The Word is Out

“Flat-Out Terrific”

Posted in Author Blog by Mark Stevens on June 15, 2011

The “blurbs” are starting to come in. We’re within two months of the Aug. 9 release date and some upbeat commentary is already flowing in. It’s one thing to have early readers help evaluate your story and make suggestions, it’s another to say it’s “done” and give it to writers like Margaret Coel and ask for an endorsement. I thought Margaret might be a good person to read it because her Wind River Series of mysteries is also set in the West and, well, I met her at an event in 2009 and she couldn’t have been more encouraging and supportive. All that good stuff. 

Margaret remembered me. When I wrote to her about Buried by the Roan, she wrote right back and offered to read it. Then it took another three months to produce an advance copy and she followed through with a beautiful quote:

“Buried by the Roan is flat-out terrific. Everything you expect from a first-rate mystery is here: Savvy sleuth—Allison Coil, hunting guide on-top-of-her-game—gorgeous Colorado mountain setting, gripping story where the pages practically turn themselves, and eloquent writing to boot.  If you haven’t yet discovered Mark Stevens, this is your opportunity!”

That’s gold as far as I’m concerned. Margaret has a new book coming out in September: “The Perfect Suspect.” No doubt it will be on the New York Times best-seller list only because I’m going to buy a 1,000 copies to say “thanks, Margaret.” When you’re in my shoes, staring a long way up the sales charts in the ever-increasingly-difficult world of selling books, Margaret’s quote is a tremendous gift.

I’ve known John Hickenlooper since he was in the oil business. We met in 1983. His wife, Helen Thorpe, recently published a terrific book called “Just Like Us,” a non-fiction account of four high school girls, all with Mexican heritage, who are caught in the tangled world of immigration, green cards and the great national debate over this issue. Helen read Buried by the Roan and offered this comment: “I couldn’t put this book down! Great dramatic writing, fast-pace narrative, and I loved every minute I spent with Allison Coil.”

I love this quote from Stephen Singular (okay, I’m likely to love any positive quote). I especially like the approach he took: “Few male writers would dare to create a tough-minded protagonist like Allison Coil. Mark Stevens has brought this off and intimately succeeded at making her the heart of this tense environmental drama.”

I like that tough-minded aspect. I think of Allison as pretty tough and capable. She’s not over-the-top superwoman but she isn’t afraid of a challenge and extreme conditions. She faces a few rough situations in Buried by the Roan, including one nasty night in a snowstorm when she has to save herself and a sort-of “friend.” I’ll leave it at that. Anyway, Steve Singular is known for his non-fiction but he teaches writing and fiction and certainly knows his stuff. It was extremely generous of him to offer the blurb. I think developing any character is challenging, but I don’t think it’s impossible to write “across” gender. (I’ve given talks on this subject with my pal Bonnie Ramthun.)

I wrote and asked for a comment from Curt Wendelboe, who lives in Wyoming. He’s a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I am a member, too. Being a member of RMFW has been a terrific help in my writing—you just can’t beat the networking, advice, instruction, inspiration. (What a bargain, at $45 a year.) Anyway, Curt (C.M. Wendelboe on the book jacket) has a nifty mystery out called “Death Along the Spirit Road,” which is set on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and features FBI special agent Manny Tanno, who returns to his roots to sort out a murder.  Curt wrote: “Mark Stevens deftly leaves clues in our path that we miss at first, then slap our foreheads when we should have picked up on them. My forehead was flat by the time the killer was unveiled in the end. His depiction of the mountainous terrain of Colorado is even better than a tourist brochure, and made me want to visit his mystery’s setting. Just as soon as I finished the book.”

Now, Curt has been “blurbed” by the well-respected mystery writer Craig Johnson (another Wyoming writer), so doesn’t that mean Craig would like my stuff, too? I’d like to think so.

By the way, not everyone I asked said “sure, send a book.” Many said they were too busy. I completely understand. So, even more thanks to those who took the time to read “Buried by the Roan.”

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