#elisesthoughts – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Hard Town by Adam Plantinga

Book Description

After surviving a deadly prison break, ex-Detroit cop Kurt Argento is ready for some quiet. Still working through his grief over the passing of his wife, Argento finds himself house-sitting for a friend with his loyal companion, Hudson, a Chow Chow-Shepard mix. It’s a simple life, but it’s one that Argento is content to live. Then Kristin Reed shows up, begging Argento to find her missing husband and son.

Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye. First there’s the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there’s the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. Finally, there’s a man with no name with unprecedented control over the town. Argento finds himself unraveling not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that’s taken a whole town to cover up.

Fenton, Arizona is going to push him further than he’s ever had to go. And along the way, he may just lose a part of himself. Because justice isn’t as black and white as Argento would like to believe.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Hard Town by Adam Plantinga blends action, humor, and moral dilemmas for the main character, Kurt Argento. Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch will move over for Kurt Argento, someone with a combination of their qualities. Argento emerges as a character where his reputation precedes him, with a desire to help others in dire straits.

Argento is a former Detroit beat copy and SWAT team member who served for over twenty years. In these first two books of the series readers see him as a wounded man, both physically and mentally. He has a stubborn, uncompromising sense of justice and formidable street-fighting skills, and is now grieving over the loss of his beloved wife to cancer.

Hard Town begins with Argento housesitting with his loyal companion, Hudson, A Chow-Chow Shepherd mix, for an old SWAT buddy in Fenton Arizona. At a diner he is approached by a woman, Kristin Reed, with her toddler who asks his help to find her missing husband. But after she fails to arrive for their appointment Argento decides to investigate the disappearance of the Reed family. Unfortunately, he is met with hostility and suspicion. Argento starts to notice that Fenton, Arizona is more than meets the eye.

He is up against government forces and ex-military special operators who have quietly taken over this small Arizona town, for the purpose, as they see it, of keeping America safe. There’s the large, overly equipped public safety team complete with specialized tactics and sophisticated weaponry. Then there’s the unusual financial boosting of failing small businesses by the U.S. government. Finally, there’s a man known only as “Silver Haired Man” with unprecedented control over the town. Argento finds himself needing to unravel, not just the truth behind the disappearance of a family, but a conspiracy that’s covered up by many in the town. He must contend with gangland assassins, mercenaries, and a mysterious psychopath with a huge intellect who is working on a secret project for the government.

There is quick witted dialogue, realistic scenes, and a great action plot, with well-written, detailed, and complex characterizations.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Did you use your personal experience to write these stories?

Adam Plantinga: I am a police sergeant in San Francisco. I can use my police training and tactics for my main character, who is a former cop. His outlook on life is like mine. I spend a fair amount of time around felons, so I get a sense of how they speak and act. Many times, when they say and do something I use it in the books.

EC: How are you like your main character, Kurt Argento?

AP: He is hard driving who does not have a lot of patience for disorder. He is relentless. I like to think I have these qualities as well when going after wanted felons. He is a straight shooter just like me. And we both had/have wonderful wives.

EC: What other qualities does Argento have?

AP: In the first book, The Ascent, there are a lot of flashbacks about his wife who he lost to cancer. He is caring, inquisitive, can read people, a problem solver, stubborn, former SWAT, can connect the dots, and is a hunter and fisher. He is a handy guy.

EC: What is the difference between The Ascent and this book?

AP: The first book took place indoors in a violent maximum-security prison and this second book was outdoors, with many scenes in the desert. In The Ascent, Argento operates in black and white regarding moral choices whereas in the second book there are shades of grey that include him blinded by rage.

EC: Why did you kill a child and a dog?

AP: I speak to it in the acknowledgement of the book. In a writing conference the moderator said the only rule that matters is that it can be done if it powers the story, and it works. The killing of the dog is the fuel for Argento throughout the rest of the book. The role of Hudson is to spur Argento because the bad guys crossed the red line in the sand.

EC: How would you describe the “Silver-Haired Man?”

AP: He is not a sympathetic character. He is diabolical. He uses his power and intellect for pure evil with no redeeming qualities. He is cold-blooded with tendencies to being a psychopath: narcissistic, without empathy.

EC: Why pit off the former Special Forces military against a former cop?

AP: I do work with a lot of those who are former military and are now in law enforcement. The plot has these former Special Forces people pretending to be cops. While in the military they saw and had to do bad things in the service of their country. When they were offered a million plus dollars for this assignment, they figured it was their just due. But they lost their way in the process with only one appearing to have a conscience, Redfinger. He cannot square what he did with who he is. The others have committed atrocities without guilt.

EC: Why the desert setting?

