Meet AK James - an exciting new suspense author

I'm delighted to introduce a new author - thriller writer AK James.

Today is a special day for AK, also known as Mandy, as she celebrates the release of her first full length novel, Righteous Exposure. Many congratulations, Mandy! What an exciting day! :-)

Righteous Exposure is a fast paced suspenseful novel about revenge, retribution and redemption. You'll find the blurb and a thrilling excerpt below. But first, let's hear it from Mandy.

- Mandy, tell us briefly about yourself, your writing.

I was born in Sheffield and lived there for about thirty years, but now live in Bristol with my husband Brian and two cats. I have grown up daughter and a wonderful grandson who will be soon be a year old!  

I have written since I was a child, but have taken it up seriously in the last five years. In 2010, I had five short stories published in various anthologies, and number six and seven came out in June 2011. One is part of the anthology Hipp-O-Dee-Doo-Dah for Children’s Hospices UK (Bridge House Publishing), and has a foreword by Michael Morpurgo. The other is part of 100 Stories for Queensland, an anthology to raise funds for the survivors of that awful disaster. I also have short stories published online and with Ether Books.

I also write novels and am very excited to say that my thriller/suspense Righteous Exposure will be published today, 21st of February 2012, by Crooked Cat Publishing.

- What inspired Righteous Exposure?
Three things really. I went to Dallas to visit relatives and travelled around to San Antonio and many other big cities. Firstly I was struck by the enormous wealth evidenced by the gleaming city skylines and huge ranches on the approach to the main towns. I then was stuck that many of the menial jobs were done by Mexican workers, just as they are done by African Americans and Native Americans in the other states. And lastly, driving through the state, every time we switched the radio on, it was obvious that we were slap in the middle of the Bible Belt.

I was sitting in a harbour side restaurant in Port Aransas with my husband, just chatting about the 'feel' of Texas and considering all the things I noticed. Soon the bones of a story just connected together, and I couldn't wait to flesh out the body. The body became Righteous Exposure.

- What's your next writing project?

I'm working on a YA novel, Without a Trace, and really enjoying it as I have never written one before.  I'm drawing on my experience of teaching teenagers for many years to get the main character, 17 year old Sam Creswell, right. It is about a first love with a difference. Sam is rescued from drowning while on holiday with her parents in Yosemite National Park. The guy who rescues her, Boston Rivers, has a very special talent. I won't say what he can do but think paranormal. He isn't a vampire or a werewolf, his special talent is manmade and the result of Boston being held captive for many years in a research institute.

I'm sharing the blurb and and excerpt below. I hope you'll enjoy.

Thank you, Cathie, for hosting me today. I'm so excited about the release of Righteous Exposure!

Blurb:

Revenge, retribution and redemption.

Doctor Alita Ramirez has achieved hard won goals, despite her humble beginnings from a poor Hispanic neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas. When she by chance discovers the truth about her past, she is driven to take drastic action. Alita is prepared to jeopardize everything, even her life, to expose the hypocrisy and cruelty of one man – Robson Cutter.

One of the richest men in San Antonio, Cutter is a pillar of his community. Alita’s quest is to reduce this pillar to dust. She knows a dark secret about Cutter that will bring him to his knees, but exposing the past of such a powerful man requires extreme measures. Will Alita have the strength and determination to succeed?

Righteous Exposure is available on Amazon US, Amazon UK & Smashwords (later at Sony, iBooks, etc).

Excerpt:

  The San Antonio heat is overpowering as the July sun terrorizes the shade into thin strips around a courtyard boundary. The smell of olives hangs heavy in the air, and an ornate fountain bubbles over marble lions. 

  Submerged in the fountain pool, her hand is very brown against the white of the marble. She wriggles her fingers, imagining her hand is a sea creature, and then lifts it out and up to the sun. 

  Opening and closing her fingers against the glare, Alita marvels at the beauty of the water droplets running like mercury along her skin. 

  A muffled scream turns her blood to ice.

  Her eyes dart towards a partially shuttered window across the courtyard.

  Did the scream come from there? Mama said on no account must she go near the big house.  

  She runs to the window anyway, adrenaline fuelling her steps.

  The house dominates her tiny frame. It is white, cool and as huge as a snow-covered mountainside. Alita needs to see inside the shuttered room but the window is just too high. 

  “No, please, sir, not again!” 

  She is sure that the voice is her mother’s, though it has the same muffled quality as the scream. 

  Is Mama being hurt?

  A twisted olive tree near the window provides a prickly ladder and, balanced precariously, Alita peers through the shutters.

  When her eyes adjust to the dim light, she sees a large bedroom, and on the bed is a man sitting astride her mama, he is tearing at the buttons on her blouse and holding his other hand over her mouth. She is crying and trying to push him off, but he is too strong. Alita feels angry and hot. She cannot see his face as he has his back to her, but she can hear him.

  “Shut up, you little whore, just remember I pay you, and a good pay check it is too.”

   He has undone the blouse now and is pulling down her mama’s bra straps. He slaps her face when she bites his hand.

  “You just lie still if you know what’s good for you, bitch!” says the man, raising his fist.

  “Please, sir, why now, after all this time?” her mama is asking, lying still as he has ordered.

  “Because I can, Liliana, because I can!” the man shouts, pulling up her skirt.

  Alita is scared and confused but doesn’t care if she gets into trouble for being near the house. She pulls open the shutter and screams out.

   “Leave my Mama alone!” 

(c) AK James / Crooked Cat Publishing