"Breathtaking suspense..."

Ethan Decker is a specialized "Hunter" for the most secretive agency of the U.S. government, working deep undercover to track down and capture ruthless international mercenaries and fugitives. But when a daring mission takes a lethal turn, a renegade assassin kills Decker's young son in retribution. Forced to leave his devastated, unsuspecting wife, Sydney, to save her from the madman's threats, Decker exiles himself to the New Mexican desert to live in a jail of his own guilt and grief.

The day starts like any other in the desert: scorching, cloudless. But then, like a mirage, a car appears on the horizon. Inside is Anna Kelsey, a former member of Decker's covert team, a woman Decker presumed dead in the hell following that ill-fated mission three years ago. But she survived--and now she shepherds two children, entrusting them to Decker's protection. Before he can protest, Anna is screeching away in a cloud of dust.

Now Decker is reeling from the sudden turn of events--and the shocking sight of Anna's body not far down the road from where she left his trailer and the kids. The Spanish coin under her tongue is a mark Decker hoped never to see again . . . the signature of the assassin Ramirez.

Suddenly the race is on: to reach his ex-wife before Ramirez finds her, and to unlock the mystery behind these two children and why Anna died to give them refuge. But for Decker, Sydney's trust is not his to have any longer, and the children are pawns in a dark conspiracy so vast and so evil that even this former spy could not imagine the peril and terror that lies directly in his path.

As Decker fights to protect the innocent and struggles to restore a shattered relationship that seems beyond repair, Patricia Lewin takes us on a thrilling ride full of whip-snap action, deadly turns and almost unbearable suspense.

Patricia Lewin has lived all over the country from Oregon to Florida and several states in between. In the process of moving around, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science while working a variety of less-than-exciting jobs. After graduation, she went to work for IBM and stayed put for close to twelve years, after which she left her career in computers to fulfill a life-long dream of writing. She currently lives outside Boston with her husband, and although she’s finally found a career she loves, she can’t guarantee there are no more moves in her future.

Since 1994, Patricia has published eight books under the names Patricia Keelyn and Pat Van Wie. Her books have been on the Waldenbooks Romance Bestseller List and nominated for numerous awards, including: Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards and the Colorado Award of Excellence. Her newest book, BLIND RUN, a fast-paced thriller, will be released in hardcover from Ballantine, April 1, 2003.

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Eclectics:  Writing suspense must demand a very different focus than writing romance, in everything from plotting to research. How did you 'get inside the skin' of the assassins and high tech medical research-types featured in BLIND RUN?

Patricia Lewin: In a lot of ways writing suspense comes much easier for me than writing romance. I love plotting, and so most of my romances were plot-heavy. (Which didn't make them particularly good romances. <g>) I also love creating characters without bounds, like an assassin. And getting into their heads is half the fun. I collect odd books on all kinds of nefarious skills and professions and devour them.

What I do find daunting, however, is the hands-on research. It almost stopped me more than once. I'm a reader, and if I can find the information I need either in a book or online, then I'm fine. It's just when I have to start talking to people about their experiences and expertise that I get on shaky ground. I hate imposing my ignorance on someone else, and so I put off this piece of the work as long as possible. That said, I got very lucky with BLIND RUN. My CIA and medical contacts were great, and of course, being an ex-IBMer helped with the computer information I needed.

Eclectics: Do you have a favorite scene in the book? A favorite line?

Patricia Lewin: This is a tough question, because there are numerous scenes in the book that I really like. I love the opening, and there's a scene between Sydney (my heroine) and one of the children, Callie, that I've loved from the day I wrote it. It was one of those scenes that came out right the first time. Sydney's entire world has been turned upside down and she doesn't know what to do next. She's trying to figure it all out when seven-year-old Callie takes her hand, literally and figuratively. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it. Then, there's a scene near the very end with Marco Ramirez (the assassin), that also wrote itself. I can't tell you anything about it, though, because then I'd be giving away the end.

Eclectics: If you had to describe BLIND RUN in a single word, what would it be?

Patricia Lewin: How about a hyphenated word? "Fast-paced."

Eclectics: What inspires you most as a writer?

Patricia Lewin: Music. Other books. And great movies.

