Author’s note

While writing Body and Soul (Death and Destruction book 7) an evil man broke out two windows at the Mandalay Hotel in Las Vegas and began shooting hundreds of innocent people attending a country music concert in a parking lot. At last count, he managed to take 59 innocent lives, wounding 527 in total. He managed to forever change our lives and force us to once again stop and take inventory of ourselves. 

The Death and Destruction series is all about the ATF, men and women who go to work every day to enforce laws and regulations with regard to firearms in this country (USA). I cannot begin to imagine how frustrating it must be for real-life agents to have to watch killers like the one in Las Vegas (who I will not dignify with a name), and perhaps think that they might have been able to do something to stop him or at least stop him from obtaining that much firepower.

This isn’t a statement about my feelings on the gun control issue in the United States but more my personal hope. We clearly need to keep firearms out of the hands of people with mental illness who either might injure others without even knowing it or willfully carry out a mass shooting like this. Our Senate passed a law to allow just that. Can you even imagine passing a law to allow mentally ill people to purchase guns? I can’t but then again, that’s what these politicians do because the National Rifle Association (NRA) funnels tens—maybe hundreds—of millions of dollars into their re-election campaigns every year. That should be criminal… but it’s not. Perhaps this gun nut wasn’t clinically diagnosed as mentally unstable but he clearly was. We’ll probably never know what was going through the mind of the killer… unless we uncover some writings of his somewhere.

We clearly need harsher penalties for people caught with illegal firearms. We clearly need to intensify background checks in this country. In my opinion, we clearly need to federalize the background check system to make it just as tough to purchase a firearm in Arizona as it is to purchase one in California. We clearly need to make it just as tough to purchase a firearm from a private party as it is to purchase it in a gun store. We clearly need to limit the purchase of a high volume of ammunition or bulk sales of the same.

Just the idea that we should pass a law allowing silencers is ludicrous but it’s being voted on in congress this week. Just the idea that we have legalized bump stock devices to increase the speed that bullets can be fired from a semi-automatic rifle is ludicrous, but the killer in Vegas had two of those along with as many as 23 guns in his hotel at the time of the shooting with another 18 at home. How on earth did we allow this to happen? How on earth was this killer allowed to buy that quantity of guns legally? How about the tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition he owned? All purchased legally.

I’ll just say this about being an author of this kind of series. Every time one of these tragedies happens, I have to stop writing for a few days until I can get my head back around my story. It’s hard to see the tragedy unfold, staunch my own tears, and swallow my emotions in order to get myself back into the right headspace to write about Jarrett and Thayne and their friends who fight these kind of fanatical gun nuts like the killers in this series. But, here I am. I can only promise to do my best by these characters for these books. Most of all, I can only hope that I can continue to engage readers with the stories I tell of the ATF and FBI in these books and keep them honest. I promise to do my best.

Love, Patti

Sunday morning with my friend, Lisa Worrall

I am honored to host my friend, Lisa Worrall, today. She has a shiny brand new MM Mystery/thriller and she's here to talk a little bit about how she crafts her amazing stories. Without further ado, welcome, Lisa...

First things first, a huge thank you to the wonderful Patti Logan for hosting me today and letting me ramble on.

I’ve known Patti a long time and am a fan of her writing. Have been from day one. She is responsible for one of my favourite lines ever, one that still gives me goosebumps…. “his hair fell around his shoulders like a midnight waterfall.” God, I love that line! We’ve even written an anthology and a series together, so we know how each other works—completely differently.

Patti is a plotter and I’m a panster. Don’t get me wrong, I set out to plot every single time, but my mind ends up whispering, “Put that pen down and let’s just see what happens! It’ll be fun!” And sometimes it is. Other times it’s like getting blood out of the proverbial stone. Especially when you find yourself with two MC’s who see their characters in a slightly different light to yours. You know the kind. Where you say, “Hey, why don’t we go over here…” and their response is, “Well, yeah, it’d be nice over there, but what about if we went a few hundred yards to the left so we could…?” While they don’t come right out and tell you your idea is kaka, you don’t need to be hit over the head. The most annoying part is that they’re usually right!

Which is exactly what happened with Looking for Jesse. It’s been a while since I’ve had a book out there and I gave it everything I had. It seemed, however, what I had wasn’t enough, because the moment Nick and Ford crossed paths, they stood behind me, whispering in my ear to make sure I told their story the way they wanted it. I hope I did. But I’m still going to get Patti to give me some pointers when it comes to this plotting business.

