You Know Nothing, Jon Snow...by Jamie Hill

The popular TV show Game of Thrones has a fan favorite character (just look at his face and you'll understand why!) named Jon Snow. Jon had a love interest for a while, and when they verbally sparred she would often tell him, "You know nothing, Jon Snow." Without posting spoilers I will say that Jon knew more than Ygritte gave him credit for, but perhaps his vision was clouded by love.

Their exchange often reminds me of the old adage, "Write what you know." I'm guilty of breaking this rule, and perhaps my vision is clouded as well. I'm going to lay out my defense and see if you agree or disagree with my methods.

When I write romantic suspense I include police, FBI Agents and US Marshals in my work. Now, I can count on one hand the number of policemen I know in real life and make that a big Zero for FBI and US Marshals. Therefore, I do a lot of research, sifting through what's out there on the internet and choosing the best tidbits to include. What guns they use, types of body armor, typical schedules, ranks, and the like can usually be found online. For me personally, that's good enough to write a realistic character.

Setting is another area where I rely on the internet. I've lived a fairly sheltered life, born and raised in the same small, Midwestern community, married to one man for almost thirty-five years, my extended family all nearby. I've traveled to about half of the fifty states but mostly to the ones closest to me, and one memorable journey into southern Canada. I don't set most of my stories in my town for a couple of reasons. Yes, it's what I know, but my friends all know it, too. If there's one sporting goods store in town, and I want to have a scene in that store, I don't want people thinking I'm writing about them or their establishment. Likewise, if the criminal works at the store, that could be very messy if someone thinks I'm writing about a real person. So for smaller towns I invent fictional places, then I have the liberty of creating whatever I want in that town.

In bigger cities it's easier to fudge. I've written about Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita, throwing in a street or neighborhood name, but never giving a real address or using an actual business. Yes, I might mention something in passing, but none of the real action will ever take place in an actual place in a real town. I'll create my own businesses so I can do what I want with them.

I like to set stories in places I've visited. After a trip to Seattle, I gained just enough information that I could reasonably set a story there. I knew what it felt like to ride an elevator to the top of the Space Needle. I saw the souvenir shops surrounding the Needle. I got lost trying to get to the Needle due to the way the streets are marked and barricaded to prevent people from turning around just anywhere.

It's fun to add a new locale to my repertoire. This fall I visited Chicago with a friend and we did all the touristy stuff. We rode to the top of the John Hancock building and the Sears Tower. Yes, it's technically called the Willis Tower now, for one more year. Then it will most likely change names again. And everyone who lives in Chicago still calls it the Sears Tower. (See what good info I picked up?) I rode in an Uber down the confusing, multi-level Wacker Drive and floated on a couple of different boats, an architectural river cruise through the town, and a lake shore cruise around the Navy Pier. And, we ran into a group of Chicago PD bike cops who were so nice and let us take their picture. I feel like I have lots of fodder to set a novel in Chicago, now. I'll continue to make up businesses, but also throw in some real place names just for fun.

That's how I get around writing what I know. Some things I do know are about people and relationships, and what causes their problems and how it makes them feel. That stuff I can confidently say I know, and try to weave the tension and conflict through my stories before everyone gets their happily-ever-after ending. Because I also know, that's what readers want. I do, too.

So what do you think? Are my reasons for breaking the rule justified, or, like my man Jon Snow, do I really just know nothing? Leave a comment with your email address and you'll be entered in Books We Love's October Blog Comment Giveaway. One winner will receive a festive holiday basket like the one pictured on the sidebar, plus the BWL title of their choice.

Find my latest novel, co-written with Books We Love's Jude Pittman, here. 

https://www.amazon.com/New-Directions-McWinter-Confidential-Book-ebook/dp/B01H2ZSN4A/

Find all my titles here:

http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/


Thanks for visiting! 

Sugar Detox Fail by Jamie Hill

Amazon

A couple of months ago I announced that I was starting a new "diet" which emphasized clean eating and organic, whole foods. The program focused on serious exercise and provided a Facebook group page for support. The group quickly turned into a crowded blur, and I nearly drove myself batty trying to keep up.

