#elisesthoughts – Page 4 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Midnight Flyboys by Bruce Henderson

Book Description

The untold history of a top-secret operation in the run-up to D-Day in which American flyers and Allied spies carried out some of the most daring cloak-and-dagger operations of World War II.

In 1943, the OSS—precursor to the CIA—came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger.

Their dangerous plan called for a new kind of flying: taking their B-24 Liberator bombers in the middle of the night across the English Channel and down to extremely low altitudes in Nazi-occupied France to find drop zones in dark fields. On the ground, resistance members waited to receive steel containers filled with everything from rifles and hand grenades to medicine and bicycle tires. Some nights, the flyers also dropped Allied secret agents by parachute to assist the French partisans.

Though their story remained classified for more than fifty years, the Carpetbaggers ultimately received a Presidential Unit Citation from the US military, which declared: “it is safe to say that no group of this size has made a greater contribution to the war effort.” Along with other members of the wartime OSS, they were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Based on exclusive research and interviews, the definitive story of these heroic flyers—and of the brave secret agents and resistance leaders they aided—can now be told. Written in Bruce Henderson’s “spellbinding” (USA TODAY) prose, Midnight Flyboys is an astonishing tale of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Veteran’s Day is a holiday to honor US veterans and victims of all wars. Bruce Henderson wrote about real life heroes of WWII.

Midnight Flyboys by Bruce Henderson details how the American bomber crews dropped Allied secret agents behind the Nazi lines to aid the French resistance. The mission, known as Operation Carpetbagger, had American aircrews flying B-24 Liberators to secret Resistance drop zones. Through their planes’ bomb hanger doors, containers of guns, explosives, grenades, radios, and food were dropped along with agents. On this Veterans Day, Americans should think about the incredible heroism displayed by these men and women.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What do you want to say about Veteran’s Day?

Bruce Henderson: It is a day that Americans should remember. I am a veteran. I choose this day to honor the greatest generation for their duty, commitment, and mission. When darkness was descending on the world they answered the call. They tried to preserve our democracy and personal freedom. I hope today we do not let their sacrifices be in vain.

EC: Why did you write this story?

BH: I have always had a personal interest for airmen. The uncle I never knew had been lost in WWII over the North Sea. I have never written a book about pilots before. After I was approached by a carpetbagger pilot’s granddaughter, I decided to investigate it and found it to be a really good story about a specific period, about ten months before the liberation of France and the preparation for the Allied invasion over the coast of France.

EC: One of the most interesting parts of the book was the story of Nancy Wake, described as “the most feminine woman I know, until the fighting starts. Then she is like five men.” Please explain

BH: Her story is amazing. She was a British agent sent into France to organize, arm, and train the resistance forces. Interestingly, she was afraid of heights and needed a push from a crewman to parachute out of the plane. Nancy was a free spirit, capable, resourceful, instinctive, tough, hardened, and improvised. She was born an Aussie, married a Frenchman, and was a loyal British subject. She was highly motivated personally and patriotically because of her love for her adoptive country France and the love for her husband she left behind there. The Germans put a substantial bounty on her and labeled her “The White Mouse.”

EC: How would you describe the 400-mile bike ride she made?

BH: She herself said after the war that she was most proud of that event. She made that trip in 72 hours to get an urgent message to London. This was an incredible accomplishment. She felt she had to do it and after she did it, she was on her back for a week, unable to walk. Nancy succeeded and the message got to London.

EC: How would you describe the carpetbagger airmen?

BH: They were American pilots. Operation Carpetbaggers was a joint secretive operation between the American OSS and their British counterparts the SOE who trained most of the agents that were dropped. Eisenhower felt that about 9 months from the invasion there had to be a bigger effort to get the munitions into occupied France. He ordered some squadrons of the B-24s to be available. They had a high casualty rate, 230 were killed in action and about 33 planes went down.

EC: Did the Carpetbaggers have to be retrained?

BH: The B-24 Bomber were designed to fly at a high altitude in formation. Instead, they have been asked to fly solo at night to find a dark field in France. They had to fly the plane slower and lower than it was meant to fly. This could cause stalling. If they were at 1500 feet of altitude they could recover but they were 600 to 800 feet off the ground and would probably crash.

EC: How effective were they?

BH: I use the quote from Eisenhower who estimated that the French resistance forces were equal to five army divisions. They were a huge help when the Allied forces hit the beach at Normandy. They took out bridges to stop the German reinforcements coming from the South and blowing out German trains. Eisenhower thought that the organized resistance forces in the German occupied territories helped to shorten the war by six months. It was like a domino effect because the resistance would not have been effective. SOE Agents like Wake were dropped down to organize and the Carpetbaggers were the ones who dropped them. She was a leader to the resistance and was dependent on the Carpetbaggers who resupplied them.

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 Hawk Is Dead by Peter James

Book Description

Roy Grace never dreamed a murder investigation would take him deep into Buckingham Palace . . .

Her Majesty, Queen Camilla, is aboard the Royal Train heading to a charity event in Sussex when disaster strikes – the train is derailed.

