I’m excited to introduce you to my writing.
Hello, Word Lovers!
Writing: Thunderhead Rising: Brothers and Sisters
My gritty, suspense thriller novel, Thunderhead Rising: Brothers and Sisters, takes readers into dark, shady worlds and the labyrinths of the mind. It’s the first in a planned series, and I’ve begun work on the sequel. The rewrite of the novel is complete and with a developmental editor prior to my sending it back out on submission.
Here’s a brief summary
In metropolitan Portland, Oregon, sensible, divorced oncologist PETER CALDER longs for a fresh start with a new love and his two disaffected teenage children. After a startling confrontation with his ex-wife, Peter’s concern about his children leads him to enlist the help of her stepsister MELINDA. But Melinda has dangerous secrets of her own that imperil Peter’s carefully constructed world.
FERNANDO is the powerful, enigmatic boss of a Pacific Coast drug smuggling and human trafficking enterprise operating out of a stronghold hidden in the woods. He wants to reunite with the family who expelled him many years earlier, but that would mean changing his ways. Daring to confront his long lost brother, he encounters his niece and her best friend – Peter’s daughter. As the tension mounts within the two families and they’re brought together through a series of reckless and dangerous actions on both sides, Peter must rescue his daughter, friend and innocent young victims while grappling with both his own inner demons and a brutal smuggler-trafficker before an unbreachable criminal organization swallows them all.
How I Came to Write this Novel
I was inspired to write this timely, contemporary novel when I learned Portland is a major hub for drug smuggling and human trafficking. I had worked for ten years as a research assistant at a private institute funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study and make policy recommendations regarding street drug use and addiction during the rise of Mexican cartels and organized sex and labor trafficking. The insight I gained, coupled with my personal and professional experience with individuals suffering from behavioral health issues, formed the foundation of Thunderhead Rising: Brothers and Sisters.
For the story of my Thunderhead Rising journey, please see the News and Updates page.
Writing: Blogs and More
Blogs
Please check out my BLOGS, Write Right! and Oregon Author, on the Blog page. I’ll be excited to have you with me as we imagine our world through words.
El Dorado
Although I’ve been a writer and editor throughout my working life, my work has been mostly academic and business oriented. I have published a few magazine and newspaper articles. But my foray into novel writing has been something new. I did publish a coming of age short story, “El Dorado,” in The Promethean, the literary arts journal of Concordia University, several years ago. In this story, two children make some discoveries about what is truly precious. It was inspired by some of my recollections of the humor, pathos, drama, fear and wonder of childhood.
I’m creating a digital copy of the story and would love to share it with you, the visitors to my website. As soon as it’s available, I’ll include a link here so you can read it. It’s a reminder to me of how we writers may grow in craft knowledge, technique and sophistication over the years but hopefully will never lose the sheer joy telling a story gave us from our earliest efforts.
Stay tuned for the link!
May the Words Be with You.
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