#elisesthoughts – Page 14 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Tell-Tale Bones by Carolyn Haines

Book Description

Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie are in Sheriff Coleman Peters’s office, consulting Coleman about cold cases, when Elisa Redd storms in with a case of her own. She wants Coleman to reopen the investigation of her missing daughter, Lydia Redd Maxell, the heiress to a large fortune who disappeared along with her friend Bethany nearly seven years ago. Lydia and Bethany were rumored to be working as human rights organizers abroad, but Elisa suspects Lydia’s problems might have stemmed closer to home. Now Lydia’s husband, Tope, is set to inherit the fortune, and Elisa believes he’s behind the disappearance.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie soon connect the case to a series of mysterious disappearances over the years, as well as to a perplexing recurring dream. With another woman’s life at stake, the friends follow an increasingly twisty trail all over Sunflower County, leading them to a tree and an empty grave in the county cemetery. A grave that’s said to be haunted…

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Elise’s Thoughts

Tell-Tale Bones by Carolyn Haines is a borderline novel between a Cozy Mystery and a regular mystery. It has suspense, intrigue, and very determined women heroines who seek answers and justice.

Seven years ago, a wealthy heiress has disappeared. Her mother wants to hire Sarah Booth’s private investigative firm to find out if she is dead or alive. Sarah enlists the help of her partner, Tinkie, her soulmate, Sheriff Coleman, some eccentric friends, and a ghost, Jitty, who is the connection between Sarah and her late family. They consider Tope Maxwell a prime suspect in his wife, Lydia’s disappearance. Using the atmosphere of abuse the author was able to reference Edgar Allen Poe and even brought him in as a book character.

There is plenty of action and the clues allow readers to try to solve the crime with the characters.

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Author Interview

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

Carolyn Haines: It is a series with the characters growing and changing throughout. There are twenty-six books in all. I had just completed a two-book series on southern historical fiction and was searching for another storyline. I heard two funny women bickering with each other in my head. I wrote down their conversations and had one of them dead, Jitty. This is how the series began.

EC: Can you describe Jitty?

CH: She is the ghost of the main character, Sarah Booth’s great, great grandmother’s nanny. Jitty and the grandmother had a very close friendship and depended on each other. Jitty also functions as Sarah Booth’s subconscious. She keeps Sarah on the straight and narrow with her annoying tactics. Jitty impersonates everything. She never helps solve the mystery but clarifies the ethics for Sarah.

EC: How would you describe Sarah?

CH: Smart, tenacious, very direct, a Tomboy, and not a Southern Belle. She was raised to take action to defend the helpless.

EC: How about Sarah’s friend and PI partner, Tinkie?

CH: She is a Southern Belle. She was raised in privilege. She manipulates men and wraps them around her finger. She is the old-fashioned debutante girl: very smart and pretty. In the first book, Sarah Booth was wary of her. After Tinkie hires Sarah to solve a mystery, she allows Sarah to pursue her PI instincts. By the third book, they are PI partners. Tinkie is excellent with money and can get information and facts from others.

EC: What about the women who have gone missing, Lydia and Bethany?

CH: Both women had formed a friendship. Lydia’s husband is abusive, and people suspect he may have killed her. He now wants her declared officially dead to inherit her wealth. Lydia is more passive and tender while Bethany is bold, stands up for herself, and independent.

EC: Why Edgar Allan Poe?

CH: I loved him. A psychic had a dream about Poe and tells Sarah. The story looks a lot like an Edgar Allen Poe one with super scary scenes.

EC: Why the quote about social media?

CH: You must mean this one, “Hiding behind the social media anonymity of an email address, they allowed their meanness free rein.” There is so much meanness and cruelty on social media. People can jump on others where they cannot defend themselves. They do and say things they would never do in person, face to face. I was a former journalist. My father told me, ‘If you are ashamed to sign your name to something don’t print it.’ For me, if someone is ashamed to say something directly to someone’s face, don’t say it.

EC: How would you describe the bad husband, Tope?

CH: He can be charming, but is cruel, creepy, abusive, evil, and is someone who enjoys breaking women’s spirits.

EC: Why talk about Afghan women?

CH: I was writing this book when the Biden administration was pulling out of Afghanistan. It just got in my brain and heart. I was really upset on what happened to them. The situation is so painful to me.

EC: What about Coleman and Sarah’s relationship?

