Former journalist, politician, television executive and radio talk show host J. Alexander Greenwood has always been drawn to what lies just beneath the surface of places and people.
When his career in public relations took him to Peru, Nebraska, a place he affectionately calls "the smallest town in the world," he found the inspiration for a mystery novel, "Pilate's Cross" and the follow up novel, "Pilate's Key." (A third book in the series, "Pilate's Ghost" will be on sale in October, 2012.)
"The real core of the first book--and indeed the subsequent novels--is about the open secrets that can fester in a community until an outsider raises questions," Greenwood said.
"A few years ago I left my home state of Oklahoma and moved to a very small town in the rural Nebraska. I didn't know a soul. I was a total outsider working there as marketing and public relations director and instructor at a small college," he said.
"When I worked in Peru, every day I'd walk past a plaque in the administration building that honored the college's former president and dean, who both died on the same day in the 1950s. It didn't hint at anything nefarious; it could have been a car wreck for all I knew. I finally asked--and it was more tragic than I ever imagined."
Greenwood eventually gained access to police records, crime scene photos, witness affidavits and news coverage of the decades-old murders, but the book is not a thinly veiled fictionalization of an historical event.
"The professor's motive was, in the grand scheme of things, terribly petty," Greenwood said. "Pilate's Cross is inspired by the questions this terrible crime created; but as a work of fiction it's set in a different place and has a more complex motive for the murders."
"Nearly all aspects of the book, including the location, characters and most importantly the mystery are strictly from my imagination."
In the end, Greenwood has written two fast-paced, fun mystery/thrillers that even the casual pleasure reader will enjoy.
The grandson of the late, award-winning historical fiction novelist Robert E. Trevathan (Ballanger, Red River Angel), independent author Alex Greenwood's writing experience includes feature articles, news and crime stories syndicated throughout the nation in numerous publications.
Very active as a political blogger and podcaster since 2003, Greenwood is taking a break and devoting that time to his fiction writing and promoting Pilate's Cross. He won first prize in the Shelf Unbound short fiction contest for his thriller story 'Obsidian' in 2011.
He owns AlexanderG Public Relations, LLC . He is also publisher of Caroline Street Press, an independent publishing imprint and author services company.
He resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife and daughter.
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