Former journalist, politician, television executive, radio talk show host and actor, independent author J. Alexander Greenwood has always been drawn to what lies just beneath the surface of places and people.

When his career in public relations took him to a place he affectionately calls “the smallest town in the world,” he found the inspiration for a mystery that had been below the surface for more than fifty years.

“The real core of this book is about the open secrets that can fester in a community until an outsider starts asking questions,” Greenwood said.

Murders in a Small Town

“A few years ago I left my home state of Oklahoma and moved to a very small town in the northern part of the American Midwest. I didn’t know a soul. I was a total outsider working there as public relations director and instructor at a small college,” he said.

“Every day I’d walk past a simple plaque posted in the administration building. The plaque was in memoriam to the college’s former president and dean, who both died on the same day in the 1950s. It didn’t hint at anything nefarious; it could have been a car wreck for all I knew. Nobody said much about it until I finally asked.”

What he learned was that the men were murdered in their offices by a professor who then calmly walked home and killed himself. Greenwood gained access to original police records, crime scene photos, witness affidavits and news coverage of the murders.

“The professor’s motive was, in the grand scheme of things, terribly small,” Greenwood said. “Pilate’s Cross is a work of fiction inspired by this terrible incident. Nearly all aspects of the book — including the mystery spanning 40 years and all the characters — are strictly from my imagination.”

“I wanted to be respectful of the loss the college and town suffered,” he said. “But the story is just too irresistible not to speculate upon.”

Greenwood said the people in town were very kind to him during his years there, though guarded. “’Once an outsider, always an outsider’ is the rap small towns get. To a degree I think that’s true, but I still made friends for life in my time there.”

The Setting

One ‘friend’ he couldn’t warm up to was the weather. The winters are devastatingly cold, snowy and lonely, he added.

“The town reminded me of The X-Files, in the sense that I was a stranger in a remote, ever-so-slightly foreboding location. That just added more to the mysterious, quirky and vaguely dangerous atmosphere I wanted to establish in Pilate’s Cross.”

About Our Hero

Greenwood is candid about the origins of John Pilate, the book’s protagonist.

“John Pilate is an average guy dealing with some above-average troubles,” Greenwood said. “He’s dealing with a broken relationship, getting his career back on track and oh yes—clinical depression that manifests itself in the form of a doppelganger only Pilate can see or hear.”

“This is exacerbated by Pilate’s habit of accidentally slipping into trouble, by virtue of his curiosity, big mouth or both,” Greenwood said. “And yes, there are some traits that I share with Pilate, but I’m not telling which ones.”

In the end, Greenwood has written a fast-paced, fun mystery/thriller that even the casual pleasure reader will enjoy.

More John Pilate Adventures?

“If readers enjoy Pilates Cross half as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it, then I’ve succeeded,” he said. Greenwood had so much fun with the story and characters he’s hard at work writing a sequel, Pilate’s Key.

“Pilate’s Key takes our hero to the Florida Keys, a favorite destination of my wife and mine,” Greenwood said. “And of course, Pilate won’t just be working on his tan. He’ll be getting into some mischief.”

About J. Alexander Greenwood

The grandson of the late, award-winning historical fiction novelist Robert E. Trevathan (Ballanger, Red River Angel), Greenwood's writing experience includes feature articles, news and crime stories syndicated throughout the nation in numerous publications including the Chicago Tribune, Washington Times, Tulsa World and Daily Oklahoman.

Very active as a political blogger and podcaster since 2003, Greenwood is taking a break and devoting that time to his fiction writing and promoting Pilate’s Cross. He won first prize in the WritingRoom.com short fiction contest for his thriller story 'Obsidian,' which will be published in an anthology in Fall 2009.

He is currently a media relations consultant and freelance writer. Greenwood is also a noted after-dinner speaker and master of ceremonies.

He resides in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife and daughter.

Cover artist David Terrill resides in the Kansas City area with his wife and children. Visit his website at davidterrill.com. Learn more about his cover concept here.

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