat correspondent Georgette “Dickey” Chapelle has been unmoored. Her military accreditation revoked, her marriage failing, and her savings dwindling, Dickey jumps at the next opportunity. In the aftermath of a an assignment gone wrong, a flame is lit deep inside Dickey—to survive in order to be the world’s witness to war from the front lines.

Never content to report on battles unless her own boots are on the ground, Dickey and her camera journey with American and international soldiers from frozen wastelands to raging seas to luscious jungles, revealing one woman’s extraordinary courage and tenacity in the face of discrimination and danger. And it’s along the way, in Dickey’s desire to save the world, she realizes she might also be saving herself.

At a time when a woman’s heroic spirit often gave way to homeland reality, Dickey blazed a trail for the revolutionary hearts inside us all.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck delves into the life of a trailblazing woman photojournalist, Georgette “Dickey” Meyer Chapelle, known for her work as a war correspondent from WWII through the Vietnam War. Through the novel, readers will understand her desire to capture the raw, human side of war, and shows her bond with the troops she was embedded with.

The story shows how she was very supportive of the Marines, who considered her a partner. She trained with them and went to war with them. Most of the book centers on her life during the 1950s and 1960s. It starts with her floundering, having her photo credentials revoked from the military because she disobeyed orders while embedded with the troops at Iwo Jima, the battle fought during WWII. She also had her relationship with her live-in partner crumbling and unable to find a job.

Readers take a journey with her feeling that they are amid a war zone whether in Hungary during the Cold War, Cuba during the revolution of Fidel Castro, and Laos, and South Vietnam. There are potent scenes of her time in a Communist prison after being captured while working in Hungary. Her next assignment takes her to Cuba, where she covers the rebels in the Sierra Maestra and witnesses the revolution of Fidel Castro against Batista’s regime. In 1961 she went to Laos and showed the true horrors of what was happening there. After that she was off to Vietnam and knew that she needed to show her support for the soldiers there.

She wanted to be known as the person who would document the realities of war. She often put herself in danger to make sure that Americans could see what was going on in war zones. Robuck does a wonderful job of showing how Dickey would risk everything to uncover the truth.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Do you have any military influences?

Erika Robuck: I have grown up around the military. My father-in-law served in the Army in Vietnam. I have always been interested in that area, ever since I was a teenager. There were a lot of movies that came out around that time.  Living in Annapolis I am around the Naval Academy.  My grandfather was in the Navy.  I was always immersed in the world of the military. A lot of my most recent fictions have been about women involved in the world of military intelligence.

EC:  Why write about Georgette “Dickey” Meyer Chapelle?

ER: I was looking through a photograph book of Vietnam where I discovered her pictures and then learned about her personal story. I think of this book as historical fiction or bio fiction where the story is very close to the truth. It has facts but I make up the dialogue.  Plus, I sometimes consolidate characters.

EC: Why the setting of Hungary, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam?

ER: She served in seven conflicts.  I chose those that were united in theme. The more research I did, the Cold War became the subject of personal fascination. The time, 1955 to 1965, had the most significant conflicts where she had the deepest relationships and the highest stakes.

EC: Do you think she supported American troops?

ER: Yes, I have this book quote, “American men are dying for the protestors right to free speech and democracy, yet they villainize them.” They are doing it to make sure Americans can retain their freedom. We are spoiled where we are. It is easy to comment when people enjoy their coffee while at their computer.

EC: Why did Dickey become a photojournalist of war zones?

ER: Freedom was an important theme within her philosophy.  She was willing to go into very dangerous situations. She wanted to be the eyes and ears of the people so they could understand what was happening.  She wanted to see it herself and was always looking for the pictures that showed the collateral of war.

EC: Was she a complex character?

ER: She had a pacifist upbringing but supported the troops and photographed war. My thoughts are that her thirst for adventure was a sort of rebellion as a young person in her pacifist household.

EC: How would you describe her?

ER: She was an optimist, risk taker, courageous, resilient, had self-doubt, gutsy, restless, impulsive, and sometimes she did not think through what she was doing. She was very hopeful.

EC: What role did Tony play in her life?

ER: He taught her about photography.  He saw the glamor in her and drew out her feminine side. She came into herself as a woman, an awakening in the early years of their relationship.

EC: Was she affected by being arrested for disobeying the order in Iwo Jima?

ER: It wounded her.  Because she did not respect the chain of command she got cut off and had to face the consequences when she lost her military credentials.  This was a period of real darkness for her. She learned that if she went into combat, she had to follow the rules.

