J.L. Hammer | Up Close and Personal With a U.S. Marshal
In the next Vegas
Vixens novel, TATTOOED
AS TROUBLE, from Entangled Publishing, Raegan Storm enters the Witness
Protection Program after witnessing a murder only to lose her heart to the U.S.
Marshal sworn to protect her. This isnβt just any U.S. Marshal, but the ruggedly
handsome Quinn Bronson. He takes his job as a marshal seriously and by the book,
that is until he has to guard the lovely Rae Storm. And boy, does she turn his
world upside down. Like the other vixens in the series, she is TROUBLE. But
Bronson would rather face hit men than deal with his intense attraction for Rae,
a woman that is strictly off limits.
Now creating the character of Bronson took some research. As I uncovered what
made the man tick, I discovered some interesting facts about the U.S. Marshals.
The Witness Security Program has successfully protected an estimated
18,400 participants since the program began in 1971.
The marshals arrest 400 fugitives every day on average.
The U.S. Marshals operate the federal Witness Security Program, sometimes
referred to as the βWitness Protection Program.β
The marshals claim a perfect success rate, with no witnesses being harmed
while under protection as long as all security procedures were followed.
When it came to researching the U.S. Marshals, one thing was for sure: a lot of
the inner mechanics were a mystery. For obvious reasons, the marshals donβt want
to broadcast the ins and outs of their business of saving lives.
However, one of the most interesting tidbits of information I used in the story
was from an interview where a marshal mentioned that he would ask witnesses
where their favorite place in the U.S. was and then heβd place them in exactly
the opposite. The reason behind this was because if their friends knew where
theyβd like to be, so would the bad guys. In the excerpt below I worked this
into the story.
βWhatβs your favorite place in the U.S.?βShe frowned at him and then grabbed an Oreo. Twisting the two pieces, she
finally got it separated. βI donβt know. Why?ββJust curious. Humor me. If you could live anywhere what would it be like?ββWell, I havenβt been to many places outside of Illinois and Indiana.β She
pursed her lips. βUm, I guess it would be someplace cool for sure. I hate the
heat. Oh, and with treesβ¦Iβve always wanted to see the coast of California. I
went to the ocean once and loved it.β Rae ate the piece of the Oreo with the
frosting.βThe California coastβs nice.β He rocked back in his chair then lowered it
to the ground. Too bad that would be the last location sheβd be placed. Bronson
shoved away the guilt. Sheβd never get her dream place because she had to be
relocated somewhere her friends and family would least expect. So it couldnβt be
a cooler climate with trees or near the ocean.
As you can imagine Rae is not too pleased when she discovers her placement.
Thank you so much for stopping by for the inside scoop on how my hero from TATTOOED AS TROUBLE came to life and became the memorable Quinn
Bronson. I love to chat with readers and you can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and, of course,
my website.
J.L. Hammer is a California girl and enjoys living in her small mountain town
with her husband and two children. She loves to write fast-paced novels filled
with suspense, romantic tension, and gripping action. She is a member of the
International Thriller Writers and the Romance Writers of America.
When
she isn't writing or lost in the pages of a good book, she loves traveling,
listening to country music, or just enjoying a nice glass of wine. Visit J.L.
online to discover her other exciting novels.
For Raegan "Rae" Storm, the trouble in her life is as permanent as the tattoo
stamped on her shoulder. After witnessing a double murder, she becomes the
target of a bloodthirsty mafia and enters the Witness Protection Program in
exchange for her testimony. With her life on the line, the last thing she
expects is to lose her heart to the mysterious, handsome Quinn Bronson, the U.S.
Marshal protecting her.
Driven by honor and his commitment to his job,
Bronson rescues Rae from threats time and time again, but fighting off hit men
is easier than ignoring his attraction for the one woman he should never desire:
the witness. As danger presses in on Bronson and Rae, neither knows whom they
can trust, and their forbidden love could be what destroys them.
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