LETHAL INTENT - Cara Putman - One Free Book

Welcome back, Cara. How did this book come about? This book was a combination of curiosity and weaving in a journey I had watched a friend take with her son. I work at a world-class university that has cutting-edge research happening on every corner of campus. But I also wanted the human element of what would it be like to watch a child who was very sick. What would you be willing to do to protect that child? The confluence is Lethal Intent.

Tell us about the book’s cover and what makes it unique. I love the pop of red on her coat. It’s so eye-catching and gorgeous!

Please explain and differentiate between what’s fact and fiction in the book. The book is a blend of fact and fiction. I spent a lot of time doing research on CAR t-cells to figure out the science and how to interpret it in a way that doesn’t stop the story. The research on that is as accurate as I can make it for the state of the science and research as the book went to print. There’s also a lot of research that went into the foster care system and the flexing of the laws related to them.

How much research did you have to do for this book? So much! I’m committed to making sure that the book is as accurate as possible – with the understanding that I am not a scientist. So I rely on experts who can help me get on the right track and stay there. I also incorporate the search for a second line of immortal cells like the HELA cells. As far as I know, there isn’t a second line, but it would be something scientists are searching for. Any mistakes are mine!

I’m with you. I work very hard to make all my novels authentic to the subject and the time period. What are some of the most interesting things you found about this subject that you weren’t able to use in the story? There’s so much research that can’t go into a book and shouldn’t. I spent so much time trying to make sure I was getting the FDA trial process right, without slowing down the plot. What’s in the book is a fraction of what I learned, but I think it’s the right balance. Readers don’t want to know who qualifies for a Trial 0 versus a Trial 1. J

What inspired and surprised you while you were writing the book? I was inspired by a friend who I prayed with through a similar medical trial. The way she handled the years-long crisis for her son’s health was something I wanted to capture on the page. It was gut wrenching and an impossible trial, but they made it by doing anything that was needed to give their son the best chance to live. That’s the spirit I wanted to capture.           

What do you hope the reader takes away from the story? I hope the reader understands that.

What is the next project you’re working on? I’ve developed another series in the greater DC-area. I’m excited to start writing these as they lay around the larger legal community. It will have a close group of women friends who are in different aspects of the legal field. One’s a college professor, another is in a small firm. That’s one thing I love about writing books set in the law. There is so much opportunity for differences in work.

What do you do when you have to get away from the story for a while? I read…a lot. I’ve already read eleven in the month of January. I also walk and binge good TVs or movies to pick up tips on dialogue, character development, or story. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s important to give myself space to step away for a bit and then come back with fresh ideas and perspective.

That is important. Please give us the first page of the book.

Caroline shifted in the high-backed chair. The massive conference room table made her feel more petite than usual. Quentin Jackson, the man propelling Praecursoria through its rapid growth, vibrated with energy as he studied her.

“We are on the cusp of amazing developments and a transition from the lab to trials. We have a few CAR T-cell therapies in early stages now with more in our pipeline.”

She racked her mind for the importance of T cells, and he gave a hearty laugh.

“Don’t worry if the science overwhelms you. We’ll have you up to speed in no time. All you need to know right now is that T cells are one of the two cells that make up white blood cells. The treatments we’re working on could be the difference between life and death for young cancer patients. We need your legal expertise and quick mind to synthesize the science with the map to market.”

“I’ve overseen several court trials related to patents, which should help with that process.” It had been an unforeseen aspect of her days clerking for Judge Loren. She swallowed against the lump in her throat that still welled up when she thought about his untimely death from

pneumonia. A month ago she couldn’t imagine interviewing for a job somewhere else, even if a part of her knew that she should stretch her wings.

“When can you start? Today?”

She felt rooted to the chair. Everything was moving so fast. Could she really transition her experience managing clerks for a judge into managing patents and contracts for a start-up?

While Praecursoria had been around for a decade as a cancer research lab, about eighteen months ago Quentin sold off its lucrative genetic testing branch to focus exclusively on the development of cutting-edge CAR T-cell therapies. Starting over that way was a bold if risky move.

