Jo Robertson

ABOUT THE AVENGER:

A clandestine government organization called Invictus "recruits" outstanding athletes for secret projects. But their top agent Jackson Holt has extraordinary, almost preternatural, qualities not even the Organization can explain.

Olivia Gant, professor of Ancient Studies at a private college in California, was once Jack's childhood sweetheart. But when he deserted her, he left her alone to combat her stepfather's drunken attentions and her mother's careless neglect.

Nearly twenty years later, their paths cross in a mission to fight a bizarre religious serial killer whose methods include crucifixion and burial alive. Olivia and Jack battle for happiness against years of secrecy and distance as they use Olivia's expertise in Latin and Jack's special gifts to track a brutal killer.

Can Olivia forgive Jack for his long-ago betrayal? Can Jack allow Olivia to witness the terrible Change that makes him such an effective killing machine?

ABOUT THE WATCHER:

Forensic psychiatrist Kate Myers believes the killer of two teenage girls in Bigler County, California, is the same man who savagely murdered her twin sister over fifteen years ago. Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it.

Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre.

Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate and wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."

ABOUT JO ROBERTSON:

DONNELL: Big city or small town girl?

JO: I'm a small-town girl at heart who has to be near a big city! I want theatre, libraries, a university or two or three, and lots of shopping venues. I hate crowds and traffic, but want at my fingertips all the amenities that go with a big city.

DONNELL: Morning or nighttime person?

JO: Ironically, I'm both if I set my internal clock. The year I finished my California teaching credential, I stayed up until two in the morning and got up at six pretty much every day. Of course, I have a marvelous husband who took over all those pesky chores like grocery shopping and kid tending. I usually wake up pretty cheerful in the morning so I don't mind rising early, but if I stay up past 10:00 at night, I'm pretty much up all night. I get a second wind or something.

DONNELL: Which of your characters would you like to invite to dinner? Which of your characters would you least likely invite to dinner?

JO: Oh, this has to be Slater, the hero of "The Watcher" who also plays a secondary character in the second book in the trilogy "The Avenger." The word I apply to Slater is "steady." My friends claim that I've modeled him after my husband, but Slater has a painful past that makes him wary of people and an excellent sheriff.

I'd never invite one of my villains to dinner. They're too chilling even for me LOL.

DONNELL: Panster or Plotter?

JO: Total panster, which I'm afraid is often synonymous with "clueless" or "disorganized," but for me it's about initially having the scaffolding of the story in my head (hero, heroine, villain, conflict) and discovering the details as I write. Sometimes I don't know what's going to happen until my fingers touch the keyboard. Sometimes I'm surprised and a bit shocked by what I find out!

DONNELL: Do you read reviews of your books?

JO: I do. I think reviews are a good indicator of whether you're reaching your target audience or not. You can learn as much from a bad review as from a good one. What didn't work for that reader, for example, and is that a valid criticism. It's delightful when a reviewer homes in on what you consider are the strengths and weaknesses of your book. It's kind of a "I knew that" epiphany.

DONNELL: Introvert or Extravert?

JO: I'm a total extrovert. Sometimes my family wishes I were more demure. As an extrovert, I get energized by sharing ideas with other people. When I taught English and was department chair, I realized the importance of the synergy generated by bouncing thoughts off people you respect.

DONNELL: What’s in your refrigerator right now?

JO: Not much as I don't cook. All right, maybe once or twice a week. Honestly, I love cooking, and especially baking, but who has the time?! But there's always milk, cheese and eggs in my refrigerator. And ALWAYS Pepsis in my mini-fridge!

DONNELL: You’re on a raft in the middle of the ocean. You’re out of water and sharks are circling your craft. Who do you want with you?

JO: I have to say my husband on this one because he's so clever and innovative. I'm sure he'd figure out a way to get us out of the situation!

DONNELL: What turns you on? Then reverse this question, what turns you off?

JO: A man in a suit. Can anyone say Matt Bomer?

Nasty odors. I have a strong sense of smell and a whiff of something bad is gaggy!

DONNELL: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

JO: I've finally been able to achieve the last big dream I had for myself. LOL, I tell my husband I'm ready to go now. I was graduated from college, married and reared a family (although several have come home to roost), and taught high school (a life-long dream). The only thing left was sharing my writing with an audience. My journey through indie publishing has been far more successful than I could've hoped, and I'm grateful to all those readers who's expressed interest in my books.

And now a question for your readers, Donnell:

If you could undo a single act or decision you've made, what is/was it and why? Or, conversely, what opportunity presented itself to you that you passed over and now wish you hadn't?

Donnell, thanks so much for having me! Today for two random commenters, I'm giving away an electronic download of one of my books, either "The Watcher" or "The Avenger."

Jo Robertson, a former high school English teacher, lives in northern California, near the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills. She enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and discussing the latest in books, movies, and television shows. Any "spare" time she has is spent enjoying her seven children and sixteen grandchildren, who bring a great deal of joy to her life.

When her Advanced Placement English students challenged her to quit talking about writing and "just do it," she wrote her first completed manuscript, "The Watcher," which won the 2006 Golden Heart Award for romantic suspense.

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