H. L. Wegley and Free Books!

What would you do if you discovered the loving father who raised you by himself, after your mother’s death, was a KGB deep-cover plant who immigrated to the U.S. during the Cold War?

Before we meet today's author, I want to announce that the winner of the free copy of One Door Between Us, by Tom Donnan, is subscriber:

servantgirl.nancy@...

Congratulations! I'll email you to get your snail mail address and (assuming you live in the US) we'll get your book right out to you. I encourage readers to keep commenting and/or subscribe at right (above my list of books) in order to learn about new releases! U.S. subscribers are entered in the drawings a second time when they comment.

And now let's revisit with novelist H. L. Wegley, author of the romantic thriller, The Janus Journals (Trinity Press International, February 2019).

H. L. Wegley served as an Air Force Intelligence Analyst and a Weather Officer. In civilian life, he worked as a research scientist at a national lab, publishing in the scientific literature, then developed Boeing computing systems for twenty years before he and his wife retired near Seattle where they enjoy grandchildren, the rugged coast in the Olympic National Park and where he crafts his stories.

He is an award-winning author of inspirational thrillers and high-action, romantic-suspense novels.

Please tell us one random thing we might not know about you.

During the Carter and Reagan administrations, I served as a member of the team of atmospheric scientists who managed the meteorological component of the Federal Wind Energy Program. There I represented the United States on an international work group studying the application of wind forecasts to wind-turbine operation and economics. If you Google “H. L. Wegley wind energy,” you’ll find some of my publications. It’s amazing that they’re still around after all these years.

Yes, the Internet is forever! 

Please tell us a bit more about the plot of The Janus Journals.

For recent college graduate, Alisa (Allie) Petrenko, the Cold War never ended. When her father is murdered, he left her with a warning, an assassin on her trail, and his secret history contained in a set of journals.

As Allie tries to elude the assassin and read the journals, she learns that the loving father who raised her was not the man he appeared to be, and the man she must now trust with her life is someone Allie must never trust with her heart.

The Janus Journals, set in Virginia and near Lake Chelan in Washington State, is high-action romantic suspense at its best. The dual timeline will take you on an epic journey through the twilight years of the Cold War that reshaped one man’s destiny while creating deadly tentacles, reaching into the present, threatening an innocent young woman.

What is it about your lead characters that will make your readers care about them?

Allie Petrenko lost her mother to a dread disease when Allie was five. This left her an agnostic with a paralyzing fear of death, thanatophobia. The readers will root for her as she tries to become a fearless young woman who thinks of herself as honorable, lovable, and strong rather than despicable and cowardly.

Grady Jamison’s sister was a passenger in his car when a drunk hit them, killing her. Grady thinks that protecting Allie from the assassin is his chance to redeem himself and end his deep-seated guilt. However, there are a lot more benefits to knowing Allie Petrenko than Grady could possibly realize. But readers will probably discover this long before Grady because, as we all know, guys are clueless.

I love the levity at the end of such a serious plot summary.

Please share with us a quote about writing that you find inspiring.

"A powerful story without a biblical worldview is a great escape to nowhere. A spiritual message without an entertaining story is a sermon, not a novel." — Randy Singer

I’ve taken this to heart and try to write stories in light of Randy Singer’s assertions.

That's such a great reminder. I'm in the middle of writing a novella right now, and this quote inspires me to keep the Lord in mind while my heroine's story unfolds.

What is the last novel you read that you would recommend?

Heart of the Country by Rene Gutteridge, she took a movie script, a barebones story, and fleshed it out into a superb novel with three-dimensional characters. It is the job of living actors and actresses to make a script come to life. But few people can do what Rene did with someone else’s story. Heart of the Country is a good teaching/learning tool for authors. If you enjoy audiobooks, the audio version is superb.

Rene's so talented and definitely knows her way around a script.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a story that doesn’t yet have a name, though I’m considering Bold Betrayal as a possible title. Its plot might have been borrowed from news media headlines, depending on which media sources one reads. The story is about a young man who uncovers the impacts of biases in a search-engine company’s algorithms and data presentation. He predicts this company will determine the next president of the United States. And he makes an accusation that the bias is subtle and intentional. But before he can release his report—yeah, bad things happen. This novel will release about May 1, 2019.

Sounds exciting!

Where else can readers find you online?

I am fairly active on Facebook and Twitter. Here are some places readers can find me:

Website: www.hlwegley.com
Amazon
Twitter
Goodreads
Facebook author’s page
Many of my readers have friended me and use my FB profile page: Facebook profile

The book can be purchased online via the following button:



I'm going to ask a question for my blog readers and subscribers to answer. When you read Harry's description of his heroine, Allie, and her paralyzing fear, can you bring to mind anyone in your life (even if it's you) who has overcome something seemingly insurmountable in his or her life? Who comes to mind?

Thank you, Harry, for visiting and telling us about yourself and your book. Readers, Harry has offered to give away a free copy of his novel. To enter, leave a comment and your email below in answer to my question, above. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. Remember that U.S. subscribers are entered an additional time in each drawing. The drawing is done by email, so leave your email address, like so: trish[at]trishperry[dot]com. 

Only United States residents are eligible for the drawing, but anyone can subscribe to the blog posts via the GDPA-compliant Feedblitz box above my list of books, at right.

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