CH: The books are written over a time period of two years in Sarah’s life. Coleman is the County Sheriff who is the man of her heart. They were best of friends in high school but not romantically involved. She now realizes what is important to her is integrity, a good heart, and a good value system. She realizes Coleman has these qualities and that they share a value system. They are a team from now on. Eventually, they will get married and have a child, but not while I am writing the series.

EC: Next books?

CH: It will be out in May 2024 and is titled Light, Camera, Bones. The plot has a movie being filmed in Greenville Mississippi on the river. One of those making it disappears and the investigation shows there is a Bull shark in the river. The book after this comes out in October 2024 titled Tender Bones about Elvis impersonators in his hometown of Tupelo Mississippi.

I am also writing a book with a partner that does not have a contract yet. It is like The Bad Seed meets To Kill a Mockingbird. It will be about a child serial killer. My co-writer is a friend of mine named Mandy Haynes. She lives on the property. I tell people she is my illiterate illegitimate daughter since she cannot spell “Haines” correctly. LOL.

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: The Electra McDonnell Series by Ashley Weaver

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

“The Electra McDonnell series” by Ashley Weaver blends a mystery within a spy thriller. There are spies, murders, a tinge of romance, and some historical tidbits to entice readers.

A Peculiar Combination is the first in the Electra McDonnell series. She was raised by her Uncle Mick and has become part of the family business, pickpocketing, opening locks and safes, to steal valuables. Unfortunately for them they were set up and caught stealing. Because WWII is in full swing, an intelligence branch of the British government set them up to help in the war effort. They need Ellie to crack a safe open in a traitor’s house. The government intelligence official, Major Ramsey, gives Ellie a choice, either Ellie helps him to break into a safe and retrieve blueprints critical to the war effort before they can be delivered to a German spy, or she and her uncle go to jail. Mick and Ellie are also patriots, so it is a no brainer for her to accept the challenge. From there, it becomes very enjoyable as Major Ramsey and Ellie are constantly butting heads.

The Key to Deceit is the second book of the series. The Major once again enlists Ellie’s help in opening a locked bracelet from the arm of a dead woman found in the Thames. She is also able to provide some insight into the dead woman’s station in life from her clothing. A search reveals a camera in the bracelet, a clock key, and a bag of jewels hidden in the lining of a sable coat. Ellie and the major soon realize the dead woman was working as a spy for the Germans. Now they must uncover the German spy ring before the Nazis get their hands on important information.

Also, back in the story is Felix Lacy, a good friend of Ellie, a possible romantic interest, and someone who forges documents. He helped in the first book and now is enlisted by Ellie to help her with a crooked pawnshop owner. He is also helping her in finding the truth about her mother, convicted of killing her father, even though she proclaimed her innocence.

It becomes more apparent in this book that there is a love triangle between Felix, Ellie, and the Major. Felix wants to go beyond friends with her and become more intimate. While the Major is trying to remain professional but does have feelings for her.

Playing It Safe has just been released, the third book in the series. Ellie is given a new assignment by the Major. She is to travel under an assumed identity to the port city of Sunderland and once there await further instructions. After just arriving, she witnesses an unnatural death. A man falls dead in the street in front of her, with a mysterious message clutched in his hand. Ellie’s instincts tell her that the man’s death is connected in some way to her mission, and she goes to investigate covertly. While searching where he lives, she and the Major are united. They learn that a ring of counterfeiters is making both money and fake identity cards for German spies to operate in England. They find out that the printing plates are missing and know they must find them before the traitorous German assets. Ellie and the major are locked in a battle of wits and a race against time with an unknown and deadly adversary. They must also contend with the blitzkrieg where the Germans are unleashing bombs to try to break the British spirits.

Readers also learn more of the backstory about Ellie’s mother and whether she was innocent or guilty of murdering her father. Although Felix does not make much of an appearance the love triangle is still alive and well and he does help Ellie uncover the meaning of some written notes.

This series is very engrossing. What should upset readers is that they must wait a whole year for another installment, hopefully not the last. Readers should want a lot more books with these wonderful characters and riveting plotlines. Ideally people should read the books in order because, even though there are different riveting espionage mysteries there are overarching plotlines.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Did your professional experience help you to write?

Ashley Weaver: I have worked in libraries since the age of 14. I enjoy reading non-fiction and that is where I got the idea for the series. I think being a librarian is helpful in the sense that I have all the research information and researching strategies I need at my fingertips! I am now the Technical Services Coordinator for the Parish Libraries in Louisiana. We were the first in the US to have a library built in a book mobile for rural areas. Someone can request a book and when we are in the area, they can pick it up.

