The Next Chapter Podcast With Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Welcome to The Next Chapter Podcast. Today I’m chatting with John Gilstrap about his 17th Jonathan Grave thriller, SCORCHED EARTH. Fear not, each of his thrillers stands alone, so you can jump into any book in any of his series and feel right at home.

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Meet JOHN GILSTRAP in his own words:

A little bit about my background… I’ve always been a closet-writer. As a kid, I lived for the opportunity to write short stories. I was the editor of my high school newspaper for a while (the Valor Dictus, Robinson High School, class of 1975), until I quit (“You can’t fire me! I quit!”) over a lofty First Amendment issue that seemed very important at the time. My goal, in fact, was to become a journalist in the vein of Woodward or Bernstein. Okay, I confess, I wanted to be Woodward; Robert Redford played him in the movie, and chicks really dug Robert Redford.

I graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1979, and armed with a degree in American history, I couldn’t find a job. I ended up settling for a position with a little-noticed trade journal serving the construction industry. They called me the managing editor and they paid me food stamp wages. I hated it. About this time, I joined the Burke Volunteer Fire Department in Fairfax County, Virginia, if only to find relief from the boredom of my job. Running about a thousand calls my first year with the department, I was hooked, and the volunteer fire service became an important part of my life for the next 15 years. In the early eighties, hating my job, I went the way of all frustrated liberal arts undergrads—back to graduate school. Earning a Master of Science degree in safety engineering from the University of Southern California, I started down a whole new road. For the next decade and a half, I became an expert (don’t you hate that word?) on explosives safety and hazardous waste. Meanwhile, I kept writing. I didn’t tell anyone, of course, because, well, you just don’t share artistic dreams with fellow engineers. They look at you funny.

My first novel, Nathan’s Run, was in fact my fourth novel, and when it sold, it sold big. At a time in my life when things were going well—I was president of my own consulting firm—things were suddenly going very well. Warner Bros. bought the movie rights to Nathan’s Run two days after the first book rights were sold, and as of this date, the novel has been translated and published in one form or another in over 20 countries. With Nathan’s Run in the can, as it were, I thought I might finally be on to something, but I didn’t quit my “day job” until after I sold the book and movie rights to my second novel, At All Costs. I figured that while one-in-a-row might be luck, two-in-a-row was a trend. So, I started writing full-time.

More novels followed, and then a few screenplays. I was living the dream.

But I really didn’t like it much. I learned pretty quickly that when you’re born a Type-A personality, those extrovert tendencies don’t go away just because you’re practicing a craft you love. In fact, after just a couple of years of dream fulfillment, I was pretty friggin’ bored with the company of my imaginary friends, so I did something that I’ve never heard a full-time artist do before: I went back to a day job. At first, it was just a matter of reactivating my consulting business, but then, in 2004, I was handed my ideal Big-Boy Job (that’s what my wife calls it) working as the director of safety for a trade association in Washington, DC.

That Big Boy Job lasted ten and a half years, and after that much time in the trenches of the association world, I was ready to take a step back into full-time writing. Over the decade-plus that I was with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, I figure that I spent close to 2,000 nights in hotel rooms. I have platinum status out the wazoo, and I met hundreds of very nice people, but my wick burned down to the nub and I retired from there in January 2015. You know, it’s funny. When you ask people who choose to leave a job that they liked how they made the decision to leave, the clichéd answer is, “When the time comes, you’ll know.” That’s exactly how it was for me. I just knew.

I’ll keep my hat in the safety consulting ring for a while, mostly as a speaker or a columnist, but I think it’s safe to say that I have filled out my last leave request form.

And I continue to write. In 2006, Six Minutes to Freedom was published to considerable acclaim. My first (and probably last) foray into book-length non-fiction, SixMin tells the story of Kurt Muse, the only civilian of record ever rescued by the super-secret Delta Force. Thanks to Kurt’s cooperation (he is co-author), I gained access to people and places that lifelong civilians like me should never see. The heroic warriors I met during that research turned out to be nothing like their movie stereotypes. These were not only gentlemen, but gentle men, who remained free of the kind of boasting and self-aggrandizement that I was expecting. They were supreme professionals, and very nice guys.

And through them I got the idea for my series character, Jonathan Grave. He’s former Delta, released from the Army under circumstances that will be revealed over time, and now he’s a freelance hostage rescue specialist. He’s the finest friend you could ever have, and the worst enemy. No Mercy, the first entry in the series, hit the shelves in June of 2009.

