When someone asks me to recommend one of my books, I never know what to say. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all my children are beautiful in different ways. My stock answer (in my head) is – my next one, because I’m always striving for a challenge and trying something different.
But if you had to pick…
Tell us about a novel you wrote that you’re most proud of and why.
Neat question! Thanks for inviting us to play.
My favorite, or at least the one I consider most significant, is the first one, Leaving Amarillo, because it showed me I could actually write a novel. (Though eventually it became the fourth novel in an 11-novel series.) (grin)
That’s a great & empowering feeling. It’s impossible to forget your first. Thanks, Harvey!
Wow. Someone is actually asking me to plug one of my novels. Sure! JANE’S BABY. I’m proud because it’s a great story/thriller based on a little known fact about one of the most controversial US Supreme Court cases in history. Here’s the novel summary on Amazon:
“Whatever happened to Jane Roe’s baby? Norma McCorvey, of Caddo-Comanche heritage, did not terminate the pregnancy that led her to become the anonymous plaintiff of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court women’s rights case Roe v Wade because in 1971, when the motion was first argued, abortion in the U.S. was illegal. The Jane Roe real-life child would now be a woman in her late forties, the potential of her polarizing celebrity unknown to her. A religious rights splinter group has blackmailed its way into learning the identity of the Roe baby, the product of a closed adoption. To what end, only a new Supreme Court case will reveal. Tourette’s-afflicted K9 bounty hunter Judge Drury, a Marine, stands in the way of the splinter group’s attempt at stacking the Supreme Court via blackmail, murder, arson, sleight of hand, and secret identities.”
I’m actually asking for you to share a novel you’ve written that you’re most proud of & why.
But yes, it’s nice to have a forum for a plug. Sounds intriguing, Chris. Good luck with your book.
Sound interesting. I may need a copy!
Jordan, I love all my books even though I have yet to read one of them since they released. 🙂 But my last book, Justice Delivered, touches on a theme I wanted to bring attention to. Human trafficking. We are having such a problem with it here in Mississippi, especially on the coast. Here’s the back cover copy and thanks for an opportunity to talk about it:
Carly Smith came by her trust issues honestly. A victim of sex trafficking, she’s been at the mercy of merciless men, ignored by law enforcement officers who should have helped her, and seemingly rejected by her family. She can’t even trust herself to do the right thing. Though she escaped her captors and is working hard on building a new life, the past continues to haunt her when she discovers that the man she couldn’t bring herself to report to police for fear of reliving her captivity is still out there, luring vulnerable girls under the guise of being a modeling agent.
When her own niece is kidnapped, Carly must overcome her fears and come forward with the information she has before it’s too late. When that proves to be not enough, she’ll have to go after the perpetrators herself.
Omg! You are just like me. I don’t reread mine after they’re released either. It would crush me if I found a typi in print. Yes, I know these things can be fixed, but it’s my little piccadillo.
I love the twist in your plot where a victim must face her fears…for family. Good job.
It’s really a tough question, as I’m sure everyone knows. I’ll mention Rooted in Danger, because I really loved working with Fozzie, and it’s all about the characters. It has my usual “self-discovery” theme for the heroine, but also touches on orphan diseases. I wrote this one shortly after my sister-in-law was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.
Behind the public façade of Blackthorne, Inc., a high-end private investigation company, lies a band of elite covert operatives, and they’re back doing what they do best.
Foster (Fozzie) Mayhew, Blackthorne’s Intel Specialist, is cocky and arrogant, befitting his Aussie heritage. Put him in a helicopter with his surveillance instruments and he can spot the fleas on a squirrel’s balls from five hundred feet. He’s happiest when he’s rescuing hostages, getting them to safety while Uncle Sam is still negotiating. But Fozzie’s boss pulls him from the work he loves and sends him to locate Victoria Hamilton, estranged daughter of a rich client.
Torie Stoker, born Victoria Hamilton, is hiding from her father who needs her at home and married. There’s no love lost between Torie and her family. They shipped her off to a Swiss boarding school when she was thirteen, and at twenty-nine, she’s never looked back. When her best friend, Kathy, dies, Torie settles in Oregon, determined to give meaning to Kathy’s death by continuing the botanist’s quest for rare plants with potential medical applications. When a man shows up with a gun, Torie realizes how badly her father must want her back.
Fozzie wants nothing more than to locate his target, report to his boss, and get back to his real job. When he finds Torie being dragged away at gunpoint, his protective instincts kick in. Soon, they’re racing to discover why her father sent armed men after her. Or could it have something to do with Kathy’s pharmaceutical research to cure orphan diseases? The answers threaten to change Torie’s life forever.
Rooted in Danger, the third in the Blackthorne, Inc. series, starts on a tropical island, and things heat up from there. Rooted in Danger will keep readers turning pages as the stakes—and romance–escalate.
Characters are hard to forget & hard to stop writing about. I love a good character driven plot.
Your inspiration behind writing this one is touching. It makes the writing more powerful when it’s seen through your own eyes & your own experience.
Thanks for sharing, Terry.
I hope it’s okay I don’t plug a novel I’ve written, because my debut will release next year.
But, I’ve written three books. They’re creative non-fiction stories of well-known and not-so-well-known biblical characters. Each chapter is a stand-alone story spotlighting one character. My favorite is the third book, Leaving Your Lover.
