About the Book

Book: The Silver Lode

Author: Suzanne J. Bratcher

Genre: Mystery

Release Date: 2020

JEROME, ARIZONA:

Billion-dollar copper camp alive with rags-to-riches tales

Beneath the ghost town that clings to the side of Cleopatra Hill, a maze of abandoned mine tunnels conceals a vein of silver ore mixed with pure gold. Seventy years ago, the discovery of that silver lode caused a murder. Are more coming?

Historian Paul Russell is about to lose his job and the woman he loves. He doesn’t have time to search for the legendary silver lode. But when a student drops a seventy-year-old unsolved cold case on his desk, a murder connected to the silver lode, the mystery offers Paul the perfect opportunity to work with Marty Greenlaw and win her back.

As Paul and Marty search for the silver lode, suspicious deaths begin to happen. When Paul’s son disappears, the stakes become personal.

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About the Author

Suzanne J. Bratcher, Ph.D., delights in writing contemporary mysteries sprinkled with history. Her award-winning novels are set in the very real ghost town of Jerome, Arizona as well as the Four Corners states: New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. Bratcher lives in Phoenix, Arizona. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading with her granddaughter, laughing at her rescue cat, and piecing colorful quilt scraps.

More from Suzanne

When readers ask me where I get my ideas, I sometimes wonder if they expect me to reveal a secret process for starting a book. I only wish I could. But far from proceeding along the steps of a process, each of my books begins with nothing more than a spark that catches my imagination like a match catches a piece of kindling. I pile ideas on the spark and when I have enough for a blaze, I start to write. The spark for The Silver Lode was a 3-D display of the myriad abandoned mining tunnels that crisscross the hill beneath the ghost town of Jerome, Arizona.

The idea for The Silver Lode came to me while I was still an English teacher. So, what was I doing studying a model of a long defunct copper mine when I should have been reading William Faulkner or e.e. cummings? The reality was-at the time, I had no idea I was studying a copper mine. I thought I was visiting an old house.

The first time I turned off Arizona Highway 89A to visit Jerome State Historic Park, I wanted to tour to the Douglas mansion, the park headquarters. I love old houses. I’ve visited Thomas Jefferson’s home, George Washington’s, numerous antebellum mansions scattered throughout the South, and the family homes of many famous American writers. The Douglas Mansion, then, was a natural stop. But besides old houses, I also love research-learning simply for the sake of learning. I don’t have to have a specific goal in mind to enjoy adding bits of information to my hodgepodge of knowledge.

So…as I strolled through the high-ceilinged rooms in the Douglas mansion, I found myself drawn into the history of copper mining in Jerome. In addition to the three-dimensional display of the mine tunnels, I saw shelves of rocks and minerals bathed in ultraviolet light, a wall of photographs of the Douglas family that included one of Winston Churchill’s sisters, and a video that told the story of the ghosts of Cleopatra Hill. My interest piqued, I plunged more deeply into research. I bought books and read firsthand accounts of life in the billion-dollar copper camp. I visited the Jerome Historical Society and read yellowing newspapers. I ventured into the Mining Museum and wandered through a reconstructed mineshaft. I searched the internet for information about mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s, whether for copper, silver, or gold.

By now I was actively working on a plot that would revolve around mining for silver in Jerome. Because The Silver Lode was the second book in my trilogy of Jerome mysteries, I already had the main characters for the story. In my head I could see Scott, a young teenager, exploring those interlocking tunnels under the town. But I didn’t know what he was looking for. I needed another spark to start that fire.

I ran across it quite accidentally as I was reading about a large deposit of silver mixed with gold discovered in Virginia City, Nevada in 1859. Dubbed a silver lode, it was one of the richest deposits of its kind ever discovered. Of course, the Comstock Lode had nothing to do with mining in Jerome between the two World Wars. Nor did the history of Nevada influence the history of Arizona in the 1920s. Still, as I read about a large deposit of silver mixed with gold called a silver lode, I knew I had found both the treasure and the title for the story I was working on.

The next big story question was “Who else is looking for the silver lode?” In other words, “Who is the villain?” It was clear I needed secondary characters to drive the search for my imaginary silver lode buried deep in Cleopatra Hill. These characters came from my research into the families who built the town of Jerome and spread down the hill to build Clarkdale. I had my ideas.

Now…back to the question my readers sometimes ask: where do I get the ideas for my mysteries? The answer is as simple as it is complicated: I get my ideas from research. As I write, I use these ideas as a springboard so that they appear in camouflage. When you read The Silver Lode, I hope you find these nuggets of fact buried deep in the imaginary story of the long ago murder of a college student’s grandfather, a contemporary search for a legendary silver lode, and a desperate rush to save a child’s life.

An Interview with Suzanne

What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

I love, imagining stories that take me and my reader on an adventure. I love to follow a character as she (or sometimes he) faces down a personal problem while battling an outside force that is trying to kill her. When I was a kid, I used to lie in bed and tell myself stories. I love being able to continue that process with my writing.

Can you share a real-life event that inspired your writing?

My grandfather went blind when he was 55 and I was three. So for all of my conscious life, he couldn't see. When I was little, he used to take me on his lap and make up stories for me. I remember a continuing series about an alligator that could fly. As I grew older, the stories got more complex. By the time I was 10 or 11, I would sit with him and listen to audio books that came on 33 1/3 vinyl records from the Talking Books program sponsored by the Library of Congress. I think my grandfather showed me how much fun it is to imagine stories. Then he opened the world of reading by introducing me to books that were above my reading level. Somewhere along the way, I realized I wanted to use my imagination to make up new stories. I started to write.

What was the best money you spent as a writer?

Attending writing conferences. At first, I attended small conferences near where I lived. Those didn't cost too much because the fee was usually low, and I could stay at home and avoid travel expenses. Later, as I got more serious about my writing, I invested quite a bit of money in national conference fees, travel expenses, and motel costs. But I learned an amazing amount by attending workshops and listening to successful writers teach their craft. I also eventually made the contacts that led to the publication of my first novel. It took investment to learn the craft and meet people who were more skilled at writing than I was.

How do you come up with storylines/book topic?

My mysteries start with a setting that has caught my imagination. Kokopelli's Song started from an unscheduled visit to Chaco Culture National Monument. I hiked through the amazing ruins. I bought a book about the people who built those structures, and I was hooked. I got my idea after reading two or three more books. My Jerome Mysteries come from settings in and around Jerome, Arizona. The Copper Box came out of numerous visits and research into the ghost town of Jerome, Arizona. I got the idea for that book walking up a steep hill with ruined houses on both sides of the road. I saw one inhabited house, and I thought about who might live there. “The Silver Lode” grew out of the mining history of Jerome. I got interested in the mining tunnels that crisscross the hill that Jerome is built on. The Gold Dubloons was inspired by a score of visits to Montezuma's Castle National Monument. The ideas for my stories usually come to me as I wander around some place that fascinates me. I imagine characters in that setting and interesting conflicts they might encounter.

Why do you write in your particular genre?

I write mysteries because it has been my favorite genre to read since I was very young. I was a Nancy Drew fan. When I was in junior high I had two friends I played complicated Nancy Drew games with. Later I started reading the library books my mother brought home: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. I listened to Nero Wolfe stories with my grandfather. Along the way, I discovered Christian mystery writers: Colleen Coble, Dee Henderson, and Teri Blackstock. It was natural for me to write what I loved to read.