Chatting with the Pros: Jenifer Ruff
Posted: October 12, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Fiction, Interview, Review | Tags: Book Review, Chatting with the Pros, Interview, Jenifer Ruff, Kaye Lynne Booth, The Bad Neighbor, The Victoria HEslin Thriller Series, Writing to be Read 8 Comments
My “Chatting with the Pros” guest for October is crime fiction author Jenifer Ruff. She was a guest back when
I first ran the blog series, and I am delighted to have her back for the renewel of the series. (You can see our original interview here.) I am a big fan of her Agent Victoria Heslin Series and I’ve also read the first book in her FBI & CDC series. (You’ll find the links to those reviews in the interview below.)
About Jenifer Ruff
USA TODAY bestselling author Jenifer Ruff writes dark and twisty thrillers, including the award-winning Agent Victoria Thriller Series. Jenifer lives in North Carolina and the mountains of Virginia with her family and a pack of greyhounds. If she’s not writing, she’s probably devouring books or out exploring trails with her dogs. For more information you can visit her website at Jenruff.com or join her at Facebook at facebook.com/authorjruff/
Interview
Kaye: Your books are published under Greyt Companion Press, which is your independent press. Why did you choose to publish independently? Did you try traditional publishing first?
Jenifer: Honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing at first. I didn’t look for an agent, I just started with a small publisher a friend had used. They were great, and it didn’t cost me a penny, but I soon realized I wanted more control over my books. Over the past few years, working full-time as an author and publisher, my writing opportunities grew to a bit more than I could handle alone. Now I have a literary agent who is helping me with some traditional opportunities, foreign rights, and sub rights.
Kaye: As an independent author, can you tell us about your author journey and how you became a U.S.A. Today bestselling author?
Jenifer: Since my first book was published almost ten years ago, I’ve written and published sixteen more books, learned as much as I could about the craft of writing, publishing, and book marketing. I love all of it, and with the industry and tools constantly changing, it’s impossible to ever get bored.
Kaye: I have to say I love your Victoria Heslin thriller series, and I’ve read and reviewed all but two of them. But that series isn’t the only one you write. You also write the FBI & CDC series, and the Brook Walton series. Can you talk a little about each series, so readers might get an idea of each one?
Jenifer: First, thank you so much for reading and reviewing my books. I’m so grateful! Here is a little about each series. All of my books are dark and twisty, but clean (no sex, no swearing.)
The Agent Victoria Thriller Series – The Numbers Killer, Pretty Little Girls, When They Find Us, Ripple of Doubt, The Groom Went Missing, Vanished on Vacation, The Atonement Murders, The Ones They Buried, The Bad Neighbor
Victoria is an introverted special agent with the FBI. She is also an heiress, which allows her to pursue her passion of rescuing animals. She is smart, determined, selfless, and courageous. Victoria’s investigations include tracking serial killers, spree killers, and several missing person cases. She also survived a plane crash and its harrowing aftermath, an incident that made global headlines as rescuers struggled to find the missing jet.
The Brooke Walton Series – Everett, Rothaker, The Intern
This dark psychological thriller series features Brooke Walton, an Ivy League psychopath, on her journey through college and medical school. Brooke is the most determined woman ever. She won’t let anyone or anything stand in the way of her goals. Her stories give you a chilling look inside her mind. Brooke is my favorite creation. Readers either love her, want to see her locked up for life, or can’t quite decide.
The FBI & CDC Thriller Series – Only Wrong Once, Only One Cure, and Only One Wave: The Tsunami Effect
This series features infectious disease expert Dr. Madeline Hamilton and FBI Anti-Terror Agent Quinn Traynor. They’ve dedicated their lives to preventing epidemics and terrorism. I’ve placed them in terrifying situations, forcing them to risk their own lives again and again to protect the rest of us.
Kaye: Most stories are not non-stop action. What are some tips you can offer rising authors for keeping the tension going and holding readers’ interest?
Jenifer: If you’re bored with what you’ve written, readers probably will be too, so scrap the bits that don’t excite you. Always have a central question that needs answering (Who did it? What is the motive? What is the connection?) to keep readers turning the pages.
Kaye: There is some of you in the character of Victoria Heslin, for sure. For one thing, she has a bunch of greyhounds, and you do, as well. Although I don’t think you have as many as she does. What other aspects of Jenifer Ruff went into the creation of Victoria Heslin?
Jenifer: Besides her love for animals, Victoria is an introvert. She’s not shy, but the act of socializing drains her energy, while quiet activities and alone time fill her up – and that is totally me. In most of the Victoria books she picks up a mystery-thriller to read on her Kindle when she has downtime. That’s something I do every day.
Kaye: A current hot topic in the writing and publishing worlds is the use of generative AI in writing and imagery, and even AI narration for audiobooks. Where do you stand on the use of AI?
Jenifer: I think AI is amazing, and I’d prefer it not get any better at writing or narration for the sake of everyone currently making a living in those occupations! I don’t think it could ever push authors and audio book narrators out of the market completely, since so much of a book’s success is related to marketing efforts, and of course luck. But who knows. It’s exciting and also scary.
Kaye: What is the best advice you have for aspiring authors of Crime Fiction?
Jenifer: Read as much as you can in the genre. If you simply enjoy writing and are happy to see your book in print, there are many stress-free ways to accomplish that goal. If sales are important, you must be on social media promoting your books, constantly making an effort to reach new readers. There’s really no way around that these days, unless you have an amazing publishing team doing it for you.
Kaye: Would you like to tell us about your latest book?
Jenifer: The Bad Neighbor is book 9 in my Victoria series but written as a standalone like the rest of them. I just finished proofing the audiobook—narrator Kate Handford just blew me away with her recording—and it’s fresh in my mind. Writing villains is my absolute favorite, getting into their heads and creating their motives, and this one was especially interesting to me. Here’s a taste of what it’s about.
In the idyllic Mountain Meadows neighborhood, a fresh start can quickly become a fatal ending.
For newcomers Chris and Zoey Hamilton, the affluent community seems like the perfect location to build a life together. Instead, history repeats itself when Zoey vanishes without a trace—just like the previous homeowner five years ago.
The secrets in Mountain Meadows run deep, and the greatest threats aren’t lurking in the shadows…they’re hosting dinner parties, attending parent-teacher conferences, going to yoga, and waving hello from behind their perfectly trimmed hedges. One of those polite, smiling individuals will stop at nothing to keep the past buried.
Kaye: Where can interested readers find out more about you and your books?
Jenifer: All my books and audiobooks are available on Amazon or through my website Jenruff.com. Print and audiobooks can also be ordered from any major retailer. If my books aren’t in your local library, you can always request them. Libraries are usually very accommodating to requests.
Thank you so much for interviewing me and for your thoughtful questions. I really appreciate it!
My Review of The Bad Neighbor
I received a digital copy of The Bad Neighbor in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
That being said, and as already stated, I am a big fan of Jenifer Ruff’s Agent Victoria Heslin Thriller series, of which this is book 9. Each book tells of a different case or situation in which our protagonist, Victoria Heslin, finds herself in. Usually, it’s an accounting of a case that she’s working as a government agent, but occassionally, as in When They Find Us, Heslin is off duty and the situation occurs in her personal life.
In The Bad Neighbor, Heslin finds trouble brewing right in her own neighborhood when a new neighbor turns up missing, and Victoria and her lover, Ned, join in the search to find her and uncover hidden secrets about her neighbors which make them all look a little guilty. It seems that everyone has something to hide and one of them is a killer.
As all the other books in this series, The Bad Neighbor is well written, masterfully leading the reader through twists and turns which eventually lead to a solution to the mystery. This book is everything that a crime fiction thriller should be and makes one wonder how much we really know about our neighbors, and how much do we really want to know. I give it five quills.
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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Book Review: The Atonement Murders
Posted: February 16, 2024 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Crime, Fiction, Review, Thriller | Tags: Agent Victoria Heslin Thriller series, Book Review, Crime Fiction, Jenifer Ruff, The Atonement Murders, Thriller, Writing to be Read 1 Comment
About the Book
Four murders. One shocking motive.
When detectives find the same message—THIS IS YOUR ATONEMENT—at the staged scenes of four seemingly unrelated homicides, FBI Special Agent Victoria Heslin must uncover the connection between them to identify the killer.
The crimes are scattered across the East Coast. The victims are in their late twenties: an All-Star NBA player, an investment banker, a dental hygienist, and a bartender.
Who is punishing them? What have they done? And who might be next?
Victoria delves into the victims’ pasts, traveling from Boston to Charlotte to the North Carolina mountains, unraveling the dark mystery that links the crimes. As the killer’s motive becomes clear, Victoria is in a race to the finish that she must not lose.