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

AW: I was reading a lot of WWII non-fiction and read a book titled Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre. It is about a petty thief imprisoned on the Chanel Islands during WWII, occupied by Germany. They released him and trained his as a spy, parachuting him into England. He went to the allied authorities and said, ‘the Germans think I will spy for them do you want me to spy for you instead.’ He became a double agent. This made me think how all these criminals had skills before the war that they were able to use to help the allied cause. Each book has its own caper, where the characters must solve the espionage mystery. But there are also a few overarching plots.

EC: What about the books, 1 – 3?

AW: I enjoyed finding out how criminals can open a safe and the historical background of what those in England had to endure including the German Blitzkrieg and the major rationing. With A Peculiar Combination, book 1, I knew I wanted to make the female heroine, Ellie, a safe cracker for the espionage angle. For Playing It Safe, book 3, I read a book called The Falcon Thief about how someone smuggled and sold falcon eggs. This gave me the idea to work birding into the third book. I learned a lot about birds and decided to incorporate it into the story. I mention in the book how, during WWII, it was legal in England to shoot falcons because they were preying on the carrier pigeons, and officials worried it would interfere with messages being sent back and forth to occupied territories.

EC: How would you describe Uncle Mick?

AW: He has a flair for the exaggeration, focused, jovial, spontaneous, a little bit wily. He loves a challenge with a quick-thinking mind that can solve problems. He is the father figure to Ellie as she grew up.

EC: How would you describe Ellie?

AW: Good instincts, very intelligent, as well as street smart. She can be overconfident with a slight temper, stubborn, and independent. She likes to be in control but is adaptable.

EC: She also speaks a little about women’s rights?

AW: In book 2, The Key to Deceit, I put in this quote by her, “Contrary to what you believe it is possible for women to know about things outside of the kitchen.” She is sarcastic with the comments how the men in her life think they are strong and protective, for the helpless damsel. Yet, her uncle trained her no different than her two male cousins, who are more like brothers. During WWII a lot of women took the male jobs who were out fighting. The way she was raised has given her this inner confidence.

EC: Why the second plotline with her mother who gave birth to her in prison and then died?

AW: I wanted to have something about Ellie’s backstory. I liked the idea she has an affectionate loving family that supports her, but she does have some tragedy in her past and some questions she needs answers too.

EC: What about Major Ramsey?

AW: He is secretive, bold, stoic, determined, clever, and can be devious as well as authoritarian. He comes off as having a superior attitude. There are times he puts on a façade and comes across charming.

EC: Felix who is Ellie’s childhood friend also helps with the espionage?

AW: He is polished, likes to flirt, easy going, a teaser, and can forge documents.

EC: What about the love triangle between Felix, the Major, and Ellie?

AW: The Major comes from a privileged background while Felix and Ellie are from a different class. It is like opposites working together. She sees the Major as disconcerting and irritating.

The Major can read her mannerisms, her moods. He wants to be intimate but is trying to be professional. Because he is a military man, he does not have the same societal views as the elite class. More of a problem is that she is a rule braker and he is a rule follower, with him expecting those working for him to obey his orders and she is not one to follow orders. Her fiery personality is what attracts him to her. There is a little give and take because both are flexible when they need to be.

Regarding Felix he is very conscious of her feelings. He is very supportive of her. She sees him as a friend, but he is jealous of how the Major and she interact.

EC: Does the love triangle represent something more to Ellie?

AW: Yes. She is not just deciding between the two men, but her two different futures. With Felix she can continue her criminal enterprises, but with the Major she knows being from different worlds she would have to adapt and change a bit. She is wondering who she wants to be when the war ends.

EC: Next book?

AW: There is one more, book 4, which is the last book in my contract. I am waiting to hear back but hopefully there will be more, fingers crossed. At some point Ellie will decide between Felix and the Major. In book 4 we know who she is leaning towards. It takes place in 1941. They are back in London. Ellie knows of a robbery ring operating. Because of her family ties to the criminal world, she thinks these burglaries can be tied to espionage. She tells the Major about it. The network of criminal friends will be pulled in.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo

Book Description

On a crisp autumn day in Painters Mill, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder responds to a call only to discover an Amish man who has been violently killed with a crossbow, his body abandoned on a dirt road. Aden Karn was just twenty years old, well liked, and from an upstanding Amish family. Who would commit such a heinous crime against a young man whose life was just beginning?

