SEEDLINGS by Aaron Paul Lazar

Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. The author of LeGarde Mysteries and Moore Mysteries enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his websites at www.mooremysteries.com and www.legardemysteries.com and watch for his upcoming release, FIRESONG, coming in 2011.

Contact him at aaron(dot)lazar(at)yahoo.com.

October 2011

Setting: Your Own Back Yard

copyright 2011 aaron paul lazar

Enroute to my booksigning yesterday in the Finger Lakes region of Western New York, I had the weirdest experience. For a good fifteen minutes, a burning scent filled the car. Acrid. Disgusting. But I couldn't see any source of it - either on the roadside or ahead of me. I kept checking my temperature gauge, concerned that somehow something was going wrong beneath the hood of my one year old Camry. But no smoke rose nor did any weird noises or flames erupt.

Puzzled, I zoomed south on Route 390, driving over the undulating hills with isolated touches of red or bronze flashing in the woods and fields. Fall hasn't come to our region yet, although we've had a few cold mornings lately. It was gorgeous, as always, but I still smelled that strong odor. Could there be a forest fire? Why didn't I see smoke?

I was really getting worried until I flew around a curve and saw the culprit. There, before me, was a giant truck spewing an acrid plume - and I mean PLUME - of gray smoke, so thick that when I approached I could barely see the road.

Fear gripped me, and A headline popped into my head. AUTHOR DIES IN EXPLOSION PASSING BURNING TRUCK. With renewed determination, I carefully passed him, wondering why he wasn't stopping. It was at that point that I saw flames leaping out of the open topped trailer.

How could he not know something was wrong?

I flashed my lights, beeped my horn, got by him, and promptly called 911. He didn't slow down, kept chugging along. With a prayer for his safety, I kept going after the police promised to track him down.

I have no idea what happened and whether or not the cops were able to locate him and stop him before his vehicle blew up, but man, was it scary.

Fortunately, it wasn't an omen of my day to come. On the way to the event, I started to relax again, loving the way the heavy pinot noir grapes hung on the vines in fields by the road, rejoicing in the sparkling aquamarine water of the narrow lake and the quaint cottages dotting the shore.

The booksigning at Heron Hill Winery overlooking Keuka Lake was lovely, especially after the sun came out just in time for us to witness the annual parade of the seaplanes flying low over the lake. I love this place, and I love the people who run it. They are so welcoming, it's like greeting old friends each time I visit.

The pictures above were taken outside the tent where I signed books - also where an annual Harvest Wine Tour took place. The winery is perched high on the western bluff overlooking the lake.

I had lovely conversations with wine and book lovers from all parts of the country, connecting with them in the way only readers and writers can - sharing the love of favorite authors, talking about plots and characters in the sun while sipping wine. It was pure joy.

But one resounding theme kept coming back to me. So many folks love reading about a specific setting or locale. Whether they'd attended school at Geneseo in the Genesee Valley, lived in Rochester, summer camped on the lake, or simply adored this part of the country, they all perked up when they discovered my books were based in the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley region of New York. 

Of course, how can I blame them? There's so much beauty here, it stuns me time and time again, in spite of the fact that I live here!

A friend who suprised me with a visit yesterday said it best, actually. Paul had moved from our region a year ago to the Albany area, headed for a super job, but had to leave his home of many years. He popped into the signing with a big smile. Of course, he had to endure several bear hugs from me.

While we drank the new 2009 dry Riesling and looked over the vineyards and lake below, he mused about someday moving here. On the drive down, he said he was so overtaken by the beauty of the area, it took his breath away and made his heart swell.

I loved hearing him speak about it, because it mirrored my own passion for the area.

My characters do have excursions to Maine and Europe, and will probably tour new parts of the world in the future, but I'm glad I chose to base my books right here in my own back yard. I'm blessed to live here, and thank God every day for the beauty that surrounds me.

Where do your characters live? What settings have you chosen for your scenes? Share below in the comments section, and remember to write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar
www.legardemysteries.com

P.S. We had my daughter's wedding last month in the same region, overlooking Keuka Lake. So beautiful! Above is a family photo.

