Giveaway: “21 Hours”

Official Blurb

21 Hours is a thriller/suspense novel told entirely through the eyes of Felix “O” O'Connor.  O is an ex-con from central Ohio that has spent the seven years since being released from prison working on a ranch in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.  Rarely does he venture out into the world and never does it come looking for him.

Both of those things change when his twin sister Alexa “Lex” Borden calls from Columbus, Ohio to ask for his help.  Earlier that afternoon, she and her husband were both beaten unconscious and their two year old daughter abducted from their front yard.  Nobody saw a thing, the police are stumped, and it is a well known statistic that if a child isn't found in the first 48 hours, they rarely are.

O immediately drives back to Ohio and finds himself with just 21 hours to find his beloved niece before potentially losing her forever.  Plunging himself into a world he'd long ago left behind, he crosses paths with criminal masterminds, human traffickers, gun runners, drug smugglers, blood-thirsty spectators and suspicious detectives all in the name of bringing her home.

Side Commentary

When many people learn a person is a writer, they tend to expend a great deal of energy trying to figure out every aspect of a work that matches up with what they know about the author.  I try and make it as easy as I can for people by simply telling them where those are, and in this instance they start and end with the main character having a niece they would go to the ends of the earth for and a deep appreciation for the Rocky Mountain west.  That is all though, I swear.

This story came about from rolling around an amalgamation of different ideas, none of which really fit together until I decided to go to the first person point of view.  After that, it was just a matter of making my fingers keep up with my mind.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't thank two people in particular. One, C$, for serving as a beta-reader and offering helpful insight during the drafting process. Second, to Buckeye for putting her mad teacher skills to use as an editor for me. Mahalo nui loa to you both!