Please give a huge welcome to Author Norm Harris!
Hi Norm, I’d love it if you could tell my readers a little about yourself and your writing career…
“Except for time spent in military service I live in the Pacific Northwest with my legal-beagle son K-K. and seven large tropical fish from the Amazon River. I am a second-generation Seattleite (that’s what they call those of us who dwell in the shadow of Mr. Rainier). I have had the opportunity to travel our planet many times over. My stories are created from my memories of my personal experiences, the places I have visited, and the people and friends I have known.
Fast forward twenty years, I had acquired some months of free time. I hired an editor and proofreader and published a second edition of the book. At the same time, I dusted a second and unpublished manuscript titled Arid Sea. It, too, was edited and proofread.
I had a third untitled manuscript which was partially written. I completed it, added a title, and submitted the work for editing and proofreading. The three books were written as a series. Now titled Spider Green Mystery Thriller Series. The three were accepted by The Wild Rose Press for publication this past fall. In the series The Girl Who Knew Death, a fourth book is now in the galley approval phase with The Wild Rose Press….” Thank you!
Norm, how do you come up with your story lines?
My stories come from my life experiences. I have had the good fortune to have travelled the world over many times. For example, I have had the pleasure of visiting London and have spent days upon days enjoying the sights of London and its pubs. From London I travelled to Stonehenge, and felt honoured to go beyond the barrier to actually touch and interact with the stones themselves. I also visited Edinburgh, and the castle. I spent several days in Bury St. Edmunds and visiting a friend in the tiny village of Hoxen. My ancestor, Thomas Harris, migrated from London to America in the 1600s.
“As previously said, having served in the US military and combining these events gave me many opportunities to use the places I have been and the people I have met along the way as a basis for my characters and scenes. My idea is to write good stories about good people. Diversity and inclusion and foremost.”
What genre do you enjoy writing?
“I would consider the genre to be women’s fiction. Practical stories without the complications of romantic distractions. I was told that women read more than men did when I began. My challenge was obvious. I would like to think that I could rise to the challenge uniquely. Four books now in publication: Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, Arid Sea, Deception Pass, and The Girl Who Knew Death.”
The first novel “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” begins the riveting Spider Green Mystery Thriller series. If you enjoy razor-sharp dialogue, strong-willed people, suspense, twists, and high-octane action, then Faydra “Spider” Green, the intrepid female sleuth and unpretentious hero in this taut, fast-paced adventure, will appeal to you.
Fruit of a Poisonous Tree was first published in 2002 in both English and Japanese. The book was awarded the Certificate of Merit Writer’s Digest National Self-Published Book Award. American motion-picture companies Miramax and Spy Glass for a feature film.”
SYNOPSIS
A female lawyer must prove a war hero’s innocence. Navy SEALs hijack a Russian warship to stop a North Korean missile crisis.
“A great read with a stunning finish.” – Advocate, Narayan. “Picturing Justice,” published by the Faculty of Law, University of San Francisco.
Every now and again, a unique story comes our way, a story unlike any we may have read before. Such is “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” author Norm Harris’s first critically acclaimed murder mystery/thriller.
The story’s focal point is Faydra “Spider” Green, a dedicated Navy JAG lawyer who has lived her life in the shadows of a great and powerful man: her father, former President of the United States William Green. Green cannot heal the wound in his relationship with his daughter. His former power and influence curse Faydra and cause her to wonder if her accomplishments were her own doing.
Faydra, a lawyer by trade, is both anxious and excited as she undertakes her first homicide investigation: the brutal murder of a Navy SEAL. She reasons that a successful investigation will provide her the opportunity to validate her sense of self-worth. Thanks to her remarkable deductive abilities, Faydra soon realizes that the accused man, a Special Ops Marine war hero, may be innocent and that the Navy is using her as a pawn in a complex cover-up.
“A sharp, crackling military thriller…, Norm Harris’s ‘Fruit of the Poisonous Tree’ offers a labyrinth of military cover-ups, surprise twists, and insider techno knowledge. Good, exciting, inventive read.” – Wendell Wellman, actor, producer, and screenwriter for Clint Eastwood’s “Firefox” and Producer of “Top Hat,” “Sail Away”, and “House in the Canyon.”
