Acts Beyond Redemption, on Lisa Burton Radio

It’s time for another edition of Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl and with me in the studio today is Sheila Harrington. We’ve had a lot of difficult interviews on this show, from dark lords to serial killers, but Sheila is an assassin. A darned good one too, if her bio is to be believed. “Welcome to the show, Sheila.”

“Good morning, Lisa. Before we begin, I need to move my chair. I never sit with my back to a window. It could prove to be unhealthy.”

“Oh, I see, I think we can arrange that. Is that more to your liking?”

“Yes, and thanks.”

“I don’t know many little girls who grow up wanting to be an assassin. How does life lead you to that choice?”

“That wasn’t my life goal as a little girl, I simply wanted to survive my life long enough to escape it. That changed, everything changed when my father chose to crash our plane into the side of a mountain. This is difficult to talk about. It’s not something I would usually share, so I’ll be brief. My mother made a stupid mistake, she told him,( my father), that we were leaving him. She told him whilst we were airborne. That stupid mistake cost her her life. He survived the crash … but he didn’t survive me. I made him pay for my mothers’ death. He died slowly and in great pain. That was my solution. The rescue teams took five days to find us. I was changed the day I killed him. I had tasted revenge, and I liked the flavor. I hadn’t counted on the nightmares, or the inability to sleep as a result. I decided to use the anger that overwhelmed me at the time, and I figured the best way to do that was to legally take-down people like my father, people that didn’t deserve to share the same air that I breathed. I applied to the Central Intelligence Agency, I’d hoped my skills with weaponry learned from early childhood living on, and, hunting the land, would assure me an internship.

“That didn’t happen. I wasn’t successful, and I began to spiral out of control. I wanted revenge against a world that allowed that evil piece of crap to exist in the first place. I had nowhere to go with the rage. So, I had myself committed to an asylum. I had hoped to find a measure of calm there. That didn’t happen.”

“What did you do after that door closed?”

“I was approached whilst in the asylum. I was approached for two reasons, one, because of my skills in hunting, and more importantly because I had failed the Psyche test to enter the CIA. The man gave me an opportunity to extract revenge on the human race. The offer was simply too good to refuse.

“It sounds like it could still be government service. Is it?”

“I’ll claim the 5th Amendment on that question.”

“Okay, can you tell us about the job itself?”

“I guess it doesn’t make a difference anymore, so … I’ll tell you a few things. There were others, like myself, we had all tried to join security forces of one sort or the other, and the common denominator was our failure to pass Psyche exams. Anyway … my training didn’t just cover tactical issues, I had specialized training in BDSM. I learned fast. Attracting the chosen targets wasn’t hard, even I know I’m good to look at. My brief was to lure the intended victim with sex, and then execute them in a fashion that would be widely assumed to be that of a deranged serial killer. Each of the chosen victims had been part of a covert black-ops team. The other hits were direct sniper take downs. I enjoyed my work.

“That’s so, you know, un-nice. Do you ever take time to unwind? Is there something that helps take away the burden?”

“Burden? I don’t find it a burden, but the adrenalin rush is enormous, and to stop myself from burning out I have my horses, my babies. I breed Arabians at ‘Heavens Gate’ my hunting lodge. They love me, and I them. I ride … we become as one and there on the land I’m freed from everything, and every memory.”

“How can you love horses, but kill people?”

“Horses have no evil in their souls, they love unconditionally. I’m accustomed to being hated, I’m comfortable with that, but my babies give me warmth without expectation. They have no hidden agenda.”

“Isn’t there anyone in your life who is special? Someone you care about?”

“Special? That’s a funny word, isn’t it. I guess ‘Holliday’ my CO is as close as I can get to caring about someone, at least in the respect of admiring him. I enjoy it when I make him smile at a job well done.”

“He sounds nice… Maybe. Do you have any new assignments? Is there someone out there who doesn’t know what he’s getting into?”

“Nice? Dear, Lord, Lisa! Holliday would take-down his own mother if the price was right. As for my new assignment, I can’t discuss the details. And, honey, nobody ever knows what they are getting into with me. I only date for business purposes, and I’m currently seeing two men.”

“Can you tell me about them? Do any of them mean anything to you?”

“Mean anything? As in do I care about them ? No. No I don’t, but Damon Henderson is a man I must appear to be besotted with. Being the Governor of New York, he has a reputation to uphold.”

“So he’s the governor of New York? Is it safe for him to be around you? It could be a scandal–”

“There will be no scandal once he’s President. He’s announced his candidacy and asked me to stand beside him.”

“Stand beside him? What, exactly, does that mean?”

“We are to be married. He’s almost guaranteed to win, so I guess that will make me First Lady of The United States.”

“Hoo boy! We’re out of time today. Our show was sponsored today by the book, Acts Beyond Redemption, by S. Burke. I’ll include all the links and contact data on the website.