Purchase Link:
Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Murders-Agent-Victoria-Heslin/dp/B0C1T9VXRG/
Chirp: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-atonement-murders-by-jenifer-ruff
My Review
I listened to the audiobook of The Atonement Muders, book 7 of the Agent Victoria Heslin Thiller series, by Jennifer Ruff and narrated by Kate Hanford. Although I have read several of The Agent Victoria Heslin Thrillers by this author, this was the first one I’ve consumed in audio. I felt Kate Hanford was a good choice of narrator. The narration was smooth, the inflections perfect, and her portrayal of the main character fit neatly with the idea of her which I had formed in my mind from the previous books which I’d read.
In The Atonement Murders, agent Heslin is on the trail of a serial killer, and it’s up to her to discover what the victims have in common and get at least one step ahead of them in order to prevent there being another victim. Four victims; two men, one a famous athelet, and two women, sisters. Victoria Heslin tracks down all leads until she discovers the connection to a summer twelve years earlier, when all four were at the same location with two other youth, but to discover who the killer is, she must uncover what happened that fateful night. The clock is ticking when the last two potential victims both fall off the radar, and she must figure out which one is the killer and prevent another murder.
In The Atonement Murders, Jenifer Ruff does not disappoint. I give it five quills.
Other Books in This Series
You can read my reviews of the other books in this series. All are highly recommended.
The Numbers Killer: https://wp.me/pVw40-3We
Pretty Little Girls & When They Find Us: https://wp.me/pVw40-7FF
The Ones They Buried: https://wp.me/pVw40-86z
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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.
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July: On the hunt for crime fiction
Posted: July 23, 2019 Filed under: Books, Crime, Fiction, Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction, Noir, Pulp Fiction, Suspense, Tension, Writing | Tags: Awesome Tales #10, Crime Fiction, Crime Novels, Hard-boiled fiction, Jenifer Ruff, Jim Nesbitt, Michael Pool, Noir, Noir crime fiction, Pulp Fiction, Quintin Peterson, Rose City, The Numbers Killer, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
The crime fiction genre covers a lot of ground. By definition, crime fiction involves mystery to be solved, usually who the killer is, or a quest to figure out some type of diabolical plot. Crime fiction stories involve pretty high stakes, and therefore a lot of suspense. Often there is a ticking clock to ratchet the tension even higher. And of course, there is always a crime of some sort to be solved, or prevented; some sort of wrong to be righted.
Crime fiction is a broad term which includes many sub-genres, which focus on the investigation of a crime and the apprehension of a suspect, either by law enforcement agents, as in The Numbers Killer, by my “Chatting with the Pros” author guest, Jenifer Ruff or by a tough guy P.I., as in hardboiled crime fiction such as Jim Nesbitt writes, with his tough guy P.I., Ed Earl Burch in The Best Lousy Choice and the two previous books in that series.
Hardboiled heroes are memorable. Who doesn’t know of Sam Spade or Mike Hammer and their cynical tough-guy images? They are usually down on their luck, or at least between clients. They are often heavily flawed, often self-destructive, but a ladies man none-the-less, with a love them and leave them attitude and the snappy dialog of the 1920’s. Hardboiled fiction was birthed by Carrolle John Daly and Dashielle Hammett in the 20’s, and carried on by authors such as Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane.
In noir crime fiction, the protagonist is usually an extremely flawed, average guy. He’s usually down and out, or perhaps on a downward spiral in a situation that seems bleak and hopeless. He’s a self-destructive hero, who ends up going against all odds to fight corruption and injustice, not because it is his job, but for strictly personal motivations, which are usually not in his own best interests. An excellent example of this is found in Rose City, by Michael Pool (See my interview with Michael next Monday, the 29th).
And of course, the classic crime fiction is pulp, such as Quintin Peterson writes in Awesome Tales #10 . From pulp, we get our classic heroes and fiendish evil villains. It’s from pulp that comic book super heroes and super villains arose, which is yet, another sub-genre of crime fiction, which has expanded with a life of its own to super colossal proportions.
We went on a hunt for crime fiction, and we found quite a bit. I learned a lot and I hope you did to. Now, I’m looking forward to August in a quest for mysteries and mystery authors. My “Chatting with the Pros” guest will be New York Times bestselling author, Gilly Macmillan. I’ll also be interviewing mystery author Gerald Darnell. And I’ll be reviewing a mystery anthology, Death Among Us, as well as a search and rescue mystery, Murder on the Horizon, by M.L. Rowland, and a paranormal cozy, Broomsticks and Burials, by Lilly Webb. I hope you’ll join me.