How can readers find you on the Internet? I love connecting with readers in many ways. If you have a book club that reads one of my books, I’d love to join via Skype or Zoom. But here are the other ways we can connect:

http://caraputman.com: if you join my newsletter on my webpage, you will receive my novella Dying for Love as my gift to you.

Twitter: @cara_putman

Instagram: @caracputman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cara.putman

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cara-putman

Thank you, Cara, for sharing this new book with my blog readers and me. I’m eager to read it. I’ve loved every book of yours that I’ve read.

Readers, here are links to the book.

https://amzn.to/3rAdi7N - Paperback

https://amzn.to/39PeSN2 - Kindle

https://amzn.to/3jjTLFv - Audio Book CD

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link: Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

LETHAL INTENT - Janice Olson - One Free Book

Why do you write the kind of books you do?

As a Christian writer, I want to provide a good wholesome read that my readers can enjoy and trust. To me this is the most important aspect of my writing. My readers won’t have to sift through gratuitous sex, cursing, and over-the-top violence. In my books, someone usually dies, but I don’t go into gruesome detail. But I do love to shock with the unsuspected. To surprise the reader and send them down dead ends where the antagonist is concerned is great fun. And if I can keep the reader from knowing who is the killer until the very end … all the better.

Also, I have always loved suspense. I grew up with Alfred Hitchcock movies and would sometimes shiver and shake at the images he produced, and go to bed with his nightmares. ;-) When I started writing, my mind naturally gravitated to a suspenseful story. I love for good to triumph over evil, which in my books is always the case.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The day that I said I do to my handsome knight. He rode into my life one day on his trusty white steed (a 1961 white British Ford) and swept me off my feet. And I have never regretted saying yes.

How has being published changed your life?

I believe being published has made my life more hectic with its ups and downs. I love the ride of being a published author but there is always another deadline to meet, another edit to do, another push for marketing—the list goes on and on. And working a fulltime job doesn’t leave me with much time. So I would say, if all I had to do was to write the book and someone else did all the other routine business side of publication, I’d be in heaven.

What are you reading right now?

I’m between books right now with my deadline looming, but if I get a moment during Christmas holiday to read, I’ve downloaded A Biltmore Christmas – four short stories which should be a fun, fast read.  

I loved that book. What is your current work in progress?

I am presently working on The Chameleon, my next book in the “Texas Sorority Sisters” stand-alone series. This book is Veronica (Roni) Reeves’ story and will take the reader from Dallas to Athens, Texas. The Chameleon has unrequited love, two murders, and a half brother that no one knew existed, and will be released in spring 2012.

What would be your dream vacation?

South Seas’ Islands. Since I was a little girl, again watching movies like South Pacific and other grand movies depicted on a deserted island—natives only of course, and having read Hawaii I have always wanted to visit those islands. However, I believe I will be sorely disappointed, as I was when we visited Hawaii, because I know the islands will be commercialized and not the uncomplicated lifestyle portrayed in the movies of bygone years—such is life. :-0

How do you choose your settings for each book?

As for my Texas Sorority Sisters series, Texas is my inspiration. I love the feel and appeal of small Texas towns and their charm, the countryside brimming with life, the beauty, and the wide open spaces. And we have so many varied towns to pick from which makes it easy to visualize and incorporate into my stories.

With my first book, however, Serenity’s Deception, I chose a fictitious town that just popped into my mind. It just felt right to plant the story in the Texas Hill Country down around Austin and Brenham (the Blue Bell Ice Cream fame). I apparently did such a good job with the town that one man asked my husband where in Texas was Serenity? He said he would like to visit Serenity and see where the story took place. My husband had a good laugh and said, it’s in Janice’s head.

Lethal Intent takes place in real cities—Austin and Dallas, which having lived in Dallas since I arrived in Texas, too long ago to remember, the story just seemed right and natural for me.