“Don’t forget to tip your waitress by clicking those Twitter and Facebook buttons down below. When your character appears on this show, you’ll want visitors to support you too.”

***

Acts Beyond Redemption takes you on a twisted, deadly, journey.

Mike Matheson is head of a Special Task Force set up by the F.B.I to track down and apprehend the serial killers responsible for 18 brutal murders.

The team are exhausted, frustrated, and ready to burn out after almost five years and no leads.

Their nightmares are stripping them to the bone.

Nothing has prepared them for this.

Someone on the inside is deflecting their weary eyes away from an incomprehensible and shattering truth.

Who will be buried in the shattered remains of a country where freedom and honor are treasured above all things?

Just how far will those elected to protect and defend go, to keep the American dream alive?

Follow S. Burke at the following locations:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StaceyandSuzie

Amazon Kindle Usa: http://amzn.to/2c1Ya0s

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2cOEMnI

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/608426

Twitter @pursoot

 

Lisa the robot interviews John W. Howell

“Hey, Lisa. I need you to do something for me.”

“Sure thing, what’s up.”

“I’m really busy today, and I need you to interview an author for me.”

“Wait a minute. Personal assistant, robot girl, spokesmodel. That’s my entire job description. Where does it say conduct interviews?”

“Well – You’d be assisting me, so it’s part of the assistant job.”

“Fine. Who is it?”

“You remember John W. Howell don’t you.”

“He was at the block party, back in September.”

“Yeah, he’s a great guy.”

“He wore a lampshade and kept asking me to turn him on.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it. Ask him about his new book. People love you, all you have to do is talk and make notes.”

“Fine.”

ooooo00ooooo

I took the formerly haunted biplane to Port Aransas, Texas. I touched up my hair and makeup at the airport, and changed into my brown suit. A nice Uber driver took me to John Howell’s house.

It’s a lovely place with canals in the back yard. He made me feel at home, and I started my interview. I knew I could take him, if he got fresh.

I smiled, turned on my internal recorders, and started. “So, John, I read My GRL, and John Cannon lost his boat, and was lucky to get out alive. What is it about you authors and torturing us main characters?”

“First off Lisa I want you to know I have been looking forward to this interview since I found out you were going to do it. Second I have to admit we authors do like to make our characters a little uncomfortable. It is the only way we can demonstrate to the reader what fine people they are. Take the case you mentioned. John Cannon wanted to become a charter boat captain and did not know the boat he bought was going to be used to blow up the Annapolis Midshipmen. Well when all was said and done John became a hero and unfortunately the bad guy Matt Jacobs got away. If John wasn’t challenged he would still be in his San Fransico law firm and unknown to all of us.”

“If Matt Jacobs is still around, is it safe for John these days?”

“That is a very interesting observation Lisa. In the latest book His Revenge we find out John is indeed in trouble. The President of the US wants to give him a medal for heroism in the MY GRL affair. While in Washington to accept the medal John is kidnapped by Matt Jacobs’ thugs. Matt hates John and the western world with a passion. He goes so far as to make John an offer he has a hard time refusing. Since John is now a national celebrity he gives John the choice of using his celebrity status to help with the next terrorist plot or be responsible for the death of thousands of innocents including Stephanie Savard his current relationship.”

“So John is a celebrity these days. It happened to me too, quite frankly. In this case, is it safe for him to make public appearances and handle the celebrity status?”

“John is the most well known person in the US. He has been the subject of the news since it became known the President wanted to recognize him. He saved thousands of lives and America is greatful. Unfortunately Jacobs’ people have tried to assinate John several times. He is now accompanied by heavly armed body guards.”

“Okay, so John has to choose between being Matt Jacobs’ stooge, or watching thousands of innocent people die. This includes his new love interest too. I swear, you authors are monsters. John is a lawyer using a leave of absence. Can’t he use the law to finally get to Matt Jacobs?”

“Unfortunately John is in no position to communicate with any legal authorities. He has been taken to a remote facility in Equador where Matt has arranged a radio broadcast designed to embarrass the President. He also wants John to fabricate information that will call into question the US role in the manipulation of word wide oil prices. The reason Matt hates John so much is John won a lawsuit years before against Matt Jacobs’ company which embarrassed Matt. Matt is undercover using his power and money to back the terrorists. John not only thwarted Matt’s first mission but unknowingly almost exposed this duplicate personality.”

“Craig wrote me a big assed gun. Maybe you should write one of those for John. I get that he’s just a normal guy, but he might need a little bit of help. Know what I’m sayin’?”

“I would love to do that but I would be afraid John would shoot himself in the foot. He is not your usual hero so I would be afraid of what he might do to himself. I have really enjoyed talking to you and hope we can do this again.”

“Oh no you don’t. I flew all the way down here, and have a few more questions. I’m a robot girl, and I like technology. Do you use a Mac or a PC? Do you make notes on a voice recorder? Can you program the microwave?”

