With: Wendy Byrne
Congratulations to "Jonetta", the winner in Wendy's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
When I started to write Accused I thought about myself
as a parent, all the worries I had while my boys were growing up, sometimes
about mundane everyday things, sometimes just because my mind takes a giant
leap at times and worries about pretty much everything. (I’m so trying to break
that habit BTW. J) You hear about kids who were good kids
but they make one mistake and their lives are irrevocably changed. That very
idea gave me the beginning for this story. It was easy to imagine what my
heroine Jillian might have been going through as a mother.
Then I started to think about a hero for this story
and what kind of person he might be. Since my background is in social work,
I’ve always had a burning need to portray kids who’ve gone through the child
welfare system in a positive light. My hero, Sam Carter, as a young child was
shuffled from one foster home to the next. He’d be the first to admit he was no
angel and got into trouble a lot. But what if someone came into his life that believed
in him? Or as Sam calls Mama Iris, ‘the Mother Teresa of foster moms’. She gave
him a chance and didn’t give up on him. Now, as a successful adult, he returns
the favor to other kids in trouble. Below is a short except from when Jillian
and Sam first meet.
Somehow she’d managed to hold onto a sliver of fragile
hope over the last couple of days, but now the enormity of the situation
crushed her spirit. Surely she would go stark raving mad from the pressure.
She tumbled into an open elevator and leaned against
the back wall. Tears rolled down her cheeks and sobs hiccupped through her
chest. Catching her breath seemed like a formidable task with depleting energy.
“Are you all right?” The voice sounded familiar, but
she couldn’t raise her eyes to see who it came from. “Let me give you a ride
home. We can come back later for your car when you’re feeling better.”
She raised her head. “You’re...hiccup...Coach....”
“Sam. I’d be happy to give you a ride. You’ve had a
rough morning.”
For some reason, she couldn’t get her head around why he’d
offer her a ride. Yes, she was a mess. Yes, she couldn’t string more than two
words together coherently. “I’m fine.”
“Forgive me for saying this, but you look like you
might pass out any second.”
Giveaway:
Leave a comment about your favorite movie or book
about the underdog who survives and triumphs despite obstacles for a chance to
win a $10 Amazon gift card.
Spawned from the depths of every parent’s worst nightmare,
Jillian Beckett’s 16 year old troubled son is charged with murder. He’s unable
to remember what happened and swears he’s off drugs, but should she believe
him? Her ex-husband doesn’t. The high-priced lawyer she hired doesn’t. Where
does motherly instinct intersect with reality?
Afraid and alone, she reluctantly enlists the help of her son’s football coach to find the truth of what happened. As they battle to uncover the guilty party, confidences are shattered, lives are on the line, while her son is one step closer to spending his life behind bars.
Afraid and alone, she reluctantly enlists the help of her son’s football coach to find the truth of what happened. As they battle to uncover the guilty party, confidences are shattered, lives are on the line, while her son is one step closer to spending his life behind bars.
About the author:
Wendy lives in
the Chicago area. She has a Masters in Social Work and worked in the child
welfare field for twelve years before she decided to pursue her dream of
writing.
Between
teaching college classes, trying to get her morbidly obese cat to slim down and
tempering the will of her five-year-old granddaughter, who's determined to
become a witch when she turns six so she can fly on her broom to see the Eiffel
Tower and put hexes on people--not necessarily in that order--somehow Wendy
still manages to fit in writing. She spends the remainder of her days
inflicting mayhem on her hero and heroine until they beg for mercy.
She has written three books in the Hard Targets trilogy, Hard to Kill, Hard to Trust and Hard to Stop. In addition, she has a
contemporary romance through Entangled Publishing called The Millionaire’s Deception, a self-pubbed Christmas short story
called The Christmas Curse and two
interracial romances, Fractured and Mama Said.
https://www.pinterest.com/wtbyrne/
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST August 6th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST August 6th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
An unusual one is Thomas Harris book Hannibal Rising where as a child he is the underdog and survives.
ReplyDeleteJan
Janet_Kerr at MSN.com
I'll admit I've only seen clips of The Silence of the Lambs. Too afraid it will be weeks before I'll be able to sleep. LOL. Didn't read Hannibal Rising, but it sounds like it shows a different side to him.
DeleteI can't really think of one except for maybe Star Wars. t his book sounds quite intense.
ReplyDeletedebby236 at gmail dot com
Star Wars is a good one, especially Luke. Accused is intense in spots. Lots of things going on for poor Jillian and her son, Travis.
DeleteOoo! I love the sound of ACCUSED. I just grabbed a copy from Amazon and look forward to reading it. When it comes to the underdog triumphing I can't help but think of Frodo from Lord of the Rings.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if I dwell on that thought a bit longer many more characters will come to mind (as that's one of my favorite themes) but off the top of my head, Frodo is definitely my first choice.
Congrats on your release!
maeclair at maeclair dot com
Lord of the Rings is a great one. So glad Accused is your kind of book. I really hope you like it!
DeleteThanks for your comments this morning. Looking forward to all the responses. When I think of underdogs the first one that comes to mind is Rocky.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw your title, the first movie that came to mind was The Accused starring Jodi Foster. For much of that film, she wasn't even a very likable character. It left such a deep imprint I still remember the salient scenes vividly.
ReplyDeleteJonettaallen77 at yahoo dot com
The movie that comes to mind for me is Gracie's Choice. It was a Lifetime movie about a teenage girl who fights to raise her younger brothers and sisters on her own so they don't get separated after their mother goes to jail. amyp115 AT yahoo DOT com
ReplyDeleteNever saw that, but it sounds interesting.
DeleteI will say EVER AFTER... it is a Cinderella type movie... I love that she is a strong character that is able to handle what has been thrown her way.
ReplyDeletecan't think of any
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
The first that comes to mind are the LOTR books. Froddo had everything against him. Love that little Hobbit.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Shane Falco in the movie, The Replacements. Actually, that whole team!
ReplyDeletebeasbooknook AT gmail DOT com
Good one. It's been a while since I've seen that movie, but you're right, Shane and the whole team are underdogs!
DeleteThis book sounds really good! I love that kind of stories so I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteAs an example in romance I have Dillon Ward from "A Not-So-Perfect Past" by Beth Andrews.
natalija(dot)shkomare(at)gmail(dot)com
Jonetta, is the winner of the Amazon gift card. I'll contact you via email.
ReplyDeleteYay!
Delete