EC: After she was captured in Eastern Europe, did it make an impact on her?

ER: She was tortured, interrogated, put in solitary confinement, and threated with death daily. She lost a large amount of weight. This fueled her fire to fight for democracy even more after her experience in a Communist prison. This why she wanted to go to regions where they fought Communism.

EC: What do you want readers to get out of the story?

ER: She also lived in New York where she led the glamourous life, between conflicts. People can learn a lot about the human conditions through her. Going into these places with her was like traveling with Forest Gump.

EC: Next book?

ER: I am writing a woman in intelligence military history.

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: Evelyn Redfern Series by Julia Kelly

A Traitor in Whitehall, Evelyne Redfern Book 1

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park, Evelyne Redfern Book 2

A Dark and Deadly Journal, Evelyne Redfern Book 3

Julia Kelly

Minotaur Books

Julia Kelly’s new series introduces a new heroine, Evelyne Redfern. She is intelligent, logical, and resilient with a love of reading detective stories.  Readers are plunged into WWII where Evelyne ends up as a spy. These novels have secrets and friendships.

All three books are very interesting reads with characters that are well developed.  The historical insight only adds to the books’ suspense.

Book Description

1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.

However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?

***

Elise’s Thoughts

A Traitor in Whitehall introduces Evelyne by going into her backstory.  She was known as the Parisian Orphan after her mother died, and her father was in name only. Now many years later, she is approached by Mr. Fletcher, a family friend who offers her a secretarial job in an underground bunker where the Churchill cabinet war rooms are located. Shortly after she settles into the job, one of her fellow workers is murdered. She uses her amateur detective skills to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies. The pair begrudgingly team up since it becomes obvious Evelyne can get people to speak to her.

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Book Description

Freshly graduated from a rigorous training program in all things spy craft, former typist Evelyne Redfern is eager for her first assignment as a field agent helping Britain win the war. However, when she learns her first task is performing a simple security test at Blackthorn Park, a requisitioned manor house in the sleepy Sussex countryside, she can’t help her initial disappointment. Making matters worse, her handler is to be David Poole, a fellow agent who manages to be both strait-laced and dashing in annoyingly equal measure. However, Evelyne soon realizes that Blackthorn Park is more than meets the eye, and an upcoming visit from Winston Churchill means that security at the secret weapons research and development facility is of the utmost importance.

When Evelyne discovers Blackthorn Park’s chief engineer dead in his office, her simple assignment becomes more complicated. Evelyne must use all of her—and David’s—detection skills to root out who is responsible and uncover layers of deception that could change the course of the war.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park has Evelyne going from a secretary to a covert spy. Now, fresh out of training, Evelyne is sent, with David as her handler, to infiltrate Blackthorn Park, a secret government installation developing clandestine weapons. They must figure out why some materials have gone missing. They are on a time limit since Prime Minister Winston Churchill is due to arrive there in a few days for a demonstration. Unfortunately, while making sure the facility is secure, Evelyne stumbles upon a dead body, that of Sir Nigel Balram, a brilliant but unpopular engineer who heads the project. Despite David and Evelyne’s slightly prickly relationship they function efficiently and intelligently together and now must quickly find the killer.

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Book Description

After being sidelined for a pesky gunshot wound, typist-turned-field agent Evelyne Redfern is ready for her next assignment with Britain’s secretive Special Investigations Unit. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her dashingly irksome partner, David Poole, are sent headed to Lisbon to find him.

Once they land, Evelyne and David aren’t even able to leave the airport, before she discovers one of their fellow aeroplane passengers murdered and uncovers a diary with a clear link between the victim and their missing informant. With their mission in jeopardy before it can truly begin, Evelyne and David fight to keep their cover intact as they descend deeper into the shadows that surround Lisbon’s glittering collection of wealthy expats and dangerous spies. This case will test Evelyne and David’s training, charm, and wit—and their growing attraction for one another.

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Elise’s Thoughts

A Dark and Deadly Journal is a cliff hanger.  While the other two books are more of a mystery this book combines a mystery within a thriller making for a riveting and gripping novel. When a British Intelligence informant in Portugal mysteriously disappears just after hinting that he has vital information about German plans that could tip the balance of World War Two, Evelyne and her partner, David Poole, are sent to Lisbon to find him. Before she even leaves the plane, she discovers one of their fellow passengers murdered and uncovers a diary with a clear link between the victim and their missing informant. Unfortunately, Evelyn finds herself the main suspect in a murder before she even leaves the airport, but she is eventually released, although still considered a person of interest. As she and David try to find the informant, Evelyne feels guilty because she is hiding the other reason she is in Portugal, to locate her estranged father.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Is the theme for all the Evelyne Redfern books having her find a dead body?