AP: I was able to put in how someone lost will get headaches, dehydration, pain, and thirst with the extreme heat. I did some research by speaking with a desert survivalist and a burn expert to

make it realistic. I also read a book, Death Watch, as a child that is a desert survival tale. There are passages from that book that are in my memory, and I wanted to recreate that setting. My wife and I love the desert setting.

EC: Next book?

AP: There are two more books in the series. The plot has Argento finding himself in a small South Dakota town. He decides to help a teenager who is in a lot of trouble. The working title is Run Through Walls, probably out in 2026.

THANK YOU!!

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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: Dark Rising by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson

Book Description

Victor is dead. But out of the chaos, a new dark power rises …

Only weeks ago, former Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson, head of Joshua Bravo team at the Shepherds, helped to defeat Victor, the leader of the devil’s Dark Ones. Now, his boss, Ben Morvant, has tasked him with an even harder mission: Take a vacation.

But before Jed has even managed to hit the beach in the Dominican Republic, he comes face-to-face with a new evil: Orphans are being abducted right off the streets of Santo Domingo. Are these disappearances just an unfortunate crime in an unfamiliar country, or do they hint at something bigger—a new threat emerging out of the power vacuum Victor left behind?

When Jed needs help after a violent encounter, he finds himself with an unexpected new ally: CIA liaison Gayle James. Together, the two of them must follow the trail of the missing orphans before it runs cold. Soon they find themselves immersed in a dangerous world of murder, betrayal, and voodoo. Jed will need Gayle, the Watchers Sarah Beth and Corbin, his old friend Ben Morvant, and the entire team of Shepherds at his side to expose the new threat—and to prevent a new dark power from rising …

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Elise’s Thoughts

Dark Rising is the fourth book by Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson in the Shepherds Series. Brian, a former submarine officer and Jeff, a former combat surgeon, use their experiences to write riveting novels, this one no different. Readers are never disappointed when they pick up one of their series, whether “Sons of Valor,” “Tier One”, “Four Minutes”, and the “Shepherds Series” along with the Tom Clancy series. What sets this series apart from the others is the spiritual component that has some supernatural components, supported by scripture.

The first book in the series, Dark Intercept, has Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson retiring. As he tries to figure out his next step he receives a frantic call from his estranged childhood best friend David Yarnell, now married to Jed’s high school sweetheart Rachel, that their daughter, Sarah Beth, has been kidnapped. Since the police have no suspects and no leads Jed reluctantly agrees to help. Dark memories and strange abilities he thought he’d put behind him resurface that include the ability to hear other people’s thoughts, and internal voices. Jed is helped by the Shepherds, a military organization of religious soldiers tasked with protecting the world from evil spiritual threats, and the Watchers, teenagers who provide intelligence and reconnaissance to the Shepherds.

Dark Angel, the next book, pits Jed, the Shepherds, and the Watchers, against Nicholas Woland, who betrayed the Shepherds and joined their enemies, the Dark Ones. He is tasked by the leader of the Dark Ones, Victor, to execute a sinister plot causing hundreds of deaths and inciting worldwide religious warfare.

Dark Fall, the third book, has Jed as the Shepherds team leader using his skills, his team, CIA liaison Gayle James, and the Watchers to track an energy-based weapon that Victor wants to control.

Dark Rising has Jed on a vacation. But his restfulness comes to an end after realizing that children are being abducted in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He is immersed in a dangerous world of murder, betrayal, and Voudou with Zombies. Jed will need Gayle, the Watchers Sarah Beth and Corbin, the leader of the Shepherds, Ben Morvant, as well as the entire team of Shepherds at his side to expose the new threat.

This series has an interesting take on good versus evil. It has the elements that Andrews & Wilson have become known for: covert operations, intrigue, fast-paced action sequences, and nefarious plots with a spiritual component.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Since you both are writing four series, “Sons of Valor,” “Tier One”, “Four Minutes”, and the “Shepherds Series” which one came first?

Brian Andrews/Jeff Wilson: “Tier One” is the first series that began in 2016 with eight books. Usually, the first three books relate to an arc, a three-book trilogy.

EC: What is the difference between each series?

BA/JW: They have different universes. The “Shepherds Series” has the speculative element as faith based but is grounded in the present with normal human life that includes spirituality and religious elements. The “Four Minutes” series is a speculative near future thriller that has a technological breakthrough that affects people, the military, and the intelligence communities. The “Tier One,” “Sons of Valor,” and the Tom Clancy Series are military thrillers set in the present with no speculative element at all with real-life mirroring current geo-politics.

EC: The following questions will be based solely on the “Shepherds Series.” How did you get the idea for it?

BA/JW: We wanted to write something rooted in what could be feasible based on biblical interpretations. Our stories imagine that evil is actively sowing chaos, misery, and deception to bring about ruin to mankind. Evil does not fight fair and the forces of good must combat them.

