Jill Andersen Mysteries by J.D. Cunegan Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Boundless
Jill
Andersen Mysteries Prequel
by
J.D. Cunegan
Genre:
SciFi Superhero Mystery
A
little more than two years before the events of Bounty, Jill Andersen
makes a life-altering decision. But this decision comes with
consequences she didn’t foresee, and her first night as the
vigilante Bounty winds up being something for which she was wholly
unprepared.
A
crisis of faith eventually gives way to certainty: both in terms of
discovering who killed a young man named Johnny Ruiz and in terms of
coping with the latest change in her own life.
Along
the way, Jill defies death and discovers just how deep the city’s
corruption runs. But will she survive the experience long enough to
decide if a life of vigilantism is for her?
**only
99 cents!!**
Jill was glad the left side of her face was made of metal. Otherwise, the shards of glass raining down around her would have hurt far more. Her face stung as it was, having smashed against the window like that. A large hand tugged on the back of her bodysuit, meaty fingers wrapped around black leather with surprising give. Jill's assailant yanked her away from the plane glass, and a gust of wind rushed onto the twentieth floor of the downtown high-rise. A flick of the man's wrist sent Jill across the room, her back slamming against the wall and a framed photograph crashing to the floor. More shattered glass. Jill Andersen had crawled back to her feet by the time her attacker drew close again. She ducked his left fist, which buried itself in the wall behind her. She slammed her own fist into the man's stomach, and when he doubled over, she wrapped her hands around his neck and flung him face-first into the carpet. She yanked off his black ski mask before he could get back to his feet, tossing it aside and grabbing him by the collar. "Alright, fuckface," she growled through labored breath, "you're paying for that window." The silver on the left side of Jill's face surrounded an infrared eye, which shone brighter than usual in the darkness of the office. She made sure the light hovered in her attacker's field of vision. His red beard was close-trimmed, his eyes impossibly blue. They were also useless, with the red light shining in his face. He reached out to wrap his hands around Jill's neck, but his aim was off and Jill's grip on him was impossibly tight. Jill was decked out head to toe in black leather and matching combat boots, the lone holdover from her military days. A layer of silver mesh armor laid beneath the suit, and Jill wore black gloves that reached her elbows. A katana was strapped to her back, though she hoped she wouldn't have to use it. During the day, Jill was one to wear her brown hair in a ponytail, but in this outfit, having her long locks hanging down over her face seemed more fitting. It added to the mystique, but it also helped keep her identity secret. The eyeplate on her face, which ran from her cheek to her hairline, also helped. The infrared sensor and microscopic supercomputer in her brain made all this possible, as did the titanium coating her entire skeleton. "I know what you did," Jill said, tightening her grip. Her attacker's eyes grew wide and his legs swung when she lifted him off the floor, not unlike the way her younger brother Brian's legs used to swing off the pier whenever they visited Baltimore's Inner Harbor as children. Back in those days, Jill had always wanted to jump right into the Chesapeake Bay, but Brian had always been content to sit on the edge. "Doesn't," the man began, cringing when Jill tightened her grip. "Doesn't matter." Jill frowned. The man was scared, but not of her. Not that she necessarily wanted someone to be scared of her -- okay, maybe just a little -- but fear of the mysterious other meant things were more complicated than she thought. Still, some fear directed her way would be nice. This costume wasn't cheap, especially on her salary. "Kill me if you want," he added. "You'll never touch him." "I'm not gonna kill you," Jill said. "But I'm thinking whoever 'he' is might, once he finds out what went down here."
Bounty
Jill
Andersen Mysteries Book 1
Jill
Andersen is one of Baltimore's best and brightest detectives, but she
harbors a dark secret -- a secret that threatens to come out when the
body of Dr. Trent Roberts is pulled out of the Chesapeake Bay. Dr.
Roberts' connection to Jill reveals a past that involves a tour in
Iraq, a secretive cybernetic experiment, and a conspiracy that
involves a native son.
Can
Jill solve the case while still keeping her secret? Will her partners
at the Seventh Precinct find out what she's so desperate to hide?
What was Dr. Roberts looking into that led to his murder? And perhaps
the biggest question of all...
Who
is Bounty?
