Suspense

Character Sketch: Big Mike from Bad Vibes @JDFaver_Author #RLFblog #Suspense

This interview is designed to tell readers about your hero or heroine. Answer the questions as an author talking about the character.

About the Character

Name: Michael Thomas Burke (Mike/Big Mike)
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Maine
Profession: Federal agent on loan to ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement)
Ethnicity/Species (if not human): White male human
Describe his/her body build, skin tone, height and weight. Include any unique features such as dimples, freckles, or scars: 6’5″ muscular frame; Tanned from the sun; Mikes most startling feature are his silvery-blue eyes and his ability to appear emotionless, earning him the title> The Iceman
Who is the significant other in your character’s life?
Mike has been a complete loner, until his ICE assignment on the lower Texas coast throws him into close proximity with a petite, red-headed local deputy assigned to his team as liaison officer. Darla raises his blood pressure and his libido from the moment they meet. She rousts him in his undercover disguise as a waterfront bum, disarms him and takes him into custody, which first alerts local law enforcement that there is a federal investigation into human trafficking using the Intra-coastal Waterway.
How does your hero dress?
Mike is known for his love of Hawaiian shirts, the louder the better. A pair of cargo shorts and flip-flops complete his outfit.
If you could only hear this character’s voice (but not see him) what characteristic would identify him?
Mike has a deep, raspy voice. He doesn’t waste words, sometimes barking out clipped orders. He’s a man’s man and not a ladies man, so he isn’t skilled at “girlfriend-speak”. Fortunately, his lady love is the only girl among seven brothers, so she can decipher his sometimes brusque verbage, and is also able to give him a smack upside his head when he needs it.
What special skills does your character rely on?
Mike is a former SEAL and is skilled in diving and underwater demolition. He is very intelligent and able to think on his feet.
What does he have a knack for doing?
Mike is a great guy, but he has a knack of pissing people off. Before long, he has Darla’s brother and one of her fellow deputies ready to throw down with him.
What is your character’s family like?
Mike’s mother abandoned him at an early age to be brought up by his grandfather, who was a carpenter. He likes to work with his hands when not blowing up drug lords in Central America. He has no living family and immerses himself into his current assignment, whatever that might be. The ICE assignment, where he has to work with the local deputy, Darla Calhoun, shakes up his usual mode of operation. He tries to protect her, which just irks the daylights out of her, since she sees herself as a completely competent member of the team.
Does this character see morality as black-and-white, or with shades of gray?
Mike has a very definite sense of right and wrong. He sees himself as the defender of the weak and the one to apprehend the bad guys. There is no try. There is do or die.
How do others perceive your character based upon looks? How true is this assumption?
Darla’s brother, Calvin, a large, powerful man himself, describes Mike as “Big Mutha’.” Darla is very attracted to him, but also doesn’t want to get hurt when he moves on to his next assignment.
What past event causes your character the most fear?
Mike most definitely has abandonment issues, which he has dealt with in the past by not becoming too attached and by being the one to move on. However, for the first time, he sees himself settling down in this Texas coastal town and taking on a family, Darla and her twin sons.
What is your hero’s biggest hopes and dreams?
At the outset, his goal is to rescue the kidnapped women and destroy the human trafficking gang. As he works with Darla, he begins to dream about nesting with her and providing for her and her sons.
What is your hero’s biggest personal flaw?
Mike has absolutely horrible communication skills when it comes to romance.
How does your character handle challenges?
Head on! Fix it! Kill it! Move forward! Accomplish the objective!
How emotionally expressive is your character to others?
<rolls eyes!> Have I mentioned how totally inept he is at expressing his emotions?

About Your Writer: Questions for your character to answer about you.

Why do you think your writer chose to write about you?
Hell if I know? I’m a man of action. I don’t have time to sit around writing pretty little stories.
What do you wish your writer had not told others about you?
She had no right to go prying into my life, especially when I found the love of my life while on assignment. I’m a very private guy.
What do you wish your writer would write next?
<snort!> I know her books about the Texas coastal area are evolving, and there are plenty of characters to write about. But, seriously. . . just write them as they happen. Chloe and Rafael have hired me to update an old Victorian house that comes with its own set of mysteries, like the skeletons I dredge up in the murky fish pond. Write about that.
What other character from your book do you think your writer should write a book about? Care to tell us why?
She’s written about my buds, Rafael, Javier and Zach, but our stories are unfolding, so I guess she should just keep telling our tales as they occur.
Is there anything you’d like to say to your writer?
Thanks for pairing me up with such a feisty and adorable love interest. <grins>

Previous Books

The Edge of Texas Series:
• Book 1-Bad Medicine
• Book 2-Bad Karma
• Book 3-Bad Vibes
• Book 4-Bad Dreams
• Book 5-A Sandcastle Christmas

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG13

Darla came on deck clad in black body armor, her copper top hidden under a black Sheriff’s Department cap with the bill turned backwards. She had her M-14 slung over her shoulder and a pack of extra magazines.
Damn! She looks so hot! Like Badass Barbie…
5 star Review~ “J.D. creates two characters in Mike and Darla that you’ll be rooting for while simultaneously ratcheting up the suspense to the breaking point. The Texas Coast will *never* be the same by the time these two get done…”
When government agent Mike “The Iceman” Burke invades her South Padre Island turf, Deputy Darla Calhoun is assigned as liaison officer to his team. Her skills as a sniper come in handy when a gang of human traffickers strikes close to home, kidnapping local women including her best friend.
Darla is recovering from her husband’s suicide and trying to be a good parent to her twin sons. The ICE assignment takes her out of her misery and plunges her into a dangerous mission and a steamy affair.
Mike and Darla tear up and down the Intracoastal Waterway in search of the kidnappers and the captive women while Rafael and Javier conduct their own investigation. Will they rescue the captive women or will the kidnappers slaughter them as they have done in the past? Two teams race to find the answers before it’s too late.

Buy This Book

Amazon US http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LYM3ZQ
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009LYM3ZQ
Amazon CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B009LYM3ZQ

About the Author

J.D. Faver lives near Houston, Texas. She writes steamy contemporary romance and romantic thrillers/mystery/suspense. She loves to kill people…on virtual paper, that is. Although she writes daily, she still finds time to enjoy family and friends. She is a foodie and an adventurous cook. Determined to preserve generations of family recipes, she is publishing a series of cookbooks entitled A Texan in the Kitchen.
Gardening is another passion (and linked to the food thing) since she has an orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes/vines in her back yard. Tomatoes and other veggies round out her kitchen garden.
All other interests (painting, drawing, sewing, quilting, crocheting, weaving, stained glass and pottery) have taken a back seat since they require hands-on participation which is difficult if your fingers are always on the keyboard.
An active member of several Houston writer’s organizations, she belongs to National RWA and is a member of Houston chapters.
She is owned by two cats and a small, yappy rescue dog. As a former educator and healthcare professional, she is an advocate for children, animals and elderly/disabled individuals.
She would rather be sailing or on a beach somewhere, but if not, you can probably find her with her fingers on a keyboard, pouring word images onto the virtual films playing in her head.

Author Social Media

Blog http://www.jdfaver.com/blog.html

The Romance Lives Forever blog features authors and new books from all genres.