Cover Your Tracks

This week’s other featured books, “Santa in a Snow Globe,” by AH Edelman, “The Fire This Time,” by S. Frederic Liss, “That Ex,” by Rachelle Toarmino and “Something in Madness,” by Ed Protzel, can be found by scrolling down below this post, or by clicking the author’s name on our Authors page.

—————————————-

THE BOOK: Cover Your Tracks.

PUBLISHED IN: 2020.

THE AUTHOR: Daco S. Auffenorde.

THE EDITOR: Stephanie Beard, Executive Editor at Turner Publishing, Keylight Books; Todd Bottorff, President and Publisher of Turner Publishing Company; Heather Howell, Editor, Turner Publishing; Kathleen Timberlake, Marketing Coordinator, Turner Publishing; Ashley Strosnider, Editor for Turner Publishing; Elizabeth Thorlton, Editor for Turner Publishing.

THE PUBLISHER: Turner Publishing/Keylight Books. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Turner Publishing recently launched Keylight Books, the company’s prestige imprint that focuses on fiction that’s ideal to adapt into movies, TV shows, and streaming content. Keylight chose COVER YOUR TRACKS as among the ideal fits for their new launch. Ingram Publisher Services distributes the paper copies of the book. For more information or to place an order, please contact 866-400-5351. $34.99 Hardcover, ISBN-10: 1684425514/ISBN-13: 978-1684425518. Paperback $16.99, ISBN-10: 1684425506/ISBN-13: 978-1684425501. The Audiobook is published by Dreamscape Media, LLC., $24.59. The book is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound, Turner Bookstore, and at all good book shops.

SUMMARY:  COVER YOUR TRACKS tells the story of Margo Fletcher, who’s eight months pregnant and traveling by train to her childhood home. A massive avalanche buries the train, and Margo and former Army Ranger Nick Eliot are the sole survivors. As the pair fight an unrelenting blizzard, frigid temperatures, feral predators, and imminent starvation, we learn that Margo and Nick have secrets that threaten to destroy them. The novel is a chilling story of love and hate, the devastating power of nature, and the will to survive.

Retail description: Margo Fletcher, eight months pregnant, is traveling by train from Chicago to Spokane, her childhood home. While passing through an isolated portion of the Rockies in blizzard conditions, the train unexpectedly brakes. Up ahead, deadly snow from a massive avalanche plummets down the mountain. Despite the conductor’s order that passengers stay seated, former Army Ranger Nick Eliot insists that survival depends on moving to the back of the train. Only Margo believes him. They take refuge in the last train car, which Nick heroically uncouples in time to avoid the avalanche. The rest of the train is hurled down the mountainside and is soon lost forever in a blanket of snow. Margo and Nick, the sole survivors, are stranded in the snowstorm without food, water, or heat.

Rescuers might not arrive for days. When the weather turns violent again, the pair flee the shelter of the passenger car and run for their lives into the wilderness. They must fend off the deadly cold as well as predatory wild animals foraging for food. Eventually, Nick leads Margo to shelter in a watchtower atop a mountain. There, we learn that both Margo and Nick have secrets that have brought them together and threaten to destroy them.

THE BACK STORY:  Inspiration for the work comes from several sources, including historical research into one of the deadliest railroad/avalanche tragedies of all time, known as the “White Death” avalanche. The disaster took place in 1910, in Stephens Pass, Washington, located in the Cascade Range. Nearly one hundred railway passengers and workers lost their lives. This “White Death” avalanche inspired me and provided a starting point in the novel. My story isn’t related to the actual tragedy but uses an avalanche and a train wreck as a foundation. I’ve always loved the movie “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford, and I found the massive train wreck at the beginning of the film really moving and powerful. So I thought, what if I create a story about a massive avalanche that buries a passenger train in the middle of the remote mountains and only a woman and former army ranger live? Would they be able to survive out in the wilderness with little more than the clothes on their backs? And what if the woman was very pregnant? But simply writing a survival story wasn’t enough. I wanted my readers to understand the characters’ emotional makeups. Could the pair survive not only the elements but also each other?

A good novel has many threads running through it. I try to use these threads to weave a tale that’s is fast paced and easy to follow plenty of twists and turns that the reader thinks they’ve figured out, but they haven’t. So surprise is a huge element for me in writing a novel.

WHY THIS TITLE?: I typically name my works rather easily. This book presented a few obstacles. When I first wrote the story, I titled the book SNOWED. But that title was too indefinite for a thriller. Then I renamed the book TEMPEST OF SCALPLOCH MOUNTAIN. That title didn’t stick either— too wordy and also indefinite. Thrillers need edgy, concrete titles. So I came up with IN COLD PURSUIT. The perfect title, so it seemed. The problem is that there was a movie called COLD PURSUIT starring Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, and Emmy Rossum. Given the direction in which my imprint is moving—toward Hollywood—that title fell off the tracks. (Pun intended.) My executive editor and I put our heads together, and we finally came up with COVER YOUR TRACKS, which is so similar to SNOWED in concept that it was the perfect fit. The title plays on trains and people with secrets.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO READ IT? I think Lee Child sums it up quite nicely: “Sensational – new, fresh, suspenseful.” The comments I hear very often about the book are that it’s different, that readers have never read anything like it before. That it’s not a typical serial killer versus detective story. Nothing wrong with catching the bad guys. I just wanted to write a book that doesn’t so easily define the “good guys” and “bad guys”—and in which nature is certainly an antagonist.

