It all started when I was three. My dad was a battalion
chief for our town’s fire department. Since it was a smaller city, he was asked
by the city to be on the murder squad—this was before the days of CSI. As part
of this new role, he was required to become a police reservist. To do that, he
had to go through the city’s police academy. When my father came home and told
my mother that he’d be spending even less time at home than he already was, my
mother looked him in the eye and said, “I’m going to become a cop, too.”
At the time, my mother was managing a bookstore. A lot of my
early memories involved sitting in the kid’s section reading while mom worked,
or having my kindergarten class have a special field trip to mom’s store.
Obviously this was a huge influence on my life-long love affair with stories
(also my grandparents owned a used book store in another state, where I spent a
lot of summers).
My mother had never expressed an interest in public service.
But for some reason, she decided to prove to herself and my father that she
could become a kick-ass cop.
Which is exactly what she did. In addition to being a
bookseller by day and a cop by night, she also entered and won sharp-shooting
competitions. She quit those after she’d beaten all the women and the
department wouldn’t let her compete against the men.
You want to know how I ended up who I am? That story. That’s
where it started.
While Kate Prospero from my new Prospero’s War series isn’t
directly based on my mother, she certainly provided lots of inspiration. Plus
it was pretty cool being able to call my mother and ask her questions, like,
“What’s it like to face down an armed perp?”
In case you’re wondering, my mom quite the reserves when I
was five because by that point she was a single mom and the risks of remaining
an unpaid cop outweighed the rewards.
Now she does office interiors and is a grandmother. But when I called
her to say that I was going through our town’s citizen’s police academy as
research for DIRTY MAGIC, she laughed. “You’re going to love it, honey. It’s in
your blood.”
And you know what? She was totally right—as usual.
MAGIC IS A DRUG. CAREFUL
HOW YOU USE IT.
The Magical Enforcement
Agency keeps dirty magic off the streets, but there's a new blend out there
that's as deadly as it is elusive. When patrol cop Kate Prospero shoots the
lead snitch in this crucial case, she's brought in to explain herself. But the
more she learns about the investigation, the more she realizes she must secure
a spot on the MEA task force.
Especially when she
discovers that their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years
earlier - on the same day she swore she'd given up dirty magic for good. Kate
Prospero's about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get
you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should never say never.
Jaye Wells is a USA Today-bestselling author of
urban fantasy and speculative crime fiction. Raised by booksellers, she loved
reading books from a very young age. That gateway drug eventually led to a
full-blown writing addiction. When she’s not chasing the word dragon, she loves
to travel, drink good bourbon and do things that scare her so she can put them
in her books. For more about Jaye’s books, check out www.jayewells.com
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