EC: How would you describe the bad guys, the Dark Ones?

BA/JW: They are every day human beings that turned to evil and are the host for a demon. The demon inside them gives them superhuman strength, the glowing eyes, and the transforming of their body. Imagine injecting someone with adrenaline or drugs that allows the person to push themselves to a limit beyond what a normal person’s biology could do. They have no fear of death. After the Demons process them, the body develops certain “powers” that gives them superhuman strength and power where they feel no pain. They represent hate and evil.

EC: Can you explain this quote from the Shepherds books, “The nature of good and evil, and things we feel, deep in our bones, but can’t see with our rational eyes. The raw questions about the existence of God?” I thought immediately of October 7th and the Holocaust.

BA/JW: Anyone who has been in combat or has seen horrific things can’t help but ask that question. This is an important part of the Shepherds Series. We assume readers go on this journey. In our own lives and military service, we’ve had to deal with burning questions about the nature of God, His role in the world and our lives, good and evil, and supernatural, spiritual

warfare the Bible tells us rages around us every day. There are so many possibilities where some might walk away from God, or maybe some will come to the same conclusions Jeff, myself, and our character Jed believe that God must give people free will. Part of the journey is where does organize religion factor into the equation for individuals. God in the story provides guidance, inspiration, and a set of moral principles for the Shepherds.

EC: In this story there are the Shepherds, Watchers, and Keepers. What is the difference?

BA/JW: The Watchers are a spiritual, intelligence, reconnaissance group. They replaced the satellites, listening devices, and professional spies. They are young people that are gifted with second sight that will age out. They can get into someone’s mind, can communicate with each other silently over a distance, and they are the ears and the eyes of the Shepherds. They locate a target, and certain watchers have an extra ability to project their consciousness to a physical location, an out of body experience.

The Shepherds are not divine and can be killed. They are a multinational task force to combat evil forces, the Dark Ones. They use spiritual warfare. They are a covert operations organization.

The Keepers are mentors, advisors, and handlers to the Watchers.

EC: What about some of the characters?

BA/JW: Jed is the main character, a Shepherd. He has anger issues, resentful, bitter, empathetic, compassionate, honorable, courageous, lonely, regretful, and has a Spidey-sense. Some of these characteristics dissipate in the fourth book, Dark Rising. In the first book he is going through a professional and spiritual crisis, having run away from his demons, both figuratively and literally. He became a Navy SEAL, the ultimate warrior. He is aging out of this job. He is becoming adrift and regrets walking away from his true love, Rachel. His journey in these books is the second act of his life where he finds a new place for himself after becoming a Shepherd leader, the head of Joshua Bravo. In Dark Rising he is put through the wringer and develops a sense of vulnerability and humiliation. He is emotionally spent. In this book he is starting a new journey.

Ben is the head of the Shepherds who was a former Navy SEAL. He decides what and where the mission will be. He decides to have a SEAL Team 6 type of unit for the real tricky and toughest missions which Jed will oversee.

Victor is the main bad guy in the first three books who is possessed by a legion of demons. He is the head of the Dark Ones. He can get into people’s minds. He is malicious, very intimidating, calm, hateful, mission oriented, results driven with a lot of rage. He is a little bit of a Darth Vader metaphor where he at one time was a person with humanity who over time was very corrupted and transformed. Victor allowed himself to be taken over by the Devil as was Darth Vader taken over by the emperor.

Woland is another bad guy, a Dark One. He is Lucifer-like, a sadist, powerful, and arrogant. He is a fallen Shepherd who wanted to use his skills for his own benefit.

David is Sarah Beth’s father. He is Yen to Jed’s Yang. He, Rachel, and Jed were like the Three Musketeers in high school. He is jealous of Jed for his abilities. Their dynamic is the heart of the story. He works with the Shepherds providing guidance.

Rachel is Sarah Beth’s mother. She is a private person, secure, confident, independent, protective, bitter, angry, and has abandonment issues. She was once in love with Jed. She still has the ability in her daughter’s presence to use some of her former Watcher skills.

Sarah Beth is a Watcher. She is an intricate player of the books. Looks on Jed as her family and uncle. She feels different. She is inexperienced and has powerful skills. Her courage is the most impressive. Throughout the books readers see her navigating the world. She encapsulates for us, the father of daughters, that to change the world there is no hiding at home.

Corbin is also a Watcher. She is sister-like to Sarah Beth. She is loyal, a tactician, analytical, and older beyond her years. She is what Sarah Beth can be if she tries and fulfills her potential.

Maria Perez: In the first three books she filled the emotional void for Jed. She was a police detective. She tries to manipulate Jed. Readers will see her as an anti-hero, a redemption character.

