The Policewoman (Redux)

Hi Everybody, I wanted to let everyone know that Author Justin W.M. Roberts fabulous book The Policewoman is available on Amazon and through a Goodreads Giveaway at Goodreads.com. I encourage everyone who reads this to check out this book. You won't be disappointed. As I said in my review, The Policewoman has found a place in my personal top 5 books, and I wanted to help promote this book. I'm posting info about Mr. Roberts and the already award winning The Policewoman .  I took the liberty of asking Mr. Roberts some questions  that occurred to me. I've posted them here following his personal info. This is my first attempt at such an undertaking, so apologies for anything I might have missed.

                                                                      

Justin W.M. Roberts was born in London, son of a British Army General, and grew up in Hong Kong, Germany, and England. After graduating from Hull university with a degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Psychology, he continued traveling and living Europe, Africa, and Asia.

He currently lives in Indonesia where he is an analyst of political affairs and an active promoter of secular humanism.

Authors of military thrillers are welcome to PM him for book reviews.                                                                                                                

                                                       

2017 Gold Medal Winner of Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest (Fiction-Military genre)

Interview Questions

What inspired you to write The Policewoman?

I love action heroines, but I couldn’t find one that I really like. I then decided to write my own book.

How long did it take to write?

2 years.

How long have you been writing, and what started you on this path?

The Policewoman is my first book. I’ve always wanted to be a full-time writer and this what I do ever since I retired from teaching.

Do you follow a strict outline, or does the story evolve as you write?

The story evolved on its own. The antagonists were initially Serbian organ black marketers, but then I changed them to Irish drug smugglers. 

The Policewoman is such a powerful story; do you realize how high you have set the bar for yourself in writing the sequel?

Yes. In fact, I’m trying to make the sequel to be just as good as The Policewoman, but I’m struggling.

Do you expect to continue the storyline beyond a second book?

There will be a third book and possibly a fourth.

Re: The mechanics of your writing, do you set specific times to write, amount of words/pages during a session?

No, I just write when I have the time.

Since I asked you this question privately, I know your answer but I wanted to ask it again here because I think non-writers, like me, will find it quite interesting. When you write does the progress of the story ever surprise you, or take you in a direction you didn’t anticipate?

Yes, it does. I may write about someone doing something, but then that person winds up doing something else. It’s as if the character has its own personality.

Given the competitiveness of the publishing world in general, how do you feel about the response to The Policewoman so far?

The response has been very positive. The Goodreads average rating is now up to 4.33 with more than 150 reviews.

As I wrote in my review of The Policewoman, I challenge the reader to not be emotionally affected by the story.  As its creator, was it as much of an emotional roller coaster for you?

If you read the Goodreads reviews of The Policewoman, a lot of readers wrote that some parts of the book made them cry. Here’s my favourite comment “Not many books make me cry but this one managed it twice so when I’d finished it I had to watch cute animal videos to calm myself down!”

I love books that could evoke a lot of emotion. I couldn’t find one, so I wrote my own. I’m not a sensitive person, but some parts of the story made me cry when I wrote them.  

I know you are now involved in promoting Policewoman, but did you, or will you, take time to decompress after The Policewoman?

Not until Hollywood makes it into a movie.

These are the questions that occurred to my feeble brain, is there anything you think readers need to know about The Policewoman that I missed?

The Policewoman won the 2017 Gold Medal from Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest (Fiction – Military genre).  I have entered it into two other book award contests. Wish me luck!

MY REVIEW

I was given an e-version of The Policewoman for review by author Justin W.M. Roberts. The Policewoman has joined my personal list of favorite books, in fact I would place it in my top five. It's that good. First off let's get the genre out of the way. The Policewoman is at its heart an action/adventure/romance. It is also a crime story, a special ops primer, and a real culture lesson for some of us. The Policewoman is no boiler plate, formulaic, predictable good guys versus bad guys story. Our hero and heroine are not invincible superheroes but they are nobody to mess with. There is a lot of information here detailing how special ops teams function. This did make the story take a bit longer to develop than the reader may be used to. But it is definitely worth it, it enhances the story as the action and suspense build. The Policewoman is a very intense story and will grab the reader viscerally, much more emotionally engaging than most other books in the genre. I dare you to not get emotionally hooked, I dare you! But there are moments of levity and downright humor to help lighten the vibe from time to time. This balance is integral to the story, keeping it from being one note and oppressive. Basically the story is Indonesia, England and Ireland are fighting a drug cartel. No "measured responses" no diplomatic interference. Just no holds barred all out war. The story is set between Indonesia and Great Britain, so there were a lot of cultural references that were new to me and added flavor to the story. Great action scenes, graphic violence, not as graphic sex, love both romantic and filial, bureaucratic roadblocks, honor, duty, service and patriotism. I just found out from the author that a sequel is forthcoming. Once you have read the book you will be as surprised and intrigued as I. I loved this book. If you like your action/adventure to be more in depth and realistic, The Policewoman by Justin W.M. Roberts (if you look him up on line, be sure to include the W.M. or you'll get the wrong author) will satisfy for sure. Though his bio does not give any such info, The Policewoman reads to me as written by some one with more than a passing knowledge of the field of special ops. I highly recommend this book! Enjoy!

Mike here again, many thanks to Justin W. M. Roberts for taking the time to answer my questions. Personally, I think that as good as The Policewoman is, his chances for winning The Independent Publisher Book Awards are very good.