The more Kate gets to know his devastated family and the people—both English and Amish—who loved him, the more determined she becomes to solve the case. Aden Karn was funny and hardworking and looking forward to marrying his sweet fiancé, Emily. All the while, Kate’s own wedding day to Tomasetti draws near…

But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side. What if Aden Karn wasn’t the wholesome young man everyone admired? Is it possible the rumors are a cruel campaign to blame the victim? Kate pursues every lead with a vengeance, sensing an unspeakable secret no one will broach.

The case spirals out of control when a young Amish woman comes forward with a horrific story that pits Kate against a dangerous and unexpected opponent. When the awful truth is finally uncovered, Kate comes face to face with the terrible consequences of a life lived in all the dark places.

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Elise’s Thoughts

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo is once again another home run. She blends an intense crime mystery with some light-hearted scenes and detailed insight about the Amish community.

The story opens with twenty-year-old Aden Karn being violently killed with a crossbow. He was well-liked, kind, funny, hardworking, and engaged to be married. Now Kate Burkholder, Painters Mills police chief, must find his killer. But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to hear whispers about a dark side and wonders if Aden Karn wasn’t the wholesome young man everyone admired.

Then there are the scenes that show Kate is getting ready to wed her longtime love, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent John Tomasetti. She is trying to make amends with her family after leaving the Amish community. Now readers see how her family is also reconciling her departure from their culture and is willing to participate in the wedding celebration.

The gripping scenes that include family, jealousy, lies, betrayal, and friendship will have readers turning the pages at a brisk pace.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why a crossbow weapon?

LC: I never did fire a crossbow but did speak to my neighbor who is a hunter and had used a crossbow. I read a lot of stories about it and saw some videos. In the UK people have been shot or murdered using this weapon. I thought it is an interesting and unusual choice of weapon. The bolts are incredibly powerful, fast, and accurate. The broadhead tip could graze and nick someone to cause injury. The bolt (arrow) has tremendous velocity and can penetrate bone and even go through it.

EC: The scene with the murder was horrific?

LC: When I first wrote that scene, I wrote it as a shooting. It felt a little familiar and I decided to dig deeper. I started looking at different crimes and happened upon the crossbow weapon. I chose the broadhead bolt because the tip of it has four wings which will cause a tremendous wound. Instead of a wound there will be four slits in the shape of a cross. It cannot be pulled out but to get it out it must go all the way through.

EC: Also interesting was that the Amish person was riding a bike, not a buggy?

LC: They do. I had lunch with an Amish man in 2019. He rides his bike everywhere. I got the idea from him. I wanted to make the story a little bit different, fresher, yet accurate.

EC: Do you ride a bike to get the description you wrote about in the book?

LC: I used to, but not where we live now in rural country. When we lived in Dallas my husband and I rode bikes all the time. I did write the description from my experience of being able to cover ground a lot faster.

EC: How would you describe the killer?

LC: They were cruel and wanted to cause pain. They are calm and confident. The killing was targeted, planned, and cold blooded. There were strange motivations so inwardly they did not take away all the blame.

EC: How would you describe Aden, the victim?

LC: He appears to be an enigma. The first couple of chapters describe him as an outstanding citizen, bright, and kind. A typical Amish young man about to embark on his life. Pretty early in the book Kate starts to realize there is something else going on and not everything is as it appears. She recognizes that this guy has secrets with a dark side. I explore the question of how someone’s lifestyle could put themselves into a situation that leads to a bad end.

EC: In the last couple of books do you explain more about the steps of a homicide investigation, which makes the story more interesting?

LC: It was not intentional, but I did want to get the police procedural aspect correct. I did in the last couple of books spend a good bit of time on the investigation. Part of the reason is that they were difficult investigations. Even though I am the writer and know the answer I must go through the struggle of going through the crime. I want it to be reasonable and credible, not coming out of left field. I hope readers enjoy this.

EC: Readers get to understand more about Tomasetti the cop?

LC: He is strong, obsessive, intense, direct, and driven. His experience tells him what will happen and causes him to be cynical. I also went into his backstory more. What happened to him was a life alternating event. He has come very far and has grown since the first book in the story. Readers learn where his family is buried when he takes Kate there. This helps them to get closure. It was a very satisfying scene for me to write.

EC: Readers also find out a little more about Kate’s sister Sarah?