There are two copies of Looking for Jesse to giveaway. Please leave a comment and your email address 😊

Looking for Jesse by Lisa Worrall

Blurb:

Life is full of decisions and it’s the split-second ones that change your world forever.

Nick Shepherd made such a decision on the day his son, Jesse, was taken from a Christmas market in Naperville. The woman looked normal and had a son of her own, and he was only going to be a minute. But that minute was all she needed. His son was gone.

A year later, the task force is being downsized and they are no closer to finding Jesse than they were the day he disappeared. At his wits end, Nick is given a number and a name by the lead on the case.

Ex-detective Frank Ford has issues, several of them. Two steps shy of a full-blown alcoholic, all he wants is to bury himself in the bottle. He’s doing a pretty good job of it, too, when Nick Shepherd asks for his help. Does Ford want to help? No. Is Ford going to help? Hell no. Until four words resonate deep within him.

“She took my son!”

Excerpt:

Half an hour later there were only three people ahead of them and Nick sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward. He’d stopped feeling his fingers fifteen minutes ago, and the sky had begun to darken as evening approached. After Santa, they could take one more trip around the lot, pick up a few decorations and the quilt Jesse had spotted for Nick’s mom before heading home. Nick’s stomach rumbled loudly and he suddenly realized they hadn’t eaten since the giant pretzel’s and hot chocolate when they first arrived. The Disney Channel and takeout pizza was the way to go. They were down to two in front when Jesse announced.

“Aww nuts.”

“Excuse me?” Nick stared down at him with a raised eyebrow. Although Jesse didn’t notice because he was too busy hunting through his pockets.

“I lost my mitten!” Jesse looked up at him, one of his multi-colored Christmas mittens clutched in his fingers.

Aww crap!

Anna had bought him those mittens last year at this very market and Jesse had scoured his closet last night looking for them. Wearing them today had been important and Nick got it, he really did.

“Where did you have them last?” Nick asked, dropping down to his haunches to look his son in the eye. His stomach rumbled again and Nick had a lightbulb moment. “Were you wearing them when we had hot chocolate?”

“Yes!” Jesse exclaimed. “But I took them off to hold the cup. Maybe I left it there.”

“Okay,” Nick said. “When we’ve seen Santa, we’ll go back and look for it.”

“But what if someone takes it while we’re waiting?” Jesse’s voice rose and Nick could hear that tears were on their way. “We have to go now!”

“Jay, we’ve been standing in line for thirty minutes, dude, and Santa’s gonna be closing up shop soon. If we go now, you’ll miss him.” Nick tried to reason but Jesse was on the verge of meltdown and people were beginning to stare at them.

“I… need… my… mitten!” Jesse wailed, sobs building in his chest and he threw his arms around Nick’s waist.

Double crap!

Nick looked at the woman in front of them with her son, then over at the seating area where they’d had their hot chocolate and pretzels earlier—then back again. It wasn’t that far…. If he sprinted, he could get to the wooden tables, check if the mitten was there and get back before it was their turn. Jesse would be okay just for a minute—wouldn’t he—of course he wouldn’t he’s only seven—but it’s only for a minute and there are people everywhere—but—? Nick didn’t have time to finish the conversation with himself because Jesse wailed again. Tapping the woman in front of them on the shoulder, Nick made an executive decision.

“Excuse me,” he said as she turned around. “My son left his mitten at the seating area over there but I don’t want him to miss his turn. Would you mind watching him for a minute while I run over and find it?”

The woman’s kindly brown eyes took in Jesse’s tear-soaked face and the length of the line then smiled. “Of course,” she replied. “But be quick, I think they’re rushing the kids through so they get in as many as they can before closing.”

“Like there’s fire coming out of my as—sorry, butt—sorry.” Nick stumbled over the words but she only laughed and waved her hand.

“Go!”

“Thanks,” Nick said gratefully and quickly hugged Jesse to him. “I’ll be right back, buddy, okay? You just stand here with this nice lady and I’ll be so quick you won’t even notice I’ve gone.”

Jesse looked at him warily but the woman smiled and said, “He’ll be fine with me and Marcus, won’t you?” Jesse gave a hesitant nod and Nick hit the ground running.

