Sunday, February 24, 2013

Personal Exclusive with Raymond Hunter with @Carolyn_Arnold #AODTour








Tell us about you.

My name is Raymond Hunter.  I used to be a hit man for the Italian mafia.  Now it’s fifteen years later, I’m a husband and father of two, and the mob wants me back.


Tell us more about your family.

I’ve been married for fourteen years to Brenda, the love of my life.  We have two children, Yvonne who is fourteen and Max who is ten.

Yvonne’s happy as long as she has her cell for texting.  Max is the largest NASCAR fan I’ve ever known.  Everything in his room is covered with the logo, including his car-shaped bed, his school backpack, and several pairs of his pajamas. 

Brenda works full-time in a small office where she’s responsible for a little bit of everything.


What about you?  When you’re not a mafia hit man, what do you do?

I worked hard to obtain my accounting certificates and became a certified accountant.  In fact, I run my own business.  Part of the reason for the choice was just the way my mind works naturally.  I calculate, weighing in various factors.  The other reason was the rumor is accountants lead boring lives.  After my time with the Mafia, I wanted something low key.


How did you meet Brenda?

I met Brenda one night, about fifteen years ago, when I was asked to guard the Don’s back room door.  It was in a club and Brenda was drunk!  She thought I was guarding the bathroom.  She even ended up vomiting on my shoes.  Yeah, it would have been the clincher for most men, but with what I did for the mob, bodily fluids didn’t bother me as much as they would some people.

Come to think of it, I never got the reason for her being at the club that night...


What is a special thing that your family always likes to do together?

Sunday  brunch.  It’s like a religious event.  No matter our schedules, we have pancakes, bacon, and eggs as a family.


Why are their lives at risk?

Hate this question.  My fault--plain and simple.  If my past lifestyle hadn’t been what it was,  they wouldn’t be in danger.  As it is, the Mafia came back and demanded one final favor.  The first assassination attempt failed and it resulted in the Don’s son kidnapping my family and holding them as leverage for me to finish the job.


What are you most proud of in your life?

Easy question.  My family.


Give us a little bit more about your background.  What was it like for you growing up?

Well, as I’ve said, I come from a stable household.  My parents were happily married.  I’ll add they are also religious and regular at attending church.


Coming from that background where did you find your interest for guns?

A childhood friend of mine used to keep old copies of his Father’s hunting magazines in his tree house.  I was fascinated at an early age by guns, their design, their power. 

I made my first homemade zip gun by the age of seventeen.  The accuracy was pathetic, and honestly, I was lucky I didn’t injure myself or anyone else in the process.  As the bullet fired out of the barrel, the heat of it singed my fingers, but I got wise and started to wear gloves as I tinkered with it. 


You're now a family man, husband and father to two children, do you find it hard reverting back to your old lifestyle?

Unbelievably hard, but I don’t have a choice.  I have to dig within and find that person again--the killer.

When I first worked for the Mafia, I was single and had nothing to lose.  Now, I have everything to lose.


What is the largest secret you're keeping from your wife, besides the dark past? 

The gun locker in the basement and gun range Thursdays.


When the mafia comes back they want you to kill Governor Behler?  Who is she to you, if anything?

Governor Behler is one of my largest clients at my accounting firm and distant friend.  Brenda and I have even been to her house for dinner before.  She is different from any mark I’ve take out in every way.

___



The above-noted piece is fictional and was written for promotional purposes.  Raymond Hunter is the main character in Assassination of a Dignitary coming March 14th to Amazon for Kindle, and in April for print.  Be sure to check out the full Assassination Blog Tour schedule here and enter for your chance to win! 



Here’s the overview:



Raymond Hunter's dark past has returned and demands one final favor.  Now fifteen years later, settled as an accountant and family man, he assumed life would be calm.  He thought wrong. The Italian mafia wants him back.



The directions were simple:  Kill Governor Behler and be out for good.



This is an odd request since the mafia typically respects dignitaries, however, in order to protect his family he has no choice but to accept the job. 



He picks the date and location—Niagara Falls, New York—two hundred and forty miles away.  But by the time he returns home, he finds out the assassination attempt failed, his family has been kidnapped, and he has twenty-four hours to set things right if he wants to see them again.



With time running out, Raymond discovers the real reason they wanted Behler dead and finds out he’s placed himself and his family right in the middle of a mafia power struggle.  What he doesn’t realize is that law enforcement is also closing in.



CAROLYN ARNOLD is the author of the best-selling Madison Knight Series, and the Brandon Fisher FBI Series.  You can find out more about Carolyn and her novels online in the following places:



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