Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” —Groucho Marx

Monday, March 18, 2013

Cross the Line by Jack Patterson/ Pict VBtour with guest Post

 
Welcome Guest blogger, Jack Patterson this morning!   (applause from viewers).  Jack tell us who was your largest encourager to read and ultimately write your own books?   What was your relationship like?   Anything to elaborate on?


 When I was a young child, my dad often deployed for military service, leaving me and my younger siblings at home with my mom. With me and my brother as the oldest, our rambunctious nature undoubtedly played a major factor in my mom’s strategy to calm us down. Instead of roughhousing with us like we did with my dad, my mom read to us.

Every night, getting ready for bed became a prelude to some great story of adventure or mystery. I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to happen next.

From the first moment I began writing, my mom has remained my biggest fan and supporter. She wasn’t overly effusive, but that was mostly because she feared she might embarrass me, particularly when I was a teenager. But I knew she was proud. Unbeknownst to me at the time, she once mailed a copy of my sports column to the Atlanta Braves -- the one where I predicted they would win the National League pennant despite the fact that they had the worst record in baseball the previous season. She secretly hoped they would fly me to Atlanta or share my column on a telecast. I knew she was firmly behind me.

When I told her that I was writing a novel, she was the first person in my family to finish reading it. Then she did was she always does -- she started telling other people about it. And when your mom is a librarian, this is always a good thing.

It’s hard to say whether I would have chosen to purse a writing career without my mom’s support, but there’s no doubt she kept nudging me down a path that seems clearer and clearer each day that this is what I was made to do.

Learn more about Jack Patterson at his website www.IamJackPatterson.com and check out his latest book Cross the Line.

Thanks for being with us this morning Jack.   Mother's are absolutely the best fan in your corner!



Important Info:

Pages: 256
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: Hangman Books
Publication Date: 11/25/2012
ISBN: 1938848144
Purchase Links:  
      






 Synopsis:

 When veteran NFL quarterback Noah Larson finally guides his team to the Super Bowl, his dreams -- and life -- are dashed when his six-year-old son is kidnapped for a unique ransom: lose the game or his son dies. Seattle sportswriter Cal Murphy and photographer Kelly Mendoza get pulled into an FBI sting to help rescue Noah's son in Mexico. But when everything falls apart, Cal and Kelly are left to save themselves, save Noah's son, and save the Super Bowl.

My Review: 

Once again I feel very blessed to have read Cross the Line by Jack Patterson.    No, it wasn't a religious book by any means, but it dealt with issues of right and wrong and when to get involved in someone else's story and when to walk away.  Cal Murphy, a sportswriter, accidentally unearths information that Noah Larson's son has been kidnapped in order to force Noah to throw the Seahawk vs Dolphin Super Bowl Game.   When approached to confirm rumors about a fix being in, he admits what he has learned to his FBI friend.   Whether the guilt of having shared the information with the FBI against Noah Larson's pleas for silence, or whether to assist in Jake's rescue was just the right thing to do, Cal Murphy and photographer friend Kelly Mendoza, risk everything to help save Noah's six year old son.

The writing seemed to flow gracefully and made the book an easy read.  I read it in one sitting and I enjoyed it.   The suspense built constantly and it became a book I couldn't put down.   I wanted to continue until we knew who the top dog was behind this ruthless kidnapping!    The characters were strong and believable and I felt their fears and pains down to my toes.    I felt their relief and their shock as what seemed to be over, wasn't.

If you enjoy suspense and mystery, this has got to be a must read!   It's truly a great read.  I rate this book a 

5 X Winks 




Now for the fun part, for an opportunity to win an e-copy of this terrific book, please enter the Raffle Copter contest below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway  


Author Info:


The first signs that I might like writing about sports -- and be slightly competitive -- appeared when my year two (or first grade) teacher, Mrs. Holland, asked my class to write and illustrate our day. Mine read like this: “The Red team beat the Blue team, 1 to nil. And I won.” The next 47 entries covered my exploits on the soccer pitch while growing up in Ipswich, England.
In South Carolina as a teenager, my dad told me that I could get paid to watch sports provided I could write about it. Sounded easy enough and by the time I was 16, I landed a job at my town’s daily newspaper and had a column on Major League Baseball players from our area. I also covered my first riot there at a sporting event -- and it’s safe to say I was smitten with journalism.
After graduating from one of the best journalism schools in the country, I took a job as a sports editor in South Georgia and learned firsthand about the passion of high school sports in rural America. I thought I knew before, but I didn’t. This was another world.
I also had the opportunity to cover major sporting events like the Olympic Games, the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Final Four. It was a thrill!
But nothing was as thrilling to me as uncovering the truth in investigative assignments. I once broke a story about a prominent southern football team’s NCAA violation -- and found out the violating coach had committed suicide only a few months earlier. The story won a national writing award and stoked my desire to write about these issues. It made me realize that the sports world was just another fantastic backdrop for drama.
After writing non-fiction books with athletes, for athletes, and ghost writing for many others, I decided to enter the world of fiction writing. It had been something I wanted to do but never found the time. So, I made the time--and am now having a blast. I hope you enjoy reading my novels as much as I enjoy writing them!
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Every eBook received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours.


2 comments:

CMash said...

5 winks for an awesome review and post. Great job! Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kind review. Happy to hear you enjoyed the book!

Cheers!