About SCORCHED EARTH:

Disgraced U.S. President Darmond has been ousted from office, but his minions have taken aim at everyone they perceive to be enemies. Off-the-record contractors on a secret list are being eliminated, one by one.

Jonathan Grave and his Security Solutions team manage to turn the tables when the assassins come for them. But the ultimate attack will strike deep at the heart of what’s best about American values.

High-tech weapons, terror-driven fanatics, and top-level betrayal shred the peace of a peaceful gathering in the rolling hills of rural North Carolina. In this showdown, the winner will take all.

Thanks for joining us!

Pamela

Hello, you guys! Enjoy this old (winter 2022-2023) video of plowing at our house.

We’re counting down to our first snow of the season here at Snowheresville, and with snow comes… plowing (Eric) and shoveling (me). This week the tractor/plow is in for its pre-season tune-up. It’s a lot of work, but, honestly, we can’t wait for big snow. We get about 20 feet a year and the biggest winter we’ve had here so far was about 30 feet. Like a little ski resort! After a few months, Eric gets tired of it, but we’ve been away (Denmark, California, France —> all for Eric’s work, which we won’t be doing anymore) for three winters, so, right now, we’re super pumped.

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Our home is a guest lodge in the warm months (book it HERE), so think of it in the winter as like Steven King’s The Shining. I won’t say which of us is the crazy, murder-obsessed writer in our version.

{Don’t forget to check out my serialized books pre-publication. Right now I’m serializing Dead Water. Next up will be a Wyoming crime thriller. Expect 2-3 per year.}

I Love Love Love to write winter books. I love winter sports. I love the beauty of winter. And I love the danger of it. It makes a great setting for the type of books I write.

So, let’s take a quick trip down winter memory aisle in the Pamela Fagan Hutchins library.

If you haven’t read these, they are some of my favorites. In fact, Her Cold Heart might be my favorite book I’ve written. It’s a toss-up between it and Fighting for Anna (Michele Lopez Hanson 2). Since Her Cold Heart is set in winter, it gives it a slight edge with me.

But they’re all good picks to get in the mood for the season.

Dang, this puts me in the mood to write a winter thriller…

— Pamela

Back in 2014 when only my first 2 novels had been published, editor Meghan Moore sat down with me at our personal writing retreat in Burton, Texas to talk about the first three Katie Connell mysteries and what was at the time the unpublished draft of Going for Kona. At the time we had no idea whether our girl talk/procrastination of our actual writing would be useful, but hindsight of this archival video tells me it is gold.

Whether you want to watch to see a cameo of our Boston terrier Petey (RIP world’s best dog) or hear us reference Eric’s instrumental composition Baby Earthling, or whether you want to hear about my early novels to visualize how your favorites came to be, this is a cool video for many, many reasons. Or maybe you’re a writer who will benefit from the discussion and tips.

Well worth digging up and sharing for the first time with readers/viewers/listeners! I hope you love it.

Also… Amazon has made my BIG HORN a Prime reading for the month of September. Members of Prime can pick it up free during this time period. Kindle Unlimited subscribers can always read it as part of their subscription at no extra charge.

Enjoy your week.

Pamela

Best-selling hybrid author Pamela Fagan Hutchins delivers her 5 simple steps for selling a ton of books in this informative free webinar from http://SkipJackPublishing.Teachable.com. You can learn more about Pamela at http://PamelaFaganHutchins.com, and about SkipJack Publishing at http://SkipJackPublishing.com.

I refer to the novel I'll be writing in the spring of 2018 as Bombshell, but it's called Knockout. Bombshell is the name of my new Ava Butler release which you can get anywhere, already. That's what happens when I do seven minute single-take Q&A.

