Interview and Giveaway - Price of Justice by Alan Brenham

Price of Justice

by Alan Brenham 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

BLURB: 

His focus is on solving the murders—until the unthinkable happens…  

Recently widowed, Austin Police Detective Jason Scarsdale works to solve the murders of two pedophiles, while trying to be both mother and father to his five-year-old daughter. During his investigation, Scarsdale is forced to navigate between the crosshairs of two police commanders out to get him. Drawn to Austin Police Crime Analyst, Dani Mueller, who has also suffered tragedy, Scarsdale fights both his attraction and his suspicions that something just isn’t right…  

She is hiding a secret, one that could not only cost her a job—it could end her life…  

Dani hides a deadly past. After her daughter was brutally murdered, Dani exacted her revenge then changed her name and fled to Austin. But if her secret ever gets out, she knows there is no place she can hide from the murderer’s vicious family. 

Pulled into a web of malice and deceit, Scarsdale and Dani discover the value of breaking the rules. Then just when they thought things couldn’t get worse…they do.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt: 

Scarsdale trudged into the courthouse, flashing his badge so he could bypass security. He stopped at the rear of a throng of people maneuvering to get an elevator. He checked to see where the four elevators were—one was stopped on floor three, another just arrived at the fifth floor and two seemed stuck on Eight. People elbowed their way closer to the doors—even he got jostled. A distinct odor of alcohol, mixed with cheap perfume and a trace of marihuana, made him sneeze a couple of times. 

Looking around, Scarsdale didn’t recognize anyone connected with his dreaded hearing. He leaned against the wall and let his thoughts drift. The events of the past five years flashed through his mind. The wedding Marcy refused to attend. Then Charity’s funeral—the second time Marcy had seen Shannon since she was born—gushing over her granddaughter, telling Shannon how much she missed her. Scarsdale stopped outside the big wooden courtroom doors. He stared at the brass door handles. What will the judge decide? 

His heart hammered against his chest. Taking a couple of deep breaths and swallowing hard, he pulled the courtroom doors open. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

 Let's Learn a Little About Alan Brenham:

1.  What is your writing environment?

      I use an office in my home. Notes, reminders, and reference books surround the desk.

2.  Who is your perfect hero and why?

     My perfect hero would be my older brother. We were two years apart in age and, growing up, it always seemed that he knew how to do anything, fix anything, turn scrap metal and wood into something useful, build radios, etc. Whatever he did, I wanted to do. When he became a police officer, I became one too, although with a different department. When I was injured, he drove up and did the manual labor around the house that I wasn’t able to do. When my first wife passed away, he was johnny-on-the-spot, helping me get through it. One day he and I went sailing in Galveston Bay and the boat capsized. I got dragged under when my leg got tangled in a rope. He pulled me up. A perfect hero - they don’t come any better than him.

3.  What authors have caught your interest lately and why?

     Two authors have drawn my attention recently - Jeffery Deaver and Robert Crais. I finished reading a title by Jeffery Deaver called The Bodies Left Behind. I enjoyed how he produced a suspense-filled story where nothing was as it seemed.

Crais’s book, Suspect, is different from anything I’ve read before. His story follows a German shepherd (A dog breed I absolutely love) as it goes from duty with a Marine handler in Afghanistan who’s killed to an LA police officer who’s surviving the loss of his partner. Crais writes the book from both the officer’s POV and the dog’s POV.

4.  What type of book have you always wanted to write?

     A story about an alternate society where everything is turned on its head. To do so would require an extensive planning an outline to “make”  the society, its rules, the main characters and the supportive ones, figure who or what the antagonist would be and ditto for the protagonist.

5.  Top 3 things on your bucket list?

     a.  I had already gone scuba diving  and met up with sharks, barracudas, and moray eels. I’m ready to do something a lot more fun - go snorkeling with dolphins

     b.  I had taken a cruise to Alaska and saw how beautiful it is. Now I want to spend a week at the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

     c.  I’ve been on ten cruises - from Russia to Alaska and from Florida to South America. My next one has to be a cruise around the world.

6.  How did you get the idea for this particular novel?

     I wanted to write a story using a couple of similar scenarios I had investigated as a police officer, prosecuted as an attorney and, later defended.

7.  What is your favorite scene in your new release?

     My favorite scene would be Shannon’s escape scene. That’s all I want to say about it so as not to spoil it for anyone wanting to read Price of Justice.

8.  What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be available?

      I’m working on two projects now: doing the revisions suggested by my publisher for Cornered, and re-writing the 4th draft of Rampage. According to the publisher, Cornered will be released in late Spring 2014 or early summer 2014. Rampage won’t be out until probably the end of 2014 or early 2015.

9.   What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

      Okay, it’s a laundry list of things:  (1) I have a few TV shows for which I’m a rabid fan such as The Blacklist, The Originals, and The Walking Dead.  (2) Go places and do fun things with my wife, like going to The Melting Pot for dinner or to the Austin Aquarium, or a really great movie. (3) In season, watch football. (4)  Cook.  (5) Read crime fiction

10.  What would you consider a perfect date?

       I would present my date (wife) with a bouquet of mixed-colored roses to start the evening off. Next would be dinner at her favorite fondue restaurant, The Melting Pot. Afterwards, since she loves musicals, I’d take her to Austin’s Long Center and enjoy either Cats or the Phantom of the Opera.  (I am thinking that she is a lucky lady!)  

11.  What is one interesting fact about you that readers don’t know?

        While assigned to Berlin, Germany with US military forces, I won a gold medal in an international pistol competition sponsored by the US Army.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

Alan Brenham is the pseudonym of Alan Behr, an American author and attorney. He served as a law enforcement officer before earning a law degree. He worked first as a prosecutor then defense attorney for the next twenty-six years. His travels took him to several European and Middle Eastern countries, Alaska and almost every island in the Caribbean. While contracted to US military forces, he resided in Berlin, Germany for a few years. Alan and his wife, Lillian, currently live in the Austin, Texas area. He has authored two crime fiction books, Price of Justice and Cornered, and is working on a third titled Rampage. 

Links: 

website:  http://www.alanbrenham.com 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Price-Justice-Alan-Brenham/dp/1626940835 

Black Opal Books:  http://www.blackopalbooks.com

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Giveaway:

 

Alan will be awarding a $50 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.  The more you comment, the greater your chances of winning!  Follow the tour HERE