I just love Thursdays! Today I’m so thrilled to have friend and fellow thriller author John Walker with his Dark Retribution Quartet, featuring Wrath and Remembrance.  He’s an amazing writer and I’ve been so inspired by his works.  I give 5 stars to his entire quartet.  If you love rooting for the good guys and have a secret desire for revenge, then check out his books.

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BOOK SYNOPSIS:

 As Jack Parrish struggles to survive and hold onto his sanity in an ever-changing world, someone from his forgotten past is hunting him.

The car crash he survived as a child has left him without parents and struck by amnesia for the next 18 years.

What do his nightmares mean?

Are they distorted flashes from his past or premonitions of what will be?

Why is someone out to kill him?

Just when life seems to be going right for Jack those close to him are being murdered and Jack is forced into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Purchase Wrath and Remembrance

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Jennifer Chase: If Jack Parrish was trapped in an elevator with three other people, how would he devise a plan to escape? Would he take any of the people with them?

John Walker: Jack is a survivor and has made it through harder scrapes than this. It’s in his nature to be the first through the door, to assess the potential for danger on the other side, so he would be the first to climb up onto the roof of the elevator to see if it was possible to climb out on the nearest floor.

In this instance, if it was just a matter of the elevator being stuck through a mechanical fault, no one was answering the alarm buzzer, and no one inside the elevator was having a sudden attack of hysteria, Jack would climb out alone so he could move with speed and get help to resolve the situation. Although his heart is in the right place and he’d definitely make sure the others made it out of there safe, he’d have an ulterior motive: he’d want to get out of there in case the cops showed up. He’s a wanted man, living and moving under the radar, so he wouldn’t want to risk his cover being blown.

Jennifer Chase: Jack is definitely under the radar and so intriguing.  How do you get inside Jack’s head when writing?

John Walker: With Jack it was an easy task. We’re both intense and share many of the same character traits, so it was fun to get into the zone of his world. I also share his stubborn principles and strong sense of personal justice.

Jennifer Chase: I was really taken back by your books and instantly loved being in Jack’s world.  What’s your specific genre? If you could write in any other genre, what would it be and why?

John Walker: My specific genre is revenge-thriller. I’ve always had a passion for vigilante stories and it’s been a pleasure to explore that area with my own work.

With Hank Shank VIII, I made an excursion into historical fiction, as that story is my fictional retelling of the life of Henry Tudor (King Henry VIII), basing him in the 20th Century.

My latest book is Blood and Water, a chase thriller that ties in various sub-plots: the central character Vincent Birch’s alienation and pressure to leave a town because of the reputation of his criminally insane brother, his failing marriage, and danger from an imminent flood set to destroy the town. All of which takes place as Vincent becomes embroiled in the aftermath of a robbery and has to outrun the criminal gang, led by his brother.

I will always write in the thriller genre, but I would also love to write an original and intelligent science fiction story. As a kid, The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, was the book that got me hooked into reading. In later years, I would discover the works of Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Greg Bear, among others. The best science fiction writers have come up with ideas that have since been realized and that’s something to be admired and commended. I give special mention to author Stanislaw Lem, for his novel, Solaris. It’s an intricate and intelligent sci-fi story about loss, regret and redemption. I’ve read it several times, enjoy the movie adaptations, and it’s an all-time favorite of mine that became part of the story in the Dark Retribution Quartet.

Jennifer Chase: So why should readers pick up your books?

John Walker: I generally do 3 – 4 edits on each book project before I let anyone else read it. Before I settle on a final draft, I always ask myself one important question: would I want to read this book? With every book project I do, I have researched my subject thoroughly and worked until I’m happy in my own heart that I have given the book everything I have. So many times over the years, I’ve been disappointed when I’ve read a novel and it just lacks in some capacity. It makes me feel that the author has short-changed me. With that in mind, it doesn’t matter to me how long I have to spend researching, or how long it takes to write the book. Just so long as I feel I’ve done the best work I can on the project, then I’m content with the knowledge that the book I have completed is one I’d also buy to read.

Jennifer Chase: That’s great insight – thanks for sharing.  What types of emotions will readers experience when they read your books?

John Walker: I get a lot of feedback from readers and it always thrills me when they tell me about the roller coaster ride they had with their imagination and emotions as they followed the story through each of the books, particularly with the Dark Retribution Quartet, the attention to detail and scope of the story over all four books in the series. Some readers don’t make it to the end of the series because the intensity and level of violence in the stories unsettles them. I can understand and accept that. My stories are not for everyone. Those that do like them have told me that they have come to know the characters, particularly Jack Parrish, on a deeper level than many of the others they’ve read about, saw and experienced the world as he did, got to know his thoughts and feelings along the way. Years ago, a reader told me she got a good insight into the way a man thinks just by reading my books, and remembering that always makes me smile.

Jennifer Chase: Now, please bear with me, it’s time to play word association with Jack Parrish. Please respond with one word that comes to mind (in Jack’s voice) to the words listed below.

John Walker:

Plot – Strategy
2012 – Calendar
Predator – Enemy
Giggles – Laughter
Rural – Natural
Omnipresence – God

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Author Bio:

Since I was just 12 years old, I have known that a writer is all I have ever wanted to be.

I was born in 1968 and raised in England. These days I’m a globe-trotting ex-pat Brit.

I love books, movies, music, yoga, Tai Chi, German Shepherd dogs and wolves. I enjoy meeting other authors; discussing the writing process and helping other writers get their own projects off the ground.

I also enjoy cooking, black coffee, red wine, and Guinness with a good meal, and I have a devilish, sometimes zany, sense of humor. I can’t resist a practical joke so be warned: if you are ever walking through a door and a bucket of water tips over you … it was most likely me that put it there.

My novels are mainly revenge-thrillers, some with a supernatural twist.

I have several books planned for the future. 

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Connect with John Walker and find out more about his books: