Guest Post and Book Feature by Robert B. Lowe

SUMMARY:


"...well-written, suspenseful, gripping..." says Stephen Woodfin, author of Last One Chosen.
Divine Fury is the newly released second book in the series kicked off by the best-selling Project Moses,  the bioterroism thriller that made the Amazon Top 20 Mysteries list and was a finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012 competition.
Reporter Enzo Lee is once again churning out feature fluff for the San Francisco News. He likes his North Beach apartment, steps away from his Chinatown roots.  He's content with a life that includes a developing romance as well as dining and jogging his way through San Francisco's picturesque neighborhoods.
Then, he is assigned to cover a mysterious murder and a San Francisco politician's historic attempt to become California's governor.   A series of campaign events are mysteriously and dangerously disrupted.  A key endorsement is scuttled at the last minute.  The murder of a hospital employee takes on new significance when it is linked to a computer spying break-in.
But, finding the culprits behind political sabotage and high-tech hacking take a back seat when it’s discovered that a troubled war veteran armed with guns and explosives has begun a violent journey from small-town Montana to the City by the Bay.
When Lee becomes a target himself he must dodge attempts on his own life while trying to expose the conspiracy and, with the help of police allies, foil an assassination plot.
Divine Fury is a page-turning thriller with suspense, action, romance and enough twists to keep the reader guessing.
“Divine Fury was engaging, gripping, and hard to put down, a perfect read for my trip.” – S.C. Everly (Amazon)
“It is evident this author knows how to write a story as well as develop a plot well. I look forward to reading many more of Enzo's adventures.” - Kathy T. (Amazon)
“This is a great book to curl up with on a rainy day.” – S. Orbuch (Amazon)

GUEST POST:

WHAT INSPIRED THE PLOT?
This is the second book in a series in which the main character is a newspaperman in San Francisco.  I had decided to focus on the city and area around it.  When I started to ponder what was unique about San Francisco, the gay and lesbian culture was an aspect that stood out.  It was only a few years ago that California voters approved Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and woman.  Around here the reaction was…  “What the x&#%$?” To most of the Bay Area, it seemed an unexplainable tragedy, like enshrining apartheid.  But, obviously there are others who feel strongly on the other side and votes like this continue to be hot-button issues throughout the country.
Anyway, strong passions and current controversies create interesting stores and I decided the hostility or fear or whatever was worth exploring.   As I thought about what would drive the anti-gay folks nuts, I came up with the idea of someone openly gay or lesbian with the inside track to become governor – particularly of a major state like California.  It’s pretty plausible, really, if the right candidate stepped forward.  Of course, they’d find their strongest support in San Francisco and the area around it and it’s not wildly improbable that they could win.  But, in some circles it would be like Satan throwing his hat in the ring.
Therein lies a good plot, I thought.
WHAT CHARACTERS WERE HARD TO PORTRAY?  
I guess for me the question is what characters aren’t hard to portray.  From the main character, Enzo Lee, through the secondary characters, I find them all a bit tough and I’m constantly going back to add, subtract, tweak, etc.   I mean if the character plays a small role it’s easy.  But, the main half dozen or so are hard for me because one of my goals is to show plausibly how the character reaches the point they arrive at in the book.  Part of the problem for me is that the story and the roles of the characters really evolve as I write.  So, halfway through, I’ll have someone doing something truly evil – which I didn’t expect – and then I have to go and massage the back story so it all works.
ARE MORE ENZO LEE BOOKS TO COME?
I’m working on a third book in the series now.  After that, I’m not sure.  Having an ongoing character can conflict a bit, I think, from a pure thriller story.  I could also make one of the secondary characters the main focus of a book.  I’m a year away from that decision so we’ll see.

AUTHOR BIO:


Robert B. Lowe is a Pulitzer-prize winning author whose fiction is based in San Francisco, his adopted home.
His past experiences – a 12-year career in investigative journalism and a Harvard Law School degree – enable him to write gripping mystery thrillers in both the legal and journalistic fields. Lowe draws his inspiration from John Grisham, Dick Francis and Lee Child and adds his own San Francisco twist. Readers will enjoy his references to the city’s landmarks such as Chinatown, North Beach and Pacific Heights  and the Bay area’s foodie culture.
Divine Fury is Lowe’s second novel.  His first was the best-selling Project Moses which reached the Amazon Top 20 Mysteries list and was a finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012 competition hosted by the Kindle Book Review.
Divine Fury continues the adventures of Enzo Lee, a jaded journalist rehabilitating his career as a feature writer in San Francisco who stumbles into scandals and criminal conspiracies that require his investigative expertise to unravel.
When Lowe isn’t writing he enjoys a day at the golf course and spending time with his wife and daughters.
Website:  www.robertblowe.com
Twitter: @authorRobBLowe
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