I am very excited to present to you today, one of the friendliest and most helpful authors of eNovel Authors at Work, Kerry Donovan. Kerry writes character-based crime thrillers from his stone cottage in Brittany, France. Let’s hear more from the man himself, shall we?
The Ray Collins Case – A novelette in 13k words to introduce Detective Chief Inspector David Jones:
Birmingham, England, a sunny day in the city park. Children play, adults stroll – and a man lies dead in a pool of blood. His terrified fiance screams for help. The assailant smiles, waves goodbye and strolls away into the trees… DCI Jones, together with his protege, Sergeant Phil Cryer are called to investigate the most difficult of crimes – an apparently motiveless and random attack. Hampered by a lack of resources, Jones and Cryer have to act quickly to prevent a murder spree…
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An empathetic detective and his Swedish-born colleague hunt for the abductors of a teenage schoolgirl—a police procedural set in England and France. When their daughter fails to return from school, her parents are terrified. Is she a runaway, or the victim of something more sinister?
Veteran Detective, David Jones, head of the Midlands Police, is tasked to find her. His team soon discovers a link to convicted sex-offender, Ellis Flynn, whom Jones suspects of grooming the naive teenager. A difficult case is made more personal when Jones sees a photo of the missing girl, Hollie Jardine. She is the spitting image of his God-daughter! Jones has difficulty separating the two in his mind. With Hollie’s chances of survival fading, Jones and his Swedish-born colleague Alexandra Olganski, risk their careers and their lives when they ignore protocol to follow Flynn’s trail across the Channel into France. What they discover in an idyllic backwater will stretch Jones’ detection skills to the limit. Ultimately, Jones faces an impossible decision – give himself up or the girl dies — do nothing and the girl dies.
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Before the accident … Frank Brazier has the perfect life. A contract to drive for a Formula 1 team. A supportive family. A stunning girlfriend.
On the surface, everything is great, but Frank keeps a secret. On race days, Shadow-man visits. He sits on the nose cone of Frank’s racing car, or floats above the grandstand, waving taunting, distracting, eating away at his concentration. An accident in the making.
After the accident … Frank starts hearing voices. Strange voices. Impossible voices. He’s losing his grip on reality and Paula, his sister, is dying. Doctors say she is brain dead. They want to pull the plug, but Frank knows she’s still in there, fighting. He can hear her calls.
A day later… Shadow-man speaks. He says Frank can save Paula, but can Frank pay the price?
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Hello Kerry, and welcome to my blog!
Hello Fros, I’m thrilled to be here.
What has inspired you to write this book?
Ellis Flynn started as a short story about a young girl waking in a cellar after being abducted from outside her school. I wrote from the victim’s perspective and thought it was pretty good. I considered submitting it to a few journals until life took a strange turn. Within a week of finishing the piece, the world learned the heartbreaking story of Amanda Berry and her two friends who’d been held captive for a decade. I spiked my story as I didn’t want to be accused of using the girls’ harrowing tale to jump on the bandwagon. Life imitating art?
A wise choice, if you ask me! What was the first thing you ever wrote and how old were you then?
Oh wow, that’s embarrassing. I didn’t write much before completing my first novel in 1985, when I was in my thirties. It was a cold war story that foretold the fall of the Berlin Wall five years before it finally came crashing down. The idea behind the tale was valid, IMO, but the writing dreadful. I burned the m/s in 1986 without showing it to a soul.
What other writing have you done? Anything else published?
As a former research scientist in Respiratory Physiology, I have a large publications portfolio of peer-assessed journal articles that are extremely dry and boring. I doubt anyone ever read any of them.
Any hobbies or interests that you enjoy in your spare time?
Here’s another great question. I am a former cabinetmaker with a workshop full of equipment I barely use any more other than when I need to fix things when they break. It took us five years to renovate our stone cottage here in Brittany, during which time I made the kitchen and most of the furniture. These days, I’m too busy writing to make furniture, but have always fancied making myself a roll-top desk in oak. I’ll put that on my to-do list for when I retire from my day job. I’ve included a photo of one of my design pieces an easy chair in French Ash. My wife uses it now when knitting.
