Elwood Calhoun from Lakota Honor

From the small town of Willow Creek, Colorado, we've pulled mine owner Elwood Calhoun to be our guest tonight.

Before we bring him in, let's look at his connection to the heroine of Lakota Honor by Kat Flannery.

Calhoun is interested in marrying Nora Rushton, who spends most of her days locked up in her home with a father who resents her for her healing powers. Calhoun isn't the only one after Nora.
   
Lakota native Otakatay has been hired to kill the witkowin - that is, witches like Nora. This, of course, opens a whole other can of worms which may have dragging Otakatay's sorry butt in here. But for now, we have Elwood Calhoun, chomping at the bit.

Where the hell am I? Can I make money from this?



Good evening, Mr. Calhoun. Welcome to the studio of Nighthawk Talks. I'm Nighthawk...

Hawk? You look like an oversize blackbird. Are you some kind of injun spirit animal, because I don't believe in that nonsense.

Well, I can see why Miss Rushton isn't rushing to marry you.

Nora Rushton will be my wife. I can give her a life she’s always dreamed of, besides I’m quite the catch. I went all the way to Chicago to get this gold tooth.

From what I understand, Miss Rushton's father doesn't want you to marry her either.

That drunk? Ha!

And then there's Otakatay...

No half-breed will stop me. I get what I want. (laughs) I’ve got reinforcements and I’ll come back with a vengeance.

What makes you think you can get away with this?

I am rich and handsome.

Money can't buy love.

I’m not looking for love. Didn’t you read the story? Money has always gotten me what I want, so nice try and I never give up. I’ll get Nora if it’s the last thing I do and I’ll kill that damn half-breed in the process.

Please, somebody remove our guest from the studio. If you want to find out what happens to this charming gentleman, read Lakota Honor. I haven't met Nora and Otakatay yet, but I'm already rooting for them.

Pat Tierney from Black Water

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks. I'm Nighthawk and tonight we have Pat Tierney back. 

So  Pat, what do you do when you’re not solving murders?

I’m a financial planner. My late husband, Michael, was a financial advisor at a large investment firm. His enthusiasm for his work was contagious so after our first child, Tracy, was born, I took courses, got my accreditation and joined Michael at the branch he ran.
I enjoy helping my clients get their financial houses in order. It's important work that I do, and I take it very seriously.

So, you are a professional financial planner and amateur sleuth. You should write a book.

For the past few years, I’ve been helping Rosemary McCracken write down my stories for her mystery novels, Black Water and  Safe Harbor. Both books are narrated in the first person, meaning that I told Rosemary my stories and she wrote them down. And I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. These are my stories and I described how I felt when they were taking place. At times, I was absolutely terrified. At other times, I was uncertain what to do. I was beside myself with worry when those bikers in Black Water threatened to take little Tommy from me. I just couldn’t let anything happen to that child.

Let's talk about Black Water. What made you investigate the murder of Lyle Critchley?

Near the end of Safe Harbor, Tracy introduced me to her sweetheart. I had been hearing about this young lawyer, Jamie Collins, for some time, but I had no idea that Jamie was a woman. To put it mildly, I was…shocked. I had no inkling of Tracy’s sexual orientation. And I handled it very badly.

When Black Water opened, my relationship with Tracy was stretched to the limits. She’d moved in with Jamie, and I’d focused on my work. I hoped she’d get over her infatuation. And I made no effort at all to get to know Jamie.

One cold, miserable evening, Tracy came over to the house. She told me that a few days before Jamie had received a letter from Lyle Critchley, an elderly man who lived in the community up north where she’d grown up. Several years before, Lyle had killed her younger sister in an impaired driving accident, and Jamie was upset to get a letter from him asking for her help. I asked Tracy what kind of help he wanted, but she said Jamie hadn’t told her. And she’d shredded the letter as soon as she’d read it.

The following morning, Jamie borrowed Tracy’s car, and Tracy hadn’t seen or heard from her since. But that very evening, Tracy had heard on the television news that Lyle had been killed in a fire at his home. And the police were calling it murder.

I think I can see where this is going. Your daughter wanted your help and you wanted to mend bridges.

Yes. Tracy begged me to go up north and find Jamie. I didn’t see what I could do to help, but I realized how much Jamie meant to my daughter. I also realized that Tracy had been keeping things from me for a long time. I love my children and I don’t want them keeping secrets from me. I had to show Tracy that she could trust me and count on me. Any time. Like then and there.

So?

The next morning, I drove up to the town of Braeloch and met Jamie’s mother.

