Saturday, November 10, 2007

A Visit from Creston Mapes


I met Creston last summer at the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta. His new novel,


NOBODY


released in September by Multnomah.

I invited Creston to stop by to talk about how the book came about:


The story behind NOBODY is pretty cool. I was with my late father,
Bernie, at a park in St. Augustine, FL, when we saw a homeless man
sitting on a park bench, clutching a loaf of bread, tearing off
pieces, eating some and throwing chunks to the dozens of black birds
all around him. My dad noted that "he" would be a good subject for a
book. Then, when my publisher suggested Las Vegas as a backdrop, and a
research visit to that city, I set up a day with Brian Brooks of the
Nevada Health Centers, who took me all over the Vegas homeless
community. We visited free clinics, talked to doctors and nurses, went
to the soup kitchens and encampments where they "live." I also met
with Jud Wilhite, pastor of Vegas's booming Central Christian Church
(10,000-12,000). Jud shared a moving poem with me called I Stand By
The Door, which amazingly aligned with my spiritual walk of getting
too steeped in the church, and not concerned enough about the people
outside the doors of it.

Since I was a reporter at one time, my main character, Hudson Ambrose,
is a reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal, the city's real paper,
which I visited when in Las Vegas. The book begins when Hud hears a
pre-dawn call on the police scanner at the newspaper about an injured
person at a bus stop along The Strip. When he arrives, he finds a
murdered homeless man. Waiting around for the police, Hud knows the
case will get tied up in red tape when they do arrive. He wants to get
an ID on the guy before the police come. He can hear the sirens
bearing down. Quickly, he searches the mans pockets and is shocked to
find a bank book with close to a million dollars in it. A safe deposit
box key drops into the puddle of blood at the man's feet. Hud's got a
decision to make.

And off we go into NOBODY, and Hudson Ambrose's

breakneck investigation into the life of the homeless man, Chester
Holte. Why was a former rich Atlanta business mogul living homeless on
the streets of Las Vegas? What happened after his wife died in their
private plane crash. Who was the beautiful Holly Queens and what was
her relationship with Chester? And why does virtually everyone in the
Las Vegas homeless community believe Chester was an angel in disguise?

Thanks for telling us about your latest book, Creston!
You can learn more at Creston's website.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Ooh..that looks REALLY good! I think I might get myself a copy of that! Very cool :)

Unknown said...

That's it - I'm definitely going to get it! I just read the excerpt on CBD, and it totally left me hanging!!

Unknown said...

I was pleased to discover that Creston's website has the full first chapter! Huzzah! I enjoyed it...now I just need the book :P