"I knew Trent was fucking lying,” Blake had ignored the question, craning his neck until Jill heard bones pop. "Telling me his little science project didn't exist, yet here I stand lookin' at his greatest success." "That why you killed him?" Jill swallowed. "Cause you knew he lied?" Blake gritted his teeth and lunged at Jill, pushing her against the wall and grabbing her wrists to keep them -- and the katana -- pinned above her head. He pressed his left foot, stiff and metallic, down on her right foot, and Jill was silently glad for her skeletal reinforcements. She was looking at weeks, if not months, in a walking boot otherwise. "If I was gonna kill Trent,” Blake’s lips curled into a vicious snarl, “I'd have done it a long time ago." Gritting her teeth, Jill pushed Blake off of her, freeing her arms and swinging her blade at his hands. Blake managed to lunge just out of the way, but the katana clanged against his revolver, sending the weapon careening over the side of the yacht and into the water. Truthfully, Jill was disappointed in how easy disarming him was, rolling her eyes before twirling the blade above her head again. "We really gonna do this?" Jill scoffed. "You can hardly move, and now you're unarmed." Blake lunged at her again with a growl, catching her off-guard as his arms wrapped around her waist and their bodies flew past the wall separating the cockpit from the yacht’s main cabin. Jill's back slammed into the steering wheel and she yelped in pain, crumpling onto the floor and losing her grip on her weapon. Blake hobbled to the katana, grabbing and tossing it into the Chesapeake Bay before snatching Jill by the back of her head, yanking on her hair and dragging her onto her knees. "You were saying?" Shifting all of his weight onto his good leg, Blake heaved Jill over the side of the boat, watching as she bounced off the edge and splashed into the bay. The yacht rocked with the resultant waves, and a flock of seagulls cawed in protest as they scurried off into the night because of the commotion. Blake had interrupted their late-night dinner, and the birds wanted to make sure he heard their displeasure. As soon as she plunged into the water, Jill searched for her blade. The water was still relatively shallow this close to the pier, but the water was cloudy enough that Jill couldn't quite make out anything. She felt a current pushing against her, trying to steel her body against it so she wouldn't be pushed out too far away from the shore. Unfortunately, lung capacity was not one of Jill's many upgrades. She pushed herself back to the surface, gasping loudly when her head poked out of the water. She gasped as many mouthfuls of air as she could, wading in the suddenly choppy waters. While trying to catch her breath, Jill glanced back at the yacht -- but if Blake was still there, she couldn't see him. Who am I kidding? He's bolted by now. With one more deep breath, Jill plunged back into the bay, swimming toward the bottom in hopes of finding her weapon. She switched on her infrared vision, because clearly the muddy waters were not doing her human vision any favors. Just as Jill was about to swim to the surface again for another helping of oxygen, she found her blade stuck in the sand at the surface. She grabbed the hilt and tugged, only to find the blade stuck. She then grabbed the weapon with both hands, trying to press her feet into the ground for leverage, but she kept losing her footing against the soft terrain. The katana wouldn't budge. She needed to get back to the surface for air again. But Jill needed her weapon first. She tugged again, feeling the blade move ever so slightly. She tried again. Nothing. Again. Still nothing. Each tug was weaker than the last, the oxygen she'd stored up in her lungs dissipating. Jill felt lightheaded. She could see stars in front of her right eye. Another half-hearted tug. Still nothing. Reluctantly, Jill pushed herself back toward the surface, hoping she'd make it before finally running out of oxygen. She could see the moonlight piercing through the water, though the light actually got dimmer the closer she got to the surface. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She couldn't feel the hand stretched out in front of her. Finally, a splash of cold air hit Jill in the face and she gasped. She gasped so hard, in fact, that she sputtered into a violent coughing fit, her arms flapping around in the water in a desperate attempt to keep herself afloat. She gasped in as much air as she could, coughing and thrashing about. At this hour, there was no one around to help, no one around to even signal someone else for help. One more gasp of air, and Jill slipped underwater again.
Blood
Ties
Jill
Andersen Mysteries Book 2
For
as long as Jill Andersen could remember, her father was a hero.
