Kenneth Hoss was born at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth , Texas Frankfurt , Germany where he had the opportunity to travel around Europe . While in the Navy, Kenneth spent most of his time stationed in San Diego and Long Beach Hawaii , Guam, The Philippines, South Korea , Japan , Hong Kong, Okinawa, and Pakistan South Carolina , Florida , Georgia , Washington and California
IAN. Please tell us about your latest book
KH. Storm Rising – A Kelli Storm Novel takes place in and around the 33rd Precinct of the NYPD in Washington Heights, NYC. Detective Second Grade Kelli Storm became a Police Officer to follow in her father’s footsteps, a Detective with the 34th Precinct, who was murdered twenty-one years earlier. During the course of a murder investigation, she finds an unexpected link to her father’s killer. During the course of investigating several murders, Kelli shoots and kills the daughter of a retired Drug Kingpin. Soon her life is threatened, her mother kidnapped and her partner and his wife are killed. Kelli finds herself forced off the case by the DEA. However, this does not deter her from pursuing the man responsible, a high powered Colombian Drug Lord. She follows the trail into Mexico and confronts the man on his own turf. As one reviewer put it, Storm Rising is a thrilling roller coaster ride.
IAN. How long did it take to write “Storm Rising?”
KH. Just over a year.
IAN. What inspired you to write “Storm Rising?”
KH. The inspiration actually came from a very unlikely source. I was reacquainted with an old High School girlfriend who encouraged me to take up my writing again. She even fed me a few lines to get the creative process rolling again. Sadly, the resulting MS turned out to be garbage, in my opinion. But the process was flowing by that time, and the result was Storm Rising. The idea just popped in my head one day, and I planned a three book series.
IAN. Talk about the writing process. Do you write at night or in the morning?
KH. I mostly write at night, though on weekends I write during the day.
IAN. Did you use an outline or do you just wing the first draft?
KH. With Storm Rising I did a full outline, complete with Bios and cast of characters. Some where along the process though, the outline was tossed out. With Storm Warning, I did a skeletal outline, and a ton of research.
IAN. How is “Storm Rising” different from others in your genre?
KH. I found myself focusing more on my main character. Where most crime fiction focuses on the crimes and solving them, I wanted to portray the life of an NYPD Detective. Her strengths and weaknesses, what drives her to be the best Cop she can be.
IAN. Is “Storm Rising” published in print, e-book or both?
KH. I published in eBook first. In December 2011, I had the book put into print.
IAN. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?
KH. That life is hard but you have to persevere.
IAN. Where can we go to buy your book?
KH. My book is on Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/77bzxvo
Barnes & Noble Nook - http://tinyurl.com/dxd24jl
iTunes - http://tinyurl.com/4543od9
Smashwords - http://tinyurl.com/3lrv2zg
IAN. Tell us about your next book or a work in progress. Is it a sequel or a stand alone?
KH. The next book in the series, Storm Warning, finds Kelli with a new partner. It is a sequel to the first, and several characters from the first book make an appearance, along with numerous new characters. Her ex-husband Kevin also returns, and there may be a surprise event. ???
IAN. Any other links or info you'd like to share?
KH. My blog is: http://kenhoss.blogspot.com
Storm Rising – A Kelli Storm Novel by Kenneth Hoss
282 pages
Police Procedural/Thriller
Kelli briefed the two uniforms on the situation. She just wanted to pick Rodriguez up for questioning. The problem was, the son of a bitch was smart and had already eluded them once. She instructed them to take the rear of the building, come up from the back stairs. Harris would go with them and she, Bill and Yablonski would take the front.
The detectives and uniforms split up, Harris and the two officers got back into their cars and drove up the street, turned the corner and were out of sight. Kelli checked her watch. They would go in five minutes. If Rodriguez tried to slip out this time, she hoped he would be caught in the middle.
*****
She motioned to Bill and Yablonski, “Okay, they should be in position, let’s do this.”
The three detectives made their way to the front of the building, keeping their eyes on the entrance. Once inside, they headed up the stairs to the fourth floor; Rodriguez was supposed to be in apartment 405. As they topped the landing to the fourth floor, they could see Harris and the two uniforms coming up from the other end of the hall. Kelli motioned to Harris, pointing at the apartment door.
As they approached the apartment, an elderly woman stuck her head out of the apartment across the hall. The old woman looked startled and Kelli flashed her badge, motioning for her to get back inside. The woman gave Kelli an indignant look and ducked back inside, slamming the door shut.
Kelli checked the door to 405. It was still closed. She hoped that Rodriguez was still unaware of their presence. She motioned for Harris and the two uniforms to take up position on the left side of the door, while she, Hayes and Yablonski took the right. She raised her left hand and held up three fingers, indicating they would go on three. All six officers had weapons drawn, ready to go in.
Kelli nodded her head three times, counting down, and then knocked hard on the apartment door.
In a loud voice, she yelled out, “Rodriguez! Police! Open up.”
They could hear several voices coming from inside the apartment and furniture being moved across the floor. She knocked again, repeating her command. She looked at Harris, standing directly across from her and gave him the signal to kick the door.
Harris stepped back and faced the door, giving it a hard kick with his right foot. The wood splintered as the door flew open with a loud crack. Kelli, Hayes, and Yablonski were the first ones in, followed closely by Harris and the two uniforms. As they entered, they found themselves faced with eight gang members, but Rodriguez was not among them.
Their weapons trained on the eight men, the detectives quickly took charge of the situation.
Kelli shouted out, “Okay, all of you, on your knees, hands on top of your heads! Bill, you’re with me!”
The other detectives and two officers took charge of the men in the living room. Kelli and Bill made their way down a short hall to the back of the apartment. The first door they came to was open. Kelli peered in and saw that it was a bathroom. Kelli cleared it and gave Bill the okay sign. The next door was closed and she assumed it was a bedroom.
They cautiously approached the door, Kelli on the left, Bill on the right, trying to stay out of the line of fire. When she reached the door, she crouched and slowly turned the knob. The occupant began firing through the door, just over her head. Kelli fell flat on her back and kicked the door open, simultaneously returning fire.
As quickly as it had started, the gunfire ceased. She hadn’t had time to see who she was firing at, but now she saw that it was Rodriguez’s girlfriend. Bill was already in the room by the time she got to her feet. Except for the body of the girl, the room was empty. Rodriguez had slipped out again.
She looked at Bill, his hands shaking. “You okay partner?”
“I’ll let you know in a minute. Damn, that was intense.”
Kelli looked down at the prone body, “That’s putting it mildly. What the fuck was she thinking? Is Rodriguez worth this?”
Bill just shook his head. “I guess he is, at least to her.”
“Well, come on. I’ll call the ME’s office, you go help out with our perps. Shit, the bastard got away again.”
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