New Mystery Releases Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Mystery Skewers Tourist Town Personalities

(Williamsburg, VA • July 1, 2010) Cherokee McGhee Publishing announces the release of Greg Lilly’s newest Derek Mason Mystery – Scalping the Red Rocks.

The novel is set in Sedona, Arizona, one of the top tourist destinations in the United States. Sedona is known for the breathtaking natural beauty of the red rocks; its vibrant arts community; the rich Native American, pioneer, and western movie culture; a variety of hiking trails, Jeep tours, and journeys into the New Age movement; all topped with world-class resorts and restaurants. These unique elements contribute to the lively real estate market and spur the story’s beginning.

In Scalping the Red Rocks, the town’s inhabitants are divided by urban growth. Some entrepreneurs try to make a quick buck by selling out the very aspect of the town that drew them: the awe-inspiring views and natural beauty. Spirited, passionate, and a bit mettlesome, Derek Mason helps his aunt Ruby find her place in the New Age haven, but instead they discover her real estate agent scalped in an empty condo. The crafty real estate agent had intended to sell off part of the pristine landscape, to scalp the land to the highest bidder, but someone scalped him first.

Derek meets Myra and Topher, best friends with a shared secret from Devil’s Bridge; Kimbo Blue, a former child star from Hollywood with a eunuch-ness that defies his adult persona; Clarity Received, the New Age girlfriend of the victim; and Tricia, the diva ex-wife. Along with a troupe of paranoid art gallery owners, gossipy sales clerks, sexy day laborers, and a Jeep-driving Yavapai-Apache, the quirky characters of the resort town hamper Derek’s attempts to expose the killer.

Small town secrets, shady deals, and serial arsonists threaten to throw Derek off the trail. The destructive power of greed materializes in the idyllic setting, and Derek struggles to keep his sense of self-value over the immediate gratification of self-indulgence. Temptation from his past jeopardizes his future, unless he can tame his libido and focus. Or will he lose his head too?
“I lived for five years in Sedona, Arizona,” author Greg Lilly says. “The story could only happen in that setting, in that culture.” Lilly had lived for several years in Charlotte, North Carolina before moving to Arizona for a “simpler life.” In the city, he had written the first Derek Mason Mystery that dealt with a large family-owned business. His second novel, Devil’s Bridge, follows characters who tire of the city and end up in Sedona ─ just as he did. “The novel Devil’s Bridge foreshadowed my own escape from the city,” Lilly explains. “So, with this latest mystery, I had to bring those characters into the tale to show the dream versus the reality of a resort town life.”

The early reviewers praise Scalping the Red Rocks for its setting, plot, and characters. "Greg Lilly gives us some unforgettable characters and his ability to create them is amazing,” says Amos Lassen of Literary Pride book reviews. “The residents of Sedona are the kind of people you will never forget."

Author Keith Pyeatt (Struck, Regal Crest Enterprises, 2009) added, “The characters are diverse and real enough to touch, the story is set so firmly in Sedona, it couldn't take place anywhere else, and the varied agendas and motives keep you wondering whodunit to the very end."

Sedona resident and award-winning mystery writer Kris Neri (Revenge for Old Times’ Sake, Cherokee McGhee, 2010) calls the book “A winner!” Then adds, "With eco-terrorists, wildfire and a shocking scalping, Greg Lilly’s Scalping the Red Rocks rips the mask off the superficial New Age haven of Sedona, Arizona, to reveal its darker side, in a don’t-put-it-down mystery that will keep you guessing right up to its stunning climax.”

Echo Magazine’s book critic Bob Lind rates the mystery “five full stars out of five.” Lind, an Arizonan, adds, “I can tell you that Lilly has absolutely nailed the prevailing mindset of many longtime residents of that town (Sedona), making the mystery even more realistic to me... an exciting, well-written page-turner, which will keep you guessing as you slowly learn more about each of its colorful, complex characters.”

Although the book skewers some attitudes and personalities of tourist towns, Lilly says he feels the murder mystery creates a fast-paced story to entertain readers, all readers ─familiar or not with a small town dependent on tourists. “Hilton Head, Williamsburg, Taos, Asheville,” Lilly lists. “These are places with a lot of deals going on behind the scenes. That can make for some interesting characters and situations.”

Scalping the Red Rocks – A Derek Mason Mystery is available now at bookstores and on-line at Amazon.com and BN.com. More information about Greg Lilly and his novels can be found at www.GregLilly.com.

Almost here...or at the county fair, down by the river.

I'm working on my next newsletter. And it's all about the new Derek Mason Mystery, SCALPING THE RED ROCKS. I wrote in the newsletter about some things that inspired me to write the novel and how the characters move between my books.

Still time to sign up for the newsletter. Just jump over to my website and commit: http://www.greglilly.com/.

I have blurbs from some great reviewers and writers (see those on the website). I have pre-publication books in a box next to my computer for a pre-release signing next week at the James City County Fair.

Speaking of that... This year at the county fair, the organizers have created an "Arts Night" that includes the "Author Talks Series." I was lucky enough to be invited. Each author will have one hour. The first half is for a presentation and the second half is for discussion and book signings.

