Saturday, December 16, 2017

What Happens When He Returns to the Scene of the Crime?

Such a great launch! 
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: There’s nothing more enrapturing than a wonderful book launch—with cheering family and friends and the special joy that comes from knowing you have hit it out of the ballpark with a terrific book.

For his new mystery DESERT REMAINS, the amazing Steven Cooper hosted such a shoulder-to-shoulder launch at Barnes & Noble in Framingham Massachusetts, and an equally wonderful one at New England Mobile Book Fair. We’re colleagues—he’s a journalist, too, and now lives in Atlanta. (As I once did. Small world!) 


Plus, he’s clever and smart and a brilliant writer. And thoughtful, too, as you can see from what happened when he took what he thought was a predictable journey—and it turned into a completely different experience. 

(And see below for a giveaway!)

Returning to the Scene of the Crime


Flight 144 glides into Sky Harbor International Airport. And I’m back. Mountains to the left, mountains to the right, and a valley, as flat as a warm tortilla in the middle. Phoenix doesn’t change, but it changes dramatically. New buildings have sprouted like industrial saguaro. New highways loop around the suburban sprawl, and old highways have been extended to bring people home to their increasingly distant subdivisions.

And yet, there is South Mountain, Camelback, Squaw (Piestewa) Peak, and the Estrellas. They have not moved. Not for centuries. They remain stalwart guardians of the valley. I’m grateful for their constancy.

To set a novel, and in my case a series, in Phoenix and its surrounding desert, is to remain fundamentally aware of the constant tug of war between man and nature

Between the appetite for development and the preservation of beauty. It can get ugly. As it did when I returned to the scene of the crime. I drove over to a neighborhood that sits on the south side of Camelback Mountain to snap some photos of a shallow cave where I placed one of the murders in Desert Remains, my series debut. It’s an open cave, a small yawn in the mountain, which sits on a low ledge of Camelback. When I lived in Phoenix I would often bring visitors up to the ledge to show them the grand view of the valley.

 Sadly, the cave was often filled with empty beer cans and cigarette butts in the aftermath of teenage partying, but the view was sublime. I say “was” because the view is no more. The cave is no more.

At first, I though I was lost. The roads that climb Camelback meander precariously. I drove up and down, back and forth, and then I realized a house, an expansive, obviously expensive and princely house, had usurped the ledge! It had blocked the cave! I had no access!

 I looked around and recognized what I did not recognize: construction everywhere. New homes crawling up to even higher tiers of Camelback. In fact, a Phoenix friend, hearing my dismay, informed me that not only had the princely home usurped my ledge (my ledge!) it had also annexed the cave for its own audacious use: the owners are now enjoying it as their private wine cellar. (Maybe I should have told them that I murdered someone there). Oh, sure, it will win design awards and be the envy of aficionados everywhere, but no. Just no.



Please don’t build on Camelback. Leave the squatting giant alone.

 Soon you will not be able to recognize the beast for what it is. Let nature run its course. As much as the guardians of the valley are constant, they do in fact change. I acknowledge erosion even when I can’t see it. The wind reshapes the desert every day, but the changes are nuanced and might take several lifetimes to notice.

I don’t think you have to live in a place to write about a place. I do think you have to be familiar and return to the scene of the crime often enough to make sure your caves aren’t wine cellars. 

The landscape matters. 

In Phoenix it conjures up mystery and intrigue with so many places for danger to lurkbehind those muscular mountains, beneath those craggy ridgelines, in the cradle of the valley. If that’s not absorbing enough, watch how the scenery changes from hour to hour as the sun and the shadows mingle with the topography.

The desert is like a muse to me, particularly for the current series I’m writing. In fact, I only recently discovered, in the weeks since Desert Remains was published, that my title had a hidden meaning, hidden even to me until now: Once you live in the desert, the desert remains with you. I guess you could call it a retroactive epiphany.

Here’s hoping nature wins the war, and that the desert remains.

HANK: Here’s where I usually say something to encourage conversation. I bet, today, I don’t have to.  You all take it from here.

And a copy of DESERT REMAINS to one very lucky commenter!



 Steven Cooper's latest novel, Desert Remains, is the launch of a new crime series published by Seventh Street Books. 