LC: She is traditional, a peacekeeper, an optimist, a diplomat, and they are getting closer. Because of the darkness with the story, I wanted to add some lightness and comfort, which was Sarah. For example, the scene with the wedding dress. Kate must take off her gun to get measured for the dress. Kate told Sarah how uncomfortable she was with some of the things on the wedding dress and said she wants to brighten it up more. Sarah came up with the idea of the sash because she is smart enough and kind enough to read between the lines. They had good common ground. I think this is an important scene.

EC: Why do you think that was an important scene?

LC: Kate is coming to acknowledge that she is not Amish but still can have an important relationship and be close to her family. She is not turned off to her Amish heritage. She chose a middle ground for her wedding between the Amish and English worlds by getting married in a Mennonite wedding. In the end, this is the message of that wedding dress scene and the wedding scene. The wedding scene where the bishop came was also important. When Kate was young, she had a love/hate relationship with him. Throughout this entire series he has been a hard man to her sometimes. Yet, it meant something for him to show up at her wedding as a friend, not as the bishop.

EC: Next book?

LC: The working title is The Burning and should be out in early July next year. Kate must adjust to being married but is feeling the tick of the biological clock, of having a baby. She has always envisioned herself with family. But in the next several books she must balance being married and being a Police Chief in a high-risk profession. The murder in the next book is centered around the birth of the Anabaptist reformation movement. The Amish were burned, drowned, hanged while being persecuted.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: What Remains by Wendy Walker

Book Description

She saved his life. Now he‘ll never let her go.

Detective Elise Sutton is drawn to cold cases. Each crime is a puzzle to solve, pulled from the past. Elise looks for cracks in the surface and has become an expert on how murderers slip up and give themselves away. She has dedicated her life to creating a sense of order, at work with her ex-marine partner; at home with her husband and two young daughters; and within, battling her own demons. Elise has everything under control, until one afternoon, when she walks into a department store and is forced to make a terrible choice: to save one life, she will have to take another.

Elise is hailed as a hero, but she doesn’t feel like one. Steeped in guilt, and on a leave of absence from work, she’s numb, even to her husband and daughters, until she connects with Wade Austin, the tall man whose life she saved. But Elise soon realizes that he isn’t who he says he is. In fact, Wade Austin isn’t even his real name. The tall man is a ghost, one who will set off a terrifying game of cat and mouse, threatening Elise and the people she loves most.

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Elise’s Thoughts

What Remains by Wendy Walker is part procedural, part domestic suspense, part mystery, and a cat/mouse thriller between a policewoman and a stalker.

The story opens with Cold Case Detective Elise Sutton stopping at a department store to buy her children a gift. She hears gunshots and is confronted by an active shooter. One man is about to shoot another, so she decides to make the choice to take one life to save the other. Elise is very shaken having killed someone, even if it was necessary to save other lives. As a detective who works cold cases, she has little need to fire her weapon in the line of duty. She is hailed as a hero, but she doesn’t feel like one. Steeped in guilt, and on a leave of absence from work, she’s numb, even to her husband and daughters, until she connects with Wade Austin, the tall man, whose life she saved. She asks him if it was a good shooting, which saved his life.

But this meeting will put her life in turmoil even though Wade, known as The Tall Man, hails her as a hero. She is guilt ridden that she took a life and tells him more about herself than she should. The problem is Wade is not his real name and when she tries to find him, he becomes a ghost.

This is where the story takes a turn and deals with the psychological aftermath of a shooting. Elise comes to grip with letting her guard down with a total stranger who is hellbent on ruining her life unless she gives into his demands of spending their life together. He begins stalking her and threatening the people she loves including her husband, daughters, and police partner. It now becomes a dangerous, twisted, and deadly game between Elise and the man she saved.

This is an edgy, intense, and chilling novel where readers take a journey with Elise. Readers will not be able to put the book down.

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Author Interview

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

Wendy Walker: I was listening to the news years ago and heard about a shooting in Boulder Colorado in a grocery store. Listening to the bystanders interviewed it was so clear they suffered a trauma. I wondered what happened to them. This is where the title, What Remains, comes from. This was a sudden acute trauma and I wondered what happens to people emotionally. This is where the character was born and from there, I decided to make her a police officer, Elise.

EC: The steps of trauma?

WW: I found it interesting to find these stages. In the research, some had seven stages, some six, some five. Someone’s brain goes through this process of what happened. I put in the books these steps: shock, denial, pain, guilt, anger, bargaining, depression, then an upward swing toward acceptance and hope. I had Elise, obsessed with finding one of those caught up in the store to try to put her mind at ease about the shooting. She feels isolated and alone because she has stopped herself from going through these stages.