Gayle is the CIA liaison to the Shepherds. She is trustworthy, honorable, straight-shooter, calm, self-assured, tenacious, and brave. She is a critical thinker.

EC: The rest of the questions apply to the fourth book, Dark Rising. What about the relationship between Jed and Gayle?

BA/JW: They have bonded and like each other’s company. They can talk easily to each other. Gayle wishes Jed would confide in her more. There are sparks flying between them. In the first three books Jed had a preconceived idea that Rachel was his only soul mate and there will never be anyone else.

EC: In the latest book, is Sani a lot like Sarah-Beth?

BA/JW: She is a leader, defiant, strong-willed, and fearless. She is living in poverty with her grandma.

EC: The first three books were military thrillers with some science fiction but then while reading this book that had Voudou and Zombies I thought fantasy. Please explain.

BA/JW: They are not literal Zombies. Gayle explained that Voudou was based on hallucinogenic and paralytic drugs. Peoples’ heart rates slowed down with the drugs, putting a person into a

near death state in a coffin, buried alive. Just before the effects wear off, they are brought out of their coma state, the Priest digs up the victim and brainwashes them into thinking they’ve died and were brought back as a Zombie. The book quote, “They would be completely paralyzed and unable to speak or move. Their pulse would be faint to the point of undetectable…They would look dead, but they would be fully aware and awake.” In this culture the fear is becoming a Zombie. The victims had gone under PTSD.

EC: Is the new bad person, Manbo, the next female Victor and her aide, Calypso the next Woland?

BA/JW: Yes. She is pure evil. She tried to move the chess pieces to make herself the next Victor or at least someone else she can control. Calypso is the similar character as in the Odyssey. She is twisted, malignant, and tried to use her powers to keep people trapped and subservient.

EC: Next books?

BA/JW: We will continue writing more books in each series. In July will be the next “Sons of Valor” book, False Flag. This will be a new plot arc that has the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia murdered, and the blame is pointed at Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence. The company goes to the Middle East to help figure out who killed the Crown Prince and obviously the title of the book sort of gives it away.

The next “Tier One” book comes out in November and the title is the Adversary. The plot continues where the last book, Ember, left off. A Chinese agent was helping the terrorist organization al Qaeda that was responsible for the bombing that killed President Warner and the Indian Prime Minister. Richard Wang of the task force is kidnapped so it’s about trying to figure who took him and how to thwart the Chinese and the terrorists.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman

Book Description

The more they know, the more danger they’re in.

When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.

The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman intertwines history within a mystery. The conspiratorial plot involves a secret society established by Alexander Hamilton to protect U.S. gold reserves from foreign and domestic enemies. The question throughout the story is, “Did Alexander Hamilton hide enough gold to prevent anyone from cornering the market and ruining the US?”

The characters need to answer that question to find out what happened to the last heir of Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Walker. The police are wondering if she jumped in front of a subway train or was pushed to her death. Her husband, Ralph, and her best friend Sarah Brockman, know that she was terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days. Sarah received a cryptic message, and Ralph recalls her running mysterious errands to search for a strange antique key including in a piano at the Hamilton Grange (the house Hamilton built in New York City). Then, Sarah receives a box of tattered documents and shows them to Ralph.

Working together to find answers to Elizabeth’s death, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep America safe. Also investigating her death is Detective Deborah Schwartz who knows Sarah and Ralph are hiding something. To make matters worse, Sarah’s co-worker Pierce Burr shares sensitive intelligence about gold reserves with his devious friend Timothy who works for the Treasury Department and is trying to thwart her efforts to find the truth. Pierce and Timothy are trying to involve foreign interference in the international gold market.

The story has a great plot, intriguing characters, and a lot of suspense. Readers will feel they are back in time during revolutionary days and then jump forward to today where the twists add to a riveting storyline.

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Author Interview

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

Jenn Bregman: My husband and I lived in New York for about 12 years. The city lives and breathes Revolutionary era history. I became immersed in it and have a fondness for revolutionary times. The inspiration for the story came at that point. I read the Ron Chernow book and fell in love with Alexander Hamilton. Plus, I always have been interested in legacy issues and how the past continues through generations. Then the story just grew. Most of the historical facts in this book are accurate.

EC: What about the financial aspect of the story?

JB: I went to law school at UCLA where I met my husband. Then I became a Big Law litigator who practiced in Los Angeles and New York. I worked on Wall Street for many years and in banking compliance and trading. This part of the story was my life, so I did not need to do any research.

EC: What was true?

