Suzanne Hartmann's "Peril"

Title:  PERIL: Fast Track Thriller #1
Publisher: OakTara Publishing

Cover blurb: A top secret agent with enhanced strength must use her extraordinary abilities during several high-profile assignments from the White House to NASCAR tracks. When unwanted publicity threatens to expose her, she herself becomes a terrorist target, with danger surrounding her on all sides. “Plenty of action and unexpected twists.”  Foreword by Jimmy Makar, GM of Joe Gibbs Racing

1) How did this story come to you?

The Fast Track Thrillers began as stories I created to entertain myself during my children’s music lessons and sports practices. It didn’t enter my mind to write a book until a thought popped into my head while I was taking a walk: “Why don’t you write them into a novel.” For a while I considered whether I was having a premature mid-life crisis, but finally decided that it was truly a nudge from God. The NASCAR aspect of it filtered into my stories after my daughter decided she liked watching stock car racing. I started paying more attention to the races (instead of taking a nap), and after a while, I realized that a NASCAR driver would make an exciting addition my story.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.

I followed a fairly traditional route towards publication, in spite of having no clue what I was doing when I wrote the first draft of PERIL. I joined a critique group, polished up the manuscript, then spent a year and a half looking for an agent. After another serious revision pass, in which I reduced the wordcount by twenty-five percent, and rewriting the opening chapter, Terry Burns offered me a contract. He diligently queried editors for a year and a half before Ramona Tucker at OakTara offered a contract five months ago. Along the way, I’ve learned a ton about how to write a novel, which I share in my book Write This Way: Take Your Writing to a New Level, and I have made many wonderful friends.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
a) I wasn’t a NASCAR fan when I started writing PERIL.
b) Like one of my main characters, I was in a very serious car accident years ago.
c) I touched the Berlin Wall when it was still standing in Berlin.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
CONSPIRACY: Fast Track Thriller #2 and REVENGE: Fast Track Thriller #3 The ideas have been rattling around in my head for several years, but so far I’ve only got a narrative outline. Now that Book #1 is out, I’m getting serious about writing the further adventures of the protagonists in PERIL.

5) Where can fans find you on the internet

Website: Fast Track Thrillers (http://fasttrackthrillers.blogspot.com)
Blog: Write This Way (http://suzanne-hartmann2.blogspot.com)