A former investigative reporter, Steven has received multiple Emmy awards and nominations, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and many honors from the Associated Press. He taught writing at Rollins College (Winter Park, FL) from 2007 to 2012. He'll be teaching at Kennesaw State University (Kennesaw, GA) in 2018.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Steven has lived a bit like a nomad, working TV gigs in New England, Arizona and Florida, and following stories around the globe. He currently lives in Atlanta where, when not writing, he spends most of his time in traffic.
Desert Remains is his fourth novel.
In a world of Long Island mediums, “dudes who cross over,” and horoscopes that auto-Tweet, Gus Parker is the real deal. His visions might be murky, but they mean something. That’s why Detective Alex Mills needs his help. Someone is filling the desert caves around Phoenix with bodies—a madman who, in a taunting ritual, is leaving behind a record of his crimes etched into the stone.
Set in the rugged, majestic landscape of the Valley of the Sun, Desert Remains leads Mills and Parker into the mystical world of petroglyphs—crude drawings from an ancient civilization that seem to have inspired the dark, haunted mind of a serial killer.
When Parker sees the crime scenes, he sees visions of a house on fire and a screaming child.  With no leads and no suspects, Mills sees a case spinning out of control. City leaders want the case solved yesterday, and another detective wants to elbow Mills out of the way. As the body count rises, Gus Parker struggles to interpret his psychic messages, knowing that the killer is one step ahead, knowing that in this vast desert, the next murder could happen anywhere. Mills suspects that with every news crew, every bleeding headline, and every dead end, he is one step closer to reassignment. It doesn’t help that a family crisis almost pushes him to the breaking point. Nor does it help that Parker, who’s always been unlucky in love, finds himself the prey of a lovelorn stalker who is Fifty Shades of Crazy.
Desert Remains swerves past the gloriously scenic, ricochets off the darkly absurd, and hurls Gus Parker and Alex Mills into a trap they may very well not survive.

69 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Steven . . . your new series sounds quite intriguing; I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the bodies in the caves.

    Even though I don’t live anywhere near the desert, I feel your pain over the changing of the landscape. The same sort of thing happens in many rural areas [we live in the Pine Barrens] and despite laws that are supposed to protect the land, there’s more and more concrete covering the green until it seems as if the entire place will one day be nothing but cement.

    I kind of wish you had told the thoughtless house builders about the murder in the cave, even if it was only in a wonderful novel, just so they might realize what all those mega-houses are doing to the land . . . .

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    1. Oh, the Pine Barrens—best and most evocative name ever...

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    3. Thanks Joan! Sadly, there is more exquisite "cave work" up there on Camelback already fenced off for development. I failed to mention that I suspect many of those caves probably shelter wildlife, and yet we continue to encroach on their habitat.

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  2. Out of the clear blue of the western sky...it's OMG, is THAT Phoenix! Sorry, Steven, couldn't resist, we were watching the Sky King boxed set last night and he was visiting the Phoenix of the 1950s.

    Congratulations on the new series and the new release. The very air of Arizona is imbued with mystery, where else can you find a mountain range called the Superstitions? Have you considered sending the interlopers an autographed copy of your book? They might consider it a compliment, or they might realize...nah.

    I watched Miami and the Florida Keys go from a sleepy southern town and fishing village to megalopolis Disney World south. I feel your pain.

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    1. It's a beautiful essay and yes, Kait, this hits home. The thing is the new people (anywhere) don't realize what the place used to be like, so they don't miss it.

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    2. True! Or they know but don’t care about it....

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    3. Kait - So true about the mystery that lingers in the air. Last April I went to the Superstitions to shoot some video for my book trailers. The intrigue is palpable. I must say I was equally aghast at the development that's inching so so close to the Superstition trailheads. Whole communities have popped up and the desert is disappearing!

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  3. Congratulations, Steven on your newest book. I have been to Phoenix once and loved it. I share your dismay about the changing landscape and the greedy developers. And that owner who blocked access to your cave and turned it into a their private wine cellar? Prime murder victim for your next book. I say!

    The same thing has happened in many cities, including my hometown of Toronto. I only go there twice a year but the number of new skyscrapers and housing that sprouts up each time is scary!

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    1. Well, Grace, I might have to turn you into a serial killer. I mean, with a mind like that....
      Ha ha! Thanks for the suggestion!

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  4. Congratulations on the great book launch, Steven! The new book sounds intriguing. I've been through Phoenix a couple of times, by air and by interstate, and saw enough to realize that the land itself is out to kill any unwary traveler, even without the help of a murderer. It's a dangerous world out there. These days I find myself gravitating toward cooler, wetter climes, but the desert is a fine place to visit in fiction. I wish you much success with your series.

