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Unimaginable Lengths
In Run, a woman must protect her son after he witnesses a crime and the gang responsible sets out to silence them both. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
My inspiration for this story is loosely based on a real-life experience. When my son was a teenager, he was jumped by two gang members who put him in the hospital for two weeks with a serious injury. During the investigation, and before his subsequent arrest, one of the gang members involved moved into the same condominium complex we lived in, constantly harassing us, and eventually necessitating our relocation. After his arrest, he continued to contact us via a cell phone smuggled into jail, threatening my son if he testified against him. Needless to say, I was frightened for my son’s life and was very close to moving him out of the area until the trial started.
That experience made me think about what I would do to protect my son if the situation escalated and the police couldn’t protect us. What would I do? Where would I take him? And how would we ever be able to resume our normal lives after that? Of course, my book is fiction, and very loosely based on our experience, as thank goodness, things turned out well for my son and his perpetrators are still in prison today.
Are you a fan of the crime thriller genre? What books do you think most influenced your work?
I have always been a fan of the thriller, suspense, and adventure genre. I am a huge fan of David Baldacci, Harlen Coben, and Lee Child, to name a few of the all-time greats.
Do you find that you relate to any of your characters? If so, which one(s)?
I can definitely relate to my protagonist, Kendra Thompson. She had to make some tough choices, but it was all done in the name of protecting her son. I believe most mothers can understand going to unimaginable lengths to save your child. Even when they are a typical snarky teenager with attitude, as Kendra’s son is!
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am just wrapping up my next thriller, which will be released on December 5, 2024. This next book is centered around a young woman named Megan Hamilton, who has just been dumped by her fiancé. After her mother guilt-trips her into going on a cruise to Mexico with her to heal from the heartbreak of her failed relationship, Megan meets a charming man onboard. However, no one is who they appear to be and when Megan goes missing, she soon realizes the truth is much worse than anything she could have imagined. Her perfect vacation is about to turn into a total nightmare. You’ll think twice before booking your next getaway.
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Now Kendra and her son are running for their lives, hunted by a vicious street gang with eyes and ears everywhere, who are determined to silence Kyle forever. In a deadly race to stay one step ahead of a ruthless gang, a crooked cop, and a corrupt politician, Kendra is the only one who can save him from a web of corruption that leaves her with almost no one she can trust.
Their lives hang in the balance as two strangers become their best chance for survival-a gutsy truck driver and her brother, a retired DEA agent with a questionable past.
Kendra’s fierce determination to save her son and outmatch their pursuers is put to the test as she discovers just how far she is willing to go and what she will sacrifice to protect her child.
But where can a desperate mother turn for help when she can’t trust anyone, and everyone has a stake in finding them?
Run
Run, by Christy Cooper-Burnett, is an action-packed contemporary novel that immerses its readers in the harrowing life of Kendra Thompson, a nurse and single mother. The plot thickens dramatically when her son, Kyle, becomes an unintended witness to a gang crime, thrusting them both into imminent danger. This novel echoes the tension and intrigue of classic thrillers, where survival is contingent on outwitting pursuers.
Set in a modern American setting, Cooper-Burnett skillfully merges the urgency of a high-stakes chase with the mental strain of being relentlessly pursued. The author’s adept storytelling grips the reader from the onset, employing a rapid pace and convincingly realistic characters. A distinctive feature of this novel is its exploration of the gang’s ties to influential figures, a development that not only elevates the risks involved but also challenges the protagonists’ reliance on the justice system for safety. The journey of Kendra and Kyle, navigating through perilous and unpredictable circumstances, is engaging and maintains suspense throughout.
Cooper-Burnett demonstrates a talent for sustaining a tense atmosphere, underscored by a pervasive fear of the unknown. The alternating perspectives of mother and son add depth to the narrative, offering varied viewpoints that enrich the plot. The characters’ unwavering uprightness amidst the story’s darker elements effectively injects moments of humanity and relief into the narrative, which is otherwise marked by continuous tension. This contrast serves to retain the reader’s engagement, offering a balanced rhythm that prevents desensitization to the story’s swift developments.