EC: How would you describe Elise, the police officer?

WW: She has an internal conflict after being hailed a hero, yet she has tremendous guilt and doubt about the shot she took killing the shooter. She tends toward having anguish, is a puzzle solver because she can control it, vulnerable, and a risk taker. Before the shooting she is confident and happy with her life.

EC: What about after the shooting?

WW: What happened really shakes her and changes her. As a police officer she second guessed herself. She is strong, tough, capable, and protects herself. I do not see her as a victim. She is kind of a bad ass because she decided to use her weapon to save people’s lives. She feels tormented, puts herself in danger, feels alone, and has secrets. Elise feels isolated, which comes from the shooting because she sees life darker. There is a disconnect from her emotional brain and thinking brain. The book has a scene where the psychiatrist tells her, ‘The worst kind of loneliness is to be with people you love and feel that they don’t see you, then to be alone. It is more painful.’

EC: Readers understand what a stalker does?

WW: Stalkers are irrational. The like to target, humiliate, create fear, and the victim feels helpless. They are compulsive, torment, play a game of wits, and love the control. If they cannot have someone in their life this is the way they do it. There is no end game because the victim will never be with them. They need to have it in that moment, a connection with the person being stalked. It is just in the moment. They crave power over that person.

EC: How would you describe Wade, the stalker?

WW: He is fragile and is in a compromised emotional state when he enters the store. In the store his behavior is less than heroic. His self-esteem is shattered. The focus on Elise is because he has “rescue worship,” which is based on obsession. He believes that the shooting was meant to be to connect him with Elise. He did not see it as random. Being connected to Elise is essential for Wade’s emotional survival. He is also ruthless and violent because he is desperate and loses control.

EC: The role of her partner and husband?

WW: Rowan is her police partner and is meant to be someone who witnesses what she is going through. He ends up helping her and keeps her secrets. He is the other man in her life even though there is no romance but is protective of her.

Mitch, her husband, had an affair that they are trying to overcome. With this dynamic it makes it easier for Wade to torment her and to get at her because of this vulnerability. What they managed to rebuild is challenging and being exploited by Wade. What Elise loves about Mitch is that he is protective, strong, and supportive. He is trying to understand what she is going through but does not.

EC: Next books?

WW: American Girl was an audible original in 2021. It is coming to print in October. There is a TV option for it. An autistic 17-year-old in a small town witnesses a crime, the death of a wealthy business owner. It is a fast-paced thriller. It was inspired by the Tom Petty song, “American Girl.”

Next year there will be an audio play called Mad Love. It is a psychological thriller. A con man is married to a wealthy widow and is found murdered in his bed and she is shot and in a coma.

Also, next year there will be a new novel coming out in 2024 titled Kill Me Softly. It is a play on the song, “Killing Me Softly.” It is about a serial killer who is targeting middle aged women and making it appear like suicides. A young feminist researcher comes to believe there is a serial killer.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Beginning of Forever by Catherine Bybee

Book Description

Tasting wine is not enough: sommelier Giovanni D’Angelo wants to create it. To put his family first, he’s always deferred his dreams—a vineyard to run, a woman to marry. But a three-week vineyard tour in Italy could set him back on track.

For Emma Rutledge, wine is in her blood. Intent to run the family wine business one day, she finds that the men in her family are only intent to push her out of it. But that’s fine—she’s got a plan.

When Gio and Emma meet on a wine tour in Tuscany, their shared aspirations fuel an undeniable chemistry. Returning home to California, they work toward setting up Emma’s vineyard and a label of their own. But when Emma receives a life-altering diagnosis, she worries it’s all been for nothing.

As Emma works to cement her family legacy while dealing with this unexpected challenge, Gio tries to convince her that their future isn’t just wine.

It’s each other.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Beginning of Forever by Catherine Bybee is a story of passion and following one’s dreams. There are deep and meaningful family and friend relationships.

The heroine Emma must contend with a misogynist father who refuses to allow her to be a part of the family wine business. To make matters worse, he has put her ex-husband in charge. Intent to run the family wine business one day, she finds that the men in her family want only to push her out of it. But she has other plans. To take some time off and decide what she will do Emma accepts a gift of a wine tasting tour in Italy.