But
heroes don’t commit murder, do they? The state of Maryland said
Paul Andersen did just that, three times over, and was set to execute
him for it. But Jill and the rest of her colleagues at the Baltimore
Police Department come across the murder of a law student that leaves
her hopeful that she can clear her father’s name.
While
Jill and her colleagues work against the clock to clear her father’s
name, new players emerge, hinting to a deeper, darker conspiracy than
what was previously known. An enigmatic faction known as The Order
reveals itself, and the mystery surrounding Paul’s alleged
duplicity leaves more questions than answers.
Along
the way, Jill must not only face the possibility that her father was
not who she thought he was, but she must also face the prospect of
her secret being revealed. The stakes are higher than ever in Blood
Ties, the intense follow-up to J.D. Cunegan’s debut mystery
Bounty.
Can
Jill save her father before it’s too late? Will she even want to?
Behind
the Badge
Jill
Andersen Mysteries Book 3
For
Jill Andersen, being part of the Baltimore Police Department has
always been both a tremendous honor and a serious responsibility. Her
father, before his fall from grace, had instilled in her a great
respect for police and the work they do day-to-day. But when a
teenage boy winds up dead on the outskirts of downtown Baltimore,
Jill finds herself once again faced with those who would abuse their
badges to fulfill personal agendas and uphold biases.
Jill
still has a job to do, but she soon finds that not everyone is in her
corner. For the first time in almost four years working Homicide,
Jill finds herself at odds with people who claim to be on her side.
From other cops to suits downtown all the way to the Mayor’s
office, it becomes increasingly clear that Jill will need to rely on
more than just her badge if she’s to solve this case.
But
even if she finds justice, what’s the price?
Behind
the Badge, the gripping, hard-hitting third novel in the Jill
Andersen series (Bounty, Blood Ties), gives readers another taste of
author J.D. Cunegan’s comic book-inspired brand of fast-paced
prose, with chapters that fly by and plot twists that will leave
readers constantly guessing and waiting for more.
Behind
the Mask
Jill
Andersen Mysteries Book 4
It’s
hard to be a hero when everyone’s out to get you.
Once
upon a time, Jill Andersen considered herself a hero. Not just
because of the badge handed to her by the city of Baltimore and the
pledge she once made to protect and serve. Her secret life, as the
vigilante Bounty, had allowed Jill to protect her native Baltimore in
ways her day job never could.
But
all that has gone to hell now. One case pushed Jill past her limits,
to the point where she made choices she can’t take back. As a
result, the entire city is on the lookout for her. Allies can no
longer be counted on. People who were once in her corner might very
well be trying to bring her down… to say nothing of those she has
crossed along the way.
But
that is the least of Jill’s problems. A shadowy figure emerges
among the chaos, and his link to Jill’s past has the potential to
be her ultimate undoing. Jill thought every link to Project Fusion
has been settled once she solved Dr. Trent Roberts’ murder almost
one year ago, but if she’s not careful, her past might just kill
her.
Behind
the Mask, the gripping, hard-hitting fourth novel in the Jill
Andersen mystery series (Bounty, Blood Ties, Behind the Badge), gives
readers yet another taste of author J.D. Cunegan’s comic
book-inspired brand of fast-paced prose, with chapters that fly by
and plot twists that will leave readers guessing and waiting for
more.
J.D.
Cunegan is known for his unique writing style, a mixture of murder
mystery and superhero epic that introduces the reader to his comic
book-inspired storytelling and fast-paced prose. A 2006 graduate of
Old Dominion University, Cunegan has an extensive background in
journalism, a lengthy career in media relations, and a lifelong love
for writing. Cunegan lives in Hampton, Virginia, and next to books,
his big passion in life in auto racing. When not hunched in front of
a keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book, Cunegan can probably be
found at a race track or watching a race on TV.
Guest Post: Plotting
vs. Pantsing (or Both?)
J.D. Cunegan
I have a
confession to make.
I’ve been outlining of late.
Don’t tell the World Association of Pantsers. They’ll have me excommunicated. Or maybe they’ll throw a sheet over my head, toss me into the back of a van, and drive me to the set of Whose Line is it Anyway? and not let me leave until I successfully complete one of the hoedowns.