Jamie's mother gave you a better perspective of your daughter's partner, but also made it clear that Jamie had a solid motive for murder. What made you think Jamie Collins was innocent?

Jamie had been seen near Braeloch on the day Lyle was killed, so the police wanted to talk to her in connection with his death. That, I reasoned, meant that she was a suspect in the murder investigation—the prime suspect. But Jamie wasn’t talking to anyone. She’d vanished.

Tracy insisted to me that Jamie wouldn’t hurt a fly. I was skeptical. I knew that anger and other strong emotions can provoke anyone into a violent act. Even someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

But I didn’t think Jamie had rushed up to Braeloch to murder Lyle for killing her sister. If she’d wanted to do that, she would have done it years before.

And the more I learned about her over the next little while, the more I came to like her. Jamie, I learned, was the lawyer who’d secured a landmark judgment on behalf of an elderly woman who’d lost most of her savings when a financial advisor put them into high-risk securities. That impressed me.

Bit by bit, I formed a picture of Jamie as a strong and principled woman. Wherever she was, I figured she was probably investigating something. Probably whatever Lyle had told her in his letter.

You’ve had to deal with a lot of family drama.

Yes. I discovered that my late husband Michael had a son with another woman. I tell that story in Safe Harbor. And I learned that Tracy was a lesbian. In Black Water I realized just how important family is to me, and that I can’t let anything come between me and my children.

How do you juggle family drama and detective work with your career?

I needed to be in Braeloch to look for Jamie so I talked my CEO into sending me up there to supervise the opening of a new branch in the town. Well, that triggered a number of other developments. I not only had Tracy worried out of her mind about Jamie, but I was trying to find a murderer in a community where I knew no one. I did meet people, though. Members of a biker gang. Two women who run a grow op. A wily investment fraudster. And I had thought that nothing ever happened out in the countryside.

How do you cope with all that?

One foot in front of the other, and a lot of deep, relaxing breaths. The family drama, I’m sure, will eventually work itself out. I have faith in my children. My daughters both have big hearts, and they always intend to do the right thing. And little Tommy is a great little boy. I’m sure he’ll turn into a fine man.

My daughter Laura, of course, calls me “the world's biggest pushover.” And she may be right.

Which, of course, means there might be future stories written with Rosemary. Can't wait to find out.

Black Water, the second book in the Pat Tierney series, has just been released. To win a $50 Amazon gift certificate, enter the Black Water Giveaway Contest. Deadline is June 15. 

Visit Rosemary’s website at www.rosemarymccracken.com.
Follow Rosemary's blog on rosemarymccracken.wordpress.com.
Twitter @RCMcCracken
Facebook at www.facebook.com/rosemarymccracken

Interviewing the Interviewer

Hi, I'm Alison Bruce. I produce Nighthawk Talks. Before we go off on a run of new releases, I thought it was about time we put our host in the hot seat.

Nighthawk, you are actually raven, isn't that true.

True. My father wanted to call me Quoth but my mother said I already had too many relatives by that name. Mom was a bit of a rebel.

What attracted you to be a radio interviewer?

To be honest, I wanted to be a cop, but I didn't meet the height requirements. I did train to be a PI but people tend to be suspicious of ravens. That put me at a disadvantage.

But aren't all private investigators viewed with suspicion?

Seriously? Real private investigators blend into the background and don't arouse anything. That's why I prefer to interview fictional PI's. They're much more exiting and I like eye-candy as much as the next bird.

So, you became an interviewer to meet hot guys?

Maybe. A little bit. I meet some very interesting women too. We strong women have to look out for each other.

True. Why radio? Why not a video show?

The easy answer is that my producer is too cheap. Seriously, we're talking book characters here. Every reader has their own image of what they are like. It's better that way.

You've been watching Grey's Anatomy reruns again, haven't you?

Seriously?

Exactly.

Stay tuned next week when Nighthawk interviews a character from Rosemary McCracken's BLACK WATER.

Jesse Nightwalker from Sweet Danger

Well, I survived doing my taxes, but just barely. Thank heavens for good friends who send their hot characters my way to cheer me up. Tonight we have Jesse Nightwalker, from Sweet Danger by Cheryl Pierson. Jesse is certainly easy on the eyes, even for an old bird like me.

Welcome to Nighthawk Talks. You just faced the notorious Hardin gang in a deli shootout. You're looking a bit worse for wear right now, Officer Nightwalker, but you are a tough customer.

I’m a survivor and I survived. But I have to admit, I had a few moments where I didn’t think I was going to—and I was worried as hell about Lindy and Nash. Tabor Hardin is one mean son of a bitch—not above harming women or children, and I knew I was dead the minute I realized he was the one taking over the deli. What are the odds? Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.    

