Today I am turning the blog over to Parker Francis, author of Bring Down the Furies. Thanks for stopping by!
I’m often asked where I get the crazy
ideas for my books. Stephen King used to joke that there was a
special section on eBay where you could buy plot ideas. And I’ve
been known to tell people my weird ideas are a result of the strange
medication I was taking back in the 60s. Of course, story ideas can
come from anywhere. But with BRING DOWN THE FURIES, the second Quint
Mitchell Mystery, it all came down to research.
FURIES
is a follow-up to Quint’s first adventure, Matanzas
Bay, an award-winning
book set in St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city. When the
reader first meets Quint in that book he’s a volunteer on an
archaeological survey where he digs up the body of the vice mayor.
But that’s another story. I
knew the next book would take Quint to another location, and I wanted
find a setting where archaeology might play a small part in a larger
mystery, as it did in the first offering.
Searching the Internet, I
located a listing of archaeological projects in the southeast. That
led me to the Topper site outside Allendale, South Carolina where Dr.
Albert Goodyear has found artifacts made by the pre-Clovis people
dating back thousands of years. Claxons began ringing in my head, and
I asked myself what if a Creationist minister feuded with the
archaeologist and it boiled over into a tension-filled media circus.
Now I felt I was onto something that could explode from a single idea
into a longer, more compelling narrative.
With
more research I learned that General Sherman’s troops had burned
down the original town on their way to Columbia during the Civil War.
This bit of historical news tripped another set of creative neurons
(or maybe it really was that strange medication kicking in once
again) and I decided fire would play a major role in the story. That
led to the idea of a serial arsonist at work in Allendale.
Now
the plot was really boiling. But I needed to transport Quint to
Allendale in order to immerse him in the sadistic kettle of violence
brewing in my evil head. This is where the “Heartthrob Bandit”
comes into play. Ricardo “Ricky” DeAngelis is a suave con man who
preys on wealthy elderly women. Quint is hired by one of DeAngelis’
victims to track him down and retrieve some property he’d stolen.
Since Quint’s an ace tracker of bad guys and lost property, he
locates him in Allendale, SC.
Of
course, Ricky eludes Quint until the very end of the book. In the
meantime, Quint blunders into the growing dispute between the
minister and the archaeologist, while also making himself the target
of the arsonist. And to add a little more spice to the plot, there’s
another love interest for Quint to pursue, as if he doesn’t have
enough on his plate.
Some
of my early readers have been very kind. Bestselling thriller author
Steve Berry had this to say, "Another
terrific outing for Parker Francis, who definitely delivers what
readers want. He's a powerhouse storyteller and a welcome
addition to the thriller genre. Hang on tight and remember to
breathe."
And
Deborah Sharp, author of the Mace Bauer Mysteries, wrote, “I'm wild
about Bring Down the
Furies, the second
Quint Mitchell Mystery. With a finely drawn Southern setting and a
crackling good plot, author Parker Francis offers up a riveting page
turner.”
But
readers are capable of making up their own minds, aren’t they? So I
encourage them to read BRING DOWN THE FURIES—and write their own
review.
Links:
www.parkerfrancis.com.
About Author Parker Francis
Parker
Francis is the pen name of author Victor DiGenti. As Parker, I write
gritty, fast-paced mysteries filled with murder, violence and laced with
humor. The first in my Quint Mitchell Mystery series was MATANZAS BAY,
an award-winning adventure set in the nation's oldest city. The second
in the series, BRING DOWN THE FURIES, takes PI Mitchell to Allendale, SC
where he becomes embroiled in an ugly cultural war and comes face to
face with a serial arsonist.
In my first life I worked for the Public Broadcasting stations in NE Florida with diverse duties that included public affairs producer, director, reporter, fundraiser and producer of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. My first three books were written using my real name. They were adventure/fantasies with a feline protagonist. The WINDRUSHER trilogy won multiple awards and attracted readers of all ages.
Parker (aka Vic) lives in NE Florida with his wife and their rescued cats who tolerate them as long as their bowls are filled and litter boxes emptied.
Bring Down The Furies
Sherman’s troops burned it the first time. Now a serial arsonist threatens a small South Carolina town and private investigator Quint Mitchell is caught in the backdraft. When Quint follows the “Heartthrob Bandit” to the hamlet of Allendale, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ugly cultural war between an ultraconservative minister and the scientist who may have discovered proof of the oldest humans ever found in North America.
As the heat grows more intense, arson turns to murder, and Quint is embroiled in a growing firestorm that threatens to destroy Allendale for the second time. A media frenzy surrounding the clash of faith and science whips emotions to a fiery crescendo. With time running out, Quint is the only man standing between a vicious killer with nothing to lose and his plan to bring down the furies on Allendale and Quint.
Purchase Bring Down The Furies on Amazon in paperback or for Kindle.
The author is giving away $50 Amazon gift card, $25 Barnes and Noble gift card and autographed copies of the two Quint Mitchell Mystery books, MATANZAS BAY and BRING DOWN THE FURIES. Fill out the form below to enter!
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