ABOUT THE BOOK
Former Army helicopter pilot, Susan Turner is Selected as the next President of the United States. In order to avoid a nuclear war, she must overcome personal demons and learn to navigate the murky waters of international diplomacy.Five years ago, the Dove Revolution changed the political structure of the United States. The President, Senate, and Congress are no longer elected by the public, they are Selected at random every two years.
A shadow organization known only as The Board, advances their sinister agenda by taking advantage of their anonymity and Susan’s tendency to make brash decisions. Blackmail, espionage, and murder are all in play as The Board manipulates geo-political events to spark a war between the Soviet Union and the United States.
With the help of her former Squadron Commander, General LeMae, Susan Turner attempts to lead the nation through these turbulent times while battling her own internal demons. Susan is a battle-hardened war veteran but she must learn what it takes to be a world leader. Nuclear war and the future of the human race hang in the balance.
Even when the President is selected at random, politics is still a dirty business. Opponents plan their attacks from the shadows, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.
Book Details:
Title: Selected
Author’s name: J. Allen Wolfrum
Genre: Political Thriller
Published: December 28, 2017
Print length: 328 page
On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH J. ALLEN WOLFRUM
A few of your favorite things: A 1969 VW Beetle that we nicknamed, “The Rat Rod,” Marine Corps challenge coin with my unit logo, my Birkenstocks, and the warm southern California sunshine.
Things you need to throw out: At least half of my current wardrobe, an old pair of hiking shoes with duct tape on the toe, and a binder of CD’s from the late 1990’s. Limp Bizkit used to be cool, I swear :)
Things you need in order to write: I’m pretty low maintenance, all I need is a pair of headphones and some music as background noise. I tend to float between punk, heavy metal, and country. When I’m struggling for motivation, I like to start off my writing sessions with some old school Metallica. After a minute or two the music fades into the background.
Things that hamper your writing: I tend to take breaks right after I figure out what is going to happen next. In my head I think, ohh man, I got this thing figured out, I can just relax. In reality those small breaks end up being excuses to procrastinate. I try really hard to keep myself in the chair until I finished the chapter for the day. Some days are better than others.
Things you love about writing: I like the blend of structure and creativity in storytelling.
Things you hate about writing: A blank page. There is nothing worse than staring down a screen with nothing on it except Chapter 1. Once you get going it’s fine but that initial sense of panic hits me every time.
Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing :)
Hardest thing about being a writer: There are two things I find difficult. The first is finding the time. I still have a full-time day job, so creating the time to write a full-length novel is a challenge. The second is telling people that I write fiction. When you meet people for the first time they inevitably ask, “What do you do?” and I instinctively respond with my day job. It’s very hard to respond with, “I write fiction.”
Things you love about where you live: I live in the suburbs of San Diego, there’s a lot to love. The weather here is fantastic all year round. Even on some of the “cold” winter days, you can still walk outside in short and a t-shirt. We live within walking distance of a lake and twenty miles of mountain biking trails; the ability to take the kayak out on the lake or go for a mountain bike ride without getting in the car is amazing. Being close to the beach is also fantastic, being able to enjoy a sunset on the beach is a peaceful end to the day.
Things that make you want to move: At some point I’d like to own a gentleman’s farm with horses, cattle, and vegetable crops. That isn’t possible in San Diego, at least not until I win the lottery.
Something you wish you could do: I wish that I could draw. I’ve tried several time to learn and it’s painful.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I struggled with this question for a few moments and almost tapped out. I’m glad I stuck with it. I wish I had never learned to be an accountant. I went to college for accounting and worked as a Certified Public Accountant for several years. I was miserable the entire time. I’m not trying to throw shade on the accounting industry. Being a CPA is a dream job for some people–for me it was torture.
People you consider as heroes: Anyone who has found their north star and is pursuing it.
People with a big L on their foreheads: People who are negative. I cannot stand people who insist on pointing out the negativity of every situation they encounter.
Things you always put in your books: Humor.
Things you never put in your books: Extreme violence .
Favorite genre: I’ve always been in love with Westerns.
Books you would ban: I would never ban a book. But I dislike reading books with extreme violence. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
Best thing you’ve ever done: Figuring out that I want to be a writer.
Biggest mistake: Not putting more thought into my path after the Marine Corps. At the time I didn’t think about what I wanted to do, I settled for a path that I thought would be comfortable.
The last thing you did for the first time: Indoor skydiving.
