Broken Trust is Here... Almost

by Shannon Baker

Clears throat, taps on champagne glass, gives toothy grin: Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Broken Trust.

Book two of the Nora Abbott Mystery Series will make its debut in a couple of weeks with the official release date of March 8.

It’s true, Tainted Mountain has a new brother/sister. I still have a hard time believing a book I wrote is being published by a real, live, legit publisher. On some level, I must have thought it was at least possible, or I would have quit writing eons ago. Still, it seems like a fantasy to have two books out there. It’s a real kick to know book three is turned in and making its slow journey to the shelves.

I didn’t start out to write a series. I intended Tainted Mountain as a stand-alone thriller. When I moved to Flagstaff and found out about the controversy to pump manmade snow on the San Francisco Peaks--land sacred to 12 tribes--I had to write a story about it. I needed a protagonist in the center of the storm who had everything at stake. That turned out to be Nora Abbott, owner of the ski resort.

Driven, insecure, timid and ferocious in equal measure, Nora sprang onto the pages. When I negotiated my contract with Midnight Ink, my editor asked if Tainted Mountain was a stand-alone or a series. Without thinking, I said, “Series.”

And just like that, Nora was given new life. I worried and stressed because I’d never thought about writing a series, didn’t even read that many. How would I would I ever plunge so deeply into another Nora book?

In Broken Trust, Nora returns to her favorite place, Boulder, and lands a job at an environmental trust. (Coincidently, I also moved back to Boulder while I was working on this book.) But all is not as it seems. The trust is a hotbed of conflict and corruption. Nearly a half million dollars is missing and Nora’s predecessor is murdered.

Nora’s mother pops onto the scene with her own drama. She is determined to hook Nora up with handsome Cole Huntsman. Cole has been waiting for a year to let Nora get over the death of her husband and the traumatic events in Flagstaff, but he’s ready to start a relationship with her. In the meantime, with the help of quirky staffers at the Trust and an Ecuadorian hunk, Nora uncovers a plot that could destroy one of the most pristine locations on the planet.  

And how, you might or might not be asking, is such monumental destruction possible? That was the really fun part for me. I got to research conspiracy theories surrounding HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research) and using weather as a weapon of mass destruction. This stuff is scary/interesting. I spent hours watching Jessie Ventura and others present the case that the shadowy Powers That Be are planning to control our minds/kill us all/wreak havoc on the environment. I dabbled in learning a little (very little) about Tesla towers and the potential for sustainable energy.

When I sold Tainted Mountain I was happy and proud of my new baby. We all know the analogies of writing and publishing books to having babies. I don’t know if anyone else felt this way, but when I was expecting my second baby, I worried I’d never be able to love it as much as I loved my first one. And even though I’d planned and wanted the baby with all my heart, part of me was jealous it would come between me and my firstborn. Weird, I know. But I kind of had the same misgivings about creating a series and wondering if I’d love the second book as much as the first.

The book is here and, just as it was with my kids, I do love book two as much! I learned a lot between book one and two and even more between two and three. It turns out I like writing a series and I’m glad Nora got to live on.

Broken Trust is available in all ebook formats and in trade paperback. If you’re inclined to buy it in paper and love supporting indie booksellers, please consider Who Else Books at www.BroadwayBookMall.com.