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Psychological Thrills Define Judy Burke's Blackrock Island

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Psychological Thrills Define Judy Burke's Blackrock Island

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Judy Burke has served nearly seven years as an adjunct professor of English at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan. She studied education as an undergraduate at Villanova University and holds a master of arts in English language and literature from the University of Michigan. In addition to her teaching career, Judy Burke is an accomplished nonfiction writer and, in addition, recently published a novel, Blackrock Island, written under the name J. Lee Burke.

Released this spring by Bluewater Press, Blackrock Island is a suspenseful, complex thriller that interweaves elements of the murder mystery and romance genres. Set in Ireland, the book follows experienced NOVAS operative Laine Sullivan as she goes undercover to solve the deaths of multiple thoroughbred horses. Laine’s mission quickly intensifies as she infiltrates the world’s most profitable horse-breeding syndicate and encounters money launderers, drug traffickers, and other sinister foes.

Blackrock Island has received positive reviews from critics and readers alike. Readers have particularly praised the novel for its realistically rendered characters and its attention to psychological details. Interested readers can learn more by visiting www.bluewaterpress.com.

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Judy Burke - Novelist With a Background in Education

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With a background as university English professor, Judy Burke is also a novelist whose works span the international crime fiction, suspense, and thriller genres.

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An instructor focusing on English education, Judy Burke serves as an adjunct professor of English at Macomb Community College and Oakland Community College. During her time with the college, she has taught a variety of courses, including English preparatory composition, creative writing, and children's literature.

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Suspenseful Dialogue in Blackrock Island

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Suspenseful Dialogue in Blackrock Island

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Judy Burke is an adjunct professor of English at Macomb Community College in Michigan. In addition to several publications and articles for Grosse Pointe Magazine, Judy Burke has a novel called Blackrock Island, written as J. Lee Burke.

The story is a thriller set on the remote Blackrock Island in Ireland where undercover agent Laine investigates the murder of premier racing horses and subsequently goes on an adventure with many twists and turns. The thriller is dialogue-driven, which can be a very effective way to move a story along. Rather than a narrator explaining what’s happening, characters reveal plot points and details through dialogue in an engaging way.

Writing good dialogue is one of the keys of good fiction, especially suspense-driven stories. Dialogue can also provide cultural flavors for stories set in certain countries, and Blackrock Island spans France, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. When characters are speaking, they can use local aphorisms or speech patterns that help the story gain its sense of place. In addition, good dialogue can slowly reveal the quirks of a character’s personality, or build on the relationship tensions that can most effectively move a story forward. When done well, driving a story forward mostly through conversations between characters can keep readers in suspense and unwilling to put the book down.

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Judy Burke is a well-established thriller writer who authored Blackrock Island as J. Lee Burke. Her novel was featured at a Chicago Tribune-sponsored Printer's Row event, as well as on CBS WWJ...