Julia Kelly: I like a classic murder mystery with the set up and who done it. I always enjoyed the puzzle and figuring out what will happen.  For the foreseeable future I anticipate focusing on the murder mystery side of things.

EC: How did you get the idea for the series?

JK: I was at the Imperial War Museums in London with a friend. It is interesting where they have the underground bunkers for the cabinet war rooms used during WWII. I thought this would be a good place to set a murder mystery because it is a closed room so to speak. It is a bit of a lock room mystery in a way. I wrote this into my first book, A Traitor in Whitehall.

EC:  In the first book Evelyne mother’s death was highlighted. Why?

JK: It is one of Evelyne’s big motivations.  Her mother died when she was twelve and she always felt that the death was not investigated properly.  She has this lingering feeling that something does not add up. She sees it again when a murder happens at Whitehall, believing that the military police are not taking the death seriously. Her motivation was the feeling of mirrors and parallel to the investigation of her mother.

EC: The victims in the books seem to be unlikeable. Do you agree?

JK: Yes, in the first book the victim, Jean Plinkton, is not sympathetic. She is catty, likes to collect and use information on people to blackmail them, unpopular, a bully, and a snitch. Evelyne believes that she still deserves justice. In the second and third books the victims were ladies’ men who had affairs. I wanted to write about elements of their characters that were possible red herrings.

EC:  What was the idea for the second book, Betrayal at Blackthorn Park?

JK: I wanted to write a country house murder mystery. During the war there was a huge number of stately homes, requestioned, including a SOE research and development facility for the creation of weapons. Evelyne was sent to investigate the security there because of breeches.

EC:  Is the SOE real?

JK: It stands for Special Operations Executive, a branch of the British government that was clandestine. They are covert.  Their agents use surveillance, have weapons training, use explosives, and have combat and parachute training. They blow up strategic targets, run secret missions, conduct assassinations, and extract people out of a country. They were controversial because some felt war should be fought out in the open and not in secret.  Churchill believed the war would be won with not only conventional forces but also secret combat missions. It was nicknamed the Department of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

EC: The idea for the third book, A Dark and Deadly Journal?

JK: I wanted to get Evelyne and her partner David out of their comfort zone. I decided to send them to Portugal, a neutral country during WWII. It is an interesting space because there was a huge amount of espionage activity there. They were sent to Portugal to investigate the disappearance of a missing vital informant run by British intelligence. Evelyne is now growing as a field agent.

EC: Do readers get to know her father in this book?

JK:  Yes. He never calls himself dad to her. He is not cautious, not meticulous, uncaring, aloof, selfish, arrogant, unfaithful, a bad father/husband, and is content that he had years of no contact with his daughter, Evelyne.  To others he can be glamorous, charming and gracious. He made his living by going off on adventures and writing about them.

EC: How would you describe Evelyne?

JK: She is perceptive, insightful, curious, independent, personable, aggressive, sarcastic, likes to disarm people, and tends to sulk at times.

EC:  How would you describe her partner, David?

JK: He is calm, trusting, and a rule follower. He is the straight man to Evelyne. He has a past that has not been dealt with yet.

EC:  There is a debate between Evelyne and David about detective novels. Why?

JK: She likes English detective stories, and he likes American detective stories. Part of it is my enjoyment of reading them and a nod to the golden age of novels. Evelyne’s ambitions to become a detective intrigues her because of her reading of those stories. I have personally read many more British detective novels than American.

EC:  What was the role of Evelyne’s Aunt Amelia?

JK: She is probably my favorite character to write. She is very bold. She came about because Evelyne is estranged from her father, her mother has died, and I wanted Evelyne to have a connection with a family member. Aunt Amelia is a strong presence but not always a welcome presence in Evelyne’s life.  She is bossy, difficult, and pushy but loves her niece very much.

EC:  What about Mrs. White and Mr. Fletcher?

JK:  They are Evelyne’s bosses who will push her. Fletcher recruits her, a family friend. He very much believes in her. Mrs. White is much more by the book who is sharp, efficient, serious, and shrewd.  She wants to make sure Evelyne is trained and knows what she is doing. They have Evelyne investigate moles and breeches of security.  Mrs. White does not feel Evelyne has earned her trust yet and they have a tense relationship. Fletcher runs the department while Mrs. White runs the field agents.