A tragic accident or a planned attack?

When, minutes later, a trusted aide is shot dead by a sniper, the police have their answer.

Despite all the evidence, Roy Grace is not convinced The Queen was the intended target. But he finds himself alone in his suspicions.

Fighting against the scepticism of his colleagues and the Palace itself, Grace pursues his own investigation. But when there is a second murder, the stakes rise even higher, and Grace is at risk of being embroiled in a very public catastrophe – and in mortal danger.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Hawk Is Dead by Peter James, blends fiction with reality. The story features the real King and Queen of England within a suspenseful mystery.

Queen Camilla is traveling on a train that is derailed in a tunnel on the way to Brighton. Determined to find safety, they rest for a bit which is where the action begins. One of her trusted aides is murdered by a sniper and another bullet whizzes by the Queen’s head. Detective Roy Grace from the Sussex police questions if Camilla was the target or did the sniper aim for the person he shot. The inquiry moves to Buckingham Palace where another person is murdered. The investigation becomes intense as Grace tries to figure out who was the target, and why these murders are happening, knowing if he gets those answers he will find the murderer.

A bonus is how the author created a behind the scenes vision of life in Buckingham Palace. Readers learn about the royal palace’s staff, traditions, artwork, and how the Royals interact.

The story is very plausible and has riveting scenes that will have people turning the pages.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Did you start with writing crime novels?

Peter James: No – back in 1977 my then wife asked when I was going to write a novel, as I’d always talked about it. I read an article that there was a shortage of spy thrillers. So, I wrote one and to my amazement I got a two-book deal. Unfortunately, neither sold well.

EC: You seem to be known for crime novels, how did they come about?

PJ: We were robbed and a detective came to fingerprint our house. He saw my two spy thrillers and said if ever I needed research help with the police to call him. We became friends along with his wife who is also a detective. They invited me to a barbeque where I met twelve of their friends, all in the police force. After speaking with them I realized no one sees more of human life and death than a cop. Long story short, they started inviting me on-ride outs. Increasingly I was putting police characters into my books. I tried to show the human side of being a police officer and that it was not just a job for them. I was smuggled into crime scenes as well.

EC: Did any of them give advice for the Roy Grace Series?

PJ: In 1997 I met homicide detective Gaylor and we really clicked. He had been tasked with reopening all the unsolved murders in Sussex England. He said he was the last chance each victim would have for justice and the family for closure. I liked that human image about him. We started talking about the novel I was writing then and he started making suggestions. I thought how he has a real creative streak to him. He helped me on the next two books I wrote. In 2002 he was promoted to the head of homicide for Sussex police. I was offered to write a crime detective as a central character. I phoned Gaylor and asked how he would like to be a fictional cop. He loved it. We have worked together ever since on all Roy Grace books. He tells me how Roy would think and act under different circumstances and has opened doors to the police in the world.

EC: Do you think your Roy Grace novels are typical detective stories?

PJ: I wanted to do something different than the cop with a drinking problem and/or a broken marriage. No cop in the UK would last 24 hours with a drinking problem. I decided to create a detective who had a personal puzzle of his own he could not solve. In the first book, readers learn that Roy’s wife Sandy who he loved and adored had vanished off the face of the earth nine years earlier, on his 30^th birthday. All his down time has been taken up with his hunting for her. He wonders if she took off with a lover, had an accident, took her own life, or got kidnapped. In the second book in the series, he starts dating Cleo, which blossoms into a love affair.

EC: What happens with Sandy?

PJ: Roy has always idolized her. Part of the difficulty of moving on is the constant fear that she will come back. In his eyes she is the perfect wife, yet readers will see another side to her. I published THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD a couple of years ago, which is Sandy’s story.

EC: How would you describe Roy?

PJ: If ever I was unlucky enough to have a member of my family murdered, Roy is the detective I would want to investigate. Over the years he has changed. He has moved on with his personal life, becoming a father. He becomes smarter and tougher. When I have asked police detectives I know if they have changed, they all answered yes and that they have become more cynical. They do face real danger all the time.

EC: Did you have any interaction with the Queen and King?

PJ: About ten years ago in the Daily Mail Newspaper there was a photo of the then Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, in her office, with two of my Roy Grace books right behind her head. In the article she said I was one of her two favorite authors; the other one was Jane Austen. I wrote to thank her and received a handwritten two-page letter from her telling me she is a genuine fan who has read all the Roy Grace books and some of my stand-alones too. We continued to correspond and she suggested I write a Roy Grace story set in London. I thought, hey, people who have disobeyed past Queens of England did not have things end well for them! She also wanted to see some of the filming of the TV show Grace.

EC: Where can you view the Roy Grace TV series, which is based on the novels?

PJ: It can be viewed on BritBox and is titled “Grace.” They just finished filming season 6 that will be out next spring. In April they will start filming season 7. Each season follows a book per episode although some episodes are new and not from the books. They have covered 18 of the 22 books so far.

EC: Did the Queen watch the filming of a Roy Grace episode?