I write best with music in the background, as long as there are no lyrics. (Otherwise, I end up singing along.) I wrote BLIND RUN to Chopin, and I'm on a Mozart kick with my current manuscript. I keep hoping genius will inspire genius. <g>

Then, if I get really stuck, I read, sometimes my own books (to remind myself that I can do this), and sometimes other peoples books, to remind me that I love the written word. And then, of course, there are movies, which I never get enough of. They always, always make me want to create my own stories.

Eclectics: The experience you gained while living in many different areas across the U.S. must be extremely useful to you as a writer. Do you have a personal connection with any of the locales in BLIND RUN?

Patricia Lewin: Yes. I have connections to most of the locales in BLIND RUN – though some of these connections are very minor. I grew up in the mid-west and have family in the area. I also spent a lot of time in Texas when I worked for IBM: Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. And I have an odd attraction to New Mexico. I have no idea why, but I'm fascinated by the state. My main connection, however, is to the Northwest. I lived in Oregon for several years and spent a lot of time roaming the northern coast of Washington State. It's a spectacular part of the country, which I have no doubt I'll return to in future books.

Eclectics: Speaking of "moving" ... if you could live anywhere in the world (or beyond), where would it be and why?

Patricia Lewin: Scotland. Not that I'd ever want to stay in one place forever, but I would love to live in Scotland for a while. Or maybe spend part of every year there. Why? It's beautiful, the people are warm and honest, and it just "feels" right to me.

Eclectics: You left a career at IBM to pursue a writing career in the early 90's. How would you compare the process of beginning a new novel back then to starting one now?

Patricia Lewin: You know, people always talk about how much harder it is "now" then it was in the past. In the early 90s, everyone said it was easier to sell a book in the early 80s. Now, it's the early 90s that were the golden years. I don't believe it. Starting a novel has never been easy. Finishing it is even harder. Selling it? Well, that's another question altogether, and the answer has as much to do with the market, timing and luck as anything else.

Eclectics: Do you have any tried and true strategies for balancing a successful writing career with the demands of family life?

Patricia Lewin: No. But if you know anyone who does. . . <g>

Seriously, I know a few authors who manage this, but most of us go slowly crazy in the attempt. The problem is that as an author, you have no down time. If you're not writing, you feel guilty because you should be working. And isn't that a the way a lot of career-people feel about their families? So you're constantly torn by the demands of both career and family.

Lately, I've been trying to take a more philosophical view. I do the best I can for both my family and my career and hope it's enough. Then I stop worrying. (Ha! Do you believe that?)

Eclectics: Do you ever consider doing something completely different, outside the writing field? And in a similar vein, is there anything you've always wanted to do but haven't ... yet?

Patricia Lewin: No. There's so much to explore, so many places you can go, things you can try as a writer. If I get tired of suspense, I can try fantasy or screenplays or whatever. If I want to learn about a particular place or topic, I can research it and include it in a book. The possibilities are endless and I don't see how I could ever exhaust them all.

As for something I've always wanted to do. . . travel into space. In my next life, I want to be an astronaut. <g>

Eclectics: A visitor to your web site mentioned your recent appearance on "Crossing Over". Tell us about that.

Patricia Lewin: LOL! I guess I should have known this question would surface. It's a long story, but basically a friend got tickets to the John Edwards show and asked me to go with her. I had only seen the show once, but it seemed like a good excuse to spend a couple of days in New York. So we went and had a great time. John Edwards is incredibly charismatic, and the show was a lot of fun. And whether you believe he really has a gift or not, his message is very positive, very loving.

Okay, so why are visitors to the site commenting on my appearance on the show? Well, of the two hundred or so people in the audience, John read about six or seven. I was one of them.

My mother died last April, and she came through. It was pretty incredible and much too long to go into, but I left feeling good. Oh, and the show flashed the cover to BLIND RUN, so I was thrilled.

Eclectics: What's the best advice you were ever given by a fellow writer, and what advice would you like to pass on to aspiring authors?

Patricia Lewin: Over the years I've heard so many great talks from other authors, but the piece of information that I remember most came from Debra Dixon. We were both Golden Heart® finalists at the time, unpublished, and we sat up until four in the morning. She taught me about conflict. I went home and started my third book, KEEPING KATIE, and ten months later, I sold it. So, thanks again, Deb.

As for my advise to aspiring writers. I'd say read, write, learn as much as you can about the craft, connect with other writers, and don't let this crazy business drive you crazy. Because it can and will.