Fifteen years ago I watched my father’s murder.Now, having never truly recovered from losing her father all those years ago, Detective Delaney Pace is devastated when her brother and sister-in-law are killed in a car crash. Packing up her life she heads back to the rugged cowboy town of Kearney, Wyoming. Her niece Kateena is just eleven years old and Delaney will do anything to keep her safe…https://amzn.to/3vsJEbCNow there’s another killer on the loose, and he’s already taken his first victim.New to the local police force, when a body is found on a secluded mountain trail Delaney is called to the scene. Surrounded by imposing pine trees, a young woman lies still in the moonlight. Gazing into her dark, unblinking eyes Delaney’s heart pounds wildly in her chest as she recognises the victim. It’s her beloved sister-in-law: Kateena’s mother, Lila. But she died weeks before. Didn’t she?There’s evil lurking in this town and I’ll stop at nothing to hunt down the truth and deliver justice. With Kateena traumatised all over again, when Delaney links Lila’s murder back to the place where her own father was killed she realizes she must face her own dark past to catch the man responsible. But little does she know that the killer has already made their next deadly move. Back at home, Kateena should be in bed sleeping soundly, but her room is empty. Kateena is missing…Can Delaney uncover the truth behind the killings and save Kateena before it’s too late?Fans of Mary Stone, Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and C.J. Box will love this heart-racing and totally gripping thriller from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Fagan Hutchins.What readers are saying about Her Silent Bones:“Wow! Great book!! I’m so excited! I have the next two books to read also! I can’t wait! This book was awesome… Had me glued to my Kindle!” NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars“Can’t turn the pages fast enough in this new chilling series.” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars“Had me gasping more than once… It would be a crime to rate this less than 5 stars.” B for Bookreview, 5 stars“Jaw-dropping revelations and twists.” Goodreads reviewer“Fast-paced, filled with action and suspense… I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what was going to happen.” @netgalleyreviewsbykateGrab book 1 in the Detective Delaney Pace crime thriller series in paperback, Kindle, or audiobook https://amzn.to/3vsJEbC

Nora Roberts meets Yellowstone in BIG HORN from a brand new must read series from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Fagan Hutchins.When an investment guru turns up dead in the septic tank behind her husband’s new Wyoming lodge, Jennifer must put the campaign that could make her the youngest ever female district attorney in Houston on hold to defend the well-lubricated lodge caretaker, or he’ll go down for a murder she’s convinced he didn’t commit.Prosecutor Jennifer Herrington has it all in Texas, until her husband Aaron falls for a ramshackle lodge on the face of the ruggedly beautiful Bighorn Mountains. But before he can sell her on a new life in the cowboy state—one filled with pets and kids, where he’ll trade his fancy veterinary clinic for a simple country practice, and she’ll write the murder mystery she’s always dreamed of—they find a prominent local man in the septic tank, a knife in his temple, long past saving. As an early fall blizzard hits, deputies zero in on George, the caretaker, and not just because the lookalike victim is his sworn enemy and the ex-husband of George’s deceased wife: George is covered in blood with no memories of the night before.Despite the evidence (and lack of working plumbing at the lodge) and nightmares about a childhood trauma in Wyoming that she can't remember, Jennifer feels a connection to George, a man who saves baby skunks, rescues feral cats, and is besotted with the incontinent old dog who was also stabbed and left for dead by the killer. But, even so, when George asks for her help and Aaron begs her to stay, no one is more shocked than Jennifer when she agrees to take the case and search for the real murderer —at least until she can find a replacement lawyer for George and get back to the bright lights of her real life in the big city.Bonus for fans of other PFH series: watch for strong appearances by crossover characters from What Doesn't Kill You and Patrick Flint.A former attorney, Pamela runs an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, living out the adventures in her books with her husband, rescue dogs and cats, and enormous horses.