I lasted about two weeks. 

Clean eating sounds good, but is harder to put into practice than one might think. I personally have little interest in straining and making my own almond milk, and buying only organic meat and produce. I realized pretty quickly I'd jumped on the wrong bandwagon.

My mother suggested I take another look at Weight Watchers. Been there, done that, I told her. The last time was probably twenty years ago. I'd had some success but had never stuck with it. As I started thinking about what I truly did want in an eating program, I realized Weight Watchers was exactly what I was after. Regular food in moderate portions, with some flexibility. I did my research and discovered they were having a sale, and that the leader in my area was the same woman I knew from years before. 

So roughly a month ago I marched my happy rear into the meeting and reacquainted myself with the woman and the program. She was just as warm and welcoming as I remembered. She'd also known my husband, and we reminisced about him as well. It was a very positive experience for me.

Flash forward four weeks. I got a key chain for 4-week attendance and a charm to put on it for having lost 5% of my body weight already. I haven't been perfect but I'm losing consistently and moving more than I ever did in the past. The program works when you work the program, and I'm excited to see where it will take me.

I'm starting to think about writing again. I'll keep you posted on that front. Enjoy your June weather!

 

Sugar Detox...part one by Jamie Hill

The Blame Game Boxed Set at Amazon

I've been cooking for one for the past four months. And by cooking I mean mostly driving through fast food restaurants, because my late husband was the chief cook and grocery shopper at my house. (Notice I didn't say bottle washer-- that was always me!) He LOVED to wander the supermarket aisles and then come home and try all kinds of new recipes. Personally, I would rather have a root canal. 

I've managed to keep myself alive, but just barely. It's not that I don't know how to cook. I ran a daycare for twenty-one years and did my share of cooking. I just don't LIKE it. (Did I tell you he LOVED it?) I've gone in spurts. One week I'd plan, shop, and stick to my meal plan for a couple solid days until my fast food craving kicked in and I'd have to swing through McDonald's. (Please don't judge. Like the tagline for my favorite new show, Bloodline, says, "I'm not a bad person, I just did a bad thing.") Some weeks I'd only eat out. The price tag on that approach got hefty.

Now that my work clothes are getting tight and spring is in the air, I've made the decision to turn this ship around. (Anyone else calls my rear end ship and I'll deck them.) I found a twelve week challenge online which is actually part of a widow's group I've been following. The kicker is they are all about CLEAN eating. My idea of clean eating is not dripping ice cream on my chest. Apparently it means a whole lot more than that.

Come to find out, it really means eating whole foods, not processed, with no extra sugar. In fact, I'm supposed to be detoxing from sugar for the first three weeks. Mind you, I read that little factoid while I was finishing off a bag of Bob's Sweet Stripes soft peppermint balls. The bag said they were Kosher certified so I took that as healthy. (Just kidding!)

My new lifestyle program consists of lean protein, complex carbs, fruits and veggies. And exercise. Somebody put me out of my misery now.

The thing I am excited about is the community of members and the support I'll be getting. There was a fee to join the challenge so hopefully that will motivate me to keep at it. When the month is over, I hope I won't have spent as much on the program and clean food as I did the way I was eating. But time will tell. I'll report back next month.

Find my novels including The Blame Game boxed set pictured above on my Books We Love page: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/

 

It's a Woman's Prerogative to Change Her Mind by Jamie Hill

Amazon

Back in August, BWL's Art Director Michelle Lee asked our author group to "cast our characters" for movies or TV. To choose an actor who we thought portrayed the looks and personality of one of our characters. The first book I had published was Family Secrets. Protagonist Jack Dunlevy has always held a special place in my heart. At the time I selected Adrian Pasdar (who I remembered from the series Judging Amy) as my choice to play Jack.

Recently I cut the cable cord and went strictly to Netflix. I've been looking for new series to watch (new to me, anyway) rather than watch Parenthood and Gilmore Girls over and over. The creator of Parenthood also did a series called Friday Night Lights, about a high school football team set in a small town in Texas. I decided to give it a try. 