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    1. Yes I gasped when I first flew into Phoenix! I thought-we’re not in Boston any more!

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    2. Thanks Gigi! After living in Arizona and Florida for many years my blood has thinned completely. I can't fathom moving back to my beloved hometown of Boston. My bones can't take it. As for the desert killing the unwary traveler, I think that's the appeal for me. Not the kill per se, but the secret forces that lurk in such vast emptiness (the development notwithstanding).

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    3. More and more I think the average person--myself included--completely lacks the skills to cope with nature face-to-face. City dwellers tend to think of it as lots of pretty scenery, but I've wandered off-road many times, and there are soooo many ways to get yourself killed out there, even a few steps off the pavement. Of course, the city has its own dangers and predators.

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  5. The book sounds fabulous, Steven. I am from the Los Angeles area originally, and I love the desert with a passion, even though I've now lived in New England longer than I did in California. There's nothing like the desert light, the air, the mountains. I wish I were there right now!

    Such a crime about that beautiful Saddleback and your cave. Sigh.

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    1. Agreed— the desert light is so mystical!

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    2. Thanks Edith!
      I think we all need to do a desert retreat (before it's gone)!

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  6. The same thing happened with "my" special place in Maine! First huge houses went up and claimed the view then a visitor center opened and it just wasn't that special anymore. Glad I have my pictures and memories. I have never been to the desert but your book sounds terrific!

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    1. Thanks Judi! If nothing else, I'll be trying to preserve the desert as the series continues -- even if I have to kill off some fictional developers. In case the sheriff is reading this, this is a work of fiction and any similarities or resemblances to actual people or events are pure coincidental.

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    2. Oh, Judi, it frustrates those of us in Maine, too! People visit her, or come for summers, and fall in love with everything that makes Maine special. Then they buy land and build a house that blocks access to the shore and looks like it belongs in a Houston McMansion subdivision.

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    3. No fear I'll be building a house there any time soon (or ever!) although that has always been my dream. I suppose I might build me a small cabin if I ever won the lottery (I don't even buy tickets). Not sure how regular people can even afford to live there.

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  7. Congratulations on the new series, Steven--I too love the desert--have been to Phoenix and other parts of Arizona numerous times. And while I usually steer clear of serial-killer storylines, the male psychic, the desert setting, and the petroglyphs are sufficiently intriguing that I know I won't be able to resist picking this one up.

    Sadly, the infidels are now in charge of (de)regulation, and the rape and pillage of our national heritage--cultural and natural--seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

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    1. And Flora, there were times in Steven’s book that I burst out laughing!

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    2. Flora-
      I hope you enjoy the book. As for the infidels, they won't realize the harm they've done until it's too late. As is so often the case when greed and power and gleeful recklessness gather behind closed doors.

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  8. Sounds like a really good new series!! Would love a chance to win a copy!!! Thanks for the chance

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  9. Hi, Steven!
    I had the pleasure of reading Desert Remains pre-pub, and it's terrific. Highly recommended!
    So sad about Camel Back. I hope they stop before they desecrate it completely.
    In Los Angeles, it used to be that you could drive the 405 from Brentwood to the Valley and the hills were bare - now it's housing development after housing development. And the 405 is a parking lot.
    Of course that pass has none of the stature or beauty or visibility of Camelback, which I think of as Phoenix's nose. Find Camelback and you can always orient yourself.

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    1. Hi there Hallie!
      Thanks so much for the kind words about the book! On a recent visit to LA I could not believe the clinging housing developments that ride the slopes of the 405. So, I guess I should have been prepared for the desecration of Camelback. I have to believe it will stop before it rises too far above the camel's belly. But I suspect many people one day shared a similar belief about LA. You're so right about the Camelback's compass effect. It's an easy fixture to orient yourself. That's why it needs to remain a mountain and not just another stack of homes.
      On another note, I hope our paths cross again soon!

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  10. I have a trip planned to Phoenix in February -- a whole week with my dear sister in and air bnb -- we have family there, but I have only visited twice. My cousin is a landscape architect whose work has been to incorporate indigenous flora in all his projects. He lives in Cave Creek. I will look at Phoenix with new eyes thanks to today's essay, and I will pack Steven's books for the vacation!!

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    1. Don't miss the Heard Museum. And of course the Desert Botanical Garden (Jenn is our resident expert) But if you have family there, they'll know what not to miss.

