The Most Talked About Book of 2014: Nine Minutes (Nine Minutes #1) by Beth Flynn ~ Q & A + Giveaway
We’ve read and reviewed so many emotional books over the past year, but every now and then a book comes along that stirs us into frenzy, and in 2014 that book is Nine Minutes by Beth Flynn! Readers all over are reacting to this amazing debut book! Everyone has something to say, some good, some bad, some don’t know what to think, but there is no doubt that people are talking and conveying how this read wasn’t quite like anything they’ve read before. Everyone has a different opinion on Grizz and Ginny’s story, what category they would throw this in; mc romance, dark romance, or just a crazy oh-my-aching-head love story. Readers are also guessing on what’s to come in Out of Time, and trying to decipher what they read, and formulate some coherent thoughts! Yeah, we know, it sounds like we’re just rambling on, but that’s what this book will do to you, leave you dazed and confused. We dare you to read the prologue, which the author so graciously allowed us to post, and not be tempted to read on! And, love it or hate it, or maybe you just won’t be sure which side of the fence you’re on, we guarantee Nine Minutes will have you questioning and thinking about the book long after you turn the last page and have you talking too!
Kristen, Crista and Karla were no different, and you can read their initial reactions and overall thoughts in their 5 star reviews. Yes, three spoiler free 5 star reviews so don’t be afraid to have a look.
Also, you can check out Beth Flynn’s first ever Q & A, we have it here! She took time out of her busy schedule to stop by and answered some burning questions that we had and some fun ones too. We were honored that she agreed to do this for us.
Plus, we have great giveaway with 2 chances to win gift cards and ebooks of Nine Minutes! You just need to fill out the Rafflecopter for your chance to win!
Again, a big shout-out and thank you to Beth Flynn for the Q & A and for writing Nine Minutes, the most talked about book of 2014!!
On May 15, 1975, fifteen-year-old Ginny Lemon is abducted from a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale by a member of one of the most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs in South Florida.
From that moment on, her life is forever changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival.
And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life.
So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity.
From that moment on, her life is forever changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival.
And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life.
So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity.
The Prologue
Summer, 2000.
I’d never attended an execution before. Well, at least not a legal one. My husband sat to my left. A reporter for Rolling Stone was on my right.
The reporter, Leslie Cowan, fidgeted nervously, and I looked over at her. I’m pretty sure this was her first execution of any kind. Rolling Stone had an upcoming issue dedicated to celebrity bikers. They thought it would be interesting to include a real biker story in that issue. The story of a girl who’d been abducted by a motorcycle gang in 1975.
That girl was me.
The remnants of Leslie’s accident three weeks before were still visible. The stitches had been removed from her forehead, but there was a thin red line where the cut had been. Her eyes weren’t quite as raccoonish as before, but it was apparent she’d recently suffered two severe black eyes. The swelling of her nose had almost gone down completely, and she’d been to a dental surgeon to replace her broken teeth.
When we’d first started the interview, she’d told me she wanted me to be completely honest about my experience with the man who was about to be executed. I’d spent the last three months with her and held almost nothing back about my relationship with him. Today was supposed to be culmination of the interview, a chance for her to truly understand the real side of that experience. To see the unpleasant alongside the rest.
Of course, a man’s death should be more than just unpleasant.
I knew as well as he did that he deserved what he was getting. It was strange. I thought knowing it and believing it would make it a little easier, but it didn’t. I thought I would get through his execution unscathed emotionally. But I was only fooling myself.
Just because I hadn’t been with him for almost fifteen years did not mean I didn’t have feelings for him. He was my first love. He was a true love. In fact, he was the biological father of my firstborn, though she would never meet him. He wanted it that way. And deep down, so did I.
The curtain opened. I was no longer aware of anyone else in the small viewing room around me. I stared through a large glass window at an empty gurney. I’d read up on what to expect at an execution. He was supposed to be strapped to the gurney when the curtain opened, wasn’t he? I’m sure that was procedure. But he was never one for following rules. I wondered how he’d managed to convince law enforcement to forego this important detail.
With a jolt, I realized someone had entered the sterile-looking room. It was him, along with two officers, the warden and a physician. No priest or pastor. He didn’t want one.
Him.
His name was Jason William Talbot. Such a normal-sounding name. It’s funny. I’d known him almost twenty-five years and it wasn’t until his arrest fifteen years earlier that I learned his real middle and last name. That is, if it was his real name. I’m still not certain.
He was always Grizz to me. Short for Grizzly, a nickname he’d earned due to his massive size and brutal behavior. Grizz was a huge and imposing man. Ruggedly handsome. Tattoos from neck to toe covered his enormous body. His large hands could crush a windpipe without effort. I knew this from experience. I’d personally witnessed what those hands could do. I couldn’t keep my eyes off them now.