Author Talks Series - Thursday, June 24

James City County Fair, Chickahominy Riverfront Park

The schedule is:

4:00 p.m. Mac Laird present "Researching the Historical Book"

5:00 p.m. Edward Lull presents "Poetry for Fun"

6:00 p.m. Laurie Krebs presents "Writing for Young Children"

7:00 p.m. I will present "Overcoming Writer's Block"

8:00 p.m. L.B. Taylor will discuss is series of Virginia ghost stories.

I was able to grab the 7:00 slot because I'm the prettiest of the group....Just seeing if you're paying attention. L.B. wanted to present as the sun sets, and I wanted to go later in the day because it's HOT, so we took the last two slots.

All the presentations sound great to me. I wish I could go to all of them, but I can't see sitting out there in a tent for five hours.

If you're in the area, come on out to the fair on Thursday night. I'll have the new book available and special JCC Fair prices.

New Derek Mason Mystery releases in July

The new Derek Mason Mystery is going to the editor next week. The title is SCALPING THE RED ROCKS and it is set in my former hometown of Sedona, Arizona – hence the red rocks reference.

If you've never been to Sedona, you need to add it to your list of places to see. There is too much to cover here, and there are plenty of websites, guide books, magazines, and blogs to tell you to visit the places that advertise with them. So, if you decide to go, let me know and I'll give you some tips on places to go and places to stay away from. You see, after five years there, working and knowing people in the workforce, I know the businesses and people that are true and the ones that are out to make a fast buck.

Funny, how businesses will spend thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising an image that their employment practices destroy with the locals. The locals are the workforce, so my advice to the businesses (not just in Sedona, but everywhere) is to treat employees fair because that's a brand you can't buy your way out of.

With that bit of opinion on business operations, I want to say that it does factor into SCALPING THE RED ROCKS. Here's the backcover summary:

SCALPING THE RED ROCKS – a Derek Mason Mystery

Something's askew in the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona. The town's inhabitants are divided by urban growth. Some entrepreneurs try to make a quick buck by selling out the very aspect of the town that drew them: the awe-inspiring views and natural beauty. Spirited, passionate, and a bit mettlesome, Derek Mason helps his aunt Ruby find her place in the New Age haven, but instead they discover her real estate agent scalped in an empty condo. The crafty real estate agent had intended to sell off part of the pristine landscape, to scalp the land to the highest bidder, but someone scalped him first.

Derek meets Myra and Toper, best friends with a shared secret from Devil's Bridge; Kimbo Blue, a former child star from Hollywood with a eunuch-ness that defies his adult persona; Clarity Received, the new-age girlfriend of the victim; and Tricia, the diva ex-wife. Along with a troupe of paranoid art gallery owners, gossipy sales clerks, sexy day workers, and a Jeep-driving Yavapai Apache, the quirky characters of the resort town hamper Derek's attempts to expose the killer.

Small town secrets, shady deals, and serial arsonists threaten to throw Derek off the trail. The destructive power of greed materializes in the idyllic setting, and Derek struggles to keep his sense of self-value over the immediate gratification of self-indulgence. Temptation from his past jeopardizes his future, unless he can tame his libido and focus. Or will he lose his head too?

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The landscape is spectacular, but the dynamic that makes Sedona memorable is her inhabitants. Like most resort/tourist towns, the place has some eccentric characters. One disclaimer that I'm sure I'll have to issue over and over:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, or events is entirely coincidental.

Really.

No, REALLY.

Please look for SCALPING THE RED ROCKS this July.

Duck!

Just back from a week on the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina – Duck, NC. We usually go to Ocracoke Island at the southern end of OBX, but that added two to three hours to the trip, and many people talked about how much they liked Duck, so we made reservations and loaded up the dog and headed to Duck.

First, the rental house had a great location: two blocks from the ocean (I could hear the waves and see them from the rooftop deck), and about four blocks from the main "downtown" part of Duck. We rode our bicycles everywhere.

Secondly, I worked on revisions for the next Derek Mason Mystery. I'm going to print it again and get the red pen going. After this revision, I'll be ready to ship it to my first readers to get their critiques.

Back to the OBX since I'm still in that vacation state of mind... Some recommendations & commentary for your Duck vacation:





Atmosphere

NC Highway 12 shoots straight up the islands. North of Kitty Hawk, it's the only main road. That's nice and not so nice. It can be really busy like it was on Labor Day. We had difficulty crossing the two-lane road on bikes and on foot. But after Labor Day, the crowd thinned and Duck took on a small town feel.

Live oaks and pines shade the streets of Duck and reminded me a little of Carmel-by-the-Sea – okay just a very little. On the west side of NC 12 (Duck Road), the Currituck Sound nestles up to shops and restaurants for great sunsets. To the east side, the road is lined with shops and restaurants too, but behind them are several blocks of beach houses that overlook the Atlantic. There is no public access to the beaches in Duck, so you have to be staying in a neighborhood to use the access paths (no parking at the paths).

