One of the fun parts about writing the Pegasus Quincy mystery series is to revisit favorite haunts of mine in the Verde Valley. This low-water crossing is featured in the SILENCE OF WEST FORK.
Peg has just discovered that a possible witness to a murder lives in a hidden shack on the other side of this bridge. But it is a low-water crossing. That means she has to drive through water, hoping that her car won’t slip off either side before she reaches dry land on the other side.
Today, the water is low. When she returns, it may be impossible to cross.
Life is not risk-free, whether in fiction or in the real-life adventures we all face, every day.
Book Launch Day is exciting–like the birth of a new baby that you’ve carried for so long.
It’s time to let go of the indigestion, the sacrifice of things you’d like to do in exchange for the things you must do, the sleepless nights, the stress, and the angst. Finally these come to an end.
And now the book is here, and I hope readers like this little critter!
When I write a mystery novel, the structure of the genre is like a picture frame in which ideas can be created and examined.
With SILENCE IN WEST FORK I looked at the theme of how character and truth interact. For example, Thorn Malone told the truth, and wasn’t believed. That action got her fired and accused of murder. Her journey to the Navajo Nation on a Vision Quest allowed her to discover who she was as a person. Ultimately, she had to make the decision of whether to stand her ground or run away when life-threatening danger loomed.
Harriet Weaver, on the other hand, got into trouble when another lied on her behalf. All of her life she’d been a “yes” woman. She had a strong domineering mother, a boss that emotionally abused her, and a husband that did not appreciate her worth. Yet she, too, has the opportunity for change and learns her own truth by the time the book ends.
I hope that you enjoy this newest addition to the Pegasus Mystery collection. The scenery is gorgeous and the people have character. (They are all definitely above average, as Garrison Keillor would say!)
West Fork is one of my favorite places in the whole world. A tributary of Oak Creek Canyon in the Verde Valley of Arizona, this clear stream runs through ponderosa pine and fir trees. Ferns and yellow columbines carpet the ground, and golden eagles nest in its boundary red cliffs.
And, for the inveterate mystery writer, it’s the perfect place for a murder to occur!
Join me in SILENCE IN WEST FORK as Pegasus Quincy works against time to solve a life-or-death murder case. The stakes are high. If she fails, her good friend Shepherd Malone’s daughter may go to prison for life, even if she is innocent.
