(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique)
Spiders the size of birds, mosquitos the size of hummingbirds, poisonous snakes, and freaking headhunters…. HELL -TO- THE – NO!
It would have to be a really good cause, like the one Leah is faced with, before I dare to travel to the Amazon.
Seriously, J.K. described it so vividly that you can actually see the words/images pop off the pages.
So real, in fact, I dreamt about it and woke up in a cold sweat. Damn you, Arachnophobia (fear of spiders).
So even though a real life trek through the Amazon is out of the question for me, I’d follow J.K. there anytime (just maybe not before bedtime). *winks*
Folks, you should make the journey with J.K. as well. Literally, some sort of action was occurring in each chapter.
This was an highly-charged adventure novel which had me entertained from beginning to the end.
Heart Rating System – 1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)
1) Welcome, J.K Winn. For those who might not be familiar with you, would you be a dear and tell the readers a little about yourself? How did you get your start in the writing business?
(J.K.Winn) Even as a child I always thought someday I would someday be a writer, like my mother who dabbled in poetry, but writing wasn’t my original career choice. Lucky for me, the career I choose entailed listening to the stories of others, so that once I decided it was time for a career change, and realized writing was the only thing that spoke to me, I had a ton of stories in my head to mine for my novels. While I respected my clients privacy and would never use their stories directly, I was able to take bits and pieces and pull them together in unique and creative ways.
At present I have published three novels of romance and suspense, one play produced by the Actor’s Alliance Festival in San Diego and poetry anthologized in, For the Love of Writing, by the San Diego Writer’s Workshop. My play, Gotcha!, was selected for a reading at the Village Arts Theater in Carlsbad, California, May 2012.
I presently live by the beach in San Diego County, California. Please visit me at my blog, www.jkwinn.com
2) Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, please share how you handle it.
(J.K.Winn) I don’t really believe in Writer’s Block although there have been times when I have been unable to write. As a matter of fact, I just spent two years coping with family and financial problems and was too overwhelmed to put pen to paper. Since I thought it was futile to force myself to do something I was incapable of doing, I allowed myself the space to deal with all that was going on in my life before I made a commitment to begin a new project. Two months ago, I sat down and forced myself to begin with a single sentence. Although, at first, my writing was awkward and tentative, I continued on until it became more fluid. I am now almost halfway through my new novel. During all the time I was unable to write, I never labeled my condition or made it a problem. I believe that would have mired me in a place I didn’t need or want to be.
3) Contrary to what some people envision about a romance writer’s life, it’s not all glitz and glam. Well not for the majority of us. With that bubble sadly busted, when you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
(J.K.Winn) When I’m not writing, I’m usually on the move. I have a full and wonderful life, with many friends and family. I love to dance, to hike, to workout, to read, to eat and…well, to eat some more. There’s rarely a dull moment.
4) I know many writers, such as myself, keep their pastime/career a secret. Do those close to you know you write? If so, what are their thoughts?
(J.K.Winn) Everyone knows I write, and they’re all supportive of it. My son is my plot partner and I couldn’t write a book without his help. And my friends are my best audience. Unfortunately, most of them ladmire my work and rarely critique it, but it’s good to have a built in fan club.
5) Will you share with us your all-time favorite authors? If you’re like me, it’s a long list so give us your top ten.
(J.K.Winn) Oh, my. I have so many favorite authors. Let’s see, I love Toni Morrison, Barbara Kingsolver, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pat Conroy, Joyce Carol Oates, Gillian Flynn, Kurt Vonnegut, Dennis Lehane, Mikhail Bulgakov and on and on and on.
(KAM) I’m sorry to admit I haven’t read anything from any of those authors. Maybe I need to rectify that snafu.
6) If you could choose one book to go to the big screen, yours or otherwise, which book would you choose and whom would you love to see cast in the parts?
(J.K.Winn) I’d love to see my romantic action adventure, River of Desire, on the big screen. I think it’s an exciting and lush novel, a cross between Romancing the Stone and The Boys from Brazil, and would shine with Kira Knightly as Leah, Oliver Martinez as Dylan and Ian McKellan as Leah’s grandfather.
7) Would you care to tell us what you’re working on now? That is if it’s not top-secret information. If so, just whisper it in my ear. I swear it’ll go no further.
(J.K.Winn) I’m working right now on a sequel to Out of the Shadow about a woman who witnesses a murder while in a blackout and is trying desperately to remember what happened and who did it, before she becomes the next victim. Stay tuned for its publication by the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016.