A little backstory… I’ve been trying to write Betrayed (Jill Andersen book 5) for almost two years now. I am now on the fifth (yes, you read that right) rewrite. I have not yet managed to complete a first draft. I’m not sure why; I feel like Betrayed has a strong story with a lot of action and intensity and some emotional beats I know are gonna really throw my readers for a loop.
But I keep getting stuck. So you know what they say about desperate times.
A few fellow writers recommended Libbie Hawker’s book Take Off Your Pants! Don’t let the title (or the cover rife with underwear) fool you; this is very much a how-to tailored toward showing pantsers a good, logical method of outlining.
As with almost every book about some aspect of writing, this is not gospel, and everyone’s mileage may vary. There are suggestions in this book I know I won’t be using, or if I do, I’ll use them in a different way from what Hawker suggested. But that’s the beauty of this craft we call writing: there’s no one right way to do it. Everyone has their own method, and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.
Still, one thing I’ve learned is that it’s okay — hell, even important — to not be so set in your ways. Especially if your ways aren’t working for whatever reason. I can’t tell you why Betrayed has been such a struggle, especially since my previous method had already netted me five published novels and a collection of short stories. But it did, and I had to adapt.
I won’t lie, outlining feels a little weird. But I can already tell it’s also going to help.
Betrayed will get written. It will get published. And then I’ll finally be able to move on to all these other projects I want to work on. And now that I have an outlining format that works for me, I’ll probably become more productive, and at least return to the days when I was publishing two books a year. Those days were better.
So check out Hawker’s book if you’d like.
But more than anything, don’t be afraid to examine your process and make changes if you feel stagnant. This entire process is fluid, it evolves, and you have to know when to evolve with it.
I’ve been outlining of late.
Don’t tell the World Association of Pantsers. They’ll have me excommunicated. Or maybe they’ll throw a sheet over my head, toss me into the back of a van, and drive me to the set of Whose Line is it Anyway? and not let me leave until I successfully complete one of the hoedowns.
A little backstory… I’ve been trying to write Betrayed (Jill Andersen book 5) for almost two years now. I am now on the fifth (yes, you read that right) rewrite. I have not yet managed to complete a first draft. I’m not sure why; I feel like Betrayed has a strong story with a lot of action and intensity and some emotional beats I know are gonna really throw my readers for a loop.
But I keep getting stuck. So you know what they say about desperate times.
A few fellow writers recommended Libbie Hawker’s book Take Off Your Pants! Don’t let the title (or the cover rife with underwear) fool you; this is very much a how-to tailored toward showing pantsers a good, logical method of outlining.
As with almost every book about some aspect of writing, this is not gospel, and everyone’s mileage may vary. There are suggestions in this book I know I won’t be using, or if I do, I’ll use them in a different way from what Hawker suggested. But that’s the beauty of this craft we call writing: there’s no one right way to do it. Everyone has their own method, and what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.
Still, one thing I’ve learned is that it’s okay — hell, even important — to not be so set in your ways. Especially if your ways aren’t working for whatever reason. I can’t tell you why Betrayed has been such a struggle, especially since my previous method had already netted me five published novels and a collection of short stories. But it did, and I had to adapt.
I won’t lie, outlining feels a little weird. But I can already tell it’s also going to help.
Betrayed will get written. It will get published. And then I’ll finally be able to move on to all these other projects I want to work on. And now that I have an outlining format that works for me, I’ll probably become more productive, and at least return to the days when I was publishing two books a year. Those days were better.
So check out Hawker’s book if you’d like.
But more than anything, don’t be afraid to examine your process and make changes if you feel stagnant. This entire process is fluid, it evolves, and you have to know when to evolve with it.
About
J.D. Cunegan
J.D.
Cunegan is known for his unique writing style, a mixture of murder
mystery and superhero epic that introduces the reader to his
comic book-inspired storytelling and fast-paced prose. A 2006
graduate of Old Dominion University, Cunegan has an extensive
background in journalism, a lengthy career in media relations, and a
lifelong love for writing. Cunegan lives in Hampton, Virginia, and
next to books, his big passion in life in auto racing. When not
hunched in front of a keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book,
Cunegan can probably be found at a race track or watching a race on
TV.
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