Run is not exclusively for aficionados of the thriller genre but is equally inviting for newcomers intrigued by such storytelling. The novel presents a riveting combination of unceasing action and intricate ethical quandaries, marking it as a noteworthy contribution to contemporary thriller literature.
Pages: 275 | ASIN : B0CW1GGG38
Exploring the Dark Side of Human Nature
Passport to Terror follows a woman that runs a time-traveling travel group that accidentally brings Jack the Ripper back to the year 2032. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I gave a lot of thought to what a young person who held the worlds only time travel technology might be inspired to do with it. I would want to see historical moments. The proverbial fly on the wall concept. Then I wondered who would book a trip like that? Hollywood came to mind immediately, and the concept of method-actor immersion took form.
Did you create an outline for the characters in the story before you started writing or did the characters personalities grow organically as you were writing?
I never outline my characters. I allow them to grow as I write. I had an idea of their basic personalities, but nothing beyond that. I find it more believable when I write them in the moment. My first series continues to receive fan mail regarding the characters, so I hope I am able to recreate that magic in this series!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Friendship and tolerance were one areas I knew the book would address. The protagonist finds herself stuck with someone she seemingly has nothing in common with. But they forge a friendship despite that. I also wanted to explore the dark side of human nature. Writing Jack the Ripper was way out of my comfort zone, but I decided to challenge myself and see if I could pull it off. I wanted to write a story with believable emotions and characters, but still maintain enough warmth and emotion in the other characters to balance the storyline.
What do you have in store for readers in the next book in the series going to be about and when will it be available?
I’ve just started writing book two of the series. I hinted at the next adventure at the end of Passport to Terror. Madison and her new friends plan to go to 1920s Paris on vacation. Unfortunately, things don’t go exactly as planned. They find themselves in Germany right before Hilter’s reign, helping a family of orphaned children across the border.
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They always say, “Be careful what you wish for.”
I wish I had been careful.
I could’ve easily sold my time travel machine for billions and walked away. Instead, I opened The Taylor Travel Group where I take the elite on vacations into history, to a time and place of their choice.
But when a big-time movie studio hired my company, I sold my soul.
What was supposed to be a few days of method-actor immersion in nineteenth-century London went horribly awry. Now America’s hottest starlet is dead, and Jack the Ripper is on the loose in modern-day Los Angeles. And it’s all my fault.
I was careless enough to let history’s most ruthless serial killer slip out of the past. Am I smart enough to match wits with him and send him packing before he vanishes forever?
Passport to Terror
Passport to Terror by Christy Cooper-Burnett starts with Jim Taylor discovering how to travel through time. He builds a time machine in his basement. Madison Taylor, his daughter, becomes the owner of the patent when her parents die under suspicious circumstances. Madison deliberates for some time before setting up the Taylor Travel Group in 2032 Los Angeles for time-traveling holidays.
When movie director Derek Porter and his team sign on for a research trip to 1888 London, the famous actress Alysha Beck insists on joining the team. She has an air of entitlement that results in several misfortunes and, ultimately, her death in the year 1888. For the Taylor Travel Group, things go from bad to worse. On top of having a client die in the past, a dangerous villain has escaped from his own timeline. Jack the Ripper is now loose in Los Angeles in the year 2032.
Passport to Terror presents an engaging story without getting too wrapped up in high-level science. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s flippant about the potential risks associated with time travel. The author has given a lot of thought to the rules under which a time-traveling company would have to operate to preserve the timeline. It does mean that, although time travel allows the plot to unfold, the plot is not about the time travel itself; rather, time travel is secondary to the human story being told.
The dramatic story combines the science fiction and murder mystery genres, expertly utilizing some tropes from both. However, I feel it would have benefited from a more pronounced mystery. Still, the drama and adventure are exciting and engaging and keeps the reader captivated as they hunt down Jack the Ripper.
Passport to Terror is a suspenseful science fiction novel with a unique sense of adventure and an enthralling murder mystery at its core. This gripping story mixes historical and futuristic elements in a way that gives a refreshing feel to the ‘serial killer on the loose’ trope. Readers will not be disappointed in this action-filled drama.