REVIEW COMMENTS:

Note: Suspense Magazine has named Cover Your Tracks as one of the best thrillers of 2020! 

“This nail-biter from Auffenorde … [is] a tale of survival follows, punctuated by flashbacks to the protagonists’ tragic childhoods. … Well-crafted action sequences keep up the energy and tension. Thriller fans will want to see more from Auffenorde.” — Reviewed By: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. (https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-68442-550-1)

“If you enjoy survival stories as well as psychological thrillers, then you will want to add this book to your reading list. It was hard to put down and I didn’t really want it to end. I think you’ll feel the same.” — Reviewed By: Christina Boswell for MANHATTAN BOOK REVIEW.

“Auffenorde got down to business real quick, and personally I think most authors today haven’t quite mastered throwing their reader into the story. When done properly, you can’t help but get drawn in, and that’s what Auffenorde does. She hooks you immediately in a way I, a creative writing major, admired and appreciated. Within 30 pages I felt like I knew Margo like a friend.” — Reviewed by: Grace of NINTH STREET LITERATURE & LIFE.

“Wow! Daco S. Auffenorde, author of “Cover Your Tracks” has written an exciting, exhilarating, captivating and suspenseful novel. … This is an intense, and thought-provoking novel that describes battles with nature, the need and desire to survive, the problems of family, and the contrasts of love and hate. This almost reminds me of the battle of nature vs. nurture. I appreciate that the author vividly describes the scenery, characters, and plot. There are secrets and betrayals. … This is a page-turner and intense, suspenseful story that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I would recommend this thought-provoking novel.” — Reviewed by: Linda of LINDA’S BOOK OBSESSIONS REVIEWS.

“This captivating, fast-paced, exhilarating thriller is vividly atmospheric, twisty, & fraught with tension & an ending that is so unexpected, you will want to reread the whole book to see where you may have went wrong w/ your guesses. Told in dual narratives about Margo & Nick, this was a terrific, suspense filled book that thriller readers will love!” — Amazon reviewer: Mom_Loves_Reading.

“Right off the bat you are met with action. It’s like the start of a movie and the first scene is Tom Cruise jumping from a flying plane into uncertainty… the 👏drama 👏 I am here for it. … What occurs throughout their journey is seriously mind blowing and I was rooting for Margot one hundred percent! The ending is mind blowing. This is definitely the thriller I needed.” — GoodReads and Amazon reviewer: Kayla Whitehead.

“Emotionally resonant, provocative, timely—this unique thriller will linger in your thoughts long after the final page. Auffenorde brilliantly captures the extreme lengths a mother will go to for her child… You’ll be snow-blinded in the deep wilderness where the one person who can get you out is also your enemy. Sensational.” — K.J. HOWE, International Bestselling Author of Skyjack.

“COVER YOUR TRACKS is exactly what a thriller should be. A fast-paced plot, great characters, and tightly-wound suspense create a story that will linger long after you turn the final page. Highly recommended.” — D.P. LYLE, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series.

“Fast, slick, brimming with tension—Daco Auffenorde knows how to ramp up the suspense with this terrific new thriller. Loved it!” — GLENN MEADE, iternationally Bestselling Author.

“COVER YOUR TRACKS unspools a relentless crescendo of menace and doubt. A chilling tale of damaged souls, iron wills, and dark obsession… Survival as a team sport.” — JAMES W. ZISKIN, author of the award-winning Ellie Stone mysteries.

AUTHOR PROFILE:  As a writer, I love to explore different genres. I can get inspired by almost any little thing—from something as simple and miraculous as the structure of a single tiny snowflake to world crises and social injustices. I always thought that if I ever hit big and had money for a cause that I would like to create a foundation that addresses the problem of hunger. It’s surprising how many kids go away to college, and when schools adjourn for breaks they have nothing to eat. Or how many very young, elementary school aged, children go to school hungry. It’s crazy that we live in a world where there’s enough but so many go without.

As for how I became a writer, I started a novel in law school back in the early 90s, a thriller about a Senator’s wife. But life took over and so did my studies, which meant that I had to set the book aside. That book remains unfinished. More time passed, and I had a young family. At some point, I picked up the pen again and began writing children’s stories to gift to my children. I love reading picture books to young kids. Children get so involved. Their eyes light up, they lean in, and they’ll often repeat phrases with you. My dream was to visit schools and read my stories to kids in classroom settings where the children all gather around sitting cross legged on the floor. But I was still learning my craft and wasn’t ready to publish just yet. And then one day in the early 2000s, I decided that it was time to write another novel. So I went to the computer and banged out a literary fiction novel about two women who spend the summer in Tuscany and experience profound life changes. The whole story came to me at once, and I wrote it within months. That work was set aside as life caught up with me again, but recently I pulled it out of the drawer and have rewritten the piece! I’m anxious to get the story out in the world soon.

