Category Little River
Desert Secrets
I’m in the early stages of drafting a new novel. My recently released thriller, Little River, (cheap shameless plug) confirmed the importance of research on the subject matter. The details make all the difference between a meh story, and a good story. The overarching theme in Little River is human trafficking and the new work […]
Human Trafficking – It’s Not Only About Sex
The topic of human trafficking brings a certain set of preconceived ideas and images to mind. Popular media expresses trafficking as something they can market – and sex sells. Here in California, a recent voter initiative on the ballot passed after a frenzied campaign of television commercials promising tough anti-trafficking laws. All the new statutes […]
Behind the Cover of Little River
You can’t judge a book by its cover? Yeah, maybe. I admit when I browse the aisles in a bookstore, or scroll through the e-book offerings in Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, I look for something more than a flashy, photoshopped image. I think I’m like most readers when I expect something more – something […]
My Little River Publishing Journey
Every writer’s road to getting a novel published is unique. No one takes the same turns, makes the same decisions and agrees to compromise in the same manner. Yes, I said compromise and before the cries of artistic freedom and censorship fall down from the heavens, let me explain how Little River came alive. The […]
It Ain’t What it Looks Like
During a recent drive from Northern California to Phoenix, I witnessed thirteen hours of desert, farmland and urban sprawl, most of which you’d never find as a feature in any self-respecting travel guide. When people think of California, fanciful visions of surfers, bikini-clad beaches, palm trees and Disneyland fill the imagination. Living in the Northern […]
Behind the Scenes – Crime in the Caribbean
After my first trip to Jamaica, I wanted to bring my fictional story about human trafficking to life. I knew the basic plot lines that I wanted to write, but my two decades of work in the criminal justice system didn’t give me enough to flesh out my story. I’ve seen the extortion of prison […]
Little River
During a recent trip to Jamaica, I had some down time waiting for my connecting flight and then again waiting in the customs lines in Montego Bay. My mind wandered, as it often does, but this time, it drifted and formed the framework of my novel. The plot line lay in the faces and unspoken […]
Human Trafficking – The 32 Billion Dollar Industry
Let me start out by stating that I’m not a social worker, reformer, or activist. I’m simply an observer – a writer. As I develop a novel and the plot lines within, I pull together source information and research the subject area to provide the reader with a realistic story line. In the process of […]
James L'Etoile 