Local author publishes his first e-book

Jake Turner was ousted from his home as a teenager, scarred in battle and a farming failure.

He moved to North Dakota to reap seeds and bury his past, but harvests the body of a dead man instead.

Fleeing the killers of the body he’d found, Jake Turner is ambushed and almost killed.

He is scared. He is hunted.

And he is fictional.

Jake Turner is a character in “Resurrection Garden” an e-book authored by Jamestown resident Frank Scully.

Scully, contracts manager at Goodrich Corp., began writing 20 years ago. He’s completed six mysteries and one was published — a first for Scully — by MuseItUp Publishing this month.

“He’s got a prolific writing style, very smooth, easy to read, captivating storyline and characters that bond you to their tale from the very beginning,” said Publisher Lea Schizas, via e-mail. “His series concept was unique, his writer’s voice fresh and appealing and the acquisition editors and I didn’t hesitate to welcome him to our publishing house.”

When it comes to writing his books, Scully likened it to a cinema screen.

“For me, the movie is running in my head and it’s my job to get it down,” he said.

Set in 1904 Bottineau, N.D., “Resurrection Garden” is one of Scully’s Decade Mystery Series books.

Each of the books has a different setting, different protagonist and occurs in a different decade, but each connects through family members and settings. A character in one book has a son who plays a role in another story, Scully said.

The Bottineau setting and its history is one Scully knows first-hand.

A native of the area, Scully’s family still owns the home his grandfather built in the 1880s. For inspiration, Scully turned to issues of Bottineau’s newspaper from early in the 20th century. Some of what occurs in the book, also occurred in history, he said. So the books contain more than one genre.

“What I like to call a little bit of history and a little bit of mystery,” Scully said.

With his first book in hand, or at least, in e-book and PDF format, Scully will skip signing copies in person and make appearances on a blog tour instead. Blogs are online sources of information on a variety of topics. Some of them are popular to people who like reading mysteries.

“It’s a new way of getting out there in front of people,” Scully said.

In addition to his writing, Scully’s goal is to raise awareness about his book and grow readership.

While not available in print, “Resurrection Garden” is available to those who use e-book readers, laptops or desktop computers. Readers may find it on Amazon.com, iBooks.com, Smashwords and other retailers.

For more information, visit www.frankjscully .com.

Sun reporter Katie Ryan-Anderson can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by e-mail at kryan-anderson@ jamestownsun.com

Tags: other events, diversions