Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Isolated Threat and Badlands Beware by Nicole Helm continue the Badlands Cops series. As the series progresses so does the storyline, with each book better than the previous one. This is not to say the first is not spellbound and riveting.
Isolated Threat brings to life Brady Wyatt who agrees to help Cecilia Mills Knight rescue a child. Her good friend had postpartum depression and after a suicide attempt the state agency plans on taking her baby Mak away. The mother is afraid that the father, Elijah, would get custody and that has to prevented at all costs. He is a member of the notorious horrific gang, Sons of the Badlands, and is attempting to become its leader. Just like his suspected father, Ace Wyatt, Elijah is a murderer, sociopath, and uses fear as a tool. Now both Brady and Cecilia decide to protect the child by running away with him. But that is actually a ruse since the baby is left with Grandma Pauline and the rest of the Wyatt/Knight family. The hope is that Elijah will actually be led away from the child as he chases down Cecilia and Brady.
To make matters worse, Brady has sworn off getting serious with any Knight girl. Yet, there is definitely a chemistry between him and Cecilia and now they will be living together on the run. He still remembers that December night when she made the move and gave him an intimate kiss. But now he tries to be all business, and interacts with her cop to cop. He is working for the county, while she is an Indian tribal officer. The intensity increases not only regarding the danger, but also regarding their relationship.
In Badlands Beware the heroine is Rachel Knight and the hero is Tucker Wyatt. As a detective he is assigned to protect Rachel from her father’s enemies. As Duke Knight’s only biological daughter she yearns for independence and for everyone to stop treating her as an invalid. Ever since she was three years old she has been blind. But that has never stopped her in the past and she does not plan to let it stop her now that she is in danger. Determined to get to the bottom of who is endangering her, her father, and her family she and Tucker go in search of the organized crime group to end their reign of fear.
Both books no longer have the enemy of Ace Wyatt, but he does appear in the background as his sons try to overcome what this demon did to them as a child. The actual quest leaves the brothers going after true bad guys with the help of a Knight sister. Through their journey true love is found.
Elise Cooper: Each of the book in the series pairs a Wyatt brother with a Knight sister?
Nicole Helm: I knew from the beginning I was going to write about six brothers. The plot came about organically but I wanted to make sure the hero and heroine each had a different personality. My writing process involves getting to know my characters to make sure they are seen as different people and not cookie cutters.
EC: You did the same for the bad guy, where the father, Ace Wyatt was not prevalent in the last three books?
NH: I thought it would be boring if Ace was the constant bad guy in all the books. This is why I made the different bad guys even though Ace was the metaphorical bad guy. He is still prevalent in the minds of the brothers.
EC: Children also played a prominent role?
NH: Before this series I never wrote about children. I wanted to increase the tension so I added the children component; yet, I tried not to put them in immediate peril. Romantic suspense involves a theme of protection whether the hero protecting the heroine, vice versa, or a protection of animals or children.
EC: How would you describe Brady Wyatt, the hero of Isolated Threat?
NH: He is uptight and serious. But also, very honorable, calm, and smart, a by the book kind of guy.
EC: How about Cecilia?
NH: Impulsive, beats to her own drum, and has her own sense of right/wrong. At times she is a loose cannon.
EC: Why did you have her as an Indian Tribal officer?
NH: There are many American Indian resorts where I live. I wanted to amplify her native American ties since she was adopted. Also, I knew she was going to be a female cop, but I did not want her working in the same department as the brothers. It made sense for me to have her being on the reservation at times.
EC: What about their relationship?
NH: When I developed the characters, I did not think that Brady and Cecilia would be a couple. They are different on the outside, but similar on the inside. There was this moment in the story where they realized how similar they actually were. I think both were surprised by the attraction. At first, they tried to avoid each other with their contentious edgy banter. They did not want to get involved with each other as their siblings had.
EC: In Badlands Beware, you made the heroine blind?
NH: I saw this cartoon picture of a woman who had a scraped cut over her eye. This stuck with me and I decided to have one of the Knight sisters as blind. I wanted to make sure she was functional and not handicapped.
EC: How would you describe Rachel?
NH: She is the calmest of all of her siblings. Level-headed and impatient. I think she gets annoyed when the rest of the family tries to be over-protective and becomes impatient with some of her restraints. She can read people’s emotions and is very rational. She has a lot of Grandma Pauline in her and most embodies her traits.
EC: How would you describe the hero Tucker Wyatt?
NH: Very methodical, patient, and has a strict sense of right/wrong.
EC: What about their relationship?
NH: They are the most similar and the least bull headed. I think they are the quieter characters who are very willing to trust each other. They approached the attraction very carefully.
EC: Can you give a shout out about the next book?
NH: It will be out in October and is titled Close Range Christmas. The heroine is Sarah and the hero is Dev. She wants to have a child and wants him to be the baby father. But there is also a step-brother to both of them that is out for revenge.
EC: THANK YOU!!
