Reader's Give-aways 3: Ryan Kaine: On the Run

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Review: Ryan Kaine: On the Run by Kerry J Donovan

Welcome and many thanks for joining us. Today, I’ll be introducing you to one of my favorite authors, Kerry J. Donovan. We met about two years ago through an on line writing site, scribophile.com. At that time, Kerry was working on the DCI Jones Casebooks.

As good as good as this series is, I believe Kerry has taken his writing to a new level with his new series. The first one, Ryan Kaine: On The Run, grabbed me from the beginning. Holy smokes! Set up by his superiors, Ryan blasts a commercial airliner out of the sky. Not content with tricking Ryan into doing something he would never have voluntarily done, the boss sends out thugs to ensure Ryan remains quiet—permanently.

With eighty-three innocent deaths on his hands and guilt threatening to overwhelm him, Ryan sets out to prove his innocence. Will his skills, instincts, as well as new and old friends, be enough to spur him on?

With realistic characters,

an exciting plot, and riveting action, I found it difficult to put down. I wanted Ryan to succeed in his mission. An excellent beginning to this exciting new series.

After finishing this story, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, Ryan Kaine: On The Rocks. Kerry stepped up the action, having a somewhat vindicated Ryan traveling to Scotland to rescue the younger brother of one of the fatalities from the airliner. On a school outing, he’s missing on a Scottish mountain. Ryan infiltrates a rescue team to lend his knowledge of the area and his skills. The team took him at his word, until the schoolteacher leading the outing recognizes Ryan.

With Ryan’s identity revealed, he escapes and works his way up the mountain. Climb with him as he scales steep cliffs in a desperate attempt to find the boy before it's too late. I read this one even faster than the first one; I was so enthralled with the plot. For those who love thrillers, the Ryan Kaine is a series not to miss!

Author Interview with Kerry J Donovan

I asked Kerry a few questions between my readings of these two explosive novels. Here’s what he had to say:

Randall: For those who don't know you, introduce yourself, your writing and books.

Kerry: Who is Kerry J Donovan? A former furniture designer/manufacturer, former respiratory physiologist, I moved to Brittany in 2007 to become a full-time author. Ever since reading my first Sherlock Holmes short story as a teenager, I’ve loved crime fiction. I finished writing my first book in 1985, in longhand, typed by my wife. Talk about a labour of love!

I write crime thrillers, police procedurals (The DCI Jones Casebooks), and have just published the first in a proposed series featuring the latest fictional action hero, Ryan Kaine (think Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher, but with a British accent).

Randall: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Kerry: In short, yes. I love creating fictional worlds and populating them with my imaginary friends—and enemies.

Randall: Tells us about your book, and the story behind writing it.

Kerry: Ryan Kaine: On the Rocks is the second in the Ryan Kaine series of action thrillers, and a sequel to Ryan Kaine: On the Run. With this series, I wanted to recreate on paper the driving action films Hollywood releases as summer blockbusters.

Ryan Kaine: On the Run tells the story of a military man fighting to survive when his world collapses around his ears. He is accused of committing a heinous act of barbarism. The police want him on terrorism charges. A shadowy organisation wants him dead, and his friends turn against him. Injured in a cowardly attack, he has no one to turn to for help but the woman he forces to treat his wounds.

In On the Rocks, Kaine rushes to Scotland to find a teenage boy missing in the Scottish mountains.

Randall: What's the biggest challenge about being a writer?

Kerry: That’s simple! The biggest challenge about being a writer is: writing, rewriting, editing and proofing the manuscript, designing the cover, creating the blurb, and convincing people to buy the book. After that, everything else is simple!

Randall: Do you have a specific writing space?

Kerry: Yes. My attic room, which is my personal space. When I’m working, enter at your peril!

Randall: What's your number one piece of writing advice?

Write. Don’t prevaricate, just put words on a page, or onto a monitor, and keep doing it!

Randall: What books do you currently have on your bedside table?

Kerry: No books, I use an e-reader because I can adjust the font size to help my poor tired old eyes.

Randall: Who have been your biggest writing influences and why?

Kerry: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I also admire Charles Dickens. Their writing stands the test of time. I mean, who doesn’t like Sherlock Holmes?

Randall: How do you market your writing?

Kerry: I use the usual social media outlets, Facebook and Twitter, and have recently been accepted for a much coveted (and expensive) BookBub promotion. I’m so excited by that. I also send my latest works to a few highly rated book review clubs, most notably, Rosie Amber’s Review Team.

Randall: Lastly, something fun. What's something our readers might not know about you?

Kerry: In 1973, I was expelled from grammar school for [file redacted], and in 1989, I set up the Northants Triathlon Association. That’s it, there is no more.

Randall: Many thanks to Kerry for sharing his time with us. I look forward to reading Ryan Kaine: On The Defensive when it’s released on December 12th, 2017.