The reason it’s my favorite? The characters I explore in Leaving Your Lover are just like us. Screw-ups. The difference between them and us is that they were memorialized for all time for their deeds. So glad that won’t happen to me …I think.
Enjoyed reading about y’all’s faves!
Congratulations on your release next year, Deb. That’s a big deal. Thanks for playing today. Hope to hear more about your debut next year.
My favorite is the first novel I ever wrote. I had two small children and worked full time, but every chance I had, I scribbled stories in spiral notebooks. My husband bought a computer for me at a time when they weren’t common in every home, because he believed in me. I didn’t know the writing “rules” and didn’t know it was hard to get published, so I sat down and wrote early in the morning, late at night, and on weekends. When my book was finished, I sent it to an editor at Berkley, who called me three weeks later and said, “We want to publish your novel.” And I got paid for it!
Wow. What a dream for a writer! Amazing first sale story. Thanks for sharing, Becky.
Until recently my personal favourite of my own books was FAITHFUL WARRIOR, about a former Marine Special Operator, who became a pastor. But unknown to most of his congregation, the government continued to call on him for occasional ‘wet-work’.
It’s hard to pick one of your babies, isn’t it?
That said, I just finished the trilogy that has unseated FAITHFUL WARRIOR for the top spot in my heart.
The ICE HAMMER trilogy, Invasion, Insurgent, Invincible, follows a family very much based on my own, in a what-if where they are caught in, and separated by, the flames of war, unable to learn of each other’s fates for many years as they plummet headlong into the chaos of war that rages in the wilds around Anchorage Alaska.
Sounds GREAT, Basil. I love hearing about the inspiration behind your fav. Kudos, my fine friend.
What a lovely but difficult question, Jordan. It really is like asking me to prefer one of my children over another.
Since I’m forced to choose, I would say THE STRANGER INSIDE, my latest. I set out to write a straight crime/suspense novel, which I’d never really done before. It was a real challenge, and it’s the only one I’m not afraid to listen to on audio.
I always hope it’s my next one.
That’s great that you have a good audio. A good narrator makes a difference. Thanks, girlfriend.
I love the fun questions you come up with. Are you like–a creative writer or something???? ?
ALSO I’m soooooo tempted by the Ninja Grillio or whatever it’s called.
I didn’t expect the Ninja Foodi Grill to be an everyday appliance but it’s been amazing. I’ve gotten rid of my old airfryer & may retire my beloved slow cooker.
The quality is excellent & clean up is easy. I stayed away from the pressure cooker version. The Grill is more my lifestyle.
For smaller households, it can replace my oven.
I write across genres and audiences so I have to get a sense of what the person likes to read and whether my content is too racy or violent for them. My in-person go-to is my romantic suspense GUARDIAN ANGEL because it’s set all over my state, the violence isn’t over-the-top, and the love story is sweet yet sexy. For readers not that into romance, I recommend THE ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN which is science fiction adventure with lots of swashbuckling and no sex. I tell them if you like early STAR TREK or STAR WARS, you’ll enjoy this.
I’m glad you mentioned the heat factor. I tend to qualify my books that way too. Thanks, Marilynn.
I can’t point to a “favorite” but I believe my most important book was the nonfiction book I wrote with Kurt Muse, SIX MINUTES TO FREEDOM. The research for that book opened the doors and established to contacts I need to continue the Jonathan Grave series.
And then there’s NATHAN’S RUN, the book that started it all back in 1995. In fact, the 25th anniversary edition of NATHAN will hit the stands on December 31, complete with a new ending and an author’s update.
(Always be marketing, right??)
You are so clever. Good favorites from you, John. Thank you.
This is easy for me since I only have one published novel ?, a cozy mystery entitled “The Watch on the Fencepost”. I am very proud of the story for various reasons:
1. My background is in computer science, not creative writing, so the learning curve was very steep. Many thanks to a certain James Scott Bell for the wonderful craft books that taught me so much.
2. I loved inventing the story’s twists and turns, dropping red herrings, and defining characters. Having the MC walk the labyrinth to the truth was great fun.
3. I enjoyed coming up with the clues which were left by the MC’s father before he died. The question is whether he left them knowing he was in danger or was it just a game to lead his daughter to a birthday gift.
4. I also love metaphors, and I used several in the book. Running is often used as a metaphor for our life experiences, and the MC is training for a marathon. The first chapter follows her through a five mile training run that matches up nicely with her character. There is a second metaphor on the subject of light which is, of course, very relevant to understanding clues.
More than anything, I liked the sense of having accomplished something good through hard work. I don’t know if I’ll ever love another story I write as much as that one, but I’m working on the second novel in the series now: “Dead Man’s Watch.” I hope you ask the same question next year after that one is released and I’ll let you know.
I’m proud of you, Kay. Finishing your first novel should always be a special feeling. I’m celebrating with you. Cheers!
My favorite is the one I am currently working on, the last in my series. I had planned for two more books, but when I wrote the ending paragraph I knew that was the best ending I’d written so far, and it was the perfect place to let this story go. It will stay with me for a long time, something to pull out when life gets tough, and I need some inspiration.
I have other projects waiting, so we’ll see if this book remains my favorite. 🙂
What a great feeling, Cecilia. I hear ya!