E. J. Rand's Reluctant Sleuth novel, Say Goodbye, won a best unpublished manuscript award and was launched in February, 2008. Perfect Cover, his second novel, is a medical thriller about a troubled hospital where women are attacked during the night shift. Gary and Becca are newly-weds. Becca is a nurse at Ridgetop, the hospital where the attacks are occurring. To protect his new wife, Gary gets her off the night shift and starts investigating the attacks. It doesn't take long for him to uncover a murderous plot. Not wanting to be left out of the action, Becca volunteers as a police decoy, which puts her in mortal danger. E. F. Watkins, author of Black Flowers, praises Perfect Cover: "Danger stalks the halls of a hospital...a frightening thriller!"
E.J. Rand's inspiration for the thriller came when he was a patient for what he describes as "nine glorious days." He adds, "My room was beside a nursing station. I had nothing to do except listen, ask questions, and take notes. I adore female nurses. My villainous scheme drew eye-twitches from a hospital security director, and comments like 'that's one of my nightmares.' "
Rand's goal in writing the series is "to have Gary and Becca see each other differently because of what happens" in the course of the novel. There is plenty of conflict between the two protagonists, since "the action is on Becca's turf, and when Gary won't let her in on the sleuthing, she volunteers to be a decoy." Rand like to come up with complex plots that surprise the reader, where several things are going on at once.
Besides being a patient, Rand did his research for Perfect Cover through personal interviews and on the Internet, which provides a wealth of information: anything from detailed write ups about procedures to photos of facilities and uniforms. His inspiration to become a writer goes all the way back to the Hardy Boys.
Rand's advise to aspiring writers: "If you have the dedication, the perseverance, and the right attitude, you're never too old. I started writing at age 66. My first book was published soon after I turned 70. In four years I've written four novels, and the third has been accepted for publication in June 2009. My mantra is improvement, and I don't feel like I'm done."
E. J. Rand became a novelist after a career in management consulting and public relations. When he is not writing, doing research, or giving talks, he spends quality time with his wife and granddaughter and goes to the gym. He feels that he's getting younger not only because of time spent in the gym, but also because he's doing something he loves. Go to www.ejrand.com to find sample chapters of Perfect Cover and Say Goodbye; you can contact the author through the website.
Contributing editor Sibylle Barrasso is the author of Dark Waters. She was a finalist in the "St. Martins Press Best First Private Eye Novel Contest," received an award from Sue Grafton at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and was a contributing author of Bad Boys and Bad Girls in the Badlands, a critical anthology about mysteries set in the Southwest.