The only times I enter the workshop these days is to grab my bicycle for when I go out training. I used to be a keen sportsman and am a former triathlete. I’ve completed a few marathons in the past, but my legs gave up. Can’t run much any more but still cycle and swim occasionally.
Wow, I am very impressed by all this Kerry, well done! My father loves to make all sorts of things with wood and my husband is a marathon runner, so I know what hard work and mastery are required to do well on both counts. Tell us, do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?
Oh yes, absolutely. My cranky veteran cop, Detective Chief Inspector David Jones, is just like me. Not physically. David is average height and slim verging on scrawny, while I’m 6’3” and getting bigger by the moment—if you see what I mean.
Yes, unfortunately I do. Started happening to me too after the age of forty; can’t work out why (*laughs*)
Ahem, better change the subject (*grins*). Anyway, David Jones looks like my father, but his moderate OCD makes him just like me. Also like David, I don’t have any patience for people I consider foolish or lazy. Unlike David, I wouldn’t recognize a real clue if it jumped up and bit me on the … nose.
What are you working on at the moment? Tell us a little about your current project(s).
I’m about to publish my next Casebook subtitled, Sean Freeman. This story focuses on an international gang of thieves. Here’s the back cover blurb I’ve come up with:
The DCI Jones Casebook: Sean Freeman, a crime thriller.
Veteran cop, DCI David Jones, is tough and uncompromising. His Serious Crime Unit has the best arrest record the Midlands Police has ever seen and Jones wants to keep it that way.
Sean Freeman, is the best crack-smith in the UK. He’s never been caught—the police have never even come close. When Freeman’s boss instructs him to break into the Stanford Museum, the UK’s most secure premises outside of the Bank of England, he’s in trouble. Why? The Stanford is slap bang in the middle of Jones’ jurisdiction.
Someone’s record is going to suffer.
Sounds intriguing, Kerry. Can’t wait to see the cover. Which are your favorite authors, and what do you love about them?
I’m particularly fond of early John Grisham. His writing is very easy to read and, my word, he can tell a damned fine story. I also like Harland Coben, David Baldacci, and Michael Connelly for similar reasons.
What genres do you read mostly, and what are you reading now?
I’m an avid crime thriller reader but will also read sci-fi and actioners. I’m currently reading a book about a gang of hired assassins written by an Australian. It’s a very well-written, if morally suspect, story.
I rarely read romance, comedy, or non-fiction, but have a particular fondness for Bill Bryson.
Do you have any advice for other indie authors?
I wouldn’t be so presumptuous. Oh well, if you insist. As with any other art form, practice makes if not exactly perfect, then better. The only way to write a good book is to write a good book. Okay, I never said I’d be profound.
Do you listen to music while you write and if so, what kind?
Absolutely not, I’m very old-school. I need complete silence when writing. It annoys my wife when she has to watch TV while wearing headphones.
Finally, someone who feels me! Thank you Kerry, I’d started to feel very weird being the only one (*giggles*). What were your most and least favorite subjects in school?
I loved woodwork and history, hated math.
No surprise there about the woodwork bit! What has been the most important lesson you’ve learnt so far in life the hard way?
Don’t ever argue with my wife. I’ve never won an argument with her and we’ve been married since 1977.
Wow, that’s a long time to be always wrong (*laughs*). How would you like to be remembered?
“That bloke who outsold John Grisham.”
And why not? I believe in dreaming big. Best of luck Kerry, and thank you for being here with us today.
Thank you for this opportunity Fros, it’s been great!
BIO
Born in Dublin, Kerry now lives and writes in a stone cottage in rural Brittany, France. A skilled cabinet maker, Kerry uses the same artistic approach to construct his novels.
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KerryJDonovan
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/KerryJDonovan
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