Taylor Stevens, author of The Informationist, on Her Feral, Take-No-Prisoners Heroine
This giveaway promotion expired on February 21, 2011.
All of us at Read It Forward are fans of Taylor Stevens and her debut thriller The Informationist. Huge fans. We devoured the manuscript when it came in and couldn’t wait for it to be published so we could share it with all of you. We were captivated by the book’s heroine, Vanessa “Michael” Munroe – she’s smart, she’s fast, she’s dangerous. Read It Forward sat down with Taylor and asked her how she came up with such a remarkable character. Her answer may surprise you.
I didn’t set out to create a world-class, kick-ass heroine, it sort of just happened.
And it wasn’t until feedback started arriving from test readers that I even clued in to how strong – and perhaps unusual – Vanessa Michael Munroe is. With the reviews have come the comparisons: Jason Bourne, Lara Croft, Lisbeth Salander, and Sidney Bristow.
Born and raised into the Children of God, an apocalyptic religious cult that didn’t allow education beyond sixth grade, or access to television and books from the outside, I’d spent most of my life insulated from popular culture, and I’m still sorely under-read and rather painfully oblivious to current trends. I had to Google to discover Lisbeth Salander and Sidney Bristow.
By the time I started writing, I’d read perhaps thirty novels, most of them thrillers, and most of them, like Robert Ludlum’s books, not at all current. I had no idea what I was doing.
My initial desire in developing The Informationist, before there were characters, or plot, or any idea really of what I would write, was to bring to life some of the foreign and exotic worlds I’d lived in.
Vanessa Michael Munroe, chameleon and predator, a woman with her own brand of morality and a take-no-prisoners form of justice, gradually came alive as a result of the demanding environments she was thrown into.
Download an excerpt of Taylor Stevens’ The Informationist
Learn more at www.TaylorStevensBooks.com
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Check out reader reviews of The Informationist on Goodreads
“One of the best thrillers of the year!”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Ice Cold
“A high-octane page-turner.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A fast-paced, gripping, edgy mystery with a heroine whom even Lisbeth Salander would admire.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Dazzling…Munroe is a model of an emerging action heroine: like Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander.”
—Booklist
“A heroine grittier than Lara Croft.”
—Kirkus
“Underneath all the action is an even more powerful story of a woman trying to make peace with her personal demons.”
—Family Circle
“A thriller of the highest caliber.”
—Colin Harrison
“Smart, sexy, fast-paced — and impossible to put down.”
—Vince Flynn
Oh, I just love them Feral Women…pardon the grammar…and am going to miss Liz Salander in ways unspeakable. I need a new (anti)Heroine!
Oh, man, I can NOT wait to read this!
Now this sounds like a wonderful book to read. Love the way you write and keep your reader sitting on the edge. I would love to read this book.
Would love to read this book, hope I win the contest. Thrillers are my favorite type of book, sounds as if you just dive into this one.
Can’t wait to read this!!!!!!!!!
This sounds really interesting… I love reading!
I have heard some Buzz about your book..in fact one of The Book Sellers at my Local Bookstore is reading it..On The Edge..I like that in a Thriller Would love to win and share on BN Book Clubs..
I would love to read this book. Thanks for the giveaway!
This sounds awesome!!!
Want to read this one.
Hope to see this in my mail box– SOON !!!
I really hope to see this book appear in my mailbox.
this sounds awesome! Hope I get to read this one!!
i want that book.i alwais read the Steve’book
Strong female heroines appeal to both my male and female students.
Looking at who is giving this book such great reviews, it makes me definitely want to read it.
Would love to read this book.
This sounds like 1 I won’t be able to put down !
Hope I receive this book!
I love reading!!!!!
I would love the opportunity to read this book
What’s not to like about this book. I’m ready to read it!
This sounds like a good read! I would love to be able to read it.
eu quiria este livro pela boa coalidade e bom funcionamento de nos presizamos
loved the book. we are sharing it at work and so far everyone who has read it loves it.
The book was a real page turner. I am sharing it at work. Vanessa(Michael) was very resourceful, a bit sad, lonely and very very dangerous. Good read . Thanks for the copy.
I just find it odd that the author says he had to “Google to discover Lisbeth Salander” just because he said he was deprived of books and television as a youth. It’s pretty obvious he’s trying to deny any influence of the popular, tough female protagonist that Larsson created around six years ago.
In reference to the paucity of kick-ass heroines in contemporary fiction, one thing I have always enjoyed about Robert Heinlein’s stories and novels is the many intelligent, accomplished, and self sufficient female characters, many of whom qualify as kick-ass heroines.
Friday, Deety Burroughs Carter, Dora Smith, Laz & Lor Long, Hazel Stone are but a few of such.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Millennium trilogy and look forward to reading The Informationist.
I really enjoyed this book and was excited to pass it on to friends to read.
The author sounds most interesting. Can’t wait to read her book.
I loved The Informationist! This is a thriller that invigorates!
Raised unconventionally in Cameroon, Essa has unusual talents and skills- she intuitively understands all language, is trained in deadly combat, and gets the subtle body language of individuals and groups. She uses all this to get uncommonly accurate and useful information for her diverse clients.
On an unusual assignment she is to find a young woman who went missing in Africa four years ago. Set in a mysterious, complex and dangerous continent Essa navigates a truly convoluted mystery as we learn about the brutal past that haunts her. Told in taut prose we come to care about the protagonists and are left wanting to know more about these bold and self aware people. The geopolitical insights provide an added dimension and food for thought.
sounds like a great story, i cannot wait to get my hands on this one!! thanks
This review should be posted long ago but i said better late than never. So here is what I think about The Informationist. At first I thought the book was borring because it talk about the Essa life but never really show what she did really. And hated how the book use scientific name like plasmodium falciprum without really explaining why this type of malaria play a role in the novel and not other type. However, I keep reading and fell in love with the book. I love the dangerous trip Essa undertake in the Cameroon and her figuring out who betray her and trying to survive. I love the romance underlining the story also. Overall I think, the back of the book giving overview of the book kinda mislead me and make me expect goverment spy but Essa is not a government spy. So why said people fear her. If going to talk about that should go in more detail.
LOVE the second half of the book.
I was very impressed by The Informationist, and have been looking forward to the next novel. I think this will be another great read. Hope I am fortunate and win a copy.