Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Press Release: Whistle Pass by KevaD


Whistle Pass (published Feb 27, 2012, by Dreamspinner Press) is a suspense novel set in 1955 against the backdrop of the nuclear age and violent repudiation of minorities, specifically in this story, homosexuals.

On the battlefields of WWII Europe, Charlie Harris fell in love, and after the war, Roger marched home without a glance back. Ten years later, Charlie receives a cryptic summons and quickly departs for his former lover’s hometown of Whistle Pass. 
But Roger Black isn’t the lover of Charlie’s dreams anymore. He’s a married, hard-bitten political schemer who wants to secure his future by destroying evidence of his indiscreet past. Open homosexuality is practically a death sentence, and that photo would ruin Roger and all his wife’s nefarious