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Chatting with the Pros: Interview with bestselling author Jenifer Ruff
Posted: July 15, 2019 Filed under: Author Profile, Books, Chatting with the Pros, Crime, Fiction, Interview, Thriller, Writing | Tags: Chatting with the Pros, Crime Fiction, Jenifer Ruff, Only Wrong Once, psychological thrilers, The Numbers Killer, Writing to be Read 3 Comments
My guest today on “Chatting with the Pros” is bestselling author Jenifer Ruff. She’s booked as a psychological thiller author, but much of her works falls under the genre of crime fiction, as well. She has a knack for keeping the action moving and throwing in surprise twists, which is always great in crime fiction stories. I’m excited to find out what she has to share, so please join me in welcoming her to Writing to be Read.
Kaye: What elements of storytelling do you feel are specific to the crime fiction genre?
Jenifer: A well-developed and slightly flawed but likable antagonist. An interesting protagonist with clear and shocking or complex motives. A suspenseful, intricate plot with unexpected twists that involves a crime or series of crimes.
Kaye: What is the biggest challenge in writing crime fiction for you?
Jenifer: The most enjoyable parts are creating the plot, the twists, the characters, and the crimes. The hardest part for me is having the patience to go back and edit and rewrite again and again until the writing is the best I can make it.
Kaye: Are there any particular crime fiction authors that you fashioned your writing style after?
Jenifer: There are too many (way too many!) excellent authors and excellent novels out there for me to pick one in particular. I learn a little from all of them. I try and read as much of everything as I can—bestsellers in literature for the two book clubs I’m in, and indie authors in the thriller genre for me. I love it when the book I’m reading sparks new ideas, but that can happen no matter what genre or what author. I do know that when I read literature, I get inspired to create all sorts of similes and metaphors and my editor usually nixes almost all of them.
Kaye: You have also written thrillers, horror and YA suspense. What are the differences in writing crime fiction from the other genres you’ve written in?
Jenifer: All my novel are dark and twisty psychological suspense thrillers with disturbed characters readers often can’t help but like. Each book involves crimes, mostly murders. Each has a different contemporary topic—terrorism, sex trafficking, social media, for examples. I think I’ve been consistent with that character-driven style no matter the story or the genre. They’re more similar than they are different, but each emphasizes certain genre elements slightly more than others.
Kaye: What kind of research do you find yourself doing for crime fiction?
Jenifer: With my Brooke Walton series, I did a lot of research about psychopaths, PTSD, and working in a Medical Examiner’s office. For Only Wrong Once, I researched ISIS, particularly their recruiting techniques, and bio-terrorism. I was a little worried about setting off alarms on the internet because of the type of research I was doing for that one. Pretty Little Girls, the book I’m finishing now, involved research and attending lectures on sex trafficking. I’ve interviewed FBI agents and had a few beta read my books to make sure I wasn’t too far off on anything.
Kaye: You write in several genres. Which genre is your favorite one to write in? Why?
Jenifer: Psychological suspense. I enjoy getting into the heads of my very flawed characters and figuring out how they might react, respond… thinking up actions that would be outrageous for me or any “normal” person, but perfectly normal for them.
Kaye: Besides writing, what are your favorite things to do?
Jenifer: Hike with my dogs and exercise classes – Barre, Pilates, Zumba, athletic conditioning – anything where I’m moving and sweating. If I get on a bike or elliptical it’s because I’m really into whatever book I’m reading and I want to be able to exercise and keep reading.
Kaye: Your most recent crime fiction novel is The Numbers Killer, which I reviewed last Friday. What other novels have you written that would fit into the crime fiction genre?
Jenifer: Only Wrong Once, the Brooke Walton series: Everett, Rothaker, and The Intern. And my newest, coming out soon—Pretty Little Girls.
Kaye: Can you tell us a little about The Numbers Killer?
Jenifer: It’s the first in a new series about FBI Agent and heiress, Victoria Heslin. The series will appeal to fans of A.J. Finn, Thomas Harris, James Patterson, Jeffrey Deaver and Karin Slaughter. Most of my early readers have said they couldn’t put it down, which is exactly what I hope to hear.
When a key witness in an organized crime trial turns up dead in his kitchen with liar and the number two scrawled on his forehead, the FBI assumes the murder was a hit to silence him. Then the calls start coming in—more victims with similar markings and no connection to the mob.
As agents Victoria Heslin and Dante Rivera struggle to catch a break in the case, they receive a series of cryptic, personal messages from the killer, complicating the investigation. Something disturbing and frightening is underway, and anyone might be next, including the agents, unless they uncover the common denominator.
Kaye: The old adage is, ‘write what you know’. Obviously, you haven’t lived through the horrendous events featured in your crime fiction stories. In what ways do you draw off of your own experiences when writing crime fiction?