I don't like every series that's been recommended to me on Netflix. I just can't get into some of them, and some I don't have patience for. Friday Night Lights? I binge watched all five seasons in January--three times, over again. So I guess you could say I kinda liked that one. 

The star of the show is Kyle Chandler who plays Coach Eric Taylor. As a dad and coach he's inspiring and amazing. But the relationship he has with his onscreen wife Connie Britton is truly a thing of beauty. When he tells her, "I love you, I respect you, I am proud of you, I am in love with you completely," my heart, and the hearts of women everywhere, surely melt into little puddles on the floor.

 

After three airings of that series, I found Kyle did another series for Netflix called Bloodline. In this 2015 series he plays a cop (begin swoon) and his character is very similar to that of the coach, except he's more mature (full fledged swoon) and he's able to swear on Netflix (which may not sound like a good thing but it's realistic for the character, and damn it, I like it.)

Friday Night Lights is a series which I equate to my enjoyment of reading young adult books. Bloodline is a more mature, romantic suspense/thriller type of a show. And the more I watch it, the more I think that Kyle Chandler would make the perfect Jack Dunlevy from Family Secrets. 

So if anyone at Netflix is reading this, shoot me an email. It'd be a struggle to take time off work to go give character insights to Mr. Chandler as he's preparing to film my book, but I'd do it to be a good team player. That's just how I roll.

Oh, and if anyone from Netflix is still reading? Judging Amy would be a nice addition to your collection. I'm just sayin'.

Character Name: Jack Dunlevy

Book(s) Featuring: Family Secrets, Family Ties and Family Honor

Author: Jamie Hill

About Jack: Jack Dunlevy is a handsome, burnt out cop who smokes too much and drinks too much. He has a penchant for pretty women and little kids, and rescuing them makes him feel worthwhile again.

One of Jack's Shining Moments: 

Inside Jack’s room, Crystal looked through his closet for another sweatshirt. “I need to do some laundry. Things are getting desperate here.” She found a shirt and pulled it over her head, and then watched him grab the hamper and shove his wet clothes in it.

“Let’s gather it all up and we’ll do it now.”

She gave him a small smile. “Yeah?” She had never met a man willing to help with the laundry. Sure, Jack had done it once, but that was before. Crystal generally found relationships changed after ‘the deed’ was done.

He looked at her and shrugged. “What? It’s just laundry.”

She shrugged back and tossed her towel into the hamper. She glanced out to where the boys were and then back at him quickly. “So you really think I have what they need?”

He smiled slowly at her and replied, “I know you have what they need. You just have to convince yourself of that fact.” He carried the hamper out the door in front of her and added in an offhand tone, “I also know you have what I need. I guess it’s up to me to convince you of that.”

Crystal followed him, not really aware she was smiling until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror in the boys’ room as she picked up their laundry. “Hell’s bells,” she muttered to herself, and wondered why she felt so happy.

Family Secrets A Cop in the Family, Book 1

As if stumbling over a dead body isn’t enough, Crystal Cartwright finds herself playing surrogate mother to two small boys when their father–her neighbor–doesn’t come home. The kids aren’t much trouble, but the thieves, drug dealers and kidnappers they’re about to encounter are.

Detective Jack Dunlevy, a cop down on his luck, draws the cases no one else wants. A simple investigation involving a dead homeless man quickly changes as Crystal enlists Jack’s help with the children. Drawn into a mystery that none of them could have anticipated, they’re faced with a situation that will change their lives forever.

“Ms. Hill is a genius! The plot line was AMAZING. It was action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time. Ms. Hill has become a favorite author of mine and I consider her to be an automatic add to my “to be read list”. If you are a serious suspense loving reader who loves to form bonds with the characters, this is definitely the book for you! I loved it and can’t wait to read more of Ms. Hill’s books, she has the gift of knowing what the reader wants and then hitting you with an ending you certainly don’t expect. Two thumbs up!” ~ Val, You Gotta Read Reviews, 5 Stars

You can find Jamie's books on her page at Books We Love here: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/  and you can find Jamie sitting in front of her TV with the Netflix clicker in hand.

