Author’s Choice with James M. Jackson

Please welcome Jim to Author’s Choice.

Dear readers, here’s where you get to play along. The author will tell us two truths and one lie (ed comment –I randomized the order). At the end of the questions, we’ll reveal what really happened. Remember, we write crime fiction, so lying is in our nature . . .

Two Truths, One Lie

Truth or Lie? I live off grid, fifteen miles from the nearest place you can buy anything.

Truth or Lie? I’m handy and can fix most things that break down.

Truth or Lie? I give names to all my equipment with engines.

Eight Quick Questions

Now for some fun insight into today’s author. Here are eight forced choice questions.       

1.          First draft: longhand, keyboard, or dictation? Longhand is fruitless: after a few minutes, even I have no idea what the scrawl is supposed to represent. It’s keyboard all the way.

2.          Editing as you go, or vomit draft first and fix it later? My process is more like hacking up the first draft and then fixing it later.

3.          Writing snack: sweet, salty, or "I forget to eat"? I have yet to meet a sweet I didn’t like.

4.          Writing space: coffee shop chaos, library quiet, or home sweet home? My preference is library quiet in my own home.

5.          Writer's block: push through, step away, or "it's not real"? My subconscious is an integral part of my writing process. I give it the problem, step away to let it work, and it has always provided an answer.

6.          Social media for authors: necessary evil, genuine fun, or absolutely not? I like connecting with friends on social media and consider the marketing aspects a necessary evil.

7.          Reading your own work aloud: love it, tolerate it, or would rather eat glass? I tolerate reading my own work aloud because any stumbles point to areas I need to improve.

8.      Deadline approaching: calm and prepared, thriving on adrenaline, or full panic mode? At the final polishing stage, I am in full panic mode and snarly. I’m ready to be done, done, done, and yet I want it to be perfect. Those two desires are in serious conflict.

About the Book

Enough about you, let’s turn to three questions about your book.

Q: If your main character in this novel showed up at your door right now, what would be the first thing they'd say to you (and would it be a complaint)?

A. “What the hell have you gotten us into this time?” It might sound like a complaint, but she’d be more curious than angry.

Q: What's one thing you hope readers take away from this book?

A.  Hours of enjoyable reading.

Q: What question did you want me to ask, and what is your answer? 

A. What possessed you to write a book that one reviewer called, “Realistic and terrifying—set in today’s political climate.”? I wanted to use characters readers have come to love and the thriller genre to tell a captivating story that explores the dynamics of a democracy threatened by its political inability to compromise .

The Big Reveal

Now let’s see how good a sleuth (or guesser) our readers are. Please reveal all.

The lie is that I am handy. My father taught me everything he knew about repairing things—which was how to replace panes of glass I broke playing baseball too close to the house. My grandfather was very handy. My son is also very handy. I can sometimes fake it but often must rely on outside assistance.

I do live fifteen miles from Amasa, where my characters and I can buy sundries at Tall Pines. My naming things started with cars and grew. My current vehicles are Babe (a big blue F-150 that works hard, like Paul Bunyon’s ox), Rover (a Subaru for trips, bought when our other car was Belle, a hybrid kept in Savannah for local trips), Bob (a Bobcat skid-steer), three ATVs named Beastette (at the time my Ford Expedition was named Beastie), Little Red (a small Honda), and Deuce (a two-up). I have a log splitter called Abe; Chomper is my brush hog; and El Toro is my newest addition, a lawn mower.

Here’s a blurb for and some links where you can find Jim's latest:

Book Blurb for Niki Unbound

The Niki Undercover Thriller Trilogy concludes

Devastating intel. No one left to trust. A government that wants her erased.

But walking away isn’t in Niki’s DNA.

All her working life, she's disappeared into false lives to keep her country safe. Now that country has cut her loose—no sponsor, no support, no return.

Then she learns of an imminent decapitation strike designed to seize the presidency—and no way to stop it without re-entering a world where hundreds of armed felons know her face.

Knowing it's her or no one, Niki builds her team: four generations of family and friends with skills no one expected.

The Justice Department's vast web is pulling threads—and each one leads to the team. Subpoenas land. Laptops seized. Questions sharpen. The people who volunteered to stop the coup are the ones now suffering.

Can Niki stop the traitors and shield those who helped her—or will saving her country cost her everyone, including herself?

Niki Unbound is the explosive finale to the Niki Undercover Thriller Trilogy—a story of labyrinthine conspiracy, chosen family, and a woman fighting to save a country that no longer wants her.

If you love stakes that could change the course of a nation, loyalty tested to the breaking point, and a heroine who pays for justice with everything she has, you'll devour this finale.

[Amazon ebook or Kindle Unlimited]       [Paperback]

Want to know more?

For more information about James M. Jacskon https://jamesmjackson.com