The Outer Banks are family-oriented. Even though we timed the week so that school had started for the kiddies, there were a number of children running around, mostly under school age. Some of the restaurants had exhausted toddlers wiggling and whining at their parents table at nine o'clock at night (hint: young children get tired and bored with adult dinner conservation). Along with the young parents, Baby Boomers enjoyed the town and so did those of us somewhere in between. It was a nice mix of age groups. I'm not sure that's true all year round with summer bringing in more older kids and college students.



Activities

Drinking, dining, shopping, swimming, bike riding, kayaking, parasailing, surfing, fishing are all popular in Duck. I did the first five. A low pressure rambled up the shore and brought several days of rain and the ocean was too rough for any human activity.




Shopping

Book Stores

I checked out two great book stores, Island Books and Duck's Cottage Coffee & Bookshop.

Island Books (http://www.islandbooksobx.com/) is in the Scarborough Faire Shoppes. The place is packed with books and a knowledgeable staff. It's easy to spend a few rainy hours in there.

Duck's Cottage Coffee & Bookstore (http://www.duckscottage.com/) is located at the Waterfront Shops. The coffee is wonderful and creates an aroma to enjoy while lingering among the books. Enjoy the historic home's front porch to drink coffee and read a good book. They host a book club too.




Art

Greenleaf Gallery (www.outer-banks.com/greenleaf/) is really the only fine art gallery in Duck. Other stores have some crafts, but if you're a serious art enthusiast, you need to visit Greenleaf. It is next door to Scarborough Faire Shoppes and across from Aqua S Restaurant & Spa.



Restaurants

The two exceptional restaurants are: Red Sky Café and Aqua S.

Red Sky Café (http://www.redskycafe.com/) was recommended to me by a friend. We ate there a couple of times and I have to say it would be worth the trip alone. I had a chef's special one night of Mediterranean Scallops (or some name like that) that had scallops with feta cheese and olives. This was the best meal I have had in a long time. We went back and I had the Caribbean Jerk Mahi with mango salsa and Brad had the Halibut with Grits – both delicious without overwhelming the taste and texture of the seafood. Ask to be seated at one of Victor's tables, great server and bartender.

Aqua S (http://www.aquasrestaurant.com/) was on our last day. Just by chance we decided to try it for lunch. The fish was fried and I didn't want a crab cake, so I ordered a Veggie Burger. That veggie burger was the best one I've ever had: fava beans, lentils and garbanzo beans with the right amount of spices. I recommend it when you've had enough seafood.




Duck turned out to be a relaxing vacation. Rainy days and sunny days gave some nice variety. I can't say Duck is better than Ocracoke Island at the other end of the OBX, just different. Duck has a bit more shopping and restaurants – more tourist-oriented. Ocracoke is still a fishing village that's hard to get to. Duck is just a short drive from the other OBX towns if you want to enjoy more activities, but I found a week there provided plenty of relaxation and entertainment.


It even helped me finish a draft of the novel.

Editing the next Derek Mason Mystery

I have started editing the next Derek Mason Mystery. It feel great to have the complete book printed out, in a notebook, and red pen in hand.

Now is the time I make sure all the clues work, that the murderer is fingered, that the innocent get away smelling... okay.

As I've said in past posts, Derek meets up with Topher and Myra from Devil's Bridge in this book. It's turned into a lot of fun for me, and hopefully, interesting for the readers.

My/Derek's Dream

I wrote this in 2007 and added it to the file for the next Derek Mason Mystery. And forgot about it.

Today as I re-read what I wrote yesterday, I noticed this at the end of the document and it fit perfectly in what I wanted to work on today. Odd, since I hadn't looked at this in over a year.

It may end up in the final revision or it may not, but today it fit the plot. "He" made sure I saw it when I needed to.

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I woke from a dream, oddly calm since it had been a dream of my death.

In the house I grew up in, I had waited along with two other people—I think friends from elementary school, now grown. My mother paced the front yard, checking the road for someone, then stopping to tell me I didn't need to do it.

The sway of the thin branches of an elm ushered in a breeze and with it a scent of summer rain. Nervous glances to each other, the two people waiting with me began to walk toward the road then ran as they reached the pavement.

“It will do no good,” my mother said.

I knew they were scared and running would be their way of fighting back, futile or not, it was something for them to do.

We stood in my childhood bedroom and I picked through the suits I own today. Holding out the black one I had worn to Walterene’s funeral, I said “This will do, but I doubt I'll have an open casket, so I guess it really doesn’t matter.”

“They may be able to do something with the collar,” my mother said.

“Waiting is the hardest part.”

She nodded and lowered her thin body to the bed.

The sheers underneath the heavy drapes blew in the wind and I wondered if I’d feel the blade. Only for an instant, I thought, since the mind will be separated from the body or more realistically the head will be sliced from the torso. Beheaded…

Decapitated… The thought didn't bother me. I knew he was coming, and when he arrived, I’d die.

And waking up, I felt calm. As if I had accepted my death and only waited for it without fear or regret.

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