“Off the Page” with Ashley Prescott by The Wren (Sarah E. Burr)

A Note from Sarah Burr: I'm handing over the blogging reins to none other than Winnie Lark, the savvy sleuth and bookish brain behind my Book Blogger Mysteries series. Winnie runs What Spine is Yours—a literary hub often dubbed “Metacritic for Books,” but with a delightfully cozy twist. Under her secret blogging identity as The Wren, Winnie dishes out captivating content while keeping her true self under wraps. Her favorite way to spotlight authors? Interviewing them through the voices of their very own characters. And that’s precisely what’s in store for today’s feature. Settle in and enjoy the bookish fun!

Greetings, bookish friends! It’s your friendly neighborhood book blogger, The Wren, here to share a fascinating interview with a new heroine taking the thriller world by storm. I’m talking about Ashley Prescott from James M. Jackson’s new series, Niki Undercover.

Thanks so much for coming “Off the Page” with me, Ashley. Or should I call you Niki? I’ve never interviewed an undercover agent before, so I hope my questions aren’t blowing your cover too much!

Thanks for having me, Wren. I guess we both know how difficult it can be to stay anonymous. You ask the questions; I’ll answer, and you can decide with whom you are speaking.

Holy bookmarks, if that isn’t the coolest answer ever! I can tell I’m going to learn a lot today. Have you always wanted to be an FBI Agent? What brought you to this career path?

I watched the Twin Towers fall and knew I wanted to protect the country I love. At first, I thought that meant the military. My mother didn’t dismiss that idea, but she kept asking if that was the best way for me to make a difference. I decided the FBI held the most promise for me and applied to become a Special Agent.

That’s very brave of you to put your country first. How did you become Niki Foster? What was the hardest part of the process?

I made it clear from the beginning at the Academy that I wanted national security undercover work. I graduated near the top of my class at Quantico and could theoretically pick my assignment. After that, the hardest part was dealing with the boys’ club, who kept trying to push me into “appropriate” undercover roles: the hooker, strung-out druggie, desperate single mom. I persevered, got my first real assignment, proved them wrong, and here we are.

After two years of pretending to be Niki Foster, how do you hold on to who Ashley Prescott really is?

Wren, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I get steamed when people assume I pretend to be Niki Foster. I become Niki Foster—it’s the only way I can survive when even a hint of who I am is a death sentence. But your question touches on a personal concern. The longer I work undercover, the more I find that persona affecting my “regular” life. Without thinking, I now scan my surroundings for threats: a person who doesn’t belong or acts unnaturally. I’m uncomfortable sitting in a public space unless I’ve protected my back. And of course, I often struggle with chit chat—forced to avoid answering, “Ashley, what did you do today?”

Yikes! I can’t imagine the strain this puts on you during every waking second (and probably during your sleep, too). What’s the one thing you miss most from your “real” life, something Niki Foster can never have?

Real friends. As Niki, I can be friendly, but I can never share what I believe or feel or want. And to be honest, the secrets I (Ashley) carry strained old friendships. Now my circle of real friends has shrunk to a small group of people who know that I work undercover.

Trust is a dangerous currency when you’re undercover. How do you decide who deserves yours?

Working undercover involves a huge paradox: your whole being is a lie, yet to learn secrets, you must present yourself to your targets as the most reliable person they will ever encounter. Compounding this contradiction is that although you can rely on no one, you must appear open and trustworthy because people reciprocate such confidence. You mitigate the danger by always protecting yourself as much as possible.

It's why I wear body armor, carry concealed weapons, perform counter-surveillance routines, and have become an expert at disguises. You can improve the odds in your favor, but you can never eliminate the risks. And in the end, you only completely trust one or two people. That makes me sad, but you deserve the truth.

I’m relieved to read that you at least have one or two people you know are in your corner. That’s something to be treasured. And while every choice you make has consequences, which weighs heavier: the lives you’ve saved or the lives you couldn’t?

I played on a championship college softball team. You learn fast that you can’t change a previous at-bat or a fielding decision. Woulda, coulda, shoulda is a waste of time. But to improve, you study your mistakes. I just don’t dwell on them. But to answer your question, my nightmares are never about survivors.

I can’t even begin to imagine the struggle. In the moments when everything seems ready to collapse, what do you tell yourself to keep going?

Feel free to clean up my language if it doesn’t meet your standards. I tell myself, “I will not f---ing die.”

Readers, I’m sure you get the point Ashley is making here, even with my censoring. Given everything you’ve survived, Ashley, are there more adventures in store for you and your author, James M. Jackson?

Jim's proven he can handle my story without making it into some glossy Hollywood fantasy where the good guys always win and nobody gets PTSD. That matters more than you might think. After he wrote Niki Undercover, I decided to trust him with what happened next—a job that threw me into a nest of ecoterrorists willing to kill for their cause. Turns out, trees and clean water have some very dangerous protectors. Jim's calling it Niki Unleashed. I’m looking forward to reading it when it becomes available on November 11^th—assuming I survive long enough to see it published.

Thanks for the great questions, Wren. And a sisterly piece of advice: if you don’t want people to know who you are, make sure you use a VPN (virtual Private Network) to hide your IP address. It’s too easy these days to hack Internet Service Providers and link a known IP address to a real person. A VPN breaks that link.

I never thought I’d have something in common with an undercover agent, but here we are! A VPN is how I’ve kept myself somewhat undercover all these years. A great tool if you’re looking to “go off the grid.”

Ashley, thank you so much for this fascinating (and scary) look into your world! Readers, you can experience Ashley’s adventures in Niki Undercover, available now!

Purchase links:

eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNCVGVXM

Paperbacks: https://jamesmjackson.com/novels/niki-undercover.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.m.jackson.author