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    2. Thanks Denise! I hope you enjoy the book. And I hope you enjoy the trip. If you're a hiker, I recommend the Superstitions (the Hieroglyphic trail) to see the petroglyphs. Or one of the many trails on South Mountain. Hike Camelback if you're a good climber. Hallie has great recommendations. The Botanical Garden is beautiful.

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  11. Somehow it seems worst when it happens to mountains (or maybe to other areas or landscapes that we have thought of as inviolable, if that's a word). My wife and I talked for years about retiring in western NC, where she grew up, but so many of the mountains have these huge homes sticking out of them now. Obviously things and places don't stay the same forever, but this feels more like ruination than any sort of reasonable progression. I'm eager to read a book from a fellow appreciator of mystical landscapes, with a mystical character too!

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    1. Hi Jim-
      I hope you enjoy the book. My affection for the desert is very much tied to its mystical charm. But charm has a tough time prevailing against the pressures of development. Gus, the mystical character, really takes his cues from the beauty of the landscape. It'll be tough for him to see his Camelback, as he refers to the mountain, disappear. Let's hope it doesn't.

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  12. There is nothing more jarring than enjoying the view of the hills and seeing that someone has planted a new house right on top of everything! Talk about spoiling the skyline. They have a fabulous view but have ruined everyone else's. Ugh. We lived in El Paso for a few years when my husband was in the Border Patrol. I hate to think what the Franklin Mountains look like now. Probably built up to the tip tops. The desert was lovely. I enjoyed it once upon a time but I would be afraid to see what "progress" has produced in the years since we left.

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    1. Pat-
      I'm sure there are plenty of people who think I'm nuts to lament the construction on Camelback and other desert monoliths. But I just don't think it's right to mess with the soul of a place. And I know there will be people who think I'm even more of a nutcase because I really believe these ancient skyscrapers of nature actually possess a soul. But they do. That's why people are drawn to them. There's a heartbeat in these mountains. I wonder how long it will take before construction fully smothers both the heart and the soul.

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    2. Peter Wohlleben's book on the 'Hidden Life of Trees' reveals the ways in which trees communicate with one another, help one another--ideas once laughed off as the fantasies of 'tree-huggers' and other nutcases. And just so do the wild places have a soul. Nature speaks to us, nurtures us--only the truly soul-blind can fail to understand this--to their detriment and ours.

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    3. I agree. We all need quiet, lonely places in nature to refresh and reflect. There is hope, though - a lot of the construction on these 10,000 square foot monstrosities is pretty slipshod. They may not be there in a hundred years.

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    4. I know this isn't the point...but your husband was in border patrol?

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  13. Hi Steven! It's very disilllsionsioning that people can appropriate landmarks for their own private use. It makes me think of A Campfire Song by 10,000 Maniacs (a beautiful duet sung by Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe of R.E.M.), that deals with the same subject ~ Congratulations of your book release!

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    1. looks like spell-check created a new word for me -- I mean disillusioning ~

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    2. No, I like your word better. It's complex and jarring and it looks dangerous! I will have to check out that Campfire Song. I'm sure I've heard it because I'm a fan of both - but I can't remember off the top of my head.

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  14. Hi Steven! Your book sounds fascinating and is going on my to-read list right now. Even though I don't consider myself a desert person, I love Phoenix. There's just something about the place that gets to me, and I think a lot of that is Camelback and the surrounding mountains. I hate to think of Camelback being ruined--and where will all the water come from for these new developments?

    I also love that you have a "person with visions" working with your detective. It sounds like Seventh Street has another winner with your series!

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    1. Thank you Deborah! I hope you enjoy the book. Something about the desert gets to me, too. It has a power unspoken but palpable. As I said in the post, it remains with me. I hope we can continue to enjoy Camelback and the other wonders of nature and time before they're drilled and plumbed and electrified.

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  15. Steven - Congrats on the release of Desert Remains and now I know what book I’m giving to my Hub for the holidays! Thank you. I’m a Phoenician so your post is particularly poignant for me as I used to live on Camelback and 20th St. The development of the desert has been very difficult to watch but you’re right once the beauty of the desert becomes a part of you, it does remain.

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  16. Ya'a te'eh Steven, and good luck with the new book. I lived and worked on the Navajo Reservation lo those many moons ago, and I have a soft place in my heart for Arizona, politics aside. I miss the high desert and those starry nights.

