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HERE to see the entire tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature Jill James and Dangerous Shift.
Author Bio:
Jill James didn’t start out wanting to be an
author. Along the way she wanted to be an astronaut, President of the United
States, a lawyer, and a doctor. Once married with children she realized she
could be all those things in the pages of the stories she wrote.
She lives in Northern California with her husband,
who is the inspiration for all her romance novel heroes.
Dangerous Shift
By Jill James
Genre: paranormal romantic suspense
Number of pages: 222
Word Count: 76,000
Cover Artist: Elaina Lee, For The Muse Designs
Book
Description:
HE IS MR. BY-THE-BOOK, WITH A SECRET...
Shapeshifters live among us but remain unknown to
most people except for the highest echelons of law enforcement, the military,
science, and medical fields—until now.
SHE IS A LOOSE CANNON WITH AN ATTITUDE PROBLEM...
When a fatal virus strikes Shapeshifters all over
the West coast, including members of the Shapeshifter Task Force in San Laura,
California, reinforcements are called in from around the United States.
TOGETHER, THEY JUST MIGHT CATCH A KILLER
Lt. Nikki Hill of Missouri comes to San Laura and
is partnered up with Lt. Sean Evans. They quickly butt heads on everything from
proper police procedures to the moral ethics of euthanasia. They can’t seem to
get a lead on the serial killer even as members of their own families are
stricken with the virus. In their grief they turn to each other and hope they
have time to discover if their relationship stands a chance or if they might
just be the next victims of the species extinction disease.
Excerpt to feed your need to read:
Prologue
Fort San Laura Army Base
San Laura, California
May 2017
Sean Evans turned away as tears rolled down his
ex-partner Colin Rodriguez’s face. The man sat by his fiancée’s bedside, her
hand clasped in his, waiting for her to die. The sound of boot heels echoed up
and down the hospital corridor. All marched past the closed door, none brave
enough to stop at this room.
Sean stared at the dying woman. Paulette’s red
hair was the only color in the monochrome-toned hospital room. Colin’s hand
shook as he brushed the hair back from Paulette’s sweaty face. The virus
wreaked havoc on the young woman.
Sean swallowed bile rising in his throat as the
young Shapeshifter in the bed screamed. Her flesh boiled, roiling beneath the
surface, and she screamed again. Her back arched off the bed. For months now,
the Shapeshifter Task Force had been working to track down the cause of the
virus and it struck close to home, killing two of their own. First, his own
partner, Barry, and now, Paulette.
Her fingers turned into talons that dug into
Colin’s hand. Blood dripped from the cuts onto the crisp, white sheet. Colin
held her hand; the only sign of his pain was the grimace on his tanned face.
Sean rubbed his burning eyes, surprised to find
tears on his own cheeks. He scrubbed the wetness away and raked his fingers
through his hair. His tears wouldn’t help Paulette or Colin. Nothing could help
them now. His hands clenched into fists at his side. He ached to punch a wall,
anything to kill the tension in the room.
A scream built in his throat. Just last week he
had sat here, forced to watch the young man, new to the task force, breathe his
last. He stared into the ceiling lights, his eyes watered with the brightness.
He repeated his personal mantra of calm
and cool until his emotions mellowed, until they no longer threatened to
overwhelm him.
He turned his head back as Paulette’s screams died
down to whimpers. She had lost all control of her shifting. She grew fur and it
disappeared. Her head changed shape as she shifted into a canine form, then a
feline form, then back to her own. Her limbs flopped against the mattress as
she convulsed. The shifting now happened every few seconds.
Colin threw himself across her body as if he could
stop the tragedy from its conclusion.
“Noooo.” His voice ricocheted across the room and
down the hall.
Sean rushed to his best friend’s side and ripped
him up off of the dying Shifter. No one had discovered yet how the virus was
transmitted. They didn’t need masks and gloves anymore, not in the last several
months at least, but no one wanted to find out what full-body contact might do.
