Author Guest Post with Christy Cooper-Burnett, Passport to Terror

What really happened to Jack the Ripper?

Welcome to the September 19th stop on the blog tour for Passport to Terror by Christy Cooper-Burnett with Silver Dagger Book Tours (schedule linked.) Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

Do the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you as you write?

I usually have all my characters in my head when I start to write. I develop them along the way, but it is rare that I introduce someone new when I write. What I call minor background characters will pop up, but main characters are typically already woven into my story so adding anyone new would require rewrites.

Advice you would give new authors.

Do you. Don’t worry about what you think someone wants to read. Your story will never be authentic if you write for anyone else. It’s your story, no one else can tell you how it should go. Write it how you dreamed it, and remember every story has a reader.

About the Book

Passport to Terror
by Christy Cooper-Burnett

Published 15 September 2022
Black Rose Writing

Genre: SciFi Time Travel Adventure
Page Count: 221
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

What really happened to Jack the Ripper?

They always say, “Be careful what you wish for.”

I wish I had been careful.

I could’ve easily sold my time travel machine for billions and walked away. Instead, I opened The Taylor Travel Group where I take the elite on vacations into history, to a time and place of their choice.

But when a big-time movie studio hired my company, I sold my soul.

What was supposed to be a few days of method-actor immersion in nineteenth-century London went horribly awry. Now America’s hottest starlet is dead, and Jack the Ripper is on the loose in modern-day Los Angeles. And it’s all my fault.

I was careless enough to let history’s most ruthless serial killer slip out of the past. Am I smart enough to match wits with him and send him packing before he vanishes forever?

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Excerpt

MADISON

2032, Los Angeles, California

I hurried toward the stairs and got as far as the third step before I froze. The lobby was swarming with paparazzi, cameras clicking away furiously. Tyler and Tori were trying in vain to push them out the front door. And in the midst of it all were Alysha Beck and Jake Martin. Alysha played to the cameras, throwing her head back each time she laughed at something one of them said.

 I’d never seen anyone exude such confidence, and her perfect posture and relaxed smile looked completely natural on her. She was all curves and cleavage and glossy red lips, and her dress left little to the imagination. And she worked it to her advantage expertly. She probably did yoga in her sleep and considered an olive and a stalk of celery a meal. Or whatever diet drink she was passing off as protein shakes. No one could look like that and actually eat. I was convinced she hadn’t seen an ounce of fat or a carb since she was a teenager. Which was presumably only a couple of years ago.

 I glanced down at my simple navy skirt and white blouse and never felt dowdier in my life. Why hadn’t I at least worn some kick-ass heels or trendier jewelry? Well, it was too late now. I had to work with what I had. I wasn’t unattractive but compared to Alysha Beck I felt like a frump.

 Alysha had every photographer in the room eating right out of her hand. Jake smiled as he leaned over to whisper something in her ear, his arm around her waist. She shot him a smile, but she looked bothered and immediately turned her attention back to the photographers.

 I felt a pang of jealousy with how at ease she was with herself. At least that’s what I told myself. But that was a big fat lie. I was envious of the way she looked. I was already irritated, and I hadn’t even met her yet. I told myself to stop being so petty. I was the CEO of a very successful business. But that did little to boost my waning confidence.

I stood up straighter and started down the stairs again. My movement caught Jake’s attention, and his gaze shifted up to me. I stopped mid-step and gawked at him like a complete idiot.

Walk, Madison. You must look like a twit.

I knew this wasn’t headed in the right direction. But I couldn’t help myself. I was mesmerized. I’d never seen such a handsome man before. His hair was perfectly messy. He had just enough stubble to be masculine without looking unkempt. And those eyes. They were the color of jade. Could that color even be real? He must wear contacts. When he smiled at me, his dimples appeared, and I almost passed out. Instead, I lost my footing and tripped, grabbing onto the handrail as I narrowly missed tumbling down the staircase into an epic faceplant.

I would have preferred fainting.

About the Author

Christy Cooper-Burnett is an award-winning author based in California with a degree in Administration of Justice. After retiring from the new home construction industry she now writes full-time in Southern California where she lives with her rescue beagle, Gertie. She has one grown son who inspired her to write her award-winning debut novel, No Way Home. She began her writing career later in life, but once she started she couldn’t stop. Her work focuses on creating relatable stories and characters that transcend genres and encourage readers to imagine what they would do if thrown into the unique, imaginative situations her protagonists end up in.

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$20 Amazon

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