After writing that book and another, I wrote my debut novel, The Libra Affair, which was inspired by my love of espionage movies and my fascination with the world of spies. I very much wanted to write a strong, female lead, which wasn’t being done so much at that time, because the espionage genre was pretty much dominated by male leads (which I’m not complaining about!). The protagonist, Jordan Jakes, with the help of a nerdy scientist, had to reestablish world order in the face of a threat of nuclear war. I live in Huntsville, Alabama, and I had a brilliant physicist for a father, so I’m familiar with the engineer/scientist mindset, so writing the scientist was a lot of fun. The Libra Affair topped Amazon charts, but it was my debut, so I’ve come a very long way in my craft since then.

When my publisher asked me to write a superhero saga, I didn’t want to write something dark and moody, so I spring-boarded from the stories of Deadpool and the 1960s Batman TV series and created a book that was fun, light, and campy called Electromancer—the title a play on romance and electricity. But my never-ending desire for drama and action soon led me right back to writing thrillers. And that led to COVER YOUR TRACKS, a psychological survival thriller. I continue to write children’s stories in hopes of having a career in this genre (which will very likely happen under a pen name). I also write a little romance every now and then, including a romantic comedy that I’d love to publish soon that I’ve titled Scotch on the Rocks. Still, I always return to thrillers, and if I had to choose a branding label for Daco S. Auffenorde, thriller writer would be the label. What do I do when not creating written works? I paint contemporary watercolors. I like the unusual and unexpected, so very often I paint women in thought-provoking environments. For example, I recently painted a female jester situated on a sidewalk in an industrial park with a lip blooming beside her. Why a jester? Because a jester is the page-turner in a novel or play, an entertainer, not just a fool. One of my favorite paintings is that of a larger-than-life woman sitting in the front row of a ballet, reminiscing about the life she wanted but also amused by a pair of red point shoes just sitting off center of the stage. She can’t see the blue ballerinas flying behind the stage curtain. I call this painting Blue Ballet, again a play on words (I get my love of wordplay from my father).

Question most asked? What does your name mean? I explain it on my website biography. Here’s the teaser: The first derivative (D) of acceleration (A) at the speed of light in cm per second (C) is equal to zero (O), where C is same in E = mC2.

Retail profile: Born at the Naval hospital in Bethesda, Maryland and raised in Huntsville, Alabama — also known as Rocket City for its role in building the rocket that took astronauts into space—Daco holds a B.A. and M.A.S. from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and a J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Alabama Writers’ Forum, Authors Guild, and Alabama
State Bar.

AUTHOR COMMENTS: Larger issues underlie COVER YOUR TRACKS. One is climate change. We’re seeing a growing intensity in storms and hurricanes. As the polar caps continue to diminish, we’re likely going to see more avalanches occur, especially at the higher elevations. I would love to see the world embrace sustainable and green energy. We have so many underutilized resources that if we just embraced the clean technology, retooled our factories, and paid a little more for a great product, we could all live on a green planet. People have become so accustomed to having the newest and latest, and replacing what is (or isn’t) broken or old. My father was an ace repairman and a builder—a talent that seems to be lost on many people these day. COVER YOUR TRACKS involves a train, of course. I would love, love, love to see our country develop a safe, reliable, and energy efficient national high-speed railway system accessible.Here’s to the future and all of its promise!

SAMPLE CHAPTER:

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE:

WHERE TO BUY IT: Amazon, Barnes & noble, etc.

AMAZON:
https://www.amazon.com/Cover-Your-Tracks-Daco-Auffenorde/dp/1684425506/

BARNES & NOBLE:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cover-your-tracks-daco-auffenorde/1136989315

TURNER PUBLISHING BOOKSTORE:
https://shop.aer.io/turnerpublishing/p/Cover_Your_Tracks/9781684425501-
4173?collection=/0

INDIE BOUND:
https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781684425501

BOULDER BOOK STORE:
https://www.boulderbookstore.net/

THE BOOK HAVEN
https://www.salidabooks.com/

PRICE: (varies)
Kindle and Nook: $13.99
Paperback: $16.99
Hardcover (laminate): $34.99 (varies)
Audiobook: $24.59 or 1 credit on Amazon
Audio CD: $22.99

CONTACT THE AUTHOR:

AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.authordaco.com/
AUTHOR CONTACT: http://www.authordaco.com/contact
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDaco
TWITTER: @AuthorDaco
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/dacoauffenorde/@dacoauffenorde
GMAIL: dacoauffenorde@gmail.com