JB: 48 Wall Street, the first bank of New York, does have a raised basement. It is possible the vaults are there. The part about Fort Knox is a basis in speculation. There has never been a full accounting of the gold depositories in the US because the government does not want it. One of the facts that is true. It took the US four years to give the German bank back their gold bars. And it is true there is no accounting. Also, the piano in the story that had a little matchbox draw underneath is still at the Hamilton Grange.

EC: What was the role of Alexander Hamilton, his daughter, Angelica, and the handkerchief?

JB: He has an active and passive role. He put in place the vision for America within a secret society. He set up a trove to set up this secret society. Angelica became mentally disabled through the grief of losing her brother. The only thing that would soothe her is to play the piano over and over. The piano that I speak about is at the Hamilton Grange. The clue was a picture of Angleica with the handkerchief and the piano.

EC: How would you describe Elizabeth?

JB: Charming, stressed, short tempered at a certain point in the story, and feels she has a legacy. She has great virtue, integrity, courage, and strength. Elizabeth always gave of her time to support the Hamilton legacy.

EC: How would you describe Sarah?

JB: Tough, fair, loyal, and courageous with a conscience. She is sometimes conflicted. She has more layers than Elizabeth.

EC: What about Ralph?

JB: Kind, gentle, resourceful, sweet, creative, trusting, and anxious during this point in the story.

EC: What about Pierce?

JB: He is anti-hero, manipulative, and self-centered. He was greedy, someone who wanted to gain money and prominence. He also wanted to save his family legacy. He allowed the greed to cloud his eyes.

EC: What role did Detective Schwartz play?

JB: She is inquisitive, analytical, wise, and suspicious. She is seasoned because she knew that both Sarah and Ralph were hiding something but let it run its course.

EC: Next book?

JB: I am working on it now. Some of the characters will continue including Sarah but not Hamilton. The next book takes place shortly after this book and will be a thriller.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Hunt for the Peggy C and Rescue Run by John Winn Miller

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

The Hunt for The Peggy C and Rescue Run by John Winn Miller has life and death decisions that lead to daring escapes. The stories display how the hero, Captain Jake Rogers and the heroine, Miriam Maduro, have both courage and resilience. Both books’ plots show how the hunter and the hunted navigate their way through the war zones of the North Sea, the Atlantic, Europe, and the Mediterranean.

The Hunt for The Peggy C has Captain Jake Rogers of the aging tramp steamer, The Peggy C, smuggling contraband merchandise, for money. While in Amsterdam he is paid by Miriam’s father, Mr. Maduro, to smuggle to Gibraltar his most perilous cargo, a Jewish family of six: Uncle Levy, a rabbi; his three young children; and two sisters, Miriam and Truus. But things do not go as planned when a U-Boat commander forces the ship to be boarded by three of its crew members in search of contraband. Unfortunately, they see too much, and the Peggy C crew is forced to take them prisoner. Out for revenge for being humiliated, the U-boat commander Viktor Brauer doggedly pursues the ship hoping to torpedo it to smithereens.

The sequel, Rescue Run, has Captain Jake Rogers returning to the North Atlantic as commander of a US Liberty ship with many of his crew. Unfortunately, it breaks down and they end up in Ireland. While there, Rogers learns from Dutch sailors that the Nazis have arrested the father of Miriam Maduro and have deported him to a concentration camp. In the first book Miriam and Rogers have become lovers and realize they care for each other. Rogers and crew sneak back into Holland aboard a gun-running ship from neutral Ireland and contact a resistance group to help them get Maduro to safety. While in Holland they learn that Miriam is in grave danger in a Nazi prison and has been tortured. Determined to rescue her they once again ask a resistance group to help in a daring rescue attempt. This is where the cat and mouse games begin, as a Nazi bounty hunter is in hot pursuit to get the reward put on Miriam’s head. Now the heroes must navigate informants, imposters, gangsters, and double agents to escape to safety by using disguises, fake documents, subterfuge, and guns.

These stories have nonstop adventure and intrigue that keep readers in a perpetual state of suspense. The nail-biting tension mixed with heartwarming moments makes for a page turner. A bonus are the true historical details about the war and the countries involved that lend to a powerful authenticity. If readers want to learn more about the characters at the end of the second book are additional reading materials, research notes, and blurbs about the historical figures and their fate.

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Author Interview

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

John Winn Miller: Years ago, I watched a bad TV adventure movie with my family. I knew I could write a better story. The next day I woke up from a dream and knew the first scene, the last scene, and the name of the ship. Because I had no personal experiences with U-boats, Merchants ships, or the settings in the plot, I took several years to do the research and get the facts straight.

EC: What was the role of Peggy C in the first book?

JWM: It is the name for the cargo ship. A Jewish family was rescued by the ship’s captain, Jake Rogers. The ship is chased by a Nazi U-boat. It is thirty years old but did well in the cat and mouse game with the U-boat. I wanted to use a slow ship to make it hard to get away. The ship was like a character in the story.