Meanwhile, a seasoned Navy Sea Captain, Egan Fletcher, whose wife died eight years earlier, struggles to balance his Navy career with raising a son. When the Navy purposefully pairs him with Faydra in a meeting, the two Navy officers embark on an adrenaline-pumping adventure. It is a top-secret mission-impossible that will take them halfway around the world in an attempt to avert a catastrophic act of terrorism in the form of a biological war.
“Norm Harris’s book grabs the reader with its first sentence and holds the reader throughout with its fast-paced action. Dialogue is always the hardest to write, but Harris has captured the art and, with his writing, keeps the reader turning pages. His ability to heighten the intrigue keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat throughout the story. Strongly recommend the book…” – CAPT David E. Meadows, US Navy, author of numerous (15) military thrillers, such as “Sixth Fleet”, “Seawolf,” and “Tomcat.”
Set against the dramatic backdrop of Washington State’s Puget Sound and the mystique of East Asia, Fadra’s story revolves around a woman who appears to be as pure as the driven snow—yet, she is driven by an insatiable need to complete any assignment, no matter how dangerous. Along the way, she transforms into a symbol of hope, perseverance, and a woman’s ability to overcome life-threatening events.
“This story is complex and well crafted, and you’ll immediately invest your emotions in these vivid characters. The dialogue is some of the freshest I’ve encountered in some time…. As a reader, and as a novelist myself, and now as a fan, my hat goes off to this guy. A wonderful debut.” – Larry Brooks, critically acclaimed author of psychological thrillers (including “Darkness Bound,” “Pressure Points,” “Serpents Dance,” and others), in addition to his work as a freelance writer and writing instructor.
Excerpt:
Fay turned and descended the ladder to the waiting boat. She dug deep into her soul to gather what courage she now carried with her to the dark and foreboding place known to all seafarers as “Davy Jones’ Locker.”
The frigid night air slapped her face as the small boat raced across the flat surface of the night water; sea spray soaked her face and hands. She squinted and fixed her gaze on the wall of black now standing before her. I’m going to need severe beauty salon time when I get back to civilization, she thought.
Shortly after, the boat arrived at the prescribed dive location. The dive team donned their facemasks and tested their gear—then, one by one, the divers rolled backward from the boat and into the water. Fay was last to leave the safety of the small boat.
The cold salt water stung her skin momentarily, until the thin layer of water between her skin and her wetsuit warmed to a tolerable temperature. She bobbed on the surface for a moment, then flicked on her underwater torch. Fay then slipped beneath the water’s surface and began her descent toward the bottom.
The wreckwasninety feet below. The Carr came to rest upright on the edge of a reef. The ship had not completely settled and was subject to shifting with each tide change. All good reasons for her to exercise extreme caution.
Nothing could have prepared Fay for the frightening feeling she experienced as she struggled to see and gain some sense of direction. She could tell she was sinking, but only because the luminous dial of her depth gauge so indicated. Following the eerie flickering lights of the three torches preceding her, she suppressed her fear and the feeling of claustrophobia by thinking of those people nearest to her heart.
Occasionally, the glow cast by the divers’ torches below her would momentarily disappear. She supposed—prayed—it was perhaps Romeo or Juliet passing between her line of sight and the torches, temporarily interrupting the beams of light, rather than a predator.
Fay grew fascinated by the many air bubbles emitted by the divers, reflected in the light of their torches’ eerie glow. Like a surreal field of vapor flowers, they appeared and disappeared as they slowly wobbled toward the surface. Fay reached for a bubble but instead found it to be a jellyfish, not a bubble as she had first thought.
Fay stopped sinking. Although she could not see it, she assumed they had reached the wreck. She brought her wrist to within inches of her face to check the luminous reading on her depth gauge. Eighty-seven feet.
She strained her eyes in a vain attempt to see through the black water. Fay may as well have been swimming in a cup of Seattle’s Best Coffee. All she could see was the light from the torch she held in her hand. She experienced complete disorientation. No up, no down. Someone, Andrew Lawrence perhaps, grasped her wrist. He was dragging her somewhere. She saw a deck rail, then a deck, and finally passed through a hatchway. They were now inside the Carr. There was only one light ahead of her—Andrew’s.
Thank you Norm, its been great getting to know you a little better. I wish you well with all your writing and after this I’m sure to be looking out for you in the future. Lynn