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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Things like this didn’t happen to people like me - Trigger by Jill Meengs

“You’re wrong. I have everything to lose and therefore I have no choice.” The coldness in his voice made the next words brittle. 
 “To let you live is to risk her life, and that I won’t do.” He pulled the trigger twice in quick succession.

Description:

Release Date: January 27th, 2015

Jordan Shaw knows the only way to stop the man hunting her is to kill him. She also knows the other men who came after her are dead, some of their blood is on her hands, and she wouldn’t have survived this long without the help of the intriguing and secretive Chase Hudson. Even though she isn’t sure she can trust Chase, she believes she needs him to discover the truth. 

Two days before, life was pretty good as she backpacked around Europe with her best friend. Now, everything has changed and she may not even live through the night. What started as a summer trip of self-discovery has become a dangerous journey across three countries as Jordan is forced into a world few know exist and even fewer survive. A clandestine international organization that will let nothing stand in their way has put a price on her head. Despite all the uncertainty, there are two things that she is absolutely sure of; she has one chance to out-maneuver a world class killer, and she has to make that move right now.

GUEST POST
What inspired me to write Trigger

My husband Chad has always said that I should write a book. He kept bringing it up and getting very little reaction from me until he decided to offer me a bribe. For the price of a nice flat screen for the bedroom and a shopping spree, I agreed to give writing a book a solid effort. 

The first step in this process was to sit down and put together an outline. I sat down with several goals, one was to write a book that I actually wanted to read. Second, I wanted the main character be a strong woman that others could look up to, relate to, and who was perfectly capable of turning around and saving the leading man, even if she needed to be saved herself a time or two. Finally, I wanted to use my experiences while traveling in my writing. I have been to every location in Trigger and some of the content is based on things that actually happened to me. 

Once I had what I considered a viable story I spent two to three hours writing every night. This was after a full eight hour day of work and two hours of commuting. My husband was usually sitting right next to me working on his computer as well. More than two years, and over 100,000 words later the rough manuscript was complete. 

While self-editing for the next three years I spent a considerable amount of time sending out queries to literary agents and learning to deal with rejection. I even started the sequel, but progress on it has been slow since my focus was on publishing Trigger. Eventually, my sister-in-law introduced me to published poet and creative writing teacher, Ann Staley. Ann generously helped me edit Trigger and introduced me to own publisher, Booktrope. In June of 2014, over 5 years after starting to brainstorm ideas for a book, I received an offer from Booktrope to publish Trigger. Approximately six months later I was holding a hard copy of Trigger in my hand.

EXCERPT

I was tired of not having the answers. I was tired of running. I wanted to finish this. I gripped the piece of iron tightly. The possession of a decent weapon was bolstering as I waited alone in the darkness. 

Was the door ajar? Squinting in the poor light, I tried to determine if my mind was playing tricks on me. I couldn’t be sure, but the door looked like it was partly open. When I had entered the room, I was positive that I had shut it completely. 

I closed my eyes, and willed myself not to breathe. My heart beat frantically as adrenaline pumped through my veins. Things like this didn’t happen to people like me. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen at all. 

A faint noise broke the oppressive silence. I pressed up against the wall feeling the deep chill of the stone spread through my body. That sound, while barely audible, was enough to tell me that I was not alone. Somehow, he had made his way into the room without my knowing it. That noise was a mistake. I knew he would not make another. 

I had to outmaneuver him. He was good, he was very good, and if he hadn’t been trying to kill me I would have admired him for that. The only question now was if I could be better.

About the author:
Jill Postlewait Meengs grew up in a small town on the Oregon Coast. During and after college she spent extended periods of time backpacking in more than 30 countries. She has been to every location she describes in “Trigger” and some of the content is based on her own experiences while traveling. She met her husband, Chad, in the MBA program at Oregon State University. After getting married, they purchased and fully remodeled a house. It was Chad who encouraged, and then bribed her to write her first book, “Trigger.” He says that he very much enjoys watching the flat-screen he purchased as part of their deal. When Jill isn’t reading or writing, she is running, doing yoga or planning her next trip. Jill and Chad live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon.


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