EC: In the books you play on women’s issues?

JK: There were men who did not want women to be in a certain role.  Especially with the first book I wanted to play up the fact how Evelyne is underestimated at every turn because she is a woman in the typing pool. She was not valued. She was able to speak to people who would otherwise not speak to an investigator and is able to fly under the radar. Women’s roles were opening during the war. The perception that women were not capable of doing certain jobs for the war effort was still part of the thinking of the time. She used that expectation to her own advantage.

EC: What about the relationship between David and Evelyne?

JK: He has high regard for her.  At first, he does not look on her as an equal partner but comes around.  They can read each other. They do not necessarily trust each other.  It is a relationship that is still growing. In the last book I do not leave them in a very good place.

EC: Next book?

JK: I want to not focus not only on the murder mystery themselves, but the development of the characters.  Going forward I will have some changes and tension between them. I wanted to put their relationship on some strain and pressure. The next book is in the making.

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: Last Seen and The Wolves Come Out at Night by J.T. Ellison

Both books are riveting and gripping novels.  The twists and turns will keep readers guessing to the very end.

Book Description

Come here. Come closer.

Halley James knows her marriage is over. But she’s not prepared for the rest of her life to fall apart too.

No one can hear you. No one can help you.

She just lost her job at the forensics lab. Her dad needs emergency surgery. But the biggest blow comes back home in Marchburg, Virginia, where she discovers her mother didn’t actually die in a car crash. Her mom was murdered—and her father lied about it all these years.

I have nothing to hide from you. Are you hiding something from me?

Since she was six years old, it’s been Halley and her dad. Now, she doesn’t know what to believe. Desperate for the truth, Halley chases down a lead in Brockville, Tennessee. But all there is not as it seems. Brockville’s utopian charm hides a chilling darkness. And Halley’s search for answers threatens to expose an unspeakable reality.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Last Seen by J. T. Ellison is a standalone novel. Her protagonist, Halley James, is not having a good year.  She is getting divorced, has lost her job at the forensics lab, and her dad needs emergency surgery after a fall.  But the biggest blow is when she discovers her mother died, not in a car accident, but was murdered by her sister. Since she was six years old her dad had lied to her, refusing to tell her the truth about her mother’s death. Halley is now looking for answers and knows she must find her missing sister to get to the bottom of what happened to her mom. Luckily, her soon to be ex-husband is willing to help her and protect her.

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Book Description

A detective on the brink.
An assassin out for revenge.
A desperate mother racing against the clock.

While the high-profile murder of a young country singer turns Nashville inside out, danger lurks in the woods beyond the city’s border. There was a witness to the terrible crime, a college student who stumbled onto the scene. When the girl goes missing, the police don’t know if she’s run for cover or been taken…or if something more sinister is happening.

The truth will shatter Taylor’s career and bring her face to face with a deadly assassin who wants nothing more than to finish what they started.

Taylor Jackson is back. And you’ve never seen her quite like this.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Wolves Come at Night has two storylines that come together at the end. It may at first seem like each storyline is not related but they turn out to be connected in the end.  One story has the murder of a country music singer by a supposed serial killer. The other story has Taylor making some big changes plus must team up with assassin Angelie Delacroiz. Taylor, now a Captain, is frustrated at having basically a desk job and during an impulsive moment she quits over a disagreement on how to pursue another case assigned to her, the disappearance of a murder witness.

It seems that Carson, the witness to the murder of country singer Georgia Wray, has disappeared. Worse, her mom, Dr. Avery Conway receives a ransom note. Through the course of the investigation, it is discovered that the same people who kidnapped Carson, also killed, her dad, Richard. Taylor suspects that the murder of Georgia Wray relate to Carson Conway’s disappearance. Along with Angelie’s help they pursue the kidnappers before they have a chance to do harm to Carson.

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Author Interview

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

J. T. Ellison: I dreamed this one. It happens sometimes.  I had this wild dream about a romance in this town.  I found a way to darken it up. I decided to use the same town of Brockville. I was with my sweet little cat Jamison. It was her last night, and we knew we would have to put her down the next day because she was sick.  This was the original title for this story, ‘Her Last Night.’ She sat in my lap while I wrote the story.  I swear she gave me the story. The main character, Halley James, finds out everything she knew about her life is a lie including the death of her mother by her sister.

EC: How would you describe Halley?