The mitten Gods must have been smiling down on him because he found it under the table where they’d been sitting almost immediately. He heaved a huge sigh of relief and dashed back to Santa’s Grotto, mitten held high like a victory torch so Jesse could see.

Nick made good on his promise, he was back in just over a minute, if a little out of breath. Promising himself he’d tell Daisy to stop bringing in donuts to work, he headed to the front of the line. He smiled as he slowed his approach, not wanting to slip on the frozen ground. Nick was surprised to see Jesse still held the woman’s hand. Although Jesse was an affectionate kid, he was also very cautious and took a while to warm up to new people. A hand tightened around Nick’s heart. It had been a long time since Jesse had felt a motherly touch. Even when they’d sat on the couch watching TV, Jesse’s hand had always been curled around Anna’s.

“I got it, dude!” Nick said jubilantly, putting his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “It was right whe—”

The words caught in his throat as the boy turned and so did the woman holding his hand. “Hey!” she yelled, pulling the boy toward her.

“I’m sorry.” Nick held up his hands. “I thought you were… my….” He spun on his heel, his gaze flitting all around him. “Jesse!” His name echoed on the cold evening air. “Jesse! My son? Where’s my son?” Nick grabbed the woman’s forearm and her eyes widened in horror. “My son!” he repeated. What was wrong with her? Why was she looking at him like that?

“Hey, man, take it easy.” That came from a big, bald man a couple of spaces down the line.

Nick ignored him and shook the terrified woman. “My son, he was here. Right here. Where is he? You must have seen him!”

“Sir, is there a problem?”

Nick looked at the woman dressed in a short-skirted elf costume and the burly security guard behind her. He dropped the frightened woman’s arm and ran shaking hands through his hair. “My son,” he said again. Why was no one listening to him? “He was right here! Where is he?” He turned back to the dark-haired woman who now clasped her son to her tightly. “You saw him. You must have. He was with the other woman and the boy. I just went to find his… his mitten.” Nick waved it pathetically, the woolen mitten still clutched firmly in his fingers. “I found… it.”

“The little blond boy?” the elf asked.

“Yes!” Nick tried not to scream but panic, raw and heavy bubbled deep within him. He tried to push it down, but he could taste it in the back of his throat. “He was here. Right here. I was only gone—”

“She left.”

“She left?” Nick shook his head. “What do you mean she left?” He grabbed her forearms. Where. Is. My. Son?”

The elf turned her concerned gaze on the security guard, who stepped forward and put a firm hand on Nick’s shoulder. Spots dotted Nick’s peripheral vision as his brain tried to force him to accept what she was saying.

“Sh-she said there was an emergency. That they had to go.”

“Go?”

“I-I thought you were together,” she stuttered. “Oh, my God. I didn’t know. I thought you were toge—”

“Where is my son?” Nick knew what the answer was going to be, but he had to hear it. “Where is my son!”

“Sh-she took him.”

                                                                  ****

Buy Links:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Author Bio:

About Me

My home is in Leigh on Sea, a small seaside town just outside London on the coast of Essex, about ten minutes from Southend, which boasts the longest pier in the world. I live with my husband and two ever-growing children, who I let think are the boss of me; along with two dogs who actually are. 

As the wonderful Beatrix Potter said, “There is something delicious about writing the first words of a new story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.” I know exactly what she means and hope you’ll join me for the ride.

Website: http://lworrall.blogspot.com/

Facebook: Lisa Worrall Author

Twitter: Lisa_Worrall

Email: lisaworrall69@gmail.com

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Thunder and Lightning (coming July 2017)

Jarrett Evans and Thayne Wolfe have been partnered in the ATF for nearly two years and their love and commitment to each other has grown over time. Now faced with one final challenge, the boys are headed to Arizona to help Thayne’s mom, stumbling headfirst into a brand new case. When a man is shot on Dot’s sister’s ranch, their informal investigation leads to the Native American Indian reservation bordering the property.

Juggling tricky tribal politics isn’t something Jarrett and Thayne are accustomed to but, as with most things in their lives, nothing is ever uncomplicated. When a surprise sighting shakes Thayne to his very foundation, they call out for help and their colleagues ride to the rescue along with a little help from the FBI. The mystery on the reservation only deepens when they tangle with a couple of locals. Questionable cigarettes at the Ahtunowhiho Trading Post may be the least of their worries.