He had no family. Just me. And I was not his family.
I immediately sense when he spotted me. I looked up from his hands into his mesmerizing bright green eyes. I tried to assess whether those eyes held and emotion, but I couldn’t tell. It’d been too long. He’d always been good at hiding his feelings. I used to be able to read him. Not today, though.
As he looked at me, he lifted his handcuffed hands and used the fingers of his right hand to encircle the ring finger on his left hand. He then looked down to my hands, but couldn’t see them. They were in my lap and blocked by the person seated in front of me.
Would I give him that last consolation? I didn’t want to hurt my husband. But considering I was the reason for Grizz’s impending death, I felt the stirrings of an old, old obligation to comfort him in those last moments. At the same time, I felt and uncomfortable thrill in having some control over him. In having the ability to be in charge of something, to be decision-maker, the empowered one. For once.
Perhaps I was the empowered one all along. I felt my husband’s hand on my left thigh, just above my knee. He gently squeezed. A memory almost twenty-five years old rushed over me of another hand squeezing my leg. A harder, crueler hand. I turned to look at my husband, and even though he was looking straight ahead, he was aware of glance. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod. He’d decided for me. I was okay with that. I removed my wide wedding band and lifted my hand so Grizz could see it. He smiled ever so slightly. Then he looked at my husband, nodded once and said, “Let’s get this shit over with.” The warden asked if he hand any last words. Grizz replied, “I just said ‘em.” Leslie had caught the exchange between us and mouthed, “What?” I ignored her. That was one part of my story that wouldn’t make it into her article. Even though I’d vowed to be completely forthcoming, some things, no matter how insignificant, had to remain mine. This was one of them. Grizz wasn’t an easy prisoner, so the guards assigned to him were super-sized, just like him. Much to their surprise, this day he put up no resistance. He lay down and stared at the ceiling as his handcuffs were removed and he was strapped tightly to the gurney. He didn’t flinch when the doctor inserted the IV needles, one in each arm. His shirt was unbuttoned and heart monitors were attached to his chest. I wondered why he didn’t fight, wondered whether he’d been given a sedative of some sort. But I wouldn’t ask. He didn’t glance around. He just closed his eyes and passed away. It took nine minutes. It sounds quick. Les than ten minutes. But for me, it was an eternity. An elderly woman in the front row started to sob quietly. She said to the woman sitting next to her, “He didn’t even say he was sorry.” The woman whispered back to her, “That’s because he wasn’t.” The doctor officially pronounced Grizz dead at 12:19 p.m. One of the guards walked over to the big window and closed the curtain. Done. There were about ten of us in the small viewing room, and as soon as the curtain closed, almost everyone stood up and filed out without a word. I could still hear the elderly woman crying as her companion placed her arms around her shoulders and guided her toward the door. Leslie looked at me and asked just a little too loudly, “You okay, Ginny?” “I’m Fine.” I couldn’t look at her. “Just no more interviews for the rest of the day.” “Yeah, sure, that’s understandable. I have just a few more questions for you before I can wrap this story up. Let’s meet tomorrow and talk.” My husband took my hand, stood with me and told Leslie, “It’ll have to wait until we get home. You can reach us by phone to finish the interview.” My knees felt wobbly. I sat back down. Leslie started to object, then noticed the expression on my husband’s face and stopped herself from saying more. She managed a smile and said, “Okay then, until Sunday. Have a safe trip home.” She left the room. My husband and I were the only ones remaining. I stood to leave and couldn’t move. I fell into his arms, sobbing. He gently lowered me to the floor and sat down with me, holding me against him. I lay like that in his arms, crying, for a long time. A very long time.
5–Unsettling–Stars!
First Impressions – 11/16
Wow! Just Wow! This book messed with my mind BIG TIME! It was emotional, engaging, unique, gritty, and jarring. I loved it but at the same time a part of me hated it, too.
I honestly don't know how to write a review for this story. I really don't! I have so many conflicting thoughts and feelings about this book that I need to take some time to sort myself out.
Update – 11/25
Well, it's been over a week since I've read this book and I've spent the whole time trying, but failing, to finish this review. I just wasn't having any luck expanding on what I already posted. FINALLY, IT DAWNED ON ME THAT MY REVIEW WAS ALREADY DONE. There was nothing left for me to say. I had already expressed my feelings and the affect this book had on me.
Nine Minutes is one of the best book I've read this year. Why? Because even a week later, I'm still thinking about it. I'm still affected by it. I'm still obsessing over it. This story made a huge impression on me like few books have. If that isn't good writing, I don't know what is.
5 Stars!!!
First Impressions - 11/20 I've been up for most of the night reading Nine Minutes. I just finished it, and I need a hug!
What in the world did I just read? I've never read anything like that before!
I am in shock!