JT: I moved the entire story up ten years, so she is now 34. She is a trained forensic scientist.  Her whole life is falling apart with a failed job, a failed marriage, not having a child she desires, her mother dead, her dad is in the hospital because of a fall, and her sister disappeared. She is still having grief.  I wrote the book from a place of bereavement, having lost one of my furry muses. I was so sad and unhappy that I channeled that grief into the story. Halley is curious, suspicious, has a moral compass, and is damaged. She had a head injury and continues to have memory issues, blackouts, that make her feel panicky, fearful, and anxious.

EC: How would you describe Cat, the sister?

JT: She is a highly functioning well adjusted sociopath.  She is jealous, mean, cruel, smart, stubborn, aggressive, has an impulse disorder, and is full of rage. Although things might not be as they seem.

EC:  What is the relationship between Halley and Cat?

JT: Halley is obsessed with finding her because she wanted to know why she killed her mother. They have a very complicated relationship. Cat exists and functions in the darkness that is represented by Ian, while Halley is lightness. Cat is Ian’s servant.

EC: How would you describe the antagonist, Ian?

JT: He is a monster. He is evil.  He is immoral. One of the darkest characters I have ever written.

EC:  How would you describe Halley’s estranged husband Theo?

JT: He loves her deeply.  He has his own demons. Theo supports her. He is gentle, concerned, caring, but stubborn.  He is willing to lose his marriage instead of compromising his morals. Because he sees such horrible things in his job, he does not want to raise a child in this world.

EC: What role does the dad play in the story?

JT: He is Halley’s mentor. He is her savior and protector.  The dad brought Halley up after her mother died and kept her safe. He had a big miscalculation in judgement in that trying to keep her safe he lied to her. He broke her heart and trust.

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for Whiteout and The Wolves Come at Night?

J. T. Ellison: It is part of an anthology I wrote, and the theme was having a white-out blizzard that crisscrossed a large portion of the county, to create isolation. The anthology written with Erica Spindler and Alex Kava features all our main characters in separate stories. Whiteout is a novella, the opening for the book, The Wolves Come at Night. Whiteout is a closed circle mystery, while Wolves is a bang-out thriller.

EC: What is the battle between the “two wolves?

JTE: It is the duality of the heroes.  Both Angelie and Taylor struggle with doing immoral things for moral reasons.  They both must kill, face evil, and must decide if they choose the good or choose the evil.

EC:  How would you describe Angelie?

JTE:  I wanted to explore how her backstory affected her and how this formative moment made her the person she is. Angelie Delacroix’s backstory is based on a real crime in France where a little girl watched her parents executed in front of her. Angelie is fearless, a predator, has a temper, can be reckless, has a darkness, unstable, ruthless, but has a sense of humor, and is a rogue assassin. I do not think she is a sociopath because she was made into someone who she is and was not born that way. She is doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.

EC: How would you describe Detective Taylor Jackson?

JTE: She is an idealist, instinctive, loyal, can read people, not a rule follower, sarcastic, wants to rid the world of those who do harm, and seeks justice. She is in a place she does not want to be. In the previous books she was traumatized. She was shot in So Close the Hand of Death, and in the book Where All the Dead Lie, she could not speak, incredibly traumatized. In this story, it appears she has lost a step. The Nashville Metro Police Department did not want to lose her, so they promoted her, because they did not want her in the field due to her unpredictability. She does not want to ride a desk but wants to be on the streets with her team.

EC: Do both characters have similarities?

JTE: Yes.  In many ways they are a lot alike, but also completely opposite. Taylor always wanted to be a protector. Angelie would have gone down that road, had she not experienced such trauma. She idolizes Taylor and is obsessed with her and fascinated with her. Angelie looks in the mirror and sees a very dark version of Taylor. Yet, Taylor looks in the mirror and sees her own darkness. Taylor gets annoyed by her but respects her as an intelligent operative. Taylor learns from her. Both butted heads because they do not like how each questions the others authority. Taylor is old-fashioned, more predictable, while Angelie does not worry about legality and morality. This is why Taylor is a detective and not an assassin.

EC:  What role did the Macallan Group play in the story?

JTE: It is an off-book organization that works for the government.  It is a private powerful organization.

EC: Next books?

JTE: Taylor Jackson will be back in some capacity as a Lieutenant or a Private Investigator, based out of Nashville.

The next book is a standalone titled You Know Why. It should be out this time next year. It is the story of two women.  One woman is going on a vacation with her husband and while on a plane another woman sees the murderer of her sister.  When the married couple are heading for a connecting flight, the husband disappears. It all collides.

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.