Colin struggled against Sean’s hold. Tears blurred
Sean’s vision as Paulette struggled to breathe, and Colin’s cries became
anguished sobs. His shoulders shook under Sean’s hands.
The monitor blared as Sean searched Paulette for
any life signs and found none. Her chest didn’t move. She was gone. Just like
Barry. Just like all the other Shifters in the past few months.
Sean turned away as Paulette’s flesh jellified and
sank into the mattress, only a slight bump under the covers to show a living
being had been there.
Colin’s anguish pierced his soul, and when Colin
threw himself across the bed again. Sean
didn’t bother to stop him. What did it
matter when his friend had just lost his partner and the love of his life?
The sounds of harsh breaths and sobs still echoed
in Sean’s ears when the door opened and the Captain of the Task Force rushed
in. Sean turned to the man and shook his head.
Captain Connors motioned for Sean to talk to him
outside. Sean shot a quick look to Colin and followed the captain outside to
the hallway.
“Lieutenant Evans, with Robertson’s death today,
added to the others, the task force is low on numbers. We will need to send
word to the other task forces and ask for reinforcements.”
Sean’s hands formed into fists at his side. The
human captain made no bones about his dislike of Shapeshifters, but Paulette’s
body wasn’t even cold yet and he drudged up business decisions.
He took deep breaths and relaxed his hands. As the
Lead Lieutenant in the task force, business took priority. Even over death.
“Will you send a request to the Southwest office
in Las Vegas?”
Their own task force office covered the Northwest—Northern California, part of Nevada, and all of Oregon,
Washington state, and Idaho.
The captain shook his head. “A few cases have been
reported in Los Angeles.
We can’t risk it. I’ll request someone from the Midwest.
No cases have been reported yet out there. There is a small task force in Columbia, Missouri, an
hour outside St. Louis.”
Jill has joined us here for an interview:
? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I
piddled around with writing in my 20s and 30s, but I didn’t get serious about
it until I hit the big 40 and wanted to do something with it. I joined RWA and
got serious.
? How long does it take you to write a book?
About
4-5 months. Dangerous Shift took 6 weeks. That book was magic. The story was
all in my head and I just needed to get it down on paper.
? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
My
books are all dreams I’ve had. Like watching a movie while asleep.
? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame
of mind to write?
Diet
Pepsi, Swedish Fish candy, and a kitchen timer.
? How do you decide what you want to write about?
I
usually start with a title. From there I get the hero/heroine and their names.
Like building blocks, I just add things; hair/eye color, quirks, and a plot for
them to fall in love.
? What books have most influenced your life?
Skye
O’Malley by Bertrice Small. I love historical romance and hers are uber-hot and
sexy.
? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?
The
Little Engine that Could. I loved that book.
? What are you reading right now?
End of
Days by Robert Gleason and A Very Southern Affair by Elaina Lee
? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Read! I
read 3 to 5 books a week when I’m between books or in a writing slump.
? What is your favorite comfort food?
Mac and
cheese. Yum!!
? What do you think makes a good story?
The
Characters. Love after I can’t remember an author’s name or the title of the
book I will remember a character.
? Who would you consider your favorite author and why?
Jennifer
Blake. Her historical romances are to die for and she is constantly keeping
herself up to date on the industry and what the readers want.
? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?
As a
young lady I reread Little Women so many times the spine fell off. I had to
duck tape it back together to read it again and again over the years.
Fun
random questions:
- dogs or cats? cats
- Coffee or tea? tea
- Dark or milk chocolate?
milk chocolate
- Rocks or flowers? rocks
- Night or day? night
- Favorite color? any
shade of purple
- Crayons or markers?
markers
- Pens or pencils? pens,
in as many shades as possible.
Thanks for stopping - Happy Reading!
(Review to follow)
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PERCEPTION is a ( SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or alliance us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love.
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