From the mean streets of Los Angeles to the vast deserts of Arizona, Thayne and Jarrett once again brave the minefields of bad guys, bigshots, and a vicious betrayal that kicks them in the ass. But one thing is certain. Thru thunder and lightning, Jarrett and Thayne are never alone. They’ll fight for each other down to the last man standing, even if it costs them their very lives.

Update on the Death and Destruction series :)

Hi everyone. I figured since I am reaching the end of the Death and Destruction series, approaching my 50th release, I should finally start a blog over here on Goodreads. I have to tell you, I'm a really terrible blogger but I'll do my best to keep y'all updated about what's going on in the Patricia Logan book world. 

I just put in a cover art request for "Thunder and Lightning" (Death and Destruction Book 6). I will be sharing it on my FB wall as soon as it's ready :)

Meanwhile, here's the blurb: 

Jarrett Evans and Thayne Wolfe have been partnered in the ATF for nearly two years and their love and commitment to each other has grown over time. Now faced with one final challenge, the boys are headed to Arizona to help Thayne’s mom, stumbling headfirst into a brand new case. When a man is shot on Dot’s ranch, their informal investigation leads to the Native American reservation bordering the property.

Juggling tricky tribal politics isn’t something Jarrett and Thayne are accustomed to but, as with most things in their lives, nothing is ever uncomplicated. When they call out for help, the FBI’s two most capable agents, Lincoln Snow and Mac McCallahan, ride to the rescue along with friends from the ATF. The mystery on the reservation only deepens when they tangle with a couple of local cops who seem to know more than they’ll admit to about questionable cigarettes at the Ahtunowhiho Trading Post.

From the mean streets of Los Angeles to the vast deserts of Arizona, our heroes once again brave the minefield of bad guys, bigshots, and a vicious betrayal that kicks them in the ass. But one thing is certain, thru thunder and lightning, Jarrett and Thayne are never alone. They’ll fight for each other down to the last man standing, even if it costs them their very lives.

There you go. I have already started and expect it to be ready by Late June :)

By the way, I've put the whole series back on KU so if anyone is interested, they're all in there. Thanks so much for reading. Your reviews mean more than I can say. Patti xoxo

Thayne è uno stupendo agente dell’ATF, abilissimo con le armi e duro come l’acciaio. Ha appena terminato questo incarico in incognito dove ha assistito all’omicidio di Noah, un dolce e gentile ragazzo che era diventato il suo amante, e ne è uscito distrutto. Non è per niente pronto a tornare in servizio, a dire il vero. Ho pensato che mettere insieme due uomini così problematici, ciascuno desideroso di manovrare l’altro in camera da letto, fosse divertente, e perciò li ho creati in questo modo. Thayne non è in nessun senso una figura sottomessa, tantomeno fisicamente: è bellissimo, tosto e ha una famiglia fantastica (Dot, la sua mamma, e Sarah, la sua migliore amica). Però avevo anche bisogno di affiancargli un tipo come Jarrett, che ha visto l’inferno.

Sapevo già di amare Jarrett. Nella mia mente è sempre stato una figura epica e così, mentre decidevo che tipo di uomo potesse essere in grado di gestire il mio Marine tosto e torturato, che si sentiva completamente solo al mondo – senza famiglia, senza amici (eccettuato Tate e pochi altri) e senza amore –, sapevo che chiunque avrei scelto doveva essere un maschio alfa di primissimo livello. Ed è così che è nato Thayne Wolfe, che rappresenta l’opposto di Jarrett in tanti sensi.

Ora, quando un personaggio come Jarrett salta fuori dalla mia testa per finire nelle pagine di un libro, di solito diventa il protagonista della storia successiva. Ma, nel suo caso, non riuscivo a sopportare l’idea di farne il Marine Bodyguard n° 4 e finirla lì. Lui è uno di quei personaggi simili al mio Cassidy Ryan di Catene d’Argento e tutti quelli della serie Master Boys. Cassidy compare più e più volte nei miei libri e addirittura sconfina in altre serie, come in The Thief della serie Bodyguard. Jarrett, come Cassidy, è uno di quei personaggi che si meritano più di 70,000 – 80,000 parole (o 375 pagine, se preferite) ed è così che è nata la serie Morte e Distruzione.

Se avete letto The Brat, sapete già che Jarrett non è un bravo ragazzo. Ha avuto un sacco di problemi ed è un personaggio molto complesso con una personalità appena abbozzata (a dir poco). A quel punto era diventato un mercenario, ma aveva ancora un cuore e un anima; in più, aveva rivelato un gran senso dell’umorismo oltre a essere sexy da morire.