Tell us about Lindy.
  
I’d had my eye on Lindy for several months—a year, to be exact. She lived two doors down from me and our mailboxes were right together—Jesse Nightwalker, Lindy Oliver. But that day, she was behind me in line at the deli and we started talking. It was kind of awkward, in a way, because I caught her checking out my…backside. But as it turned out, we both wanted the last sugar ring in the case, and of course, I took something else so she could have it. Abe Silverman directed us to sit together at one of the back booths, since the place was packed. It wasn’t long after that when Hardin and his gang came in. I pushed Lindy under the table, told her to go out the back way. But I made one mistake. I kissed her.


Why was that a mistake?

Because it changed everything for both of us. My wife had died four years earlier and I hadn’t felt much at all emotionally since then. But when I kissed Lindy, I knew that had just changed in the blink of an eye. When she looked up into my eyes, I could see she felt the same. She wasn’t about to leave me then—especially when she saw that I’d taken a bullet meant for her.

I can see how that would have spelled trouble.

I was in trouble the minute our lips touched. No…it was sooner than that. I was in trouble the minute I saw Lindy for the first time at the apartment complex. I guess that’s why it was so hard for me to break the ice with her. I knew then, if I did, there’d be no going back.

Going back to what? Your job? The dangerous life you lead?

Being an undercover cop was a job I always took seriously. I think I held on to it because Erica, my late wife, always threw it up to me. Wanted me to quit the force and do something else.

How did your wife die?

They said she committed suicide…I was on a stakeout. Turns out, that wasn’t what happened at all. It was a relief to find out what really happened, in a way—so I could let go of some of the guilt. But that was also why what happened in the deli just twisted me up in knots—I knew I couldn’t deal with falling in love with Lindy to have it all jerked away. Turns out, I didn’t have much choice in that.

We often don't when it comes to love.

Taxed

Even birdbrains need to do their taxes eventually. Come back next week when I've finished pulling my feathers out.

Bram Killoran from Terms of Temptation

Welcome back to Nighthawk Talks. Today's guest is Bram Killoran from Terms of Temptation by Lorrie Farrelly. While we wait for him to arrive, I'll mention that Ms Farrelly is also the author of Terms of Surrender and Terms of Engagement. Perhaps, for the sake of her characters, her next book should be Terms of Punctuality.


Howdy. Name’s Killoran. I reckon you’re expecting me, and …

(low whistle) Well, I’ll be. Ain’t this some first rate set-up you got. Never expected to see anything so newfangled as this around these parts. Oh, I know progress has got up a good head of steam and it just keeps roaring on, even out here in Wyoming. Railroad’s gonna come all the way to Lander soon enough, but even so …


Good evening Mr. Killoran. Welcome to Nighthawk Talks. If you could just have a seat here.

(clears throat) Sorry. Tongue ran away with me there. It’s just that, well, some things have been happening lately that are pretty hard to get a handle on. Now seeing all this … (blows out a breath) ... kinda confounds a man, don’t it? Knocked me for a loop, all right. But there’s always stranger things, I reckon.

Anyway, if you got the time later and it ain’t too much trouble, you reckon you could show me how some of these contraptions work? I’d be much obliged.


I think that could be arrange. Meanwhile, for the sake of our listeners, could you tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, like I started to say, my name’s Killoran. Deputy Game Warden Bram Killoran. Chief Warden sent me on over here to spread the word about the new Fish and Game laws. Illegal hunting and trapping has just about taken down our whole population of pronghorns, bighorns, and elk, along with nearly every kind of fur-bearing critter and game animal you can think of. Even trout are getting mighty scarce here about. Far as I’m concerned, every damn – uh, beg pardon – dang poacher in Wyoming oughta be locked up and the keys melted down for scrap. I hope those no-account varmints are listening to this, so’s they can consider their sorry selves informed. I got a job to do, seeing wildlife and livestock both thrive in this state, and I dang well aim to do it.

And while I’m at it, I might as well let one stubborn, hardheaded Miss Kinley Cantrell know that nobody – not even her – is gonna get in my way. I’ve been doing my job on my own for a long time, and I sure enough don’t need her assistance to keep on doing it. So if you’re listening, Miss Cantrell, hear me good. If I have to hogtie you to my pack horse and send you on home that way, why, I’ll do it.

Miss Cantrell has a prominent part to play in your adventures. I'm not sure that hogtying her will do much good or why you'd feel the need. It seems a bit extreme.

