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Fiction
The Flower Lover
a Richard Garcia
mystery
I'm pleased to announce that my
first novel, THE FLOWER LOVER, was been published in 2001 by
Authorhouse.
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THE FLOWER LOVER
follows journalist Richard Garcia as he investigates the
disappearance of a rare cultivated orchid. Garcia’s
queries lead him to uncover a clandestine group that is
illegally selling munitions and stolen Soviet nukes on the
black market. THE FLOWER LOVER has a complex, convoluted
plot and is fast-paced and cinematic. It features a
bicycle chase through the streets of Seattle and a sea
kayak get-away through Rosario Strait in the San Juan
Islands. THE FLOWER LOVER keeps you on the edge of your
seat to the end!
Synopsis
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Order your copy from Amazon right now! |
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FAQ
about The Flower Lover
1. Tell me about the book.
What does a stolen
rare orchid, owned by a "crazy" millionaire industrialist, have
in common with the death of a Seattle Assistant Superintendent
of Schools and the "Yes on No" ballot initiative to fund the
"Just Say No to Drugs" campaign? That's what investigative
journalist, Richard Garcia of the Seattle Reporter, is
trying to discover in Peter Stekel's latest mystery novel, THE
FLOWER LOVER.
Richard Garcia
lives with his wife, Sarah Good, who administers a Seattle
homeless mission, The Good Shepard. They have a baby daughter,
Sally. Garcia is a former California university professor of
American literature who lost his position after having an affair
with a student. He has found redemption in his love for Sarah
and his commitment to investigating political and moral
corruption.
Garcia is summoned
by millionaire Charles Llewellyn Colt II to recover his stolen
orchid, which turns out to be a potent medicinal plant with
significant side effects. Before pursuing the case and its
entanglements, Garcia is distracted into following up on another
seemingly unrelated story involving drug sales to high school
students. A murder connected to that case takes the investigator
into yet another milieu - that of a call-girl service for
Seattle's power brokers operated by the enigmatic X-lady.
Garcia's work is complicated by the loss of various sources and
other key players who meet most untimely ends. Nonetheless, he
attracts enough attention and collects enough evidence to end up
on the front end of exciting chases by bicycle and sea kayak.
Figuring out the connection between the millionaire Colt, the
"Orchid Club," high school drug deals, the X-lady, Seattle's
elite and the missing orchid lead Garcia to solve the mystery of
the flower lover.
2. Where do I order a copy of THE
FLOWER LOVER?
Click
here for information on how to order a book from Authorhouse.
Click
here for information on how to order a book from Amazon.com
3.
Why isn't THE FLOWER LOVER
available at more bookstores?
The reality of
book publishing today is that best sellers - in fact any
sellers - aren't written: they are created by marketing and
publicity. A few writers can be assured of selling millions
simply on the basis of their name or the rumor of a new book.
The rest of us must gain momentum the hard way - by cajoling
relatives, friends, and friends of friends to buy our books and
spread the word. We must contact the bookstores and reviewers on
radio, television and newspapers to promote our books.
Publishing houses
are more apt to give a large cash advance, and hence publish the
books, of people with recognizable names. That's why you see
heavy promotion for any books written by [or "as told to"]
entertainers, politicians or people who are this year's
celebrities. Although these books rarely sell enough to justify
their up-front costs, publishers continue to spend their money
on them in the questionable belief that such "properties" bring
them "prestige."
With so much
capital tied up in these prestige projects, publishers have less
and less money to spend on untested new authors or writers.
Those who do get published often find their books languishing
without any support or promotion because editors are too focused
on acquiring properties, not in seeing that those properties
accrue interest and value.
The popularity of
the Internet has enabled a new kind of book publishing. "Print
on Demand" [POD] and "Electronic" [E-books] or downloadable
books ensure that authors are no longer overlooked by the older,
established publishing houses. POD book publishers have the same
quality as "traditional" publishing houses but without any of
the overhead. Hence, the books are usually less expensive but
slightly more difficult to obtain. Readers must order on-line
directly from the publisher, just like ordering from a book
club, then wait several days for the hard copy to arrive. On the
other hand, readers who don't mind paying less to read the book
in Adobe Acrobat format can download an E-book onto their hard
drive and either read it on-screen or print out a copy.
After THE FLOWER
LOVER was written, several literary agents told me they were
interested in representing me and the book to publishers.
Despite of their initial enthusiasm they decided that my lack of
name recognition or literary establishment meant that I was not
promotable "in the current book market." That's when I turned
to the new technology to get THE FLOWER LOVER into circulation.
4. Have you written any other
novels?
I have written one
other novel about Richard Garcia,
COLLATERAL DAMAGE. I have also written
HEART OF STONE, a novel which explores the impact of
the decline of logging on Washington's Olympic Peninsula on the
people living there and on their environment. I have also
written
THE ISLE OF ALASKA MYSTERY, a young adult
environmental "why-do-it" mystery as well as
INLAND, a young adult novella all about dweebs,
onions and a cat named Bougainvillea. My latest novel is GROWING
UP WHITE IN THE SIXTIES, a fictional coming-of-age memoir.
5. Where can I find out more about
you or your work?
Check out
the
rest of my website to find links to my other writing
projects as well as my biography.
In addition, check
out the following sites for more information about Peter Stekel
and THE FLOWER LOVER...
STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME; a web
site devoted to mystery readers and mystery books:
http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/Peter-Stekel.html
SISTERS IN CRIME; a national
organization for mystery writers, readers and fans:
http://www.sinc-ic.org/stekel.shtml
6. Where can I hear you read from
THE FLOWER LOVER?
Contact bookstores
and let them know you've read this wonderful new mystery book by
a local author and that you think it would be a great idea to
arrange a reading. Contacting radio stations by phone or email
and tell them the same thing. This kind of help will be
invaluable in getting the word out about THE FLOWER LOVER.
7. How do I contact you?
Send email to
author[at]peterstekel.com
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