Jenifer: I write about things that might fascinate me – the abnormal and the unexpected. I really admire determined people, but when someone is determined and also misguided, things can get very interesting. I’ve created characters like that in most of my novels.
Kaye: What is the strangest inspiration for a story you’ve ever had?
Jenifer: The idea for Only Wrong Once was inspired by a secure laboratory at my graduate school that held research samples of the most deadly diseases on the planet – small pox, bubonic plague, and Ebola, to list just a few. And also from a quote by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in 2004. She said: “And let’s remember that those charged with protecting us from attack have to be right 100 percent of the time. To inflict devastation on a massive scale, the terrorists only have to succeed once. And we know that they are trying every day.” Her powerful, frightening words inspired the book title and the theme for Only Wrong Once.
Kaye: Is there anything unique or unusual about your writing process?
Jenifer: I don’t think there’s anything unusual about it. I sit down in front of my computer for as long as I can, as many days per week as I can. Even though I write most days, I still consider that time a luxury. I write in my house and I can’t get any writing done if I have housework to do, I’m too distracted by awareness of what needs to be cleaned. So cleaning and chores first, then I can write.
Kaye: If The Numbers Killer was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Jenifer: I’d love for Blake Lively to be Agent Victoria Heslin.
Kaye: What’s next for Jenifer Ruff? Can readers look forward to more crime fiction from you? What are you working on now?
Jenifer: The second in the Victoria Heslin series, Pretty Little Girls, is almost finished and will be published in the fall. I’m waiting on beta readers now, and next it will go out to ARC readers. In Pretty Little Girls, Agent Heslin is called to Charlotte, NC to consult on a kidnapping case, but what she discovers ends up being much, much worse. Right now, I’m busy working through ideas for the third novel in the series.
I want to thank Jenifer for joining me today and offering a glimpse into her writing process here. I reviewed her book Only Wrong Once last month when we were looking at thrillers. You can see that review here. You can find out more about Jenifer Ruff and her books at the following links:
Website: http://jenruff.com/index.html
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jenifer-Ruff/e/B00NFZQOLQ?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1563137616&sr=1-1
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The Numbers Killer: A Crime Thriller that keeps readers guessing
Posted: July 12, 2019 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Uncategorized | Tags: Book Review, Jenifer Ruff, mystery, psychologicl thrillers, Suspence, The Numbers Killer, Writing to be Read 5 Comments
Things aren’t always what they seem, and The Numbers Killer, by Jenifer Ruff is no exception. In this psycholigical thriller mystery, people are are turning up dead and Agent Victoria Roslin is a tough police investigator who must race to catch a killer. The stakes are raised even higher and the clock runs faster when it turns personal and Victoria is targeted. It seems the killer has her number. Can she solve the mystery of how the victims are connected. Can she catch the killer, or will she become the nest victim of the Numbers Killer?
The Numbers Killer is a well-crafted mystery that keeps readers guessing. There’s nothing cozy about this mystery. Ruff keeps the action moving and throws in plenty of surprise twists right down to the last pages. I give it five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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“Only Wrong Once”: A medical thriller that could be fact instead of fiction
Posted: June 14, 2019 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Medical Thriller, Thriller | Tags: Book Review, Jenifer Ruff, Medical Thriller, Only Wrong Once, Thriller, Writing to be Read 4 Comments
Only Wrong Once, by Jennifer Ruff is a fast paced medical thriller that deals with international bio-terrorism on a personal level, bringing it all home in a big way. Maybe the reason this tale hits a nerve is that there are similar stories in the news every day, and Only Wrong Once made me wonder about the stories we don’t hear about.
Quinn Traynor is a U.S. intelligence agent out to save the world from terrorism, but his next case will hit closer to home than most of the terrorist attacks he’s worked to thwart. When a plot to strike terror into Americans in pandemic proportions with a bio-terrorism attack, the clock is ticking to find and stop the terrorists before they can carry out their deadly plan. Time is running out for the terrorists, too, maybe faster than anyone thinks, and if they succeed, time may be running out for the entire nation. Quinn and his team work against all odds to stop the bio-terrorism weapon from being released on the country, but can they succeed in time to make a difference?
Only Wrong Once will be released next month in the medical thriller box set, Do No Harm. It is available for preorder now.
The ticking clock lends Only Wrong Once just the right amount of urgency to keep the pages turning. It is well-crafted and keeps readers sitting on the edge of their seats. The plot is downright scary, because it could happen. I give it five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
