A Book Affair
The story is as old as time.
An innocent glance held a second too long. A building interest, then a touch that generates an instant spark, eventually consummated in a bonfire of passion. The stolen, intimate minutes turn into countless hours, days, and weeks. Then, almost imperceptibly, the relationship turns stale, the ardor cools until any new words are meaningless.
Drained of every bit of creative energy, in the end the resulting offspring of the affair is jettisoned into existence, not because it has reached maturity, but because its creator has become thoroughly weary of its adolescent demands. Infatuation has morphed into apathy, excitement to frigidity. Painstaking correction is abandoned as the door is flung open to consign the rebellious teenager to the cruel world. The author, who now has no influence over opinion, impression, or review cringes as the darts are thrown, or alternately basks in the temporary and very finite glory of success, both preferable to a cool indifference to this struggling progeny.
Though the above may be a bit melodramatic, it bears some resemblance to the impassioned struggle experienced by those who delve deep into their inner being in an attempt to string together sentences that either exhilarate and thrill, or depress and repulse their subsequent readers.
The Fugitive as with the other Border Series books combines Lonnie Bowers’ love of the Blackwater Ranch with his sense of duty. During his undercover work in Mexico, he’s sent more than a few criminals to prison. Now, in his battle of wits with local law enforcement, he grapples with the real possibility that he may lose the freedom he treasures, for a murder he didn’t commit.
I hope you’ll find The Fugitive a worthy successor to the four other books in The Border Series. Much of it is set on the Blackwater Ranch, but though Lonnie has walked away from intelligence work, he is forced to once again slip into Mexico to identify the immensely wealthy child-sex-trafficker who has vowed to kill him. Though The Fugitive was written before Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell became known to the general public for the evil they perpetrated, its release is timely. Epstein is dead, and Ghislaine Maxwell might also never make it to court because of what she knows that may implicate rich and powerful men.
The Mexican setting in The Fugitive takes place in the rich enclaves that litter the coastal Yucatan peninsula. It was sobering research, and like so much of Mexico, disturbing. In The Fugitive, the ultra-wealthy fictional Zichantlan beach haven is only two streets away from grinding poverty and a smoldering multitude of restless youths who too often are the fodder for drug cartels and multi-national sex-traffickers. First, I hope The Fugitive is one of those great winter evening reads where you kick back in your easy chair and just enjoy. But like most of my books, there’s also a message. It’s why I go into those crazy places where tourists shouldn’t go.
Though generally only one name graces a book cover, every author has team members who contribute greatly to their success. Chief among those is the cover artist. Book covers are a big deal. Good ones sell books. Bad ones might not torpedo your ship, but they’re going to add a ton of barnacles to your hull, so picking the right cover artist is important. The final product has to be first class, and don’t even think about using that girl from your home town . . . uh, unless she’s Katrianna Anderson. Katie checks all the boxes. Talented, easy to work with, incredibly artistic, and did I mention talented? I’m fortunate to be able to depend on her skills. Look for another Katrianna cover when you pick up The Fugitive, the fifth book in The Border Series, available from either your favorite online e-book purveyor, or on book store shelves by December 1st.
David Griffith