EC: What was real in the story?

JWM: The drug Pervitin was used to give the Nazis a jolt of energy and euphoria. It made them confident, courageous, and fearless. It helped people stay awake for several days. Hitler’s pirates are real. Pirates originated from the idea of Winston Churchill during WWI. The Nazis decided to use that idea in WWII. The more bizarre, the more I made sure it was real.

EC: There is a powerful quote in the book that can also be used today after October 7^th. Please explain

JWM: You are referring to, “You and your kind make evil leaders like Hitler possible and yet you pretend you are only fighting for country.” It was the typical defense of the Nazis; I was just following orders. There is no moral responsibility to stand up to evil whether soldiers in the German army or collaborators in the occupied countries, apart from Denmark.

EC: How would you describe the U-boat Commander Brauer?

JWM: He is based on three real U-boat captains. He is deranged and cruel. I took the worst traits of the worst U-boat captains. He is very much convinced of the righteousness of what he is doing. He is a war criminal and what he did is based on a true story. I based him on a real captain that had a troubled career. Brauer wanted revenge against Rogers after being humiliated.

EC: How would you describe the heroine, Miriam?

JWM: A reader, smart, impulsive, courageous, fighter, tough, optimist, and determined. She starts out to a damsel in distress but becomes a hero by the end of the story.

EC: Do you think Miriam changed in the second book after she was tortured by the Nazis?

JWM: Yes. She got a heavier heart, became more suspicious, not trusting, with feelings of gloom, anxiety, dread, and anger. She was a young medical student but now had to fight back and become tough to save her family. She grows more than anybody in these books. She realizes that those who told her not to fight back were wrong and thinks of them as fools, especially the Jewish Council in Amsterdam.

EC: How would you describe the hero, Rogers?

JWM: He is a cynic, loyal, a good navy man, clever, caring, with a bit of a temper. He is self-educated.

EC: What about the relationship?

JWM: Rogers and Miriam have a bond they share with the love of books. They care for each other but must navigate their differences because they come from entirely different cultures and religions.

EC: Why did you make a cat and mouse plot in both books?

JWM: I love the Bourne movies and realize that the tension is ratcheted up, especially as they get closer to each other in proximity. I enjoy the chase where they are trying to outrun and outsmart the enemy. Rogers realizes he is not as strong as the enemy, so he must use his brains to escape, many times getting ideas to think his way out from the books he read.

EC: Why the quote at the beginning of the second book, Rescue Run?

JWM: You mean this one, “To the brave heroes and heroines who gave their all, and often their lives, to defeat fascism’s heinous ideology of intolerance, racism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.” There were soldiers and others who had the courage to stand up. Many of them are actual historical figures where I tried to remain true to who they were. For example, Miriam’s friend, Tineke Butcher, who hid them. She, her mother, and her grandmother, hid more than 100 Jewish refugees. The Gestapo raided her home eight times, arrested her nine times, and beat her; yet she never revealed any secrets. Even at great personal peril.

EC: Was the resistance leader, Miss 2000, real?

JWM: Yes. Very few did I make up. She was the only woman to create and lead a resistance movement during the war. She and her group sheltered more than 4,500 during the occupation, providing them with food, clothing, rations, and false identity papers, as I wrote about in the books. I hoped I highlighted her courage and her wanting to stand up for what was the right thing to do.

EC: What about Hitler’s bounty hunters like the character, Janssen?

JWM: I stumbled across this book, Hitler’s Bounty Hunters, about them and could not believe it. Janssen has no morals and no convictions. He was in it for the money and what made it more fun for him is that he did not like Jews. He has pure greed.

EC: What about your next book?

JWM: The title is Miriam in The Shadows and will be published March 2026. The plot has Miriam and Rogers sent to France on separate missions by the English Intelligence Agencies. There will be double crosses, double agents, and interjacencies that have dirty deals.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Amish Bride’s Secret and Uncovering Her Amish Past by Patrice Lewis

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

The Amish Bride’s Secret and Uncovering Her Amish Past by Patrice Lewis both have female leads that appear to have deceived the male lead.

The Amish Bride’s Secret plot has Cara Lengacher needing to start over after a broken engagement and an out of wedlock pregnancy. She decides to accept Matthew Miller’s advertisement for a mail order bride and move to Montana. But she must navigate her pregnancy and hope it will not affect their relationship.