The Chameleon takes place in a lovely small Texas town—Athens, Texas—about seventy miles east of Dallas, surrounded by ranch land, small lakes, and rolling hills and, go figure—New York Texas (what an oxymoron) Cheesecake factory, boasted as one of the best in Texas. When I tried to come up with a town, east Texas was where I had in mind, but for the longest couldn’t settle on a town until I thought of Athens, and it fit.   

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

Laura Bush. In my opinion, she is a class act. She’s the epitome of graciousness and of how a real lady should act under fire. I’d love to pick her brain on her many transitions in life and if she were to do it over again—would she? 

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

When I have the time, I love to paint—oil, acrylic, or water, it doesn’t matter. As with my writing, I can be lost for hours creating beautiful sunsets, flowers, and other things. I also love to do all kinds of crafty ideas. I made all the flower arrangements for Christmas as I do for other occasions and as gifts for friends.

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

My most difficult writing obstacle is finding the time to write. Working fulltime doesn’t afford me the opportunity to write for long hours which I wish possible. But I’m thankful for the time and how God blesses me to jump right back into my story, utilizing the small increments of time available to me to accomplish a lot.  

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Attending writing clinics, workshops, and conferences are very important for success as a writer. And don’t stop there. Join a writer’s group. I am president of DFW Ready Writers (DFW WR), a chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Each month, DFW RW offers a speaker or workshop that helps hone the writers’ craft. Another must is to find a writing partner or writers’ critique group who, in love, will be brutally honest when something doesn’t work in your story or help you correct what you’re doing wrong so you may grow. As one of my writer friends often says and I repeat here, I’d rather have my feelings hurt by my writer friends than to be exposed as a terrible writer by the world.   

Tell us about the featured book.

Lethal Intent is about Madison Fletcher who has lost her husband and unborn child to a madman’s bullets. When the suspect is set free, Madison decides to flee Austin to Dallas to a father she has never met and has learned to hate for his neglect.

When she finds a love interest, she fights the attraction out of fear. After attaining a modicum of security in Dallas, Madison learns the killer has found her and still wants her dead.

During Madison’s fight to stay alive, she has to work through the issues of hatred, abandonment, and retribution for wrongs done.    

Please give us the first page of the book.

Lethal Intent

“Not guilty.”

Gasps were heard around the courtroom. Judge Colby’s hard scowl and banging gavel brought an unsettling hush among the spectators.

Numb, horrified, the words thundered inside Madison Fletcher’s head as the ceiling fans clacked and whined, mocking her. She wanted to scream bitterly at the injustice of the verdict. Instead, she held her breath.

Judge Colby repeated the litany of words, rendering another not guilty. He called for the third and final verdict. The foreperson took a deep breath, uttered a repetitive not guilty, then sat down as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

The courtroom erupted as a death knell pealed over in Madison’s soul.

The judge banged his gavel loud and insistent causing a semblance of order.

She gulped air into her starved lungs, as her friend, Kelly Vandergriff, patted her arm. Madison clung to Kelly’s hand as if it were a rope, a lifeline pulling her up from an abyss that threatened to swallow her whole.

This isn’t justice. Her head angled downward. Her heart plummeted in utter defeat as her life seemed to shatter into a million pieces. How could this happen?

Quite a hook there, Janice. How can readers find you on the Internet?

They can go to my Website: www.JaniceOlson.com, or email me: Janice@JaniceOlson.com. Also they can find my books, Serenity’s Deception and the new release Lethal Intent at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com for the Nook and Kindle. The trade paperback will be available on the 10th. Also, for registering at my site, their name will be entered into a drawing that one person will be selected to receive one lovely wooden jewelry box.

Thank you, Lena. Once again it has been a pleasure doing this interview for you and your readers.

Dare to believe in the impossible. Mark 9:23

Thank you, Janice for sharing this book with us.

Readers, I was privileged to get to edit this book. It is amazing. I love Janice's writing and her suspenseful plots and characters. Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com