Truth is, though, I ain’t too sure how things got so out of hand with Kinley. I’ve always been a solitary kind of man, one who was never meant to be tethered. I’d purely hate being tied down. That’s why I’m suited to being a game warden, you see, since it’s a footloose sort of job, and I can work on my own time in a territory wide as the sky. Now, don’t get me wrong, I surely do like women, but marriage just ain’t for me. I reckon if I ever did take a wife, she’d find me to be just one darn disappointment after another. But a sporting girl or two, well, they know there ain’t no strings attached, you catch my meaning?

Yes, Mr. Killoran, I catch your meaning.

(Sighs) But I never before met a woman like Kinley Cantrell. I swear, that infuriating little bit of a thing is more trouble than a spitting bag of bobcats. One minute she makes me want to tear out my hair, and the next, danged if I don’t want to tear off every last bit of clothing she’s wearing. Thing is, I owe her my honor and my protection, but how am I ever gonna live the settled, confined life she’ll expect of me? I reckon I gotta figure it all out pretty darn soon, since my life – and more importantly, Kinley’s – depend on it.


Are you sure that's what she expects of you? I haven't met Miss Cantrell, but everything I hear leads me to believe that she's pretty independent herself. have you asked her what she wants? Are you sure you know what you want?

What the heck do you mean, what do I want? Want is what got us all tangled up in the first place. I want that stubborn, spirited Kinley Cantrell ’til I can’t think straight, ’til I’m half-crazy with it. But don’t you see? Now it ain’t just about what I want anymore, no matter what she says. It’s gotta be about making things right. You dance to the music, you got to pay the piper. That’s the only right thing to do, ain’t it?


Sounds like you are totally stuck on her.

Sweet Holy Hannah, a man can only stand so much. Exasperating as she is, Kinley just about makes my heart pound out of my chest. I swear, I get near her and I can hear the blood rush in my veins. I got no idea why she moves me so, why she makes my heart squeeze and every sane thought I got fly right out of my head. She just about turns me inside out.

So unless I figure out how to keep from breaking her heart, the most danger to Kinley ain’t gonna be from those lowdown, good-for-nothing, snake-in-the-grass poachers. It’s gonna be from me.


Before you start tearing your hair out again, why don't I give you that tour of the studio.

Find out more about Bram Killoran and Kinsey Cantrell in Terms of Temptation.. To learn more about the author, Lorrie Farrelly, check out her author pages on Amazon or Goodreads.

Jake Carmedy from Deadly Legacy

Let's give a warm welcome back to Jacob Carmedy of Deadly Legacy.

It's just Jake. I can produce three pieces of ID to prove that if you like.

Sorry, Mr Carmedy. Chief Thorsen referred to you as Jacob and... what now?

What?

You're scowling at me. I said sorry.

Only the chief gets away with calling me Jacob -- partly because I can't stop him and partly because he's earned the right to call me whatever he damned pleases. I also feel weird when someone calls me Mr. Carmedy -- but that's my bad not yours. I've been out of the regular forces for ten years now and it still feels weird being called mister. Call me Jake or Carmedy, okay.

Once a soldier always a soldier?

I still have reserve status, but yeah, I guess so. Maybe not for everyone...

Do you think it's a bit cliche having a former military man as a detective? Former Army Ranger becomes FBI agent in Bones. Former Army Ranger becomes bounty hunter in the Stephanie Plum novels. All those former SEALs and Marines in NCIS.

Do I care if you think it's cliche? I don't think so. I was a MP and security specialist. What was I going to do? Become a baker? If it makes you happier, I'm not a Ranger, Marine or SEAL. I am Canadian. Anyway, part of the reason I find it strange to be called Mr. Carmedy is because Joe only used "mister" and "ms" with civilians. You might as well say, "once a cop, always a cop."

Fair enough. You still keep your uniform in good order.

Like I said, I still have reserve status. I also keep my hair short, my face clean-shaven and my nails trimmed and filed. But so does every male professional worth his salt. What is this obsession with my military background.

Sure, I like khaki and olive. The colours work for me and I don't have to worry about putting the wrong shirt with the wrong trousers. Everything I own matches. Almost everything I own is equally practical in the office or in the field. You can't say that about the Zoot suits and Berber-style clothes that are in fashion right now.

You seem a little sensitive about this topic.

Certain people seem to have made it their holy mission to get me wearing more colour.

Kate Garrett?

<laugh> No. That maybe the one thing she doesn't want to change. Hell, she even likes me in uniform. And I have to say, she looks fine in her dress blues. Nothing like a woman in uniform, I always say.

Deadly Legacy is free March 4-7, 2013. Pick it up and learn more about Carmedy and Garrett.