Eclectics: What's next from Patricia Lewin?

Patricia Lewin: I'm finishing up my second suspense novel for Ballantine. The working title is THE PLAYGROUND and it involves the CIA, FBI and an International Ring of child kidnappers. It's really wicked, and I love it.

Eclectics: We can hardly wait! Thanks for a great interview, Patricia.

 

Our exclusive excerpt from BLIND RUN starts below ... the rest of the chapter is waiting for you on Patricia's Web Page, and while you're there, be sure to enter her contest!

 

The Excerpt ...

From...
BLIND RUN
by
Patricia Lewin
April 2003 ~ Ballantine Books

 

Chapter One

Ethan Decker welcomed the pain.

It rolled through him like waves of heat rippling across the desert floor. With eyes closed and head propped against the door behind him, he sat on the trailer's flimsy aluminum steps and waited for the desolate landscape to stop spinning. Given time, the desert would succeed where his enemies had failed. It would kill him.

But not, unfortunately, today.

Last night had been a mistake, an attempt to blot out the date and its memories with a bottle of Jack Daniel's. It hadn't worked. The throbbing within his skull had become a dark angel crouched upon his shoulder, prodding and laughing, reminding him he was still alive.
The heat pressed in, and he longed for the feel of a crisp ocean breeze against his face, or the pungent scent of pines in the mountain air. Instead, beneath the tattered green and white awning that stretched from the tin can he called home, he felt the dry, hot hand of the New Mexico desert. If the pain had become his angel, then the desert heat had become his unwelcome lover, wrapping herself around him in tight, searing arms.

And he deserved no better. Three years ago yesterday, his five-year-old son had died. Murdered. And nothing, not the Jack Daniels, nor the desert could change Ethan's role in that senseless death.

He opened his eyes and squinted at the sun. It sat hours above the western horizon, a flat white disk piercing a dusty sky. With shaky hands he lifted a cup of lukewarm coffee to his lips and forced the bitter liquid down his throat. He should eat something, too, but he couldn't bring himself to go back inside the stifling trailer. Just the thought brought a fresh wave of nausea. He'd get something later, before heading out into the desert.

Or maybe he wouldn't go tonight. How hard could it be, just this once? He'd stretch out on the desert floor, beneath a million pinpricks of heavenly light and sleep.

Ethan shuddered and downed more coffee.

He wasn't fooling himself. He couldn't escape into sleep, any more than he could hide in a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Sleep brought the faces. They haunted his dreams with painful accusations in their small, frightened eyes. Children's eyes. They stared at him, asking their unanswerable questions, condemning him without speaking a word. No, he couldn't stay here tonight and sleep like normal men. He'd given up that right with Nicky's death.

As usual, he'd seek oblivion through the ritual that had ruled his nights for the past three years. From sunset until dawn he'd perform the moving meditation of tai chi. The practice promised balance where none existed, and peace where none reigned.

So far he'd found neither. The intense regimen brought only fatigue, a physical exhaustion so complete he'd fall into a heavy dreamless slumber.

In the distance, a ribbon of dust rose from the direction of the road, drawing his thoughts from the nightmare of his life. He was about to have company. The approaching vehicle was still three or four miles away, but Ethan had no doubt about its destination. The poor excuse for a road led one place. Here.

The question of who would seek him out only vaguely interested him. None of the locals would come looking for him. He rarely went into town except to get supplies, and then he kept to himself. But there were hours last night he couldn't account for, time when the Jack Daniel's had ruled his actions.

He tried remembering what he'd done, or if he'd spoken to anyone. He'd gotten into town about nine and ordered something to eat, washing down the food with a couple or three beers. Then it had been straight Jack, and his memory blurred. The next thing he knew, he'd awakened in his own bed with the full force of the New Mexico sun beating on his face.
The dust cloud grew as the vehicle got closer.

If someone had gone to the effort of driving out here, it meant trouble. He thought of the Glock, buried under three years of pictures and regrets within an old metal box beneath his bed. In a few minutes it would be too late, but he made no move to retrieve the weapon. If the Agency had finally found him, then so be it.

He'd been dead for a long time anyway.

 

Read the rest of the excerpt, here.

April 2003 Release || Interview || Excerpt || Visit Patricia's Web Page