Authorpreneur Dashboard – Pamela Beason
Race with Danger
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Champion runner Tanzania Grey, 17, has to win the Verde Island Endurance Race's million-dollar prize to save the life of her friend Bailey. The treacherous five-day race traverses a remote volcanic island that's home to beasts that slither, fly, swim, and slink through the jungle. But the wildlife turns out to be the least of Tana's problems when she draws the name of Sebastian Callendro as her partner. Sebastian's personal life has put him in the national spotlight, and his nosy followers are the kind Tana can't afford. Her name isn't really Tanzania, and everything else in her biography is invented, too. She’s been running for three years─from the men who murdered her parents. If her cover is blown, she could be next.
Book Bubbles from Race with Danger
When is it right to take a risk?
When is it worth it to "go for broke" and risk everything? My answer: when the alternative is unacceptable. The stakes must be high. I've had a few times in my life where my situation was so miserable that I was willing to take the risky route because I felt the result could not be worse than the status quo. So far, my risks have paid off. In this story, my character is willing to go into dangerous situations because she desperately wants to win. If she doesn't get the prize money for first place, her friend is going to DIE. Now those are high stakes!
Why Amelia is on the Run
Just having her family murdered wasn't enough to make Amelia go underground, because of course in normal circumstances she would go to the police. So I manufactured this cover-up scene, in which Amelia learns she can trust nobody, because clearly her parents' killers are so powerful they can arrange to "erase" people from society.
How it all begins
Each story needs an "inciting incident"--the event that sets the story in motion. When 14-year-old Amelia Robinson sneaks out of her house one evening, she could never have imagined she'd come back to a horrific scene. This sets her on her path to becoming Tanzania Grey, a champion endurance racer.
THE ONLY WITNESS (The Neema Mystery Series Book 1)
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
A missing baby. A teenage mother suspected of murder. A jaded detective whose reputation is on the line. A signing gorilla destined for the auction block. A scientist who is about to lose everything. Will the revelation that a gorilla is the only witness to the crime save or doom everyone involved?
Book Bubbles from THE ONLY WITNESS (The Neema Mystery Series Book 1)
Families Never Want to Believe...
I work as a private investigator, so I meet a lot of families entangled with some sort of criminal activity. I find it interesting how families deal with accusations--some refuse to believe their loved one could commit a terrible crime, some completely ban the criminal from their family, and a few admit their loved one is guilty of heinous acts but still love that person. In this scene, my detective Matthew Finn shares my jaded attitudes and suspicions. He also has the added burden of working in a small community where everyone knows everyone else's business, and he's lately become the talk of the town.
Gorilla Thinking
I based my gorilla character Neema largely on Koko, a real signing gorilla. Gorillas don't think exactly like humans and Neema doesn't have the vocabulary to carry on a prolonged conversation, so it's not easy for a human to understand what's going on in her ape mind. This scene shows how Dr. Grace McKenna interacts with the subject of her language study, Neema the gorilla.
It Only Takes a Minute
We all make choices we know we shouldn't. It's so much easier for a single teen mom to leave a baby sleeping peacefully in a locked car than to pack her up and take her into a store, especially when the errand should take only a few minutes. What are the odds that the worst thing could happen?