Update - 11/23 I started this book one morning at 2am when I was struggling with insomnia. My hope was that it would lull me back to sleep. I chose the wrong book for that. This book captured me from the very beginning and I was physically unable to put it down. I read the entire book in one sitting, and when I finally turned the last page at 6am, I was shocked that it was already time to get up! I can’t say that I was sorry, because books like this are rare, precious treasures, and frankly, deserve some lost sleep!
This book begins with an execution. In all my years reading romance, I have never been able to say that in a review.
Following the shocking prologue, our storyteller Ginny reminisces back in time to the year 1975. This was the year when she was kidnapped at age 15 by a member of Satan’s Army (a powerful and brutal motorcycle gang) and was forced to begin a new life.
Ginny quickly learns that the leader of Satan’s Army, Grizz, has chosen her to be his. Grizz is larger than life: physically massive, heavily tattooed, ruggedly handsome, and chillingly capable of horrific acts. He is a sociopath who leads his gang with a code of conduct and rules that are not to be broken as the consequences are often times disfiguring or lethal.
I was initially under the impression that I was reading a dark captivity book, (something like C.J. Roberts Captive in the Dark), but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Ginny is kidnapped from a cold, neglectful, and ambivalent home and is taken into this gang of criminals who care for her, protect her, and become more of a family to her than she has ever known.
When I reflect back on this book, I don’t see black and white, but many different shades of gray. Grizz is, without a doubt, a criminal who acts in truly evil ways. He is also a man who treats Ginny kindly, patiently, and seeks to please her. Although many of his actions demand that he is seen as the villain, an equal amount of his actions (especially towards Ginny) demand that he is seen as the hero. In this book, Grizz is truly the hero AND the villain. The process that leads you to embrace this fact is where the true brilliance of this novel lies.
This book was amazingly written. The careful and unexpected ways that the author choses to reveal certain information combined with the simple and shocking ways that she chooses to reveal others. This author makes no excuses for Grizz, he is whom he is, and yet she gives him enough humanity that I dare you not to love him!
To me, a 5 star read has the ability to engage, captivate, challenge, evoke emotion, and render me speechless. This book does it all. Run, don’t walk, and grab your copy today!
5 Stars for this debut page turner!
First impressions - 11/12
I’m not sure if I’m filled with hate, or choking on grief, pissed off or relieved! I’m honestly at a loss as to what I think about this story, so in a way my confusion is a tribute to the author’s brilliance.
I wouldn’t classify this as your typical MC romance; I’m not even sure what category I would put this in. It’s not really a romance, more like a twisted love story, albeit a very well written and mesmerizing twisted love story.
More thoughts to come...I need a night to process what I read.
Update - 11/17
After having a chance to absorb what I read and think about it, and believe me when I say this book scrambled my brain and it took me a while to sort it all out, I've decided to increase my rating to a full 5 stars.
Just a few more thoughts...
I'll start off by saying that the title of this book has more meaning that you could ever imagine and it still haunts me.
I really don't want to get into the plot itself, as the most intriguing element in this read is the way the story is laid out. The prologue is powerful and in essence it's the beginning of the end...maybe...and it lures the reader in, because there is no way you can walk away without wondering...what the hell brought them to this place? So you read on, and find that the author continues in this manner throughout the book.
While a lot of readers are categorizing this as an MC read, I think I'd relate this more to a mafia type story...the "Alligator Alley Mafia"! It’s also a fairly simply written book considering the complexity of the storyline, the brutal nature of some of the characters, and the world they've created for themselves and inhabit. I think the vague descriptions, and the withholding of key details at certain points, is part of the author's strategy to play with the reader's mind, and she plays a lot! Then further on in the book, in an almost blunt approach, she relays the full extent of what actually happened. and you find it's even more shocking than you could have imagined.
Grizz's world is black and white, it's his way or the highway, or in this case...the swamp...except for where Ginny is concerned, then it's gray. She is the exception, and his love for her rules his emotions, and that's where this story gets complicated, as the reader you become conflicted, and the love/hate relationship with the story begins
That's it, I have nothing else to add other than this book will be at the center of many debates and have readers theorizing on what they read, and speculating on what's to come. Everyone's opinion will be right, because this is a book that has very few definitive answers, so there really is no right or wrong, it's all in how it's perceived...at least for the moment!
So, I dare you to read the sample and not to continue on, because Beth Flynn shackles you to Nine Minutes and holds you captive until the end, and even then her story doesn't let you go!
Inquiring minds want to know...Q & A with Beth Flynn
SABR: Let’s talk about that prologue…in a word it was...powerful! The need to know was overwhelming after reading it. Was it your plan to start out that way, or did the idea come to you as you wrote the book? Yes, it was always my intention to start with this prologue. It was the first thing I wrote because I couldn’t get it out of my head until it was on paper. As a matter of fact, I didn’t write anything else for a few days afterwards. I had to really give some thought as to how I was going to go back and tell Ginny’s story.
