Introducing Rush Leaming
Where did the idea for the story come from?
The idea first came to me in the mid-90’s, the idea that the impending destruction of a famous tree would stir up a whirlwind of trouble in a community. I envisioned it as a multi–character, complicated interlocking of storylines. The crime element came later.
Give a quote from the books, one that says little but speaks volumes.
“Nothing ever makes sense, until it does.”
Summarise your book in ten words or less.
“Nothing ever makes sense, until it does.”
What genre is it?
Crime thriller
How many pages is it?
480
Why do you think the readers will want to read it?
It’s a fast-paced page-turner but one that works on many levels
Where are you located?
South Carolina, USA.
Description
Set in Charleston, SC, and the surrounding islands, police are called to investigate the poisoning of a much-loved 1000-year-old tree, only to find evidence of a more brutal crime.
From there, the story explodes into a fast-paced, multi-character thriller unlike any you’ve ever read.
Excerpt
They came to the final house on the road, built log cabin–style. An old Airstream trailer sat on cinder blocks in the yard. Gasoline cans were strewn around the grass, many lying on their sides. A dusty path led from the road to the front porch, and as they got closer, they saw animal heads hanging from wires, as one would do to plants: squirrel, possum, raccoon, boar, and coyote—about two dozen stretching from each end.
Charlie reached up to touch one when a loud shotgun blast tore through the air.
He and Elena crouched low to the ground and drew their weapons. They scanned the yard around them and saw no signs of activity.
Another blast soon followed. The sound was coming from behind the house.
“Detective?” Kelly Frye’s voice came over Elena’s radio. “Were those shots fired?”
Elena turned down the volume as she and Charlie inched closer to the corner of the porch. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Anyone down? Do you request backup?”
“Standby.”
She and Charlie turned the corner and, still crouching, pushed their bodies against the side of the house until they reached the far edge.
Charlie gripped his gun and pressed his back to the wall, ready to make the final turn.
Another loud blast echoed through the trees surrounding them, sending a flock of sparrows scrambling through the sky.
“Police!” Charlie shouted. “Hold your fire! I repeat: This is Charleston City Police! Put down your weapon!”
Charlie saw a shadow quickly growing longer in the grass, moving closer to the edge of the house where he and Elena hid. He could hear heavy breathing, a wheezing sound.
“Ready?” Elena whispered.
Charlie took a deep breath and nodded. He kicked a rock out in the yard, triggering another shotgun blast, soil exploding upward.
They sprang forward, turning their bodies, holding their guns out.
At the same time, a large heavyset white man, torn jeans and no shirt, stepped into the yard, a double-barrel shotgun pointing at them.
All three stood still.
“Easy,” Charlie said to the man. “No one needs to get hurt. Put your weapon down, sir.”
The man, his face red and swollen, didn’t move.
“Sir,” Elena said, “you haven’t done anything yet as far as we can tell. Just target practice, right? This is your property. We understand that. But you need to put your gun down. Nice and slow.”
“Detective?” Kelly’s voice said over the radio again. “Do you need backup? Repeat: do you need backup?”
Elena carefully studied the man’s body. It started to tremble.
“Do I?” she asked him.
Karen J. Mossman 
Reblogged this on Electric Eclectic's Blog and commented:
Rush Leaming is one of the Electric Eclectic authors.. He has two short books under the EE banner.
This is a full and exciting novel brought to you by Bridgewood Publishers and is set for release on the 8th of June. Pre-order it now and have it delivered seamlessly to your kindle.
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