Enjoy!
Selected
by J. Allen Wolfrum
July 1 - August 31, 2018 Tour
Synopsis:
Former Army helicopter pilot, Susan Turner is Selected as the next President of the United States. In order to avoid a nuclear war, she must overcome personal demons and learn to navigate the murky waters of international diplomacy
Five years ago, the Dove Revolution changed the political structure of the United States. The President, Senate, and Congress are no longer elected by the public, they are Selected at random every two years. A shadow organization known only as The Board, advances their sinister agenda by taking advantage of their anonymity and Susan's tendency to make brash decisions. Blackmail, espionage and murder are all in play as The Board manipulates geo-political events to spark a war between the Soviet Union and the United States.
With the help of her former Squadron Commander, General LeMae, Susan Turner attempts to lead the nation through these turbulent times while battling her own internal demons. Susan is a battle-hardened war veteran but she must learn what it takes to be a world leader. Nuclear war and the future of the human race hang in the balance.
Book Details:
Genre: Political Thriller
Published by: Indie
Publication Date: December 28th 2017
Number of Pages: 326
ISBN: 1981498974 (ISBN13: 9781981498970)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Susan Turner looked up through a haze of white dust and saw a group of men in black suits huddled around her body. The muffled ringing in her ears overpowered their voices. The men helped her to her feet and they ran as a group toward the entrance to the underground tunnel. Her hearing slowly returned, screams of panic in the hallway replacing the ringing. As they ran, she recognized the men surrounding her were Secret Service agents.
Four agents surrounded Susan as they jogged through the underground tunnel together. Ten yards into the tunnel, she slowed down. In mid-stride, she took off one heel at a time and returned to the pace of the group. There were no words exchanged; they moved together in focused silence. Four hundred yards down the tunnel, the group stopped at two large steel doors. The lead agent opened the doors and light from the helicopter pad above burst into the tunnel.
Before moving toward the helicopter, the agent stand- ing behind Susan shouted into his headset, “Checkpoint Bravo. Waiting for clearance.” He nodded as the response came through and relayed the message to the group: “Let’s move.” They ran from the tunnel into the daylight and across the tarmac to the open doors of the helicopter.
The agent sitting across from Susan handed her a com- munications headset. “Ma’am, are you okay? Any injuries?” Susan wiped the sweat and dust from her face. “No, I’m fine. My family?”
“They’re safe. Your children were brought to a safe location under the Pentagon, and your parents are there with them.”
She nodded. “Is it over?”
He pursed his lips before responding, “I don’t know. I only heard snippets of radio chatter while we were on the way to the helipad.”
Susan leaned back in her seat, cupping her hands over her face and replaying the events in her mind. The group stayed in radio silence for the remainder of the brief flight. The helicopter landed at Andrews Air Force Base and the doors immediately opened. Susan and her security detail rushed across the tarmac and boarded the Boeing 747. She walked onto the plane in her bare feet. Jogging on con- crete caused the pinky toe on her left foot to bleed. She left a trail of blood down the center aisle of Air Force One.
***
Excerpt from Selected by J. Allen Wolfrum. Copyright © 2018 by J. Allen Wolfrum. Reproduced with permission from J. Allen Wolfrum. All rights reserved.
Four agents surrounded Susan as they jogged through the underground tunnel together. Ten yards into the tunnel, she slowed down. In mid-stride, she took off one heel at a time and returned to the pace of the group. There were no words exchanged; they moved together in focused silence. Four hundred yards down the tunnel, the group stopped at two large steel doors. The lead agent opened the doors and light from the helicopter pad above burst into the tunnel.
Before moving toward the helicopter, the agent stand- ing behind Susan shouted into his headset, “Checkpoint Bravo. Waiting for clearance.” He nodded as the response came through and relayed the message to the group: “Let’s move.” They ran from the tunnel into the daylight and across the tarmac to the open doors of the helicopter.
The agent sitting across from Susan handed her a com- munications headset. “Ma’am, are you okay? Any injuries?” Susan wiped the sweat and dust from her face. “No, I’m fine. My family?”
“They’re safe. Your children were brought to a safe location under the Pentagon, and your parents are there with them.”
She nodded. “Is it over?”
He pursed his lips before responding, “I don’t know. I only heard snippets of radio chatter while we were on the way to the helipad.”
Susan leaned back in her seat, cupping her hands over her face and replaying the events in her mind. The group stayed in radio silence for the remainder of the brief flight. The helicopter landed at Andrews Air Force Base and the doors immediately opened. Susan and her security detail rushed across the tarmac and boarded the Boeing 747. She walked onto the plane in her bare feet. Jogging on con- crete caused the pinky toe on her left foot to bleed. She left a trail of blood down the center aisle of Air Force One.