Pages: 244 | ASIN : B09ZVQRMQL
A Complicated Character
Escaping Home follows Christine into the past where a rogue agent follows her and threatens to disrupt the timeline. What inspired the setup to this riveting story?
Christine has dealt with a few nefarious characters in the two previous books in the series. In this installment, I wanted to explore what might happen if someone were careless enough to travel back in time with no regard for history. With the world on the brink of war, people would do things they might not ordinarily consider. The possibility of a nuclear war could encourage someone to take risks, thinking there would be no consequences. Of course, Christine and her friends can’t let that happen, especially when they are the reason the rogue agent is in the 1700s to begin with.
What were some challenges you set for yourself as a writer with this book?
First and foremost, I wanted to get the characters emotions right. Going back to the eighteenth century and surviving would take everything they were made of. It was important to relay their emotional struggle to the reader, so they could place themselves there. Second, I challenged myself to make it as historically accurate as I could. In order to really feel like the reader was a part of this story, they had to know what it was like to live in 1790. The language, the clothing, the city, all had to be authentic.
What were some obstacles you felt were important to developing Christine’s character in this novel?
Christine is a complicated character. She has a tendency to be a loner. She has grown in last two books, but she still clings to the notion that she has to be strong for everyone else all the time. In this book we got to see her personality soften even more. She eventually gets her happy ending, and after all she has been through, it was well deserved!
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book is part of a time travel trilogy with a different twist. It is due out in September of 2022. Without giving too much away, here is a little teaser.
What was supposed to be a few days in the nineteenth century with two of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities goes horribly awry. Now America’s hottest starlet is dead, and Jack the Ripper in on the loose in modern day America. And it’s all my fault.
I was foolish enough to let history’s most ruthless serial killer slip out of the past. But am I smart enough to send him packing?
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
With the country under the threat of war, a group of time-traveling government agents devise a risky plan to keep their families safe. But transporting hundreds of years to the past and blending in may prove much more dangerous than they expected.
Cyber Criminal Enforcement Agent Christine Stewart has been to the past before and thinks she knows what to expect. She couldn’t be more wrong.
Life in the eighteenth century is anything but ideal, especially when they learn a rogue agent with plans to strike it rich follows them back in time. Armed with a modern-day weapon, the agent may disrupt the timeline in the most disastrous way and alter history as they know it.
Now they’re refugees in their own homeland, and how they proceed will determine their fate. Will they crash and burn in their race to stop the defector before it’s too late?
Escaping Home
![Escaping Home: A Time Travel Historical Adventure (A Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure Book 3) by [Christy Cooper-Burnett]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/415LWq5ag5L.jpg)
This riveting time travel western follows the journey of Christine Stewart and her fiancé Ethan on their quest to save everyone that they hold dear. However, there is something very unusual here. Instead of running to the hills like everyone else, they are running back in time. To the 1790’s, Alexandria, Colonial America.
What follows is a series of nail biting events detailing how this group of fifteen people, including two toddlers and three teenagers, make it to the 1970’s and survive there. The story is engaging right from the first chapter. I could not tell if I was pulled in the by intriguing plot or by the fascinating characters. I’m quite sure that author Christ Cooper-Burnett’s writing talent will make it easy for readers to be enthralled with both in this action packed historical fantasy.
The author wastes no time in introducing the crisis in the U.S. in the 2070’s, and why these people must escape their home. The author is able to create a compelling backstory along with the development of multiple characters and yet manages to strike the perfect balance between detail and keeping up the fast pace of the story.
While I enjoyed the story I felt that there some characters that I wanted to see even more developed as I found them interesting but didn’t get enough page time, along with a little fleshing out of some of the sub plots that are found throughout the story, because I found even these minor plots interesting.
Escaping Home: A Time Travel Historical Adventure is a gripping plot-driven science fiction story that tells an invigorating story and is guaranteed to entertain readers from start to finish.
Pages: 195 | ASIN: B09BK59ZS8
Equally Frightening and Intriguing
Finding Home follows a convict sentenced to serve life in another time. I loved the idea behind this novel. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The first book in the series, No Way Home, follows protagonist Christine Stewart, who works for the government as a transport agent. I thought for book two, it would be interesting to write the story from the prisoner’s perspective.
