Guest Blog: Jamie Cortland

The History of Skin Deep

Skin Deep, the first of my romantic suspense novels, and the first to be published under my pseudonym, Jamie Cortland. It is about Evelyn Valentino, an attractive divorcee’, who becomes involved with the wrong man. Ignoring the warnings of her friends and relatives not to rush into this new relationship with the handsome stranger, she ignores them. Once caught in his carefully woven web, he drops his mask and his madness is revealed. Her only thought is to escape, but is it too late?

James, Evelyn’s paramour, is both a schizophrenic and bi-polar. When he is medicated and receiving therapy, he’s charming and is a productive member of society. When he isn’t on medication and not receiving therapy, he self-medicates with alcohol to keep the voices away. At that point, James becomes a danger to himself and everyone surrounding him.

In regard to research for this novel, my primary sources included NAMI.com and my daughter, Loretta A. Creaney who has a degree in psychology and has worked in the field. You must be wondering if I have experienced living with one who is mentally ill and off his/her medication. The answer is yes… a distant relative who is now deceased. For the past few years, I have been a contributor to the National Association for Mental Illness and am dedicated to support groups of addicts everywhere. Without them, many would never find their way to recovery.

Educated in the fine arts, I have worked in various fields to include high fashion modeling, real estate, and for a brief period in the import business which proved to be quite exciting. Today, I’m a full time writer and have just now completed another romantic suspense novel titled “Never Trust a Stranger.” My next romantic suspense novel will be set in south Florida.

When I’m not writing, l enjoy attending live music performances, browsing through art galleries, taking long beach or nature walks and visiting with friends and relatives. I am a founding member of the Florida Writer’s Association, a member of RWA, Sisters in Crime, and am an affiliate member of Mystery Writers of America.

If you would like to read more about my books, please go to my website at http://weslynn.com and to my blog: http://weslynn.com/blog. If you are an aspiring writer, please note that Tips for Writers is available for you to read on my blog.

Weslynn McCallister
Jamie Cortland, pseudonym

Readers, Weslynn is giving away an autographed copy of Skin Deep to a random commenter. To enter, your first must leave a question or comment for Weslynn. Then to complete your entry, you need to either leave your email address in your comment or send a message to contests.bookblog@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen on Thursday, December 24.