Something you’ll never do again: Ride a bull.
EXCERPT FROM SELECTED
Susan Turner looked up through a haze of white dust and saw a group of men in black suits huddled around her body. The muffled ringing in her ears overpowered their voices. The men helped her to her feet and they ran as a group toward the entrance to the underground tunnel. Her hearing slowly returned, screams of panic in the hallway replacing the ringing. As they ran, she recognized the men surrounding her were Secret Service agents.
Four agents surrounded Susan as they jogged through the underground tunnel together. Ten yards into the tunnel, she slowed down. In mid-stride, she took off one heel at a time and returned to the pace of the group. There were no words exchanged; they moved together in focused silence. Four hundred yards down the tunnel, the group stopped at two large steel doors. The lead agent opened the doors and light from the helicopter pad above burst into the tunnel.
Before moving toward the helicopter, the agent standing behind Susan shouted into his headset, “Checkpoint Bravo. Waiting for clearance.” He nodded as the response came through and relayed the message to the group: “Let’s move.” They ran from the tunnel into the daylight and across the tarmac to the open doors of the helicopter.
The agent sitting across from Susan handed her a communications headset. “Ma’am, are you okay? Any injuries?” Susan wiped the sweat and dust from her face. “No, I’m fine. My family?”
“They’re safe. Your children were brought to a safe location under the Pentagon, and your parents are there with them.”
She nodded. “Is it over?”
He pursed his lips before responding, “I don’t know. I only heard snippets of radio chatter while we were on the way to the helipad.”
Susan leaned back in her seat, cupping her hands over her face and replaying the events in her mind. The group stayed in radio silence for the remainder of the brief flight. The helicopter landed at Andrews Air Force Base and the doors immediately opened. Susan and her security detail rushed across the tarmac and boarded the Boeing 747. She walked onto the plane in her bare feet. Jogging on concrete caused the pinky toe on her left foot to bleed. She left a trail of blood down the center aisle of Air Force One.
Four agents surrounded Susan as they jogged through the underground tunnel together. Ten yards into the tunnel, she slowed down. In mid-stride, she took off one heel at a time and returned to the pace of the group. There were no words exchanged; they moved together in focused silence. Four hundred yards down the tunnel, the group stopped at two large steel doors. The lead agent opened the doors and light from the helicopter pad above burst into the tunnel.
Before moving toward the helicopter, the agent standing behind Susan shouted into his headset, “Checkpoint Bravo. Waiting for clearance.” He nodded as the response came through and relayed the message to the group: “Let’s move.” They ran from the tunnel into the daylight and across the tarmac to the open doors of the helicopter.
The agent sitting across from Susan handed her a communications headset. “Ma’am, are you okay? Any injuries?” Susan wiped the sweat and dust from her face. “No, I’m fine. My family?”
“They’re safe. Your children were brought to a safe location under the Pentagon, and your parents are there with them.”
She nodded. “Is it over?”
He pursed his lips before responding, “I don’t know. I only heard snippets of radio chatter while we were on the way to the helipad.”
Susan leaned back in her seat, cupping her hands over her face and replaying the events in her mind. The group stayed in radio silence for the remainder of the brief flight. The helicopter landed at Andrews Air Force Base and the doors immediately opened. Susan and her security detail rushed across the tarmac and boarded the Boeing 747. She walked onto the plane in her bare feet. Jogging on concrete caused the pinky toe on her left foot to bleed. She left a trail of blood down the center aisle of Air Force One.
***
Excerpt from Selected by J.
Allen Wolfrum. Copyright © 2018 by J. Allen Wolfrum. Reproduced with
permission from J. Allen Wolfrum. All rights reserved.ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Allen Wolfrum is a fiction author and former Marine. He served four years as a Marine Corps Infantryman in the most decorated Regiment in Marine Corps history. During Operation Iraqi Freedom he led an infantry squad on missions spanning from the oil fields of Southern Iraq to the streets of Baghdad.After the Marine Corps, he spent the next fifteen years exploring life from several perspectives: press operator in a plastics factory, warehouse stocker, confused college student, Certified Public Accountant, bearded graduate student, management consultant, and data analyst.
J. Allen Wolfrum's writing career began in 2017 with his debut novel, Selected. He uses the unique combination of his Marine Corps, professional and life experience to create a realistic perspective on the political thriller genre. He lives in Southern California with his beautiful wife and two cats.
He writes a weekly short story series on his website.
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