GV Newsletter 7-17 website

ARTS AND RECREATION
FROM THE AUTHOR —
What’s the right
word —
honored,
thrilled,
excited? All of
the above?
Thanks to all
the people
behind the
“Village Read”
project who
selected Lake of
Fire for this
group
experience and
who have
developed such
Mark Stevens
imaginative
ideas for related events and presentations. The evening
of sampling tequilas, which just happens to be Allison
Coil’s favorite campfire sipping beverage, is particularly
inspired. Lake of Fire takes place, as do all the books in
the Allison Coil Mystery Series, on the Flat Tops
Wilderness in Western Colorado. The events in Lake of
Fire take place during a massive wildfire and the story
revolves around themes of climate change and a band of
violent anti-government terrorists, with a dollop of
devolution to go with it. Scenes in the wilderness are
mixed with action in Glenwood Springs, Meeker and the
tiny town of Buford (which just happens to be located
on the western end of one of the most scenic byways in
the state of Colorado).
When I wrote Lake of Fire, I was inspired by a terrific
non-fiction called Dead Run by Dan Schultz. That book
explored the trio of killers who provoked the largest
manhunt in Colorado history, which took place in 1998
outside Cortez in the southwestern corner of the state.
Schultz looked at these individuals, who considered
themselves “sovereigns,” people who need nothing from
government and want nothing from government. Anyone
who followed the recent siege at the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge knows that this movement is still
around, if not growing.
I hope readers enjoy getting to know Allison Coil and the
other major characters including Allison’s boyfriend
Colin McKee, her neighbor Trudy Heath, newspaper
reporter Duncan Bloom, and a devolutionist named
(what else?) Devo. Again, many thanks to Arapahoe
Libraries, Greenwood Village and the Curtis Center for
the Arts for featuring Lake of Fire. I am really looking
forward to August.
JULY 2017 | GV NEWSLETTER PG. 23