Midnight Ink (www.midnightinkbooks.com) just released Terri Nolan's debut novel, Burden of Truth. Nolan described the genesis of the book for this author interview and why she felt compelled to cover the issue that she did. Some authors freely admit that they address issues in their work; Nolan is one of those authors. When asked about “Burden of Truth,” she was very straightforward. “I’ve addressed alcoholism,” she said.
During her writing of the book, Nolan said she researched the subject extensively. “I discovered that many alcoholics are highly-functioning. They are also excellent liars. This is certainly true for my protagonist, Birdie.”
In the opening of the book, Birdie has been sober for eight months when the unthinkable happens. Nolan said, “Birdie is already struggling with sobriety when the love of her life suddenly dies. This is her emotional challenge - how to survive and learn to thrive again - and stay sober. In many respects she is emotionally immature because she's never dealt with her emotions in a sober, cerebral way before. The exigent circumstance she finds herself in forces her to confront the bondage of addiction that has kept her from moving into a functionality that she can work and live within. In many respects, she has to grow up.”
Nolan added that Birdie is a “flawed protagonist” who, she hopes, readers will find “believable and rooted to real life.” The idea for the book came about as the result of a 1991 officer-involved shooting in which an off-duty policeman was found to be committing armed robbery. The off-duty policeman was shot during the holdup by a fellow officer who was also his friend.
That set of circumstances is what’s the driving force behind “Burden of Truth,” which Nolan describes as, “Part family drama and part police procedural, the heartbeat of Burden of Truth is love, loss, secrets, and lies. And consequences.”
When reporter Elizabeth “Birdie” Keane learns that the love of her life, LAPD officer Matt Whelan, has been killed, she’s devastated. Birdie can’t ignore the bizarre coincidences surrounding his death and sets out to decipher his last message to her. The clues lead her to a sixteen-year-old cold case she always wanted to solve and a secret that Matt was hiding. Birdie now faces the ultimate betrayal she never saw coming and is faced with an impossible choice.
Nolan, who is a Southern California native and working on her third novel said that she wants readers to understand that Birdie is not perfect. “She's a woman dealing with a difficult situation. Hopefully, by the end of the novel they can relate to her evolutionary progress and know that her path has not ended with the last chapter.”
Learn more about Terri Nolan on her website at www.terrinolan.com.
Terry Ambrose (terryambrose.com) is a mystery author with an interest in scams and cons. Find him on Facebook at facebook.com/suspense.writer or follow him on Twitter. Win a copy of his latest suspense novel, License to Lie, on Goodreads!
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