Uncovering Her Amish Past has Penelope Moore traveling to Pierce Montana to convince the B&B owner, Simon Troyer, to be a part of a franchise opportunity. She does not tell anyone in the community her real profession and passes for a traveling artist. Simon insists she meets his sister-in-law, Sarah, who appears to be the spitting image of her. They both start to investigate and realize they are twin sisters, separated at birth. Stunned by the similarities between herself and bed-and-breakfast owner Simon Troyer’s sister-in-law, the truth comes to light: she and Sarah were separated at birth. Soon Penelope is welcomed into the Amish community with open arms. And the more time she spends with the Amish bachelor Simon, the more she rethinks her life in the Englisch world. She feels pulled to this community, not just because Sarah is her sister, and the community welcomes her but also realizes she and Simon have feelings for each other. The problem is that they are from different worlds where Simon is baptized, and she is not. Readers will enjoy seeing how they will navigate their relationship.

Both books are touching stories of self-reflection, faith, family, and love. They are heartwarming stories that readers will not want to put down.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What was your starting point for the story of The Amish Bride’s Secret?

Patrice Lewis: I wanted to give the male character, Matthew, a wife. The way I did it is to have a mail order bride, Cara.

EC: How would you describe Matthew?

PL: He is based on my husband. He is nice, kind, transparent, a good listener, extremely handy, always courteous, trustworthy, dependable, and helpful.

EC: How would you describe Cara?

PL: She has made some bad decisions, including getting pregnant out of wedlock. She has a harsh father who blames her. She is desperate to get out of her childhood home, so she accepted the offer. She feels trapped in a corner.

EC: What about the relationship?

PL: It is based on secrets. She deceived Matthew but did not betray him because she had every intention of fessing up to him before the wedding. They eventually fall in love with each other. She is grateful to him and wants to be a good wife to him but is hoping he will be the white knight to her. I put in this quote to explain his feelings, “He wanted to fall in love with her, but also to fall in like with her.” I thought this is the basis for a happy couple. My husband and I after 35 years of marriage are still each other’s best friends.

EC: What about your other book, Uncovering Her Amish Past?

PL: I have three brothers, no sisters. I have always been fascinated by twins. When I was 7 years old, I tried to convince my friends I was a twin. It was a flop. I did this because I longed for a sister. This was the genesis of the story.

EC: How would you describe Penelope?

PL: She is an introvert. She was desperate to pay off her bills and had no idea that the company she worked for was immoral. She is exuberant and envies Sarah.

EC: What about Sarah, the twin?

PL: She is Simon’s sister-in-law. She is quiet, sedate, calm, and has confidence. Penelope envies her because she feels a lack of belonging.

EC: How would you describe Simon?

PL: Introverted, independent, determined, lonely, and has baggage from his childhood. He is motivated to not fail and get his business going.

EC: How about the relationship?

PL: She was ethical and had no intention of deceiving Simon. Penelope realizes she and Simon can be a formidable team because his business weaknesses are her strength. Being from different worlds is a huge barrier. I did research into what it takes to convert to being Amish. She changes her mindset realizing to be successful she needs the approval of family members and community. She realizes she must put aside the worldly aspects that define success.

EC: You allowed readers to understand how Amish could use technology. Please explain.

PL: If it does not impact their daily life, they are OK with it, depending on the sects. The very strict have no modern conveniences ever and the liberal communities are more flexible. The idea is that they are competing in a modern world and to overcome the problem they must compromise to have a website and a telephone. However, if they are allowed to have a business phone, they cannot have it in their pocket all the time. The same with a website, to put out the product to a wider world, but not to have it daily.

EC: What was the role of the bishop in both books?

PL: He is the perpetual source of wisdom for the community. He is an older man. He and his wife are wise, discreet, trustworthy, helpful, and examples of the community. They do not breach people’s confidence. They have Amish people coming in from all over the US. The bishop’s job is to smooth over conflicting habits and traditions. His job is to blend everyone into the community and for it to be cohesive.

EC: Next book?

PL: The next book is titled An Amish Marriage Agreement, released in Fall 2025. The plot has a baby dumped on a single woman’s doorstep. She and a construction worker have a marriage of convenience. The woman’s sister comes back to the Amish community. The two sisters are very different and have led very different lives.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Rustler Mountain by Maisey Yates

Book Description

The citizens of historic Rustler Mountain, Oregon, have a history as colorful as the Wild West itself. Most can trace their lineage back to the original settlers, and many remain divided into two camps: outlaws, or lawmen. But none more legendary than the Wilders and the Talbots . . .

Every year, thousands of people come through Rustler for the rodeo, historic home tours, old-fashioned candy making demonstrations, sharpshooter shows—and to see the site of the 1800s shootout in which notorious outlaw Austin Wilder was killed by Sheriff Lee Talbot. Now Millie Talbot, the sheriff’s descendant, wants to bring back the town’s Gold Rush Days. But she needs the current Austin Wilder’s support to make her dream a reality. . .