“Ha ha ha. Let me take these one at a time. I use both a Mac and PC. Let me explain. I got a new Mac Pro for Christmas and am in the process of making the transition. I need to get MS Office installed and until I do I need to keep using the PC for my writing. I use the Mac for everything but my books. Once I install the Office suite I can go 100% Mac. I make notes on my iPhone. I also have college ruled notebooks for character and plot line notes. I can program a microwave.”

“Do you outline, or write by the seat of your pants?”

“The first thing I do is write the last three lines of the book. Once I have these last three lines I go back to the beginning and write by the seat of my pants. I enjoy letting the characters develop the story. I exercise editorial control over them to keep the story focused on those last three lines. I have found this method allows me to enjoy the story as I go along because as you can probably attest characters take on a life of their own.”

“Craig likes a cup of coffee, and silence when he writes. I can’t even turn on my hair dryer when he writes. Do you have any preferences when you write?”

“I like to write with music playing. I used to plug CDs into my computer and then write. I like music enough that the speakers on my computer left me a little dissatisfied. I went to a Bluetooth speaker and run music out of IHeart Radio. I find I can create nice mixes this way and I never have to change the CD. I try to write a thousand words a day before I turn to anything else. I used to do my personal and household stuff in the morning and then write in the afternoon. Well, I found that if I commit to a thousand words before I do anything else it works better. Now after three years my family knows I have to do the thousand before anything else. I don’t mind noise since when I’m in a zone not much can pull me away. I can see you are looking at your watch so I think you need to be somewhere. Again thank you and please thank Craig for allowing you to come for the interview. You mentioned the microwave earlier. I have to admit I do not know how to program that coffee machine over there. As you can see it is a little complex. I wonder if you would mind taking a look at it and give me some pointers on how to get it to work. The thought of a cup of coffee while writing sounds wonderful and I can’t think of anyone other than you who might have the skill to get it running”

“Well here’s the thing John. I know that machine and I think you ought to send it back. We have not been friends since the days in the assembly plant when it got the bright idea I would make a good coffee machine mama. I enjoyed the interview and now must fly out and back to Craig to file this interview”

ooooo00ooooo

Blurb

America loves John Cannon, its newest hero, and the President wants to present him with the highest civilian medal for bravery for saving the Annapolis midshipman from a terrorist plot to destroy them. While in Washington for the award ceremony, John unwillingly becomes an accomplice in another plan by the same group to attack the credibility of the US President and the stability of the worldwide oil market. There is no way out as John either becomes a traitor to America or causes thousands of innocent people to die if he refuses.

 

 

 

BIO

John’s main interests are reading and writing. He turned to writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive career in business. John writes fictional short stories and novels as well as a daily blog. His first novel, My GRL is available on Amazon and wherever e-books are sold. His second, His Revenge is just being launched and is available on Amazon and KDP Select.

John lives on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of South Texas with his wife and spoiled rescue pets.

 

Purchase links

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Social Links

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A Bunch of Writerly Stuff

The radio played “Lorelei” this morning on my commute. I glanced at the passenger seat, but no Muse in sight. I smiled and checked the rear view mirror. She always makes these blog updates easier, but this time it was actually the radio.

I’m new to all this linking stuff, here goes nothing…

I blogged previously about sources for story ideas. Zite magazine had some interesting stuff this morning. There was a great article about Motorola patenting some kind of neck tattoo that would connect via Bluetooth with phones and other devices. When they mentioned that it could also be used as a lie detector, my head started spinning. Take this article, add a cup of NSA snooping, plus a tablespoon of new legislation and this could make one heck of a story. You can read it yourself here Article.

This one really intrigued me. It’s a story about a pauper’s cemetery on an island in New York. I think I might use this myself someday, but I’ll share anyway. Ideas aren’t usually a problem for me. The earliest graves were Confederate prisoners. It’s become the final resting ground for paupers, unidentified bodies, and other tragic people. The intrigue begins when it’s operated by the prison system. The public is not allowed, and there are no headstones. Oh, and it was once the site of an asylum. Read it here Hart Island

Grains of story form in my mind all the time. I have a character that’s partly formed. Add the Hart Island story to my character, and she fleshes out a bit. Hart Island becomes something more sinister. The prisoners and the guards become something else too. “Poof” – story.

I get wisps of stories from music videos, books, movies, art, photos, everything. They move around in my mind like atoms until they crash into each other and form molecules. Aaaand, you get the drift. Then I make notes in the iPad app for future reference.

In other news, I’m going to an editing seminar tomorrow. I’ll learn something, no doubt.

I’m also going to send a letter to see if I can get permission to use some song lyrics in my next tale. I’ve dealt with plenty of big corporations and have no illusions of success. Still, nothing ventured and all that. Maybe Lorelei can teach me how to write around the lyrics and still get the point across.