Both Emma and Gio, the hero, are given for their thirtieth birthdays, a trip to wine country in Tuscany Italy. They form an instant connection and attraction during the three-week tour. Gio wants to continue the relationship once they return to the States and is willing to jump through some hoops to make it happen. After returning to California, they continue to see each other. The relationship takes a turn when an unexpected issue makes Emma reevaluate some things in her life with Gio right by her side.

This is a heartfelt and emotional story that includes struggling with medical issues and family. The humor and banter in the story are a welcome release for readers as they go on a journey with the hero and heroine.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Did you know anyone with the disease hemochromatosis?

Catherine Bybee: That would be me. I was diagnosed after I asked to check to see if I was anemic because I bruise easily. They ran an iron panel. When it came back it was very high. They repeated the blood work. They sent me to a specialist. At the end of the day, they found out my iron counts were incredibly high. As I wrote in the story, I had the same scares as my heroine, Emma. As Emma referred to, we dealt with vampires. Now a couple of years later my liver is free of all the iron. Now I only must go to the vampires every two or three months.

EC: How would you describe Gio?

CB: He is a kind “player.” He does not try to score more girls on his bedpost. He is the culmination of the hot guy people want in their life with a high degree of loyalty. He is charming, caring, and excepting. He is flirty, a teaser, but is also family minded. He is a protective brother to his sister Chloe.

EC: How about Emma?

CB: She is a little jaded because of having to deal with her misogynist father. She is down to earth, direct, competitive, and confident, also flirty.

EC: The relationship?

CB: She does want her happily ever after. They are both very competitive and are intrigued by each other. There is some Yin and Yang. He wants to find her vulnerability. They have a completely different parental dynamic going on in their lives. He has a widowed mom who still dearly loves her late husband and is very supportive of her children. Emma is completely opposite because her mom always buffered the dad. They have a committed relationship from day one without realizing it. Having the same birthday was a little sign from the universe that she should not blow Gio off.

EC: Did the lost luggage scene ever happen to you?

CB: No. I just had to get Gio and Emma alone. This way they went together in a car to buy her some clothes. I wanted her to wear the $5 vendor T-shirts instead of the Chanel and Versace. She has class and sophistication, and this enabled me to bring her down to earth more.

EC: What was the role of Emma’s father, Robert?

CB: He is a jerk, a misogynistic, a self-centered dad. He uses the purse strings to try to control everybody. He is domineering.

EC: Were “The Golden Girls” based on anyone?

CB: Yes, the four women in the book are based on those that come from the villages in Florida. One of my best friends moved there. These women in the villages, a massive retirement community, drink a lot. They were a culmination of what I saw in the villages in Florida. It is like Disneyland for adults. They drink alcohol like it is a soda.

EC: Next books?

CB: It will be Salena and Ryan’s story titled The Whole Time, out in November. It was so much fun to write. Ryan is Emma’s brother and does not rely on the dad and only tolerates him. He rides a motorcycle. Salena s down on her luck. I threw her into the D’Angelo system by her taking over Gio’s apartment. They both have controlling parents. The characters from this book will be in it.

At some point I plan on writing Mama D’Angelo’s book with possibly Dante’s mom Rosa’s story in the same book.

The book after this one is a first in a series. It will have a billionaire theme with dysfunctional wealthy families. There is corporate espionage and twists.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk

Book Description

Assume the worst. Code Black.

The day that every secret service agent trains for has arrived. The White House has been breached; the President forced to flee to a massive doomsday bunker outside DC to defend against whatever comes next. Only the most trusted agents and officials are allowed in with him—those dedicated to keeping the government intact at all costs.

Among these is Erik Hill, who has given his life to the Secret Service. They are his purpose and his family, and his impressive record has made him a hero among them. Despite his growing disillusionment from seeing Washington corruption up close, Erik can’t ignore years of instincts honed on the job. The government is under attack, and no one is better equipped to face down the threat than he is.

The evidence leads him to a conspiracy at the highest levels of power, with the attack orchestrated by some of the very individuals now locked in with him. As the killers strike inside the bunker, it will take everything Erik Hill has to save his people, himself, and his country.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk is a political thriller that will remind readers of Vince Flynn’s Transfer of Power and David Baldacci’s characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, retired Secret Service Agents. The plot has secrets, lies, and betrayals with the readers not knowing who the bad guys are and who are the good guys.

The book begins with an attack on the White House, obvious that it has been breached. The President, his wife, the most trusted officials, and the best Secret Service Agents move to a secure underground facility known as Raven Rock. Most impressive is how Quirk drew a simplified version of this complex. It is a facility 700 feet under a mountain near Camp David.

