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| Wall mural by Alex Perryman. |
Have you ever written a story, perhaps a stand-alone story or a secondary character, only to find that the character has lots of adventures to tell? And wants to tell them?
My guest, L.J. Sellers, tells how a routine research trip for her homicide series ended up with a demanding character, Jamie Dallas, and a new series. I'll let her tell you the tale.
When I sat down with an FBI agent to talk about a story in
progress, I was expecting a broad overview of how an eco-terrorist case would
be handled. Instead, I learned that my agent-friend had been the lead on the
investigation into the Eugene cell of the Earth Liberation Front, an
eco-terrorist group that sabotaged and burned businesses across the northwest.
What was most fascinating was that a key component of the
investigation was to send an undercover agent to infiltrate the group. As soon
as I heard that, I knew I had to incorporate the character and tactic into my
story.
So I created Agent Jamie Dallas, a young woman who
specializes in undercover work—and has to lie, cheat, steal files, seduce
targets, and put on performances to accomplish her goals. Unlike my homicide
detective character, Agent Dallas is free to travel. She’s based in Phoenix,
but the bureau sends her out on special assignments to infiltrate groups.
She’s also young, unencumbered, and willing to take risks.
Once I got inside her head and wrote her part, I had so much fun, she simply
demanded her own series. Writing the character has invigorated me, reminding me
that I used to be young, adventurous, and seductive. It’s such a blast to put
myself back in that mode—then amp it up with a little spying and gunplay.
So now I rotate between the two series, with protagonists
who couldn't be more different. Yet I’m equally comfortable writing from both
perspectives—as well as many others. Writers tend to have multiple
personalities, but I seem to have dozens!
I've now published two Agent Dallas books, each set in a
different location. Another great reason to write this series—I get to travel
every once in a while for research. In The
Trigger, Dallas infiltrates a group of survivalists near Redding, CA to
find a missing woman, and in The Target,
she gets inside a San Diego medical technology company to solve an agent’s
murder and stop a corporate saboteur.
I have a third book planned for the fall, as well as a trip
to Washington DC. Based on readers’ enthusiastic response, I suspect there will
be many more.
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Dallas infiltrates TecLife, spies on her new bosses, and tries to steal a sample of their mutant bacteria. But soon her life is in danger when she’s caught in a battle between companies, each hoping to kill the competition while launching a billion-dollar blockbuster.
Meanwhile, a famous actor is found beaten and murdered in an abandoned cannery, and a young detective lands the case of a lifetime. Determined to bring justice to his favorite star, Detective Cortez follows a trail of evidence that leads to the medical-product war—but he has no idea how deadly it is.
Can Dallas survive long enough to stop a researcher who’s gone over the edge and save millions of consumers from getting caught in the crossfire? Excerpt
L.J. Sellers writes the bestselling Detective Jackson mysteries—a two-time Readers Favorite Award winner—as well as the Agent Dallas series and provocative standalone thrillers. Her novels have been highly praised by reviewers, and she is one of the highest-rated crime fiction authors on Amazon. L.J. resides in Eugene, Oregon where most of her novels are set and is an award-winning journalist who earned the Grand Neal. When not plotting murders, she enjoys standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes. You can find Linda: Facebook, Twitter, Website
