What sport did J.C. Martin play in high school? You’ll never guess … just like the whodunnit in her book Oracle!

Do you ever wonder what makes a person grow up, what experiences, what life elements give someone the imagination to write a crime thriller from both the point of view of the killer AND the cop and not be crazy themselves? There has to be something in the past, in the history and I’ve asked J.C. Martin, author of Oracle—a crime thriller, about her teenage years to see what we can dig up!

J.C. Martin
J.C. Martin

First question:
Nothing’s better than being on the _________ team

Badminton, the national sport of Malaysia! I was in the school Badminton team as a senior, and though we never did very well, we had the coolest uniforms!

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There was a hot teacher … her/his name was …

Ooh … let’s leave his name out, OK? 😉 There was this senior (think he was 4 or 5 years my senior) who stayed on a year in school as a substitute teacher before going to university. He subbed a couple of my classes, and we had martial arts in common: he did Tae Kwon Do while I did Karate. We stayed in touch after he went to university, and would drop by for a visit whenever he was on holiday. There was definitely something there, as we kept in touch right up till just a few years ago, and went out on a couple of dates. 😉

Nerd? Geek? Jock? Snob?

I was kind of a jeek: got good grades, topped the class in English and Science, but also represented the school in track and field. For a year or so, I was also the only girl in the school Karate club. Back in Malaysia, the girls didn’t like getting sweaty, and will usually sit out of P.E. (which teachers actually allowed), so that only left me, the tomboy, to play basketball, soccer, volleyball, badminton and what not with the boys.

If I could do it all again, I would …

“Definitely! Especially my senior years at a boarding school! Loved the camaraderie, and the friendships I made there are still going strong!

Best part of high school actually felt like the worst part when we were doing it: all the 6th formers (12th graders) were sent to a 10-day Outward Bound survival camp for “”bonding””. Multiple insect bites, days of jungle trekking through leech-infested swamps, and sleepless nights in makeshift tents aside (plus an emergency evacuation when one of our troop members got stung by a bee and was allergic), the hardships definitely pulled us together as a team, and I’ve stayed close to my troop members since!”

There is no better class than _____________

I was a bit of a geek in school. I loved English for the creative writing, and Science (especially Biology and Chemistry) for the experiments! Hated Math up to 11th grade, but then decided to take Double Maths for A-Levels in 12th and 13th grade, when I oddly started to enjoy the problem-solving challenges!

What really happened on prom night …

My girlfriends and I were kinda in a “we hate boys” phase then, so my date was my best friend. I couldn’t afford a new dress, so just dressed an old one with stockings and my mom’s pearl necklace, and my friend’s mom did my makeup (I didn’t know how to do my own then). Think I ended up looking like her aunt! 😛

Now, before we get to the last question, let’s look at J.C.’s book …

Oracle by J.C. Martin
Oracle by J.C. Martin

As the countdown begins, the body count rises.

With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn’t need a serial killer stalking the streets, but they’ve got one anyway.

Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police force is no closer to finding the latest psychopath than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter’s disability.

Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential victims.

One of whom could be his own daughter.

Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer’s only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.

Favorite one-line review about the book

It didn’t take a prophecy for me to discover a love of ORACLE by J.C. Martin.

Favorite 6 sentences from the book

My eyes began to burn–an incredible, searing pain as if someone had shoved glowing hot pokers through both my eye sockets.

I cried out. My hands shot to my face as I tried to wipe the fiery chemical away, but every brush of my fingers left a blazing trail of hot coals across my corneas. My eyes watered. As my vision descended into a red haze of pain, my cheeks and lips started to tingle.

My whole face is on fire.

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But before you go, one last question …

If my parents knew I did ____________________, they’d have grounded me forever.

My parents were pretty strict when I was in high school, and I seldom went out with friends. I once lied that I was meeting up with the girls to go on my (first ever) date. Boy, if they ever found out… 😉

Congratulations, J.C.! Good luck with Oracle!

Have more questions for this author? Ask in the comments!