Books We Love's Tantalizing Talent ~ Author Jamie Hill

Jamie Hill was born and raised in a beautiful, mid-sized town in Midwest, USA. At various times she wanted to be a veterinarian, teacher, cheerleader, TV star or a famous singer. The one thing she always wanted to be was a writer. Starting at about age ten, she penned romance as she envisioned it in one spiral notebook after another.

When she's not working at the day job she loves, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and binge-watching Netflix. In her ‘spare time’ she can often be found writing, editing, or doing something more mundane like housework. After that, she's probably taking a nap.

A note from Jamie:

"I've always enjoyed reading romance novels and my preference is the contemporary genre because I can relate to it more than historical. I also love mysteries, so when a book can combine some suspense with a good romance I'm happy as can be. When I started writing I knew that was the type of book I wanted to create. Family Secrets was my first attempt at romantic suspense, and it was well received, reaching #67 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid Best Seller List. I also love series works, so the reader can catch up with the characters in later books and see what they're up to. I have three series I'm especially proud of, A Cop in the Family, Witness Security, and The Blame Game. I hope you'll check them out."

Find Jamie at Books We Love: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/  where you can click on the covers for more information about each title.


Latest release:

Cover of Darkness
Witness Security, Book 3

It’s US Marshal Ben Markham’s job to keep witnesses alive, but providing protection to BDSM social club owners who stumble onto double murders isn’t at the top of his bucket list. Still, protecting Mitzi Pomeroy until trial has its perks. Like close contact with gorgeous, smart-as-a-whip Assistant DA Addison Decker. Too bad Addie doesn’t come with a warning label. Who’d have thought an ADA could have so many secrets? Or that those secrets will find Ben and his partner Nick Pierce scrambling to keep them all alive? 
 

Discover these series:

Family Secrets

A Cop in the Family, Book 1

As if stumbling over a dead body isn't enough, Crystal Cartwright finds herself playing surrogate mother to two small boys when their father--her neighbor--doesn't come home. The kids aren't much trouble, but the thieves, drug dealers and kidnappers they're about to encounter are.

Detective Jack Dunlevy, a cop down on his luck, draws the cases no one else wants. A simple investigation involving a dead homeless man quickly changes as Crystal enlists Jack's help with the children. Drawn into a mystery that none of them could have anticipated, they're faced with a situation that will change their lives forever.
 

Blame it on the Stars

The Blame Game, Book 1

Teacher Catlin McCall has second thoughts about dating the father of a student, but listening to his sweet talk one night under the stars, she finds him hard to resist. They stumble into an impetuous, passionate relationship which leaves them breathless and his family less than thrilled. A not-quite-ex-wife who decides she wants her man back, combined with a pair of manipulative teenagers, make for more problems than either of them are prepared to deal with.

Steve Naughton has no idea when he invites Catlin’s brother to join them for dinner that his fiancée has family issues of her own. Like the old adage, no good deed goes unpunished, and Steve’s surprise backfires when the truth comes to light.

“You feel like your life got thrown up in the air, and it’s landing as a different sort of life? Yeah, me too.” Blame it on the stars.

Complete List of Books We Love titles by Jamie Hill

Romantic Suspense:

Witness Security

Pieces of the Past, Book 1

Time to Kill, Book 2

Cover of Darkness

A Cop in the Family 

Family Secrets, Book 1

Family Ties, Book 2

Family Honor, Book 3

Jamie Hill’s Triple Threat (The complete A Cop in the Family Series)

On the Edge, a romantic suspense novella

Romance, Woman’s Fiction:

The Blame Game

Blame it on the Stars, Book One

Blame it on the Moon, Book Two

Blame it on the Sun, Book Three

Blame it on the Rain, Book Four

Playing for Keeps

Secrets and Lies

Impulsive, a short story collection which includes

Three Wishes

Playing With Destiny

All That Jazz

High Maintenance