Secret Service Agents Eric Hill and Amber Cody, soon discover the threat is locked inside with them. Communications have been cut, exits sabotaged, and bodies piling up. Hill and Cody must use their skills and instincts to determine who can be trusted. Are the perpetrators the officials, or those in the Army, or the Secret Service? Both know they must do whatever it takes to protect the institution they have been sworn to serve and protect.

Given the current events, this concept of a threat to the government from within is very scary. Wondering who is a friend and who is a foe has readers taking the dangerous journey with Hill and Cody. The many twists will keep people reading, not wanting to put the book down. The Q&A below comes from notes from a conversation with Quirk that has been condensed.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea?

Matthew Quirk: I try to strike a balance between a conspiracy shadow behind certain powers, while adding hope, realism, and not feeding into the cynicism. The premise has what would happen if a President came under attack? I played with these questions for the readers to think about. What is the drive behind someone going against the office they are protecting? Are they protecting a larger value by taking matters into their own hands? Is going rogue part of the problem or solving the problem? Who can be trusted? This is my go at a Die Hard or Seven Days in May story with a bit of Agatha Christie thrown in.

EC: Was the President based on anyone?

MQ: This is an interesting time for politics, with such a high temperature. I try in writing a plot to be non-partisan. Some readers of my books have diametrically opposed views. They find corollaries of what is currently happening. For them, the story will often confirm their views of how they perceive Washington DC. For instance, if there is a crooked President in the book, each side thinks the President is part of the other side. For me, it is interesting that I can write these political thrillers in an incredibly polarized time and still have them appeal broadly.

EC: How would you describe President Kline?

MQ: Some think he is paranoid, elitist, aloof, but others think he is caring and protective. One of the mysteries of the book is, can the President be trusted to defend the Constitution?

EC: What is real in the book?

MQ: “Yankee White,” a special background investigation, basically a clearance, required of anyone who will hold the President’s life in their hands such as a chef, helicopter pilot, and a doctor. There is this distinct circle of people that would single handedly be able to kill the President.

The saying “shut up and color,” which is military slang for “do your job and follow orders.” This was one of the themes of the book because what if doing the right thing and following orders are at odds.

My friend had written an entire book on Raven Rock, the bunker 700 feet under a mountain near Camp David. I tried to find a bunch of imagery. In the beginning of the book, I drew a simplified layout of the architectural buildings and tunnels. I wanted the reader to follow along with the action I did take some liberties to streamline things, but everything in the book comes from real life.

The Presidential Emergency Action Documents, which are documents that can be invoked by the President. No one knows what is in them. The President could possibly create martial law, suspend Congress, nationalize industries, and ignore the Constitution.

EC: Do you think Secret Service Agents can be flies on the wall?

MQ: I have this book quote, they “can see everything and see nothing.” I did talk to Secret Service people for the book. Their job is to protect the person and yet they are seeing Washington politics up close. They still do their job, which is protecting the office. Even if it someone they do not respect they are still willing to protect them, even to the point of sacrificing their life. This is very honorable.

EC: How would you describe the Secret Service Agent Eric Hill?

MQ: Direct, a straight talker, protective, has a slight temper, loyal and suspicious. Because of his backstory he is disillusioned.

EC: How would you describe the rookie Secret Service Agent Amber Cody?

MQ: Tough, smart, stubborn, enthusiastic, disciplined, and feels she needs to prove herself to be brave.

EC: There is a book quote about the Secret Service that reminds me of those in the military. Please explain.

MQ: You are referring to this book quote, “The Service was in many ways closer than family. Agents spent more time with each other than they did with their wives and husbands and kids. They gave everything to the job, including their lives… They lived together, ate together, counted off endless hours driving through the sticks, standing in the rain, staked out in cars, and holed up in hotels.” Many of them are former military. Talking to the real-life Secret Service Agents gave me this impression. They are so dedicated. It is like a military brotherhood.

EC: A movie or TV show being made?

MQ: Yes, we just announced that Chernin Entertainment has optioned the book for a feature film. I’m really excited to be working with them. The Night Agent has been renewed for season two with the plan to be out in 2024.

EC: Your next book?

MQ: It’s early, so this could change, but the premise is that an actress who always plays tough characters and is well trained in weapons and martial arts has her friend gone missing. While looking for them, she is drawn into the world of espionage and diplomacy. To save her friend and survive she needs to become as tough as the characters she plays on TV.

THANK YOU!!

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