Jessie Madison sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we can learn more about what makes her tick. Let’s see what Jessie has to say.

What is your full name?
Jessica Lee Madison

How old are you?
I’m 27 years old.

What is your profession?
I’m a diver. At present, I’m an FBI agent, hoping to be permanently assigned to the FBI dive team. Although I was temporarily assigned to a dive team, I had to go back and finish my training. According to the rules, I am supposed to work as an agent for two years before I qualify to request to be on the dive team.

Do you have a significant other?
Sort of. It’s a long-distance relationship that seems to be significant, although it isn’t an exclusive relationship.

What is their name and profession?
Nick Garnier told me he worked with the International Jeweler’s Alliance, although I’ve come to suspect he has a wider ranging job.

Do you have any children?
No.

Do you have any siblings?
One. The less said about her, the better.

Are your parents nearby?
My father died when I was twelve. My mother lives in Newport News, Virginia. I try to keep a relationship with her, but she’s “difficult.”

Who is your best friend?
I’m not even sure I know what that means. At heart, I’m a loner, but I get along reasonably well with people. I just don’t let them get too close. Does best friend mean somebody I could depend on? It would be Nick Garnier, first. We were in a life-or-death situation, and I know I can trust him—at least more than I can trust anyone else. But I got close to the people on the dive team last summer and I keep up with a couple of them. I think they’d have my back in a bad situation.

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
No. I like animals, but I don’t stay one place long enough to have a pet.

What town do you live in?
Home base is Newport News, but where I live depends on where the FBI sends me.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I rent an apartment on a month to month basis near Quantico. I store some things at my mother’s house in Newport News, but I don’t trust that she might not throw them out on a whim.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
I don’t really have one. I’m most at home in the water.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
My interest in food is to eat enough to keep me moving. If someone else is cooking, my favorite meal is whatever they’re serving. I’m not picky. There’s pretty much nothing I won’t eat. I like ice cream, but who doesn’t? My favorite ice cream is mango.

Do you have any hobbies?
Is running a hobby? I think of a hobby as something somebody sits down to do—sewing, or working a jigsaw puzzle, or playing the guitar. I can’t really sit around. I have to be moving. Although I did play poker with the team on my last dive mission. That was fun. Is that a hobby?

What music do you listen to?
When I was in the Bahamas, I got into the music there. Reggae, what I think of as island music. But I don’t listen to it often.

What is your favorite color?
Blue, the kind of blue you see in dive spots.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
I’ve never actually taken a vacation. My dad died when I was twelve and after that I always had to be the parent of the family. Nick and I spent some time in Sicily after my dive job ended, and that was wonderful. It’s a beautiful island. I think I like islands best.

Are you a morning or night person?
I’m an anytime person. I can get up early and stay up late. I can’t imagine lying in bed after I wake up, and at bedtime, I fall asleep right away. I don’t like sleeping very much. It seems like a waste of time.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
Diving. It’s always diving. I mean, some diving is more fun than others. I like a dive where you see lots of fish, where the water is clear. A really fun time would be to go to some remote dive site with other good divers. But I also have fun with Nick, just kicking around in whatever town we happen to be in.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Don’t Stop Now.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m with the FBI, so it’s professional, and I hope to work in USERT—the FBI dive team program. I’m waiting for my first onshore assignment.

What is a typical day in your life like?
Typical? No such thing. While I wait to find out where I’ll be sent, I run every day and work out at the gym. On weekends I go on dive expeditions, but there’s no really great diving nearby. I’ll let you know what my typical day is once I get my assignment and start to work.

Deep Dive – A Jessie Madison Thriller, Book 2
Genre: Crime Thriller
Release: July 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Jessie Madison joins an FBI dive mission in the Mediterranean, where she encounters deadly threats and dangerous secrets.

After a spine-chilling summer in The Bahamas, Jessie Madison jumps at the chance to join the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team. Seven elite divers are trying to reach a World War II plane stranded at the bottom of the sea, close to the stunning Aeolian Islands north of Sicily. But the mission isn’t going to plan . . .

A series of increasingly terrifying incidents is rattling the team, and worse is yet to come. Is someone in the group trying to sabotage the operation? Why is the plane so important after eighty years? As Jessie uncovers disturbing secrets around the mission, her survival skills face the ultimate challenge.

About the author
Terry Shames writes the Samuel Craddock police procedural series and the Jessie Madison thriller series. The eleventh in the Craddock series, The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, was an Amazon Editor’s Choice. The second in the Madison series, Deep Dive was released July 1 from Severn House Publishing. A Booklist reviewer says, “With taut suspense, scary moments beneath the sea, and a surprising conclusion, this twisty, watery tale is a must-read thriller.” Terry lives in Los Angeles.