Retired Sheriff Harry Mortonson is willing to help her because that might alleviate the guilt he feels about his own past and a woman he didn't help, years ago. But when he meets Mac, he gets far more than he bargained for, including falling in love with her and protecting her from the crazy man who's stalking her.
In the end, it's up to Mac to lure Tom into a trap on one of Minnesota's frozen lakes where she, Harry, and Tom have one final confrontation. If she can succeed, she'll save Harry and they'll have a chance for a new life together. But if she fails, Tom wins and Mac will have to live her past-again.
Read an excerpt from Nowhere to Run
Visit J.L. Wilson's web site
About J.L. Wilson
I was born in a small town in Iowa, and have traveled extensively, living in several different regions of the U.S. and briefly overseas. I've been writing most of my life and seriously writing, trying to be published, since 2004. Now I have 9 books out and will have 3 more out this year, with contracts for more mysteries in 2010. Stay tuned for more from me!
Back list (Romantic Suspense/Mystery)
Your Saving Grace, Cerridwen Press
Brownies, Bodies, and Breaking the Code, The Wild Rose Press
Candy, Corpses and Classified Ads, The Wild Rose Press
If Not For You, Cerridwen Press
Brilliant Disguise, Resplendence Publishing
Autographs, Abductions, and A-List Authors, The Wild Rose Press
Sun, Surf, and Sandy Strangulation, The Wild Rose Press
Coming soon
Mayhem, Marriage, and Murderous Mystery Manuscripts
Back list (Paranormal/Time Travel)
Forgiveness, Cerridwen Press
Endurance
Coming soon
Temperance
Human Touch
An Interview with J.L. Wilson
By Holly Hewson for The Romance StudioHH: J.L., thank you for talking with us at TRS. Please tell us about your new release, Nowhere to Run. JL: Thanks for letting me ramble on about my books. I love coming to TRS to talk about my work.
Nowhere to Run is what I call my "first and ten" book because it's the first book I wrote but it's the tenth to be published. It's the story of a woman who thought she left her past behind, but it turns out she was wrong.
M.C. Shefflington ("Mac") was a naïve college student when she fell in love with Tom Donaldson. It was during the Viet Nam war, and Tom was recruited to work for the CIA as a cryptographer. He went away, but ten years ago he came back, a changed man. He contacted Mac again and that's when her life changed. Tom assaulted her and was put on trial, but he managed to escape. And Mac's been running since then.
HH: A woman running from a terrifying past and a man determined to save her when he failed to save another before. Where did you get the ideal for this thrilling, engaging story? JL: I knew someone like Tom once. He was very intense and very intelligent, but also very disturbed by what happened to him in Viet Nam. I always sensed my 'Tom' could be a violent man. One day he told me about a woman who died in 'Nam because of something he didn't do. That story stuck with me all these years. My 'Tom' went away, disappearing back into Thailand and the Orient and I never saw him again. But his stories stayed with me and became the basis for some of the motivation in this book. I always wondered, 'what would happen if he came back…' Nowhere to Run is based on that thought.
HH: You put characters in peril. Do you live that peril with them throughout the story? JL: I find it very easy to imagine what my characters are feeling as they face the problems I throw at them. For the time I'm writing then later editing and/or reviewing it, I do live it with them. It can be a bit harrowing at times.
HH: What's your secret for so incredibly building suspense within your story? JL: I try to give the reader just the right amount of information. I don't think there's a set method to creating suspense. It's more a matter of withholding clues until it's absolutely necessary for the reader to know it. Then when I spring it on them, they're surprised. That's really what suspense is all about: knowing something's coming, but not knowing when.
HH: What's your favorite thing about Mac? JL: Mac has a great sense of humor even though she's been through a terrifying ordeal. And she's willing to take a chance with Harry, the hero in the book. She immediately recognizes how kind and good he is, how different from Tom he is, and she's willing to risk being hurt again to have a chance at a life with Harry. That takes a lot of courage. I think anyone who has been hurt in a relationship then meets someone new can attest to that.
HH: What can you tell us about your upcoming Mayhem, Marriage, and Murderous Mystery Manuscripts? JL: "M5" is the third book in my Fatal Writers' Conference series. It features Bea Emerson and L.J. Remarchik, the characters from Autographs, Abductions and A-List Authors and Sun, Surf, and Sandy Strangulation. Bea and Lucas are in Minnesota for this book and attending a writers' conference there. It takes place at Halloween and Bea is thrown into a murder investigation when she goes to an unpublished author's house and finds the woman dead - apparently the victim of a trick-or-treater. It's a scenario I've thought of now and again: how easy would it be to kill someone when you're dressed in a Halloween costume?
(As you can tell, I have a very active imagination).
HH: What else can readers look forward to from you in the near future? JL: I've got a new paranormal series starting in August with Wild Rose Press. Human Touch tells the story of a cloned man who falls in love with a human woman. They get embroiled in a plot to overthrow the government on their planet. Living Proof will follow, releasing next year, then Leap of Faith will wrap up the story of the people on that planet.
My third History Patrol book will be releasing in the near future. Temperance is the story of two lovers who are reincarnated in 1934, during the middle of the John Dillinger era. They get tangled up with Dillinger and his gang.
And next year I have three more mysteries releasing with Wild Rose. Homicide, Hostages and Hot Rod Restorations will be out in January. PhDs, Pornography, and Premeditated Murder will be out in May. And Ex-wives, Extortion, and Erotic First Editions will be out in November. The following year I hope to have 3 more books out with Wild Rose.
As you can see, if you like the older hero/heroine model, I can keep you supplied for a few years to come!
HH: What's the nicest thing a reader/fan has ever said to you about your
work? JL: "I was so busy reading the book I forgot I had to write a review and should be taking notes." A reviewer told me that about Candy, Corpses and Classified Ads.
And one of my critique friends said, "I want to be Layla when I grow up" after she read If Not For You. Both of those comments just tickled me!
HH: What are you reading now? JL: I've gone back to some of the classics and am re-reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, believe it or not. I'm having a blast reading the John Carter series (A Princess of Mars, etc.) I have 3 or 4 readers enabled on my Iphone, and I go back and forth between them, reading the different books I've got on different readers (Kindle content, Fictionwise content, as well as publisher content).
I've also read a bunch of the Wizard of Oz books because I just finished writing an Oz mystery (which hopefully will release in the future). So I read 20 or so Oz books (there are 30+ books total!)
HH: Which of your upcoming works are you most excited about? JL: I have to admit I'm looking forward to Human Touch. It's quite a departure for me because it's a whole world-building experience. I had to create a new planet, new culture, new vocabulary for the characters, as well as a unique political system. I'm anxious to see how people react to it and if they like it or not. I hope they do, because I've got 2 more books in the series, as well as few ideas for prequels.
Let's hope for a good reception!
HH: Thank you!
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