LeGarde Mysteries

Double Forte' Double Forte' is a chilling mystery set in the verdant landscape of Upstate New York's Genesee Valley. Packed with memorable characters, hair-raising chase scenes, and touching family moments, it's a solid page-turner. Desolate over his wife's suicide four years earlier, small-town college professor Gus LeGarde faces bewildering emotions when he falls for Camille, the vivacious, dark-eyed daughter of his secretary. Yet troubling events in her past cause her to rebuff Gus's affections. Romance glimmers, however, as both become embroiled in an adventure when Gus discovers a mute child shackled to a bedpost in a secluded cabin. The mystery turns deadly when the child's kidnapper escapes on a snowmobile that tumbles into the deep Letchworth Gorge. The villain's fate is questioned when Gus's little grandson disappears and threats arrive against Camille. And where is the business partner of Gus's philandering son-in-law? Does a murderer lurk in the dark, wintry woods? BUY Read Excerpt	Upstaged In Upstaged, the second book in the LeGarde Mystery Series, Gus LeGarde is in for another wild ride as he faces a disturbed stage mother, a deviant predator, and a twisted saboteur who lurks backstage, terrorizing the drama club with deadly, psychotic games. Who's playing bizarre pranks on Gus's fiancée, Camille? Gus suspects handsome Brazilian student, Armand, whose behavior is laced with sexual improprieties. His suspicion shifts as a jealous stage-mother goes berserk when her daughter isn't cast in the lead role. As the attacks escalate, even the school superintendent is questioned when it's learned that his shadowy past is sealed in an official file. The action turns lethal as opening night approaches. A sniper fires shots. Camille's home is ransacked and her beloved dog is missing. The star performer takes a bone-shattering fall when the stage railing mysteriously falls apart. Was the set rigged? Will Gus prevent the villain from upstaging the show? BUY  Read Excerpt
Tremolo: cry of the loon Summer, 1964: Beatlemania hits the States, and the world mourns the loss of JFK. For eleven-year-old Gus LeGarde, the powerful events that rocked the nation serve as a backdrop for the most challenging summer of his life. After Gus and his best friends capsize their boat at his grandparents’ lakeside camp, they witness a drunk chasing a girl through the foggy Maine woods. She’s scared. She’s hurt. And she disappears. The camp is thrown into turmoil as the frantic search for Sharon begins. Reports of stolen relics arise, including a church bell cast by Paul Revere. When Gus and his friends stumble on a scepter that may be part of the spoils, they become targets for the evil lurking around the lake. Will they find Sharon before the villain does? And how can Gus–armed only with a big heart, a motorboat, and a nosy beagle–survive the menacing attacks on his life? BUY   Read Excerpt	Mazurka When Siegfried receives a puzzling invitation to visit an ailing relative in Germany on the eve of Gus and Camille’s wedding, their honeymoon plans change. Siegfried – Gus’s socially challenged brother-in-law – can’t travel alone, so they gather the gentle giant under their wings and fly to Paris. After luscious hours in the city of lights, a twist of fate propels them into a deadly web of neo-Nazis. A bloody brawl on the Champs Élysées thrusts Siegfried and Gus into the news, where a flawed report casts Siegfried as the Nazi leader’s murderer, sealing his death warrant. While Siegfried recovers in a Parisian hospital, Nazi terrorists stalk Gus and Camille. Hunted and left for dead in the underground Parisian Catacombs among millions of Frenchmen’s bones, they barely escape. Siegfried is moved to safety at his aunt’s in Denkendorf, where he learns a shocking family secret about Chopin’s steamy past. The calm is soon shattered, when the threesome is plunged into a cat-and-mouse game where the stakes are lethal and the future of Europe hangs in the balance. BUY   Read Excerpt
Firesong (coming in 2011) Read Excerpt
Moore Mysteries (AKA Green Marble Mysteries)
Healey's Cave - Book One in the Green Marble Mystery series Sam Moore's little brother vanished fifty years ago. No body. No answers. What Sam has is a boatload of guilt, since he failed to accompany Billy on his final, fateful bike ride. While digging in his garden, Sam discovers a green marble with a startling secret—it whisks him back to his childhood, connecting him to Billy. Thrust back and forth through time, Sam struggles to unlock the secret of his brother’s fate. When the FBI investigates remains found nearby, Sam learns of a serial killer with a grisly fifty-year record. Sam’s certain it’s Billy’s killer. But what’s worse, his grandson fits the profile of the murdered boys. Will the killer return to Sam’s town to claim his final kill? Can Sam untangle the truth in time to save him? BUY   Read Excerpt