JoAnn Ross has carved out her own niche in the thriller world with her romance-laced High Risk adventure series. She takes that potent mix of action, thrills and heat and kicks it up a notch in her latest novel, Shattered.Each of the High Risk novels features a special ops protagonist with a troubled past. In Shattered, that's Army Nightstalker pilot Shane Garrett. His onetime lover, Army doctor Kirby Campbell, launches this military action plot when she learns that a friend is being held hostage in Central America. She enlists Shane's aid in organizing a rescue mission that will keep any hardcore thriller fan's heart pounding until the final page.
Like her work, New York Times bestselling author JoAnn Ross defies classification. One might think that being excerpted in Cosmopolitan would brand her as a romance writer, but her books offered by the Literary Guild, and Mystery Guild book clubs militate against that label. Thanks to a very low tolerance for boredom, Ross says she has always blended genres.
"I've written a lot of romantic suspense, women's fiction, fantasy, time travel, and even gotten away with setting a book in outer space," she says.
Ross has allied that broad variety with amazing output. A quick tally tells me that Shattered is probably her 100th novel. Aside from being a naturally fast writer she says her newspaper career helped her to be so productive.
"A background in journalism taught me that I couldn't wait for my muse to show up because muses are, by nature, unpredictable, quixotic, cranky, and sulky," Ross says. "They're also occasionally brilliant, which is why we writers put up with them."
In this case her muse brought her a compelling story about characters who are dealing with some of the issues men and women face when they return from war. If you thought for a second that a woman couldn't write about these issues, an army of guys who have read Ross' work will tell you you're wrong. And they tell her.
"I've received a lot of e-mail from men," she says, "including one just last week from a Vietnam vet who enjoys my cop and military stories."
Thriller fans will like Shane Garrett, a man of honor who can commit to something outside himself, and of course commit to a woman. Still, part of what makes Shattered and the other High Risk novels stand out is the prominent position women hold in the stories. Ross says that to be in one of her novels a woman has to be able to hold her own with such a man, and have just as much depth." Perhaps she's gone through a rough patch and doesn't realize it," Ross says, "but her inner strength and steadfast belief in justice is absolutely equal to his."
Kirby, the woman in Shattered, is a former Army physician who served in Iraq and is doing earthquake relief work on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border when the book opens. She and Shane are BOTH heroes the reader can admire and root for.
And the action is absolutely authentic. Ross may not have spent personal time at the pointy end of the spear, but she makes up for it with extensive research born of honest interest in the subject.
"Over the past four years, I believe I've read every nonfiction book written on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars," Ross says. "I also keep Jane's Special Forces Recognition Guide on my desk at all times."
She also reads blogs written by deployed troops to get the feel of day-to-day life in a war zone.
All of that has made this series feel real for those who know the difference. And while Shattered reads like a strong stand-alone, it is the newest installment of a series held together by a group of heroes who share history - a mission that went disastrously wrong in Afghanistan. For those who have followed the story, Shattered reveals a bit more of that day that changed all their lives. The previous books, Crossfire and Freefall, were New York Times bestsellers and now Shattered is poised to join them with more thrills than ever.
If action, adventure and suspense are your drugs, prepare to get hooked on the High Risk series, and get your next fix when Shattered hits bookstores this month!
Contributing editor Austin S. Camacho
has written a series about private detective Hannibal Jones and a
series of adventure novels featuring mercenary Morgan Stark and jewel
thief Felicity O'Brien. To pay the mortgage he answers media queries
for the Defense Department. Camacho lives in Springfield, Virginia
with his lovely wife Denise and Princess the Wonder Cat