PJ: We were filming an episode on the harbor waterfront near Brighton, which was a good spot because it could be easily made secure. In a warehouse, she interviewed me for her book club – and I was astonished that she knew more about Roy Grace than I do!!!! She met John Simm and the rest of the cast. I jokingly suggested she might like to be an extra and she replied, ‘Perhaps I could be a dead body???’ She has a wicked sense of humor – and fun! Then she invited me to join her for lunch back in the warehouse. Her private secretary opened her handbag and pulled out a banana, a thermos of soup, and a ham and cheese sandwich! A few months later one of her senior members of the Royal Household said to me that she really would like me to set a Roy Grace novel in Buckingham Palace – with a murder or two – or possibly three.

EC: Did the idea for the story come out of the suggestion?

PJ: I realized that the Palace is in disarray because of the renovations. The Palace is filled with over one million objects of artwork. I was given two three and a half hour tours of the Palace, literally everywhere – down in the basement, along all the floors and up on the rooftop! This is where I came up with this story of how these crooks in the Royal household stole and sold some on the dark web. I discovered it happened, but the thief put the stolen goods on eBay. I did take a tour of the Palace and had my tracker on and found out I had walked 3.5 miles. I want to make all my books as authentic as possible. Everything written in the story is true except the names of members of the Royal Household – although King Charles and Queen Camilla appear as themselves.

EC: Did you ever meet King Charles?

PJ: I met him and the Queen several times. He told me he loved how I kept his wife so entertained with my books! He is warm and charming.

EC: How would you describe Queen Camilla in the story compared to the real Queen?

PJ: I did put a lot of words into the King and Queen’s mouth – they appear extensively throughout the book. Then early in the editing, I asked her to read a draft, as now was the opportunity to change anything she was not happy with. My publishers bound a special copy for her, and I had it hand delivered to her – and then followed the most nervous week of my life!!! I was invited to Clarence house a few days later. She strode towards me with a big smile and said, ‘I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!” I asked her if there was anything she wanted changing and she replied, emphatically, ‘NOT ONE WORD!”

She is quite heroic in the book and I’ve made her appear as very well rounded. She is caring, intellectual, strong, diligent, composed, dutiful, sarcastic, and determined – all of which is true to life.

EC: Many in the US do not see the Queen with these characteristics.

PJ: She is portrayed as the wicked woman, which is really not fair. Charles and she were in love. The late Queen Mother insisted Charles had to marry a virgin and could not therefore marry the woman he truly loved and the whole tragedy of Diana began from there. Camilla was his first love. She was vilified by a lot of people, but certainly in the UK and in many other parts of the world, she has now won admiration and love. People do not realize that no one in the Royal family has made such an impact on reading. Her Instagram book club, The Queen’s Reading Room is in almost every country in the world. I think she is reading’s biggest ambassador. I love that she is not a literary snob but reads across the whole spectrum – everything from literary fiction – historical and present – right down to humble mystery writers like me!

EC: What was said about the train, is that true?

PJ: Yes. She prefers to go on a train and not going on a helicopter. The Royal train has been used for decades, like a hotel on wheels. It is very old inside: Formica tabletops, avocado bathroom, and a bullet hole in the floor of the dining room – from an over-zealous guard one night!!!!

EC: Would you ever send Roy to investigate a crime in the US?

PJ: I have often thought about Roy coming to the US on some kind of exchange. It may well happen.

EC: Next book?

PJ: One of the books I loved was Arthur Hailey’s Hotel. It is set in a hotel in New Orleans, full of characters. Ever since reading this I have always wanted to set a novel in a hotel. I have Roy investigating a big murder in a hotel in Brighton. It will be out around the same time next year.

I will also have a book coming out about writing for those who want to learn about this craft and a little bit about my life.

THANK YOU!!

***

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

Book Description

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

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

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Elise’s Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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Author Interview

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

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

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

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

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

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

EC: Were you in the military?

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

EC: Were Maggie and Scott both in combat?

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

EC: Why the drug use in this story?

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

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

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

EC: What about their relationship?

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

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

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

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

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

EC: What about the AI effect?

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

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

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

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

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

EC: Next book?

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

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie

Book Description

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

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

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Bone Thief by Vanessa Lillie blends history with fiction.

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

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

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

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

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

EC: What was the role of the Warden Journal?

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

EC: Why the opening quote?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EC: Next book?

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

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Burned Bridges by John Gilstrap

Book Description

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

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

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

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Elise’s Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the Irene series?

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

EC: Yet Venice was in this book. Why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EC: How would you describe Irene?

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

EC: Where will Irene be going professionally?

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

EC: Does Irene also hate reporters?

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

EC: How would you describe the children?

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

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

EC: How would you describe the villain, Finn?

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

EC: Next book?

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

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

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Last Assignment by Erika Robuck

Book Description

Manhattan, 1954.

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

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

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

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Elise’s Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Do you have any military influences?

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

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

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

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

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

EC: Do you think she supported American troops?

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

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

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

EC: Was she a complex character?

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

EC: How would you describe her?

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

EC: What role did Tony play in her life?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EC: Next book?

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

THANK YOU!!

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