SABR: Was any part of the story based on real life events, maybe that you yourself experienced or someone you know? I never had (or personally know of anyone who had) any experience with an abduction or a motorcycle gang. Sure. Some parts of the story are based on real life events. But, I think they are small ones. The idea for the motel sprang from a real experience. I married my husband in 1984 and we bought our first home in Davie, Florida. It was a townhouse and ours was at the very back of the complex and sat at the edge of an undeveloped field. There was an old, crumbling house in the field and a motorcycle gang was actually living there. We could hear and see them coming and going from the balcony of our bedroom window. I can honestly tell you that they were never loud, disrespectful or scary. They lived there (without water or electricity) for about six months before the developer had the house leveled. In my mind the crumbling old house became the Glades Motel. I had my first motorcycle ride when I was in my teens. It was just around the block. He was a neighbor. He was older, big, tattooed, and a really nice guy. No gang affiliation or anything like that. And there was never a romance. Not even a hint of one.
SABR: Is there a reason why you kept Grizz's age ambiguous to the reader? Did this play into the fade to black sex scenes? I guess I didn’t mention his age because I didn’t really think about it. I left it to the reader’s imagination and it has actually become one of the most asked questions. I think Ginny’s age was the main reason the sex was fade to black. Plus, I didn’t think that the intimate scenes would have been relevant to the story.
SABR: The cruelty and viciousness that took place was presented in a very blunt manner, straightforward, matter-of-fact, and it left a lot to the reader’s imagination. Was this done to show Grizz's true character, his cold calculating unfeeling behavior in comparison to the loving tender way he treated Ginny? Yes. There was no getting around the fact that Grizz was despicable, and that’s probably too nice of a word to describe him. I didn’t like writing such cruel scenes, but I felt that it was necessary to create the contrast between how he handled himself as leader of the gang and how he treated Ginny.
SABR: Nine Minutes had readers questioning their own morals, how they could fall so hard for Grizz and root for such a ruthless character. Did you ever imagine that your book would stir up so many emotions, leave readers conflicted, stunned and pretty much speechless when they finished the Nine Minutes?
NEVER in a million years did I expect this. I didn’t even write this story to publish it. I wrote it for myself when I was dealing with some very serious issues in my life. Breast cancer, the unexpected and tragic death of my seventeen year old niece as well as other personal issues. Writing provided not only an escape, but a way to express all of the fear, sadness, and darkness that I was experiencing in my own life. I think this was probably obvious in some of the more difficult scenes to read.
SABR: Nine Minuteswas an amazing read, and most readers are ecstatic that they will get more of these characters in the upcoming book Out of Time, and others would have liked you to have left well enough alone. Is the title Out of Time as significant to the plot of the second book as Nine Minutes title was to the first? I think that the title will have more than one meaning for book two and I think it will be up to the reader to interpret the significance (or not). I recently read in a discussion group, “No two readers read the same book.” This has certainly been the case with Nine Minutes.
Will Out of Time complete this story and be the final book? I haven’t decided this yet. Out of Time is finished and I most certainly could do a third book. But, I’m wavering now on whether or not to go back and do some additions/edits to Out of Time that will wrap it up. Like Ginny, I cannot fathom my own heart and am still thinking and praying about this. J
Now for some fun stuff! I’m a very boring person, but here goes…
Coffee or tea? Half a cup of coffee with sweet cream every morning.
Mug of beer, fruity drink, glass of wine? Fruity drink. Something like a Bahama Mama. (maybe I’m not that boring!)
Mountain retreat or beach bungalow? Both. I live full-time in a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. But, I was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida near the beach. My heart belongs to both places!
Romantic dinner or backyard barbeque? Backyard BBQ.
Favorite TV show? I tape/DVR everything because I have no patience for the commercials. So I had to ask myself, what TV show would I watch in real time and sit through the commercials? The Blacklist.
Favorite book? The Holy Bible. I begin every day before the sun rises with my coffee and my Bible.
What do you do when you have time to relax? I ask my husband to take me for a ride on his motorcycle.
Thank you Beth for allowing SABR to be your first ever interview, giving us a peek into your Nine Minutes writing journey, and allowing us to get to know the woman behind the words!
Beth Flynn is a fiction writer who lives and works in Sapphire, North Carolina, deep within the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Beth and her husband, Jim, have spent the last 16 years in Sapphire, where they own a construction company. They have been married 30 years and have two daughters (the youngest in high school) and two dogs.
In her spare time, Beth enjoys writing, reading, gardening, church and motorcycles, especially taking rides on the back of her husband’s Harley. She is a four-year breast cancer survivor.
In her spare time, Beth enjoys writing, reading, gardening, church and motorcycles, especially taking rides on the back of her husband’s Harley. She is a four-year breast cancer survivor.
More posts from