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    1. Thanks Ann!
      So glad to know there are kindred spirits out there!

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  17. Congrats, Steven! Would I be wrong in thinking I watched you on one of the Boston stations in years past?

    Are you working on a next book in the series?

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    1. Thank you Ingrid.
      I am working on the second book of the series now. I think it will be out next October or November. Not confirmed yet. I did, very early in my career, work for a station in Western Massachusetts. I was often confused with a Steve Cooper who later worked at WHDH in Boston. We never met each other, which is a good thing, or I might have become confused myself!

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    2. Yes, the two Steve Coopers in my life...VERY confusing. But very different.

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  18. Congrats, Steven! What a marvelous setting. Although I live closer to Vegas than Phoenix, I've spent quite a bit of time there, including our yearly band trip for the state band competitions. And one of my best friends from high school lives there, so I've visited often. Dave and I even hiked South Mountain so he could show me the petroglyphs. I'm fortunate enough to live near a site with multiple petroglyphs. Unfortunately, an "artist" painted a huge mural on the Cliffside that nearly obliterates many of the easily reached petroglyphs, so I understand about man interfering with both geography and cultural heritage.

    The desert is compelling. You're so right about how it stays with you. Although I spent over twenty years in Texas, I could never get used to the humidity. And the sunsets and sunrises here are spectacular. Yes, I know it's the fine dust that hangs in the air, still...

    I look forward to reading your book!

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    1. Oh, Diane, that just makes me wince with pain.

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    2. Julia, bad enough that when I first moved back to Kingman, the paint had faded. Then the jerk not only refreshed the now-neon-like colors, but expanded the mural. And folks thought it was wonderful? Really???

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    3. Oh no, not a mural! That's awful. The petroglyphs, themselves, are exquisite artwork from a time long gone. They should be treasured like masterpieces. Well, I could really get on a soapbox about this, but suffice it to say that I cringe at the encroachment of humanity. Enjoy the sunsets, however enhanced by dust they might be.

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    4. Painted a MURAL? How could they be allowed do that?

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  19. I was born in Phoenix and raised in the Bard Valley near Yuma, Az. My school was a tiny one, with the majority of the students Native American Quechan and Cocopah tribes. Us gringos felt left out of all the native culture, but embraced it at the same time. I have a strong affiity to the Mexican culture as well, and our family comfort food is tacos, tamales, and other Sonoroan style comida. I've been gone for over almost 20 years now, but my heart is still there! I'm looking forward to reading a crime novel set in the Valley of the Sun!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it, Pauline. I'm mindful in Phoenix that I'm trekking over someone else's terrain. The spirit of the tribes before us inhabit this place and sometimes I think I can hear them whisper in the wind. I know that sounds crazy, but perhaps that's just how my respect for the heritage and the history manifests itself. I, too, am quite a fan of the Mexican culture and often enjoyed those neighborhoods in greater Phoenix - and my home there was very much inspired by Mexican and Native-American art.

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    2. I completely agree. There is always something accompanying us.

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  20. Oooohh...desert remains...a mystical character and desert scenery where beautiful desert flowers spring up to break the dry landscape of tumble weed and sand and parched earth. Wonder where the dead bodies are buried? I appreciate your entering me in your free book giveaway contest and Aloha from Hawaii! (Ms.) 'Rickie' Banning

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  21. Congrats, Steven! As a Phoenician, your post is very poignant to me (I used to live on Camelback and 20th St). The destruction of the desert I love has been soul crushing to watch. But I am thrilled to "meet" you and will be getting your book for my husband for Christmas. He's a native Phoenician and a mystery buff so this is perfect! And you're right, once the desert is in your heart, it remains. Brilliant.

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    1. Thanks Jenn! So great to hear from you. I hope your husband enjoys the book. And I'm so glad to hear from other kindred spirits who treasure the desert as much as I do. Merry Christmas!

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  22. I live in Alaska and this time of year try to read books set in warmer climates! Congratulations on your book.

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    1. Thanks Mable! I can assure you Desert Remains will warm you, if it doesn't chill you first.

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  23. And the winner of Desert Remains is: Wendy Lee!
    Email me your address at h ryan at whdh dot com

    Hurray! And thank you all—and the fabulous Steven— for a wonderful day! Xxx

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  24. Congrats Wendy! Enjoy the book! I enjoyed meeting everybody here. And a huge thanks to Hank for letting me contribute to this fantastic site!

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