The Consultant + Giveaway
Book Title: The Consultant by Tj O'Connor
Category: Adult Fiction; 432 pages
Genre: Thriller & Suspense
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Release date: May 15, 2018
Tour dates: Nov 5 to 16, 2018
Content Rating: R (The story deals with terrorism and describes some scenes of violence. Some harsh language.)
Book Description:
a rogue CIA consultant goes AWOL from his Middle Eastern post in response to his brother’s plea for help, he arrives just in time to witness his brother’s murder. For years, Jonathan Hunter and his brother Kevin Mallory had not spoken―until Kevin’s final words, “… Khalifah … Not Them … Maya.”
Pursuing his brother’s killer, Hunter stumbles into a nest of horrifying terrorist activity by Middle Eastern refugees, which sparks a backlash across America. In the shadows, Hunter’s mentor, the omnipotent Oscar LaRue, is playing a dangerous game with Russian Intelligence. Neither Hunter nor LaRue realizes that a new threat―the Iranian threat―has entered the game. Stakes rise as two shadowy players are one step ahead of Hunter and LaRue―Khalifah, a terrorist mastermind, and Caine, a nomadic assassin who dances with the highest bidder.
As attacks escalate and the country drifts toward another Middle East conflict, innocent refugees become trapped between the terrorists and the terrorized. Prejudice, hate, and fear vent everywhere. Is this who we’ve become? Before the country explodes, Hunter must find Khalifah, learn the next terror target, and pray he’s in time to stop further annihilation.
My Review
Calling all fans of spy books. I used to pretend that I was the top agent for the FBI or CIA and sometimes I worked as a double agent. These types of books were my "jam". Sadly, as the years have passed, I found myself wandering away from these books as they did not intrigue me so much. Recently, I have found a hand full of authors and series that I really enjoy in this genre. This first book in this series from Mr. O'Connor is in my top three picks.
Instantly, I was a fan of this book and Mr. O'Connor within the first few pages of reading this book. Hunter is a great main lead character. Although, I was a fan of his mentor, Oscar as well. Oscar may be cool on the outside but he does have a "soft" spot for Hunter. Also, he still taught Hunter a few tricks. Hunter in a way was like Bryan Mills from the Taken movies made famous by Liam Neeson.
Yet, can we talk about all of the action that took place within these pages. It was nonstop. There was never a dull moment. Plus, it helped that the book had a strong and believable storyline. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. A recommended read for sure. The Consultant will have you on the edge of your seat packing a punch of high, intensity, action that will have you coming back for more!
To read more reviews, please visit Tj O'Connor's page on iRead Book Tours.
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Meet the Author:
Tj O’Connor is the author of The Consultant, the first of The Jonathan Hunter Thriller series from Oceanview Publishing, and four paranormal mysteries from Midnight Ink and Black Opal Books.
Tj is an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. He was raised in New York's Hudson Valley and lives with his wife and Labrador companions in Virginia where they raised five children.
Dying to Know, Tj’s first published novel, won the 2015 Gold Medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards (IPPY) for mysteries and was a Finalist for both a 2015 Silver Falchion Award and the 2014 Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Mystery Book of the Year.
Connect with Author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook
The Consultant, by Tj O’Connor
Advice for Budding
Writers—Be Careful What You Wish For!
“Be careful what you wish for” is the advice I give to
anyone telling me they are writing a book and want to pursue publishing.
Writing is not what many people think it is. It’s more complex and
multi-faceted than simply telling a story in under ninety thousand words.
That’s the fun, easy part—the story telling. Being an author requires several
more layers, like finding an agent, landing a publisher, managing social media,
marketing, promoting, blogging, travelling to find a reader-base, and a litany
of other things all surrounding that one book you write. Then, if you’re lucky
enough to pull that off, you get to do it non-stop from the first book to your
next, and next, and next …
Fun times, right?
In my profession—I’m a security consultant specializing in
anti-terrorism—you don’t spend a lot of time promoting yourself publicly.
Unless you want on some TV news show arguing about world events and your humble
opinion. So maintaining a web site with blogs and posts, Facebook, Twitter,
more blogs, and travelling to self-promote were foreign to me. Oh, I’m good on
my feet and enjoy public speaking—I do a lot for my local charity group and
sometimes for work—but those are not self-promotion. They are promoting
something larger than me and for the good of the audience. That’s way
different. Every time I go out and take the podium to promote my books, I feel
a little funny about it. My agent, the amazing Kimberley Cameron and my
publisher, Oceanview Publishing, sort of say, “shut up, write books, and
promote, promote, promote!” So, I do just that. In that order, too.
So for those of you writing who want to become authors—the
difference being that writers create stories and books, and authors are
published writers—get ready for the whirlwind that surrounds your book as soon
as it’s done. Actually, before it’s done if you know what is good for you. Even
before you look for an agent, you better have a social media footprint
established. That’s Facebook, web site, and Twitter at a minimum. Then, have a
few summaries of the book ready—different lengths and directed at different
audience like a publisher, the book jacket, web site, and events—a character
list, story outline, bio, etc. After finding out the hard way, I keep a
marketing package ready at all times with all that information, including my
travel schedule of book events and other promotions.
Oh, and unless you’re one of the 2% who hit a homerun on the
first book, you still gotta work and pay the bills, right? So I’m up early
writing, editing, and plotting on my current book. Then, I work my consulting
gig by day—often taking lunch or breaks to do some social media inputs—back to
work for the afternoon, cook dinner, and back at my book for a couple hours if
I can. Every weekend and holiday is either for travelling and promoting my last
book or sitting at my desk writing my next one. Maybe you get some help from
your publisher and agent at times—but mostly, it’s you against the world and
the half-million or so other novelists publishing around you. It’s a lonely
business and not a team sport.
It’s all you, baby.
Writing is not for the meek at heart. It’s hard work, long
hours, patience, and requires a thick skin—agent’s unhappy with a draft,
publishers saying “Nice, but no,” bad reviews now and then, book events where
it’s you and you alone, getting up at oh-dark-thirty to drive to a signing or
book event and getting home after midnight to save the money for the real big
travels you know are coming. Are you seeing the glamour part yet?
So, while I could go on and on about the toils of being an
author, be very careful what you wish for. It’s not for everyone. Go into it
with eyes wide open and ready for battle. The portrayals of Richard Castle or
Jessica Fletcher don’t do most of us justice. It’s not a fairytale life of
getting published, quitting your job, buying that sports car, and spending your
days lounging at the beach while fans line up to just catch a glimpse of you.
Nope.
But hey, for me, and nearly all my pals who share this crazy
world of books, it’s what I signed up for. I love it. I’ll take the gut-punches
in failure, and the good and bad along the way. At least I’m on the same path
with some amazing, wonderful people. A finer segment of people I’ve never
known—authors.
Tj O’Connor
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Nov 24, 2018
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