Hi, folks!
Do you remember when we held a contest to name
Healey's Cave? We had so much fun. I had originally entitled the first book in Moore Mysteries
The Green Marble,
because, after all, that little glowing piece of glass was the common
feature that would tie all the books together. But my publisher opted
for
Healey's Cave,
and I'm delighted to report that the title has done the book justice,
it seems. We've been gathering awards this year like mad, and I'm just
so happy to see that folks like the story. Here are some of the cool
awards Healey's Cave has won:
WINNER
2012 EPIC Book Awards, BEST Paranormal * WINNER 2011 Eric Hoffer BEST
Book, COMMERCIAL FICTION * FINALIST Global eBook Awards 2011
If you miss that little green marble, now you can visit with it again in the sequel to
Healey's Cave, Terror Comes Knocking. We also held a contest for this title, remember? I had originally entitled it
One Potato, Blue Potato,
because of an underlying theme that really matched the concept of
potatoes not of the "usual" color. But my publisher wanted to focus on
the idea that this story really was about terrorism hitting Sam Moore's
little country village of Conaroga, NY, so we chose
Terror Comes Knocking, thanks to reader Don Harman from Charlotte, NC.
The sequel is now out, and if you'd like to take a peek at it, here's an
excerpt as well as a link to the
audio book sample which will be out in a month or so.
SYNOPSIS:
Sam’s daughter Beth has been unreachable for several days. Something is seriously wrong,
and the Moores don’t know where to turn for help. No ransom note
arrives, no kidnapper calls. When Beth’s roommate Zafina Azziz – a woman
who slinks around like an Egyptian princess-- arrives on their doorstep
worried about Beth’s whereabouts, Sam realizes it’s time to call the
FBI.
The
Moores unravel with worry as the green marble, a talisman connected to
Sam’s dead brother Billy, thrusts Sam between past and present. When
Sam’s friend, Senator Bruce MacDonald, is tapped for the Presidential
nomination, the town goes berserk preparing to welcome the sitting
President to the opening of a new arts center. That’s when Sam uncovers
the awful truth - someone is out to destroy the soon-to-visit President,
and that someone is alive and well in East Goodland.
When
he discovers a link between Beth and the terrorists, Sam dives head
first into the melée to avert a calamity that could rival the 911
disaster.
***
Chapter One
Sam
stood over his brother’s grave. A curious combination of sorrow and
liberation flitted through him. Like a tapestry of death, its weave
created patterns of loss and love that gutted his soul, twisting him
inside.
The agony of grieving again for his little brother had hit
him hard. Although he’d mourned in stages since Billy disappeared fifty
years ago, he’d never had closure. Until now. A week ago, his three
best childhood friends admitted to burying Billy’s body in the pool near
Healey’s cave. When the boy had slipped from the crossing log and
slammed his head in a lethal fall, they’d panicked, afraid of being
charged with murder. Their childish fears escalated, and they’d pinned
Billy beneath heavy stones, his eyes wide open and dulled, hair waving
in the water, skin wrinkled like prunes.
Sam shook himself.
Stop it. Stop torturing yourself.
He
glanced at his SUV sitting under the shade a hundred yards away, its
four doors gaped open to provide relief from the heat. With her
motorized scooter parked alongside, his wife of forty years, Rachel,
perched sideways on the passenger seat, a cell phone clamped to her ear.
Their grandson Evan rhythmically tossed and caught a softball nearby.
They’d accompanied him to the gravesite and had left after his request
for a few minutes alone.
To think. To stare at the earth. To
remember that the physical markers of Billy’s young life were just that.
Placeholders. Reminders. Cold ground and stone.
Someone else’s
funeral on the nearby hill ended, and its mourners scattered like
dandelion feathers in the wind. Sam watched them drift toward the
parking lot for a moment, and turned back to the grave.
He
fingered the green marble in his pocket and looked up to the cirrus
clouds that stalled overhead. Chalk white against a steel gray sky, they
paused in their frenetic journey as if trying to get his attention.
I know you’re not really in the ground, Billy. I know you’re up there.
The cottonwood leaves rustled overhead, stirring in a breeze that came from out of nowhere.
Billy.
The
marble warmed his fingers in response—his talisman, his connection with
Billy’s spirit. He closed his hand around it so the people walking by
wouldn’t see the glow of green blushing through his khakis.
The marble pulsed. Sam’s heart skipped a beat....
***
Read more
here if you wish.;o)
Thanks
for taking the time to read a little today. I hope you all have a
wonderful weekend, and if you read the above book(s), let me know what
you think in the comments, below, okay?
Warmest wishes to all,
Aaron Lazar
www.lazarbooks.com
