I took part in the Meet the Local Authors event at the Joyner-Green Valley Library Jan. 13, only days after a car crashed into the building and knocked out the large meeting room. No one was hurt, and some hardy souls showed up to enjoy the library’s resources. Here’s my picture in front of my table, displaying TAKING THE TUMBLE and PERIL, PASSION, PERU.

Christmas in the southern hemisphere is not one for singing “White Christmas.” Jill, in Peril, Passion, Peru, imagines Santa in an old-fashioned two-piece red and white striped bathing suit, the top pulling up as he slides down the chimney, exposing his belly button that glows like Rudolph’s nose. I was home with family on Christmas day but flew to Peru on the 26^th (my birthday) and was there for New Year’s Eve and lots of confetti drifting down at midnight to sprinkle Lima’s streets. I was up early the next morning. Not many people were on the streets, but there were lots of policemen, and I greeted all I passed with “Feliz año Nuevo.” Everyone smiled back and repeated the greeting, so I’ll pass it along here to friends and fans. Feliz año Nuevo and Happy New Year!

“Peril, Passion, Peru”

By Eve Dew Crook

Wild Rose Press

303 pages

In her second novel, local author Eve Dew Crook once again uses her masterful skills with dialog to grip the reader and keep the romantic suspense sizzling.

Jill Flanders stares at the rain pelting the windows of her Manhattan office building. Her mood matches the gloom of the weather. Without the signature of her two-timing spouse on their final divorce papers, Jill can’t move on. Frank, her archaeologist husband, is on another dig — this time in Peru. Likely he’s “uncovering” more than ancient Moche pots.

The fax machine interrupts her reverie and Jill is startled to read a notice from the dig’s team leader informing her of Frank’s prolonged absence from the site. Artifacts have also gone missing. Is Frank a thief? Has he been kidnapped? Or is he just lying low with his latest curvaceous conquest?

Jill wants answers. Believing her fluency in Spanish could be of help to the police, she makes arrangements to fly to Lima. What she’s not prepared for is Dex Conroy, the handsome ceramics specialist sent to retrieve her at the airport and assist in the search. Dex brings to the surface a lust in Jill she’d thought buried long ago; but her husband must be found, and her emotions kept in check. Someone, however, does not want Frank discovered; and when Jill’s life is threatened and Dex rushes to her aid, her feelings for him can no longer be denied.

This book of provocative prose won’t disappoint, and it just might have you unearthing that filmy negligee abandoned at the bottom of your pajama drawer. — Bonnie Papenfuss, Green Valley News

I love exploring caves (with a guide!) and the cave on the cover of PERIL, PASSION, PERU plays an important role in the story. But the first Paleolithic cave I visited gave me an experience I’ll never forget. Deep in the cave was a chamber covered with tiny drawings. I lingered there in fascination, not realizing my tour group was leaving. Suddenly, I was in total blackness—and the blackness deep in a cave is like no other blackness imaginable. My heart pounding madly, I cried out, “Hey, I’m still here!” A German tourist in our group made his way back with a lantern. He lifted it to my face and must have been grinning as he said, “Ach, der Neandertaler…” http://amzn.com/B011H4SMFM

Peru is a country of thrilling views. Machu Picchu, perhaps the most famous, is awesome—a wonder on a clear day, mystical in the fog and rain, and heart-stoppingly magical under a starry sky. My story doesn’t take place there, however, since it has often been written about. With so many fascinating sites along the coast and inland over the mountains to the Amazon River and the jungle, I had lots of great choices. Since I’m a ruin junkie, I decided on the crumbling Moche fortress-pyramids set in the desert for PASSION, PERIL, PERU. The Sun and Moon pyramids exist, the Stars pyramid is a writers’s imaginative addition. Enjoy!