***
Excerpt from Selected by J. Allen Wolfrum. Copyright © 2018 by J. Allen Wolfrum. Reproduced with permission from J. Allen Wolfrum. All rights reserved.
My Interview wth J. Allen:
J. Allen welcome to The Reading Frenzy, your new novel
sounds really intriguing.
Tell my readers a bit about it please.
Sure. The novel started with the question, ‘what if the President were selected at random?’, and follows Susan Turner who is the President. She’s a former Army helicopter pilot and single mother of two boys. At the time when she is selected as President, she’s working as a pilot at a helicopter logging company. She has a fairly comfortable life and doesn’t want anything to do with being President. Her former commanding officer in the Army convinces her to accept the selection because the country is on the brink of war with the Soviet Union and needs a solid leader.
Tell my readers a bit about it please.
Sure. The novel started with the question, ‘what if the President were selected at random?’, and follows Susan Turner who is the President. She’s a former Army helicopter pilot and single mother of two boys. At the time when she is selected as President, she’s working as a pilot at a helicopter logging company. She has a fairly comfortable life and doesn’t want anything to do with being President. Her former commanding officer in the Army convinces her to accept the selection because the country is on the brink of war with the Soviet Union and needs a solid leader.
That’s quite a scary premise.
Where did the idea for this novel come from?
My wife and I were listening to the Presidential debates in late 2016 and I made an off hand comment, ‘why don’t we just pick random people, it couldn’t be any worse’. That started the ball rolling in my head. Selected, is my debut novel, I’d been wanting to write fiction for a while and struggled to come up with a premise that I liked. The idea of selecting politicians at random stuck in my head and I ran with it. There is actually a historical precedent for selecting politicians at random, it occured in the Roman Empire and was called ‘Sortition’.
Where did the idea for this novel come from?
My wife and I were listening to the Presidential debates in late 2016 and I made an off hand comment, ‘why don’t we just pick random people, it couldn’t be any worse’. That started the ball rolling in my head. Selected, is my debut novel, I’d been wanting to write fiction for a while and struggled to come up with a premise that I liked. The idea of selecting politicians at random stuck in my head and I ran with it. There is actually a historical precedent for selecting politicians at random, it occured in the Roman Empire and was called ‘Sortition’.
Your protagonist Susan Turner is sure thrown into the
lion’s den.
How was she during the writing process, did she behave herself or did she give you lots of trouble?
It was tough, I wanted her to have all the answers as soon as she stepped into the role of President. She thought she had all the answers because of her prior Military experience. That wasn’t the case, there was quite a steep learning curve for her and staying on that curve of wins and losses for Susan was tough for me as a writer.
How was she during the writing process, did she behave herself or did she give you lots of trouble?
It was tough, I wanted her to have all the answers as soon as she stepped into the role of President. She thought she had all the answers because of her prior Military experience. That wasn’t the case, there was quite a steep learning curve for her and staying on that curve of wins and losses for Susan was tough for me as a writer.
Selected is your debut novel.
What was the scariest thing about seeing your baby out in print?
Ohh wow, the whole thing. I was terrified the entire time. In retrospect my fear wasn’t necessary but I don’t think skipping the fear is an option. Thankfully I had some very supportive people in my life who read the book before publication and gave me good honest feedback. Based on the edits I made from their comments, I had some level of confidence that it wasn’t horrible. There are a lot of things that I will do differently for the second novel and lots of lessons learned but overall it has been a great experience.
What was the scariest thing about seeing your baby out in print?
Ohh wow, the whole thing. I was terrified the entire time. In retrospect my fear wasn’t necessary but I don’t think skipping the fear is an option. Thankfully I had some very supportive people in my life who read the book before publication and gave me good honest feedback. Based on the edits I made from their comments, I had some level of confidence that it wasn’t horrible. There are a lot of things that I will do differently for the second novel and lots of lessons learned but overall it has been a great experience.
Thanks for answering these questions.
Good luck with this novel and the ones that are still just sparks in your imagination!
Good luck with this novel and the ones that are still just sparks in your imagination!
Author Bio:
J. Allen Wolfrum is a fiction author and former Marine. He served four years as a Marine Corps Infantryman in the most decorated Regiment in Marine Corps history. During Operation Iraqi Freedom he led an infantry squad on missions spanning from the oil fields of Southern Iraq to the streets of Baghdad.
After the Marine Corps, he spent the next fifteen years exploring life from several perspectives: press operator in a plastics factory, warehouse stocker, confused college student, Certified Public Accountant, bearded graduate student, management consultant, and data analyst.
J. Allen Wolfrum’s writing career began in 2017 with his debut novel, Selected. He uses the unique combination of his Marine Corps, professional and life experience to create a realistic perspective on the political thriller genre. He lives in Southern California with his beautiful wife and two cats.
Oh yes. I can believe it would be scary for sure releasing one. Love the cover!
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