Sharkbait Writes

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting Junying Kirk’s site for an author interview about my writing and my book Pursuit of a Dream. Today it is my pleasure to welcome Junying to my humble corner in cyberspace all the way from the United Kingdom as part of her worldwide tour to promote her latest book Land of Hope. Junying is still adjusting to the time change after getting transported several hours from the future, so we’ll give her a minute or two. We’ll return to welcome Junying Kirk after the break…

Okay, now that we’ve taken care of the Blog Tour advertising and Junying’s head has stopped spinning from getting beamed from the U.K. to the great state of Texas, U.S.A., I’ll hand over the keys to the blog. Enjoy!

Jack Gordon, A Man of Passion and Courage in ‘Land of Hope’

By Junying Kirk

For two nights and two days, Jack and his mates had been hiding in the grown hedge, battling the wind and constant rain, using up their survival rations, and waiting for an opportunity to attack. It reminded him of his jungle days in tropical Malaysia only weeks before, but this time it was real, with some full-­blooded enemies nearby and a mission to kill.

With a slight jolt, Jack was alerted and brought back from his drifting thoughts. He heard a short, buzzing sound from his radio and instinctively tightened his grip on his binoculars. As a new SAS recruit, his task was to watch the farmhouse near Armagh ␣ on the border between Southern and Northern Ireland ␣ while his squad leader, Sgt Graham, led the attack, aimed at destroying whatever weapons they could locate, and killing the guards and any IRA terrorists on sight.

The operation was underway at dawn. Jack put away his eyepiece and readied his sniper rifle, aiming at the entrance of the farmhouse. He heard an explosion after the grenades were thrown, and the target was set on fire, shattered pieces of stones flying all over, and debris creating a massive, dark cloud in front of him. Three members of his team closed in and started shooting amidst shouting and scrambling. From their intel, as well as the surveillance they had kept on the location, they knew that there were eight men inside. One was killed in the explosion, five were shot by his teammates, and two were trying to escape.

The male protagonist in Land of Hope is a handsome Scot, with humble beginnings from the rough part of Glasgow. Jack Gordon begins his adventures, first in the British Army, then the SAS (Special Forces), and finally as a Detective Inspector of the Metropolitan Police in England. His colourful career has taken him to many places, and the above excerpt details one of his early missions as a highly trained SAS man. The action took place during The Troubles when IRA (Irish Republican Army) was in constant conflict with the British Government – the SAS got involved and their reputation soared.

As the story unfolds in Land of Hope, the final installment of my Journey to the West trilogy, we are introduced to Jack Gordon and we follow his footsteps as he goes from one mission to another on different continents. Like other characters in the book, whose lives have been long journeys from their homes to a foreign land, Jack has taken a journey of his own, from the wars against terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, to Southern China, fighting an near invisible war against the Snakeheads, the human traffickers. In his personal life, he is also on a journey of self-discovery and emotional maturity, when his passion is given free reign, and his courage shines through his heroic actions.

If you want to learn more about Jack and his amazing adventures in exciting, exotic locations, get a copy of Land of Hope – if you are a woman, I promise that you will fall in over with this man, as I have done :). If you are a man, you may also fall in love with him, or at least admire him – he is, in my view, one of the finest characters you’ll ever meet.

Short Blurb: Junying Kirk completes her ‘Journey to the West’ trilogy with this inter-racial saga. A complex love story is interwoven through a tale of international crime, broken dreams, human trafficking and sexual exploitation. ‘Journey’ is just that, a merciless trek from the coast of Southern China to the drug farms in the heart of England, exposing worlds you never would have imagined exist.

Author Bio: Junying Kirk grew up in the turbulent times of the Cultural Revolution. A British Council scholarship led her to study English Language Teaching at Warwick University in 1988, followed by further postgraduate degrees at Glasgow and Leeds. She has worked as an academic, administrator, researcher, teacher and cultural consultant. When she is not traveling to Courts & Police stations as a professional interpreter, she loves spending her time reading & writing books, and traveling the world. Her ‘Journey to the West’ trilogy, ‘The Same Moon’, ‘Trials of Life’ and ‘Land of Hope’ have been published on Amazon.UK, Amazon.com and Smashwords. She lives in Birmingham, UK with her English husband.

I want to thank Junying Kirk for stopping by the shark tank and sharing with my readers about Jack Gordon and Land of Hope. And to my readers, it’s always a pleasure to see you all. Be sure to leave Junying comments below and then visit Andrew Wood’s site tomorrow to read his review of Land of Hope. Cheers!

vV””Vv

Junying brought some chocolate all the way from Birmingham, England to share with everyone. Dig in!