I have often contemplated what the effects to society would be if the overcrowding finally became too much for our justice system to handle. What if the public refused to tolerate it? With technology advancing so quickly, it makes sense that cyber-crimes would fast become a leader in white collar crimes. What better way to exile non-violent criminals than to transport them to a time where technology was non-existent and their skills would be useless to them? The thought was equally frightening and intriguing to me.
Malcolm is an interesting and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind his character development?
I wrote Malcolm as an ‘every-guy’. A man who was in a slump of sorts. He had no real future to look forward to, and he made a rash decision that was out of character for him, but one that would set him on a path he couldn’t veer from. I did not want him to be a sword-wielding hero. He needed to be relatable to explore how a normal, average person would react to being exiled hundreds of years to the past to start over.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I felt it was important to see Hannah’s transition from a fearful, abused woman who had lost herself, to a confident, capable woman surviving in unthinkable conditions.
I also enjoyed exploring Christine’s mindset regarding her job. She struggles with the guilt of exiling prisoners with little chance of survival on their own. Yet as a law enforcement officer she took an oath to do her job to the best of her ability, and she tries to strike a balance between the two emotions.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Book three in the series, Escaping Home, takes Christine and her crew on another adventure to 1790, Virginia and 1908, New York. Book three differs from the first two, in that the time-travelers are forced to make some very risky decisions that ultimately become life-changing. Escaping Home is slated to release on November 18.
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Malcolm Aldred is starting over in 1868, Oklahoma. There’s just one problem—he’s an exiled prisoner from 2070.
In 2071, Los Angeles, housewife Hannah Cole is desperate to escape her abusive husband, and begs Cyber Criminal Enforcement Agent Christine Stewart to send her somewhere, anywhere, in history. When Christine agrees to send Hannah to 1868, neither woman has any idea the events that sets in motion.
Malcolm and Hannah adapt to pioneer life in an untamed world full of danger and unimaginable hardships, but falling for each other was never part of the plan. When a deadly hunter tracks Hannah to 1868, fate intervenes and catapults her back to Colonial America, threatening to destroy their future before it ever begins.
Can Christine save Hannah in time or will they both be lost to history forever?
Finding Home: A Time Travel Historical Adventure
![Finding Home: A Time Travel Historical Adventure (A Christine Stewart Time Travel Adventure Book 2) by [Christy Cooper-Burnett]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/511jxndjwaL.jpg)
You can list on two hands all of the things Malcolm is battling, and all of them have happened in a relatively short period of time. Things just aren’t the same anymore. Malcolm feels like the world around him isn’t real and he is no longer a part of his own life. His disconnect from reality has become so strong that Malcolm is beginning to make decisions he would otherwise never consider. Has his string of bad luck completely wrecked him? Is this truly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Malcolm will soon find out.
Finding Home, by Christy Cooper-Burnett, chronicles the adventures of Malcolm, a man from the year 2070, who has time-travelled following his own incarceration. The book jumps quickly into Malcolm’s sudden demise and moves at lightning speed into his life hopping from one century to the next. Christine Stewart, also a time-traveler and member of the CCEA, has an important role in Malcolm’s position and is a key character from the first chapter. She is integral to multiple plots and serves to pull the book together into a neat and riveting package.
The author has created quite a unique storyline as the plot is based primarily on convicted criminals whose punishment is to be exiled to other times–Malcolm is among these prisoners. I became quickly wrapped up in this idea. The notion of having felons completely removed from their own day and time is a fantastic one and offers endless opportunities for parallel storylines.
Hannah, wife of corrupt cop, Chad, has a poignant storyline in the book, and her contribution is invaluable in many ways. Though the intent of the author may be to provide readers with a book steeped in science fiction, drama, and adventure, she has placed in the hands of her readers quite the commentary on domestic violence.
Finding Home is rare to find a riveting storyline rich in the science fiction genre that also effectively addresses social issues. I highly recommend Burnett’s work to any science fiction fan seeking a new take on time travel.
Pages: 290 | ASIN: B08ZVX7YB8
LITERARY TITAN 