BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR SHANNON BAKER

Shannon Baker, author of the Nora Abbott Mystery series involving murder, environment and Hopi Indians, can often be found backpacking, skiing, kayaking, cycling, or just playing lizard in the desert. Learn more about Shannon and her books at her website. 

Since I was about six years old, sitting in the backseat of our Chevy Impala on long nighttime drives, listening to my parents talk about Edgar Cayce and his mystic predictions and revelations, I’ve had a fascination with weird stuff. You know, stuff that tingles your skin, like ghosts and reincarnation, aliens, telepathy. I read all those accounts of near-death experiences, books about talking to God, dipped my toe into studying various religions. I can’t say as I believe everything I’ve heard or read, and can’t say I don’t believe it. Frankly, I don’t feel the need to decide.

What interests me is what people believe and how it makes them act.

Sometimes there’s a bizarre collision in my brain. Things that seeped in years earlier start to grow, sort of like the Blob in the early black and white horror flick. Then something new gets misfiled up there and Blam! a book idea slides out.

In the case of Tattered Legacy the messy explosion mixed all these interesting bits I’d read about the Mormon religion with the amazing information I’ve learned about Hopi.

Like most religions, there are often different versions of the main church, so I don’t pretend to be an expert on Mormons, Church of Latter-Day Saints or any of the off-shoot sects and cults. But there is a little tidbit about Mormons believing if they live a righteous life, they (the men, that is) will get their own planets when they die.

When I first moved to Flagstaff, I happened on a website of Hopi news. An article talked about the recent UFO-siting in the desert, and I read the dozen or so comments. From these postings, I learned that visits from space are not seen as particularly unusual on the reservation.

The Hopi have a long-standing relationship with the Sky People. Old Oraibi, the first Hopi village on the mesas north of Winslow, was established in 1050. That’s a long time ago. According to the petroglyphs, especially Prophecy Rock, it’s said that the faithful Hopi will be lifted to other planets when they die.

There are plenty of websites saying with certainty that UFO’s hang out in lenticular clouds that hover over mountains, specifically, over the San Francisco Peaks. It’s no coincidence that this is where the Hopi kachinas live.

Mormons. Hopi. Aliens. How could I not see the connection? You see it, plain as day, right? What I needed was a character to go head to head with Nora.

Remember a few years ago when Mitt Romney was all the rage? Rich, well-connected, Presidential nominee…Mormon. Oh yeah. I assume Mr. Romney is a nice guy with a perfectly normal family. And being on the national political horizon creates some issues I didn’t want to deal with. So, my guy, Warren Evans, is nothing like our man Mitt. Except he’s rich and Mormon.

Toss in some very telling petroglyphs and Nora’s Hopi connection and there you have it.

Do I believe in aliens?

Does it really matter?  

Want a chance to win a copy of Tattered Legacy (US only)? Leave a comment. Tell me if you believe in aliens, or just say hi. I’ll be randomly picking a winner from all who comment and will contact you directly.

Tattered Legacy

The third in the Nora Abbott series, Tattered Legacy is set in the iconic red rocks of Moab, UT. Working to solve the murder of her best friend, Nora uncovers an unlikely intersection of ancient Hopi legends, a secret polygamist sect and one of the world’s richest men. Will Nora put all the pieces together in time to prevent disaster?

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR MARILYN MEREDITH

We’re always happy to welcome back Marilyn Meredith, author of over thirty-five published novels, including the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series. Marilyn is on a blog tour to promote her latest release, River Spirits, and she’s offering a prize. The winner will be the person who comments on the most blog posts during the tour. He or she can either have a character in her next book named after them, or choose an earlier book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series—either a paperback or e-book. Tomorrow she’s hopping over to Rabbi Ilene Schneider’s blog. Learn more about Marilyn and her books at her website and blog.

  

The first two books I wrote with Tempe as a character didn’t make it into the series. By the time I wrote the third book, Tempe had changed into a different person. No, I didn’t toss those books; the main characters names were changed as well as the location and they can now be found as e-books. (If anyone wants to know the titles, you can email me mmeredith@ocsnetnet.)

The third book, Deadly Trail was not the first in the series to be published.

The next four books were published by Golden Eagle Press as trade paperbacks:

Deadly Omen (a murder at a Pow Wow), Unequally Yoked (a missing child), Wing Beat (hidden marijuana farm), Intervention (a snow storm and murder in a mountain lodge).

Then another small press published Deadly Trail (the introduction of Nick Two John and the murder of the owner of the Bear Creek Inn) as a prequel.

Sadly, the first publisher died. The next small press publisher quit the business. I met a publisher at an e-book convention, pitched my Tempe series, and now all the books have been published or republished by Mundania Press.

They consist of:

Judgment Fire (Tempe learns something about her past.)

Calling the Dead (She calls back the dead to find out the truth about a murder and a suicide.)

Kindred Spirits (She travels to Crescent City where she has learns about the Big Foot legend,  and on to Santa Barbara to find the killer of a Tolowa artist.)

Dispel the Mist (While investigating a murder of a prominent woman with ties to the Bear Creek Indian Reservation Tempe has an encounter with the legendary Hairy Man.

Invisible Path (A man is wrongly accused of the murder of a popular Indian and a pseudo-military group impedes the investigation.)

Bears With Us (Bears, a young man’s suicide and a missing woman with dementia keep Tempe busy.)

Raging Water (A flooding river and a mud slide cut Bear Creek and a murderer off from the rest of the world.)

Spirit Shapes (Ghost hunters stumble upon a murdered teen’s body in a haunted house.)

And the latest, River Spirits, is described below.

I’ve written each book so it can stand-alone, though the characters do change from one book to the next. When you read one, though, you can be sure that the mystery will be solved by the end, and the “bad guy” will be caught.

River Spirits

While filming a movie on the Bear Creek Indian Reservation, the film crew trespasses on sacred ground, threats are made against the female stars, a missing woman is found by the Hairy Man, an actor is murdered and Deputy Tempe Crabtree has no idea who is guilty. Once again, the elusive and legendary Hairy Man plays an important role in this newest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery.

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