It's a Woman's Prerogative to Change Her Mind by Jamie Hill

Amazon

Back in August, BWL's Art Director Michelle Lee asked our author group to "cast our characters" for movies or TV. To choose an actor who we thought portrayed the looks and personality of one of our characters. The first book I had published was Family Secrets. Protagonist Jack Dunlevy has always held a special place in my heart. At the time I selected Adrian Pasdar (who I remembered from the series Judging Amy) as my choice to play Jack.

Recently I cut the cable cord and went strictly to Netflix. I've been looking for new series to watch (new to me, anyway) rather than watch Parenthood and Gilmore Girls over and over. The creator of Parenthood also did a series called Friday Night Lights, about a high school football team set in a small town in Texas. I decided to give it a try. 

I don't like every series that's been recommended to me on Netflix. I just can't get into some of them, and some I don't have patience for. Friday Night Lights? I binge watched all five seasons in January--three times, over again. So I guess you could say I kinda liked that one. 

The star of the show is Kyle Chandler who plays Coach Eric Taylor. As a dad and coach he's inspiring and amazing. But the relationship he has with his onscreen wife Connie Britton is truly a thing of beauty. When he tells her, "I love you, I respect you, I am proud of you, I am in love with you completely," my heart, and the hearts of women everywhere, surely melt into little puddles on the floor.

 

After three airings of that series, I found Kyle did another series for Netflix called Bloodline. In this 2015 series he plays a cop (begin swoon) and his character is very similar to that of the coach, except he's more mature (full fledged swoon) and he's able to swear on Netflix (which may not sound like a good thing but it's realistic for the character, and damn it, I like it.)

Friday Night Lights is a series which I equate to my enjoyment of reading young adult books. Bloodline is a more mature, romantic suspense/thriller type of a show. And the more I watch it, the more I think that Kyle Chandler would make the perfect Jack Dunlevy from Family Secrets. 

So if anyone at Netflix is reading this, shoot me an email. It'd be a struggle to take time off work to go give character insights to Mr. Chandler as he's preparing to film my book, but I'd do it to be a good team player. That's just how I roll.

Oh, and if anyone from Netflix is still reading? Judging Amy would be a nice addition to your collection. I'm just sayin'.

Character Name: Jack Dunlevy

Book(s) Featuring: Family Secrets, Family Ties and Family Honor

Author: Jamie Hill

About Jack: Jack Dunlevy is a handsome, burnt out cop who smokes too much and drinks too much. He has a penchant for pretty women and little kids, and rescuing them makes him feel worthwhile again.

One of Jack's Shining Moments: 

Inside Jack’s room, Crystal looked through his closet for another sweatshirt. “I need to do some laundry. Things are getting desperate here.” She found a shirt and pulled it over her head, and then watched him grab the hamper and shove his wet clothes in it.

“Let’s gather it all up and we’ll do it now.”

She gave him a small smile. “Yeah?” She had never met a man willing to help with the laundry. Sure, Jack had done it once, but that was before. Crystal generally found relationships changed after ‘the deed’ was done.

He looked at her and shrugged. “What? It’s just laundry.”

She shrugged back and tossed her towel into the hamper. She glanced out to where the boys were and then back at him quickly. “So you really think I have what they need?”

He smiled slowly at her and replied, “I know you have what they need. You just have to convince yourself of that fact.” He carried the hamper out the door in front of her and added in an offhand tone, “I also know you have what I need. I guess it’s up to me to convince you of that.”

Crystal followed him, not really aware she was smiling until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror in the boys’ room as she picked up their laundry. “Hell’s bells,” she muttered to herself, and wondered why she felt so happy.

Family Secrets A Cop in the Family, Book 1

As if stumbling over a dead body isn’t enough, Crystal Cartwright finds herself playing surrogate mother to two small boys when their father–her neighbor–doesn’t come home. The kids aren’t much trouble, but the thieves, drug dealers and kidnappers they’re about to encounter are.

Detective Jack Dunlevy, a cop down on his luck, draws the cases no one else wants. A simple investigation involving a dead homeless man quickly changes as Crystal enlists Jack’s help with the children. Drawn into a mystery that none of them could have anticipated, they’re faced with a situation that will change their lives forever.

“Ms. Hill is a genius! The plot line was AMAZING. It was action packed and kept me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time. Ms. Hill has become a favorite author of mine and I consider her to be an automatic add to my “to be read list”. If you are a serious suspense loving reader who loves to form bonds with the characters, this is definitely the book for you! I loved it and can’t wait to read more of Ms. Hill’s books, she has the gift of knowing what the reader wants and then hitting you with an ending you certainly don’t expect. Two thumbs up!” ~ Val, You Gotta Read Reviews, 5 Stars

You can find Jamie's books on her page at Books We Love here: http://bookswelove.net/authors/hill-jamie/  and you can find Jamie sitting in front of her TV with the Netflix clicker in hand.