Ho cominciato a scrivere The Brat, il terzo libro della serie Marine Bodyguards, lo scorso autunno, e nel corso della scrittura, come spesso accade, la storia ha preso una direzione che non avevo preventivato. Permettetemi di divagare un momento su questa cosa. Una volta ero solita buttare giù un abbozzo di ogni scena. Adesso non lo faccio più. Scrivo una sinossi della serie, poi dei libri (a volte questo consiste nel solo titolo, da compilare in un secondo momento), infine stilo una lista di idee per la storia. Comunque, quando in The Brat Tate Heston viene improvvisamente licenziato dalla sua compagnia (cosa che non avevo previsto), di colpo mi sono trovata nella necessità di trovargli un sostituto, e quell’uomo è stato Jarrett Evans; lui sa come aiutare Thayne a gestire i suoi demoni, perché anche lui ha i propri da tenere a bada.

“E adesso?”, mi sono detta. Sapevo che la serie su Jarrett e Thayne sarebbe stata diversa da ogni altra serie che avessi scritto. Volevo scrivere diversi libri in cui i miei ragazzi si conoscevano, maturavano, s’innamoravano l’uno dell’altro e avevano un lieto fine. Ma volevo anche scrivere delle belle storie – ciascuna con un tocco di thriller – che avessero però anche un alone di mistero irrisolto che non avrei dissipato finché non avessi scritto l’ultimo libro. Non sapevo allora, e non lo so neanche oggi, quanti libri ci vorranno prima che questo accada. Mi piace molto scrivere queste storie, e anche se ogni libro è lungo più di 100,000 parole (oltre 400 pagine l’uno), mi sto proprio divertendo un mondo.

L’ATF è stata la mia fonte di ispirazione per questi libri, e che io sappia non sono mai stati scritti romance m/m con protagonisti degli agenti dell’ATF. Ma potrei sbagliarmi. Quando ho cominciato a fare ricerche sull’ATF per farmi un’idea più precisa del tipo di storie che avrei dovuto scrivere, ho scoperto che questi uomini e queste donne fanno molto più che bloccare semplicemente i traffici illeciti di armi. Sono di competenza dell’agenzia il controllo di alcolici, tabacco, armi da fuoco, esplosivi (compresi fuochi d’artificio, valanghe, air bag, razzi fatti in casa per appassionati) e molto altro ancora. Ovunque avvengano questi eventi, le forze dell’ATF sono autorizzate a intervenire e applicare la legge, e questo mi ha aperto un mondo intero di storie possibili. L’ho trovato talmente eccitante che ho cominciato subito a buttare giù alcune idee.

Jarrett e le sue buffonate rendono divertente la lettura. Dopo che il primo libro, Morte e Distruzione, è stato completato, ho deciso di inserire dopo il finale il prologo del libro successivo ed è così che è nata la scena iniziale di Fuochi d’Artificio, in cui vediamo Jarrett saltare giù da un edificio servendosi di un sospetto come contrappeso. Volevo che Jarrett fosse un personaggio epico sin dall’inizio delle sue avventure insieme a Thayne, e così è. Se i miei lettori mi vedessero mentre escogito le peripezie di Jarrett, penserebbero che sono matta: me ne sto lì seduta a ridacchiare da sola mentre le mie dita volano sulla tastiera, dando vita a un’altra delle sue gesta pazzesche.

Uno dei motivi per cui questi libri richiedono diverso tempo per essere scritti è il lavoro di ricerca necessario per ognuno. Nelle prossime newsletter vi racconterò cosa succede nel mentre e cosa mi è d’aiuto, ma per ora questo testo è già venuto abbastanza lungo e sarà meglio che mi fermi finché siete ancora svegli. Ahah!

Ci risentiamo la prossima volta. A coloro che vivono negli States, faccio tanti auguri per il Giorno del Ringraziamento; a coloro che vivono all’estero, passate un felice autunno. Tornerò presto con una nuova newsletter. E anche con alcuni estratti da Locked and Loaded, il 4° libro della serie che è già in fase di scrittura. Grazie per esservi iscritti e, se avete amici ai quali piacciono i libri, per favore indirizzateli al sito web così potranno iscriversi alla newsletter anche loro. xoxo