The Wilders are rumored to be as true to their last name as their ancestors. Nonetheless, Austin is agreeable to helping Millie. But he wants something in return. Austin is working to clear his family name by writing the true history of his outlaw ancestors and Millie might just hold the key.

When Millie wrangles Austin into helping plan Gold Rush Days, he figures it’s a chance to get to the truth of the past. . . . But when sparks start to fly between this bad boy and good girl, will either of them come out of it unscathed?

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Elise’s Thoughts

Rustler Mountain by Maisey Yates is two stories in one novel. There is the modern western and it also takes readers back to the Wild West days.

The Wild West was known for its bank robbers, stage robbers and the shootouts as well as the Gold Rush. In the town today they still believe what was told to them about outlaws’ vs lawmen. The journal entries made by the ancestors of a fictional town show how it was the site of an 1800s shootout in which notorious outlaw Austin Wilder was killed by Sheriff Lee Talbot. Now Millie Talbot, the librarian, and the sheriff’s descendant, wants to bring back the town’s Gold Rush Days. Facing resistance, she approaches Austin Wilder who grew up being shunned because his family ancestors were the bank and stagecoach robbers of legend. When Millie asks for his help reviving the history events, he agrees but with the condition that she help him clear some of the false information regarding his family. He plans on doing this by writing a book about his family’s past and what really happened. He needs Millie to help him go through her family’s papers while he gives her access to his family’s belongings. As the two get to know each other, while working to get the facts straight about each other’s ancestors, they cannot ignore the explosive energy they have toward each other.

As usual, this book has the traditional Yates witty banter. The good girl/bad boy dynamic made for a wonderful story. The unraveling of the truth about the Talbot-Wilder feud adds to the story with an enticing mystery.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Was there really a Rustler Mountain?

Maisey Yates: I made it up, but it is very much rooted in the history of the area. I have a good idea where in the mountains it would be if it existed. I place it deliberately in a certain spot, a couple of miles from the real town, Copper Oregon.

EC: What was the role of the ancestor of Austin’s journal?

MY: I am a history nerd. It is important to understand that people in the past are not functionally different than we are now. Historical romance makes those people real. I was involved in the historical society, especially the gold rush town, which is like Rustler Mountain. The journal shows how the past echoes into the present day.

EC: How would you describe Millie?

MY: She is trapped by her own reputation. It is a good reputation, but in a toxic way. It is keeping her from responding back to those people who were awful to her. A lot of the story is how Millie found out how to express herself. I based her on my own thoughts of living in a small town and the way people get ideas about you based on what they heard, and the way they know you. She is timid, homely, passionate, a goody to shoes, vulnerable, and a people pleaser. Over the course of the book, she steps out of the people pleaser role, leading with her passion. Her nickname was Millie Mouse because that is the way other people saw her.

EC: How would you describe Austin?

MY: Like the Tim McGraw song, he was a bad boy but is now a good man. He has a strong sense of family. He has a lot of integrity. He is more grounded than Millie. I think Austin is a deep thinker, a book worm, and deeply misunderstood. I think he can be defiant and stubborn. He is less cocky than some of my other heroes.

EC: What about the relationship?

MY: They were both trapped by their reputations, good and bad. Neither one was necessarily the whole story of who they were. On the surface they appear to be opposites but are not. They both love books, have deep connections to the past, and are trying to figure out what that means in the present. I also think they both want to find someone who loves them for who they are. At first, she is jealous of him, he does not want a commitment which makes her feel rejected and humiliated. There is physical intimacy and now she makes him feel calm while he makes her feel passionate. At the deep core they offer each other what the other does not have.

EC: What about their family legacy?

MY: People are more complicated than what is perceived. Things are not as cut and dry as they appear. They are both people who did good and bad things. It challenged the truth of the past. Neither ancestor was a great guy. Yet, past Austin loved his wife and children and had a morality. Millie’s ancestor got an outlaw off the streets at any cost. Both are anti-heroes with their own moral compass. Their legacy was based on the person who told their story. They were both heroes in their own minds but villains to the other. Millie and Austin are living out more than just their reputations influenced by their past ancestors. She is not just a mousy librarian, and he is not just an outlaw.

EC: Next book?

MY: The end of this month there is a novella anthology coming out with Lori Foster titled The Two of Us with a focus on rescue dogs and how they brought together two “meant to be couples.” Out in April is The Outsider and in July The Rogue, both part of my “Four Corner Series.” There will be a woman’s fiction coming out in June. There is another anthology with Linda Lael Miller, a cowboy novella, titled Small Town Hero, out in July. Outlaw Lake, the sequel to this book, is out in September.

THANK YOU!!

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