Yellowstone meets INTO THIN AIR in the brand-new Patrick Flint thriller from USA Today bestselling and Silver Falchion best mystery winning author Pamela Fagan Hutchins...Patrick Flint is about to make the most harrowing climb of his life.https://amzn.to/3vAQaNWWhen the body of Patrick's beautiful young climbing partner floats up dead in the creek behind the Flint home, rumors about the two of them explode, thrusting Susanne into the role of the woman scorned and the crosshairs of the police.If he fails to summit, he may lose his life. And his wife.The Flints' teenage kids get sucked into the turmoil, too, with Perry making decisions that could cost him his future, and Trish becoming entangled with two local thugs, just as a past love resurfaces in her life.It's a race against time, a killer or killers unknown, and the mountain itself.With their freedom at stake and a killer on their heels, Patrick and Susanne must learn to trust again, revisit old memories, and delve into secrets, all to unearth a treasure the likes of which tiny Buffalo, Wyoming has never known.“Best books I’ve read in a long time!”Excerpt:"Patrick rolled to his back, cradling his hand. The grade of the slope surprised him, and his roll extended to two, then three rotations. At that point, unfortunately, the ground dropped away to the creek, and his roll turned into a free fall. The sensation of air and gravity ended with a thump on the back of his head. The ringing of bells. Splashing. Wetness. Cold, over his body. On his face.He was in Clear Creek.Patrick spewed water from his mouth and rose to his elbows. He wasn’t sure what hurt worst. Hand. Head. His skin everywhere. He was aware of sounds like voices shouting as if they were outside a glass dome, with him on the inside. He’d figure them out in a second. But before he could do anything to remedy his current situation, something bumped into his leg.It bumped him again.And then a third time.Moving slowly, he used his uninjured hand to support his ringing head and lifted it higher to see what was thumping him. Nothing that he could see. Not above the water anyway, which was only six inches deep. He strained, lifting further, and then he saw it. It was a log, or something like a log, floating but not floating. Half in, half out of the water. Long and narrow. With moss billowing around one end. Stubby branches halfway down its length.That’s not moss, and that's not a log.Crunched hand bones forgotten, Patrick scrambled to his knees for a closer look at the lifeless young woman in their backyard creek."SKIN AND BONES is the eighth book in the Patrick Flint series of thrilling mysteries, a spin-off from the What Doesn't Kill You saga.If you like C.J. Box or Craig Johnson, you will love USA Today Best Selling author Pamela Fagan Hutchins' Patrick Flint series. A former attorney, Pamela runs an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, living out the adventures in her books with her husband, rescue dogs and cats, and enormous horses.What readers are saying about the Patrick Flint Mysteries:“A Bob Ross painting with Alfred Hitchcock hidden among the trees.”"Edge-of-your seat nail biter.""Unexpected twists!""Wow! Wow! Highly entertaining!"“A very exciting book (um... actually a nail-biter), soooo beautifully descriptive, with an underlying story of human connection and family. It's full of action. I was so scared and so mad and so relieved... sometimes all at once!”“Well drawn characters, great scenery, and a kept-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat story!”"Absolutely unputdownable wonder of a story.""Must read!""Gripping story. Looking for book two!""Intense!""Amazing and well-written read.""Read it in one fell swoop. I could not put it down."Snag SKIN AND BONES for a pulse-pounding adventure today! https://amzn.to/3vAQaNW

Joe Pickett meets THE SHINING in this spine-tingling 1970s Wyoming mystery from USA Today bestselling author Pamela Fagan Hutchins.A killer blizzard has hit tiny Buffalo, Wyoming, where Dr. Patrick Flint is trapped inside the hospital with his family, trying to save the life of a prominent local citizen. An injured drifter shows up at the door, and Patrick takes him in. When the power and communications go out that night, people start dying, and the drifter is nowhere to be found. Patrick is caught between his duty to his patient, his loyalty to his family, and his fear for all of their lives. With the storm still raging, will there be any survivors left in the hospital when help finally arrives?“Best books I’ve read in a long time!”"Patrick pulled out his pistol and pointed the barrel at the ground of the ravine, following the sounds of the barking and growling of his Irish wolfhound. He drew a deep breath and rounded the corner, ready for anything.Or he thought he was ready for anything. A big animal. His dog caught in a trap. An out-of-season rattler. But what he found his dog guarding was something no one could ever truly be ready for.A person. Beaten to a pulp. Unrecognizable. The blood, fresh. Possibly dead. No. No, no, no. But wishing it were different didn’t make it so."4.8-star rating.SITTING DUCK is the seventh book in the Patrick Flint series of thrilling mysteries, a spin-off from the What Doesn't Kill You saga.If you like C.J. Box or Craig Johnson, you will love USA Today Best Selling author Pamela Fagan Hutchins' Patrick Flint series. A former attorney, Pamela runs an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains, living out the adventures in her books with her husband, rescue dogs and cats, and enormous horses.

A doctor with a taste for adventure. A doomed mountain vacation with his family. In the midst of a million acres of wilderness, Patrick Flint is about to discover that not everybody loves the new town doc.Switchback, the 1st book in the Patrick Flint series, is available in paperback, hardcover, large print, ebook, and audiobook, from SkipJack Publishing, on Amazon, a new mystery series from USA Today bestselling author (and Silver Falchion Best Mystery winner) Pamela Fagan Hutchins.