A retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called “Cop and Christ”, and another for the monthly magazine “Today’s Christian Woman”.
MTAR: What are two things on your bucket list?
Janice: This is the first time I’ve been asked that question. Several authors I know told me they’d all been asked but I have to say it stumped me for a moment. Bucket lists are what you want to do before you die, right? Well a big bucket list dream of mine has been to move to Oregon and I just did that in July! So I’d have to say the next two would be 1) take the Amtrak train trip through national parks 2) Travel the country in an RV. Hope that’s not to boring for people J
MTAR: What do you do when you are not writing or what do you enjoy doing on vacation? (you seem to be very active for retired )
Janice: I love outdoor stuff like hiking, and a few days ago I went kayaking and had a great time. Last year in Hawaii I went zip lining, looking forward to doing that again this year! And when snow comes I’ll be cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
MTAR: Which book do you recommend for a reader that is new to your writing?
Janice: I would tell them to start with Accused. I love the characters and the story line in the Pacific Coast Justice Series.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Janice: Critical Pursuit came out in September, and the main character is Brinna Caruso, a K-nine officer. She meets Jack O’Reilly, another officer and along with saving abducted children, they get to know one another. The second book, Visible Threat, due out next year, continues and grows their relationship as they struggle to save women who are victims of human trafficking.
MTAR: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
Janice: I’ve thought about a third book with Brinna and Jack, but right now I’m working on new characters and the idea of a cold case squad. I’m excited about this concept and hope it takes off.
MTAR: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Janice: I like to say that I write inspirational suspense because I want people to be inspired by what I write. I don’t think it’s appropriate to leave a reader depressed. I want them to be inspired either by the struggles the characters overcome or the spiritual message I choose to weave throughout.
MTAR: Would you share one of your best author moments?
Janice: It was winning Writer of the Year at Mount Hermon in 2013. It was totally unexpected and I was beyond honored that they would pick me.
MTAR: What would your fans be surprised to know about you?
Janice: That I’m not really chatty. I love the writing, and I absolutely love the emails I get from readers, but I don’t think I’m good with groups of people, at least not as good as a lot of authors I know. What can I say, I’m a bookworm! J
MTAR: What was your favorite police officer moment?
Janice: During the LA riots, after working a few 12-hour shifts back to back and being exhausted, my partner and I were assigned to a fire station and we escorted them to a call. Things had just started to quiet down but there were problems here and there. As we drove through the streets, people felt safe enough to come out of their houses and places of business to cheer us, wave, and thank us. Normally that just happens to the firefighters, but it was obvious they meant it for us as well, that was gratifying.