Hello! Let me start by saying thank you so much for your interest in my words. This is a dream come true for me, because I now have a platform to talk to the whole world. Growing up, I was all about sports. I made good grades in school, but never really applied myself where it mattered. Literature was never my strong suit, I was more of a math and science guy. So, when I was challenged to write a book, I wanted to try it, but never thought it would amount to anything. Retribution was my first foray into the literary world. Beyond Redemption will be the second installment of the Masterminds series. I now love to write and I have a good time doing it. I know my work will not be everyone's cup of tea. Whether you like it or not, I welcome all reviews and comments: and I thank you in advance for your input. Thank you for your time and God bless!WritingTell me a synopsis of your writing story from three years ago until now. What motivated you to start writing? What was going on in your life when you started writing Retribution? How has the process been?Growing up, I hated writing. I was pretty much all about sports. I made good grades in school, but never really applied myself where it mattered. Literature was never my strong suit, I was more of a math and science guy. So, when I was challenged to write a book, I wanted to try it, but never thought it would amount to anything.We all had to do it as children, but I always tried to do the bare minimum. As an adult, nothing really changed. I mean, why write when you can call? But in 2022, a feeling came over me to do something tangible with my life. In my then situation, I didn't have a lot of choices. However, I had three things needed to make something tangible: paper, pen, and imagination. So essentially, boredom and lack of resources led me to start writing. At first, it was a challenge to see if I could do it. Starting a book is one thing, seeing it through to the end is something else. There was not an event nor a revelation that motivated me to take this path. Writing is just the only available path I have to create something that will outlive me. So, I set goals for how many pages I'd write each week. About two months later, I had a rough draft of Retribution. Once I committed myself, the writing process came easy. I had a core group of intelligent guys who I would brainstorm with, and I took all the different interests and combined them into one book. The common topic was one form of revenge or another: against family or friends who abandoned them; law enforcement of every kind government and society as a whole. We all hate the concept of a person not being worthy of a second chance; and those feelings of worthlessness and oppression can quickly turn into anger.Retribution StoryHow did you develop your story line? Is there a real-life allegory in your book or is it all truly fiction? How did you develop your characters? When someone reads your book what do you want the take away to be?So, in retribution I put an anger like no other on full display. You see the results of an injustice far beyond most people’s imagination. Character roles shift, and clear-cut antagonist and protagonist cross lines that make the reader reconsider their initial judgements. Just like in real life, things are never black and white. The one thing I need to stress is that this is a work of fiction. Although, I know it’s not true of everyone, I have never been abused by any type of law enforcement. This work is not to encourage people to engage in in violence of any kind. The purpose is to show, in an extreme way, that there is always an inner battle of good and evil, and different circumstances can yield different results. This is why I tell people to never judge a person by the first meeting; give the person a chance to prove your initial assessment right or wrong.The Masterminds SeriesWhat can you tell us about the series without revealing too much about your upcoming books? Can you give us a peak into Beyond Redemption? Do you believe in Redemption for your characters?The Masterminds Series is a journey through the lives of people who think they’re smarter than everyone they encounter. Because most of the characters are, it makes them think it’s okay to manipulate others any way they see fit. But what happens when these masterminds collide? when characters first thought to be good reveal dark secrets? and characters thought to be evil reveal noble causes? That’s the voyage you’ll be embarking upon once you start this thrilling Masterminds Series.In Beyond Redemption, the second installment in the series, intentions are revealed, plots are discovered, and bombshells are dropped in every chapter. Nothing is as it seems and the roller coaster ride will wreak havoc on your emotions. New characters enter the fray, and the Mastermind’s world is thrown into turmoil. Friends become enemies, and enemies end up dead. Everyone will face danger, and some might not make it out alive. You’ll have to take a deep dive into my world to find out who survives.As far as “Redemption” is concerned, I think we all have the ability to be redeemed, so I gave the same ability to my characters. Just like real people, some will find redemption, and some will run from it as fast as they can. As the series continues, everyone will come to that crossroad where they decide to continue straight ahead, or take an alternate path; but when all the roads are murky, how do you know which road to take?I thank everyone who has decided to take this journey with me. I promise to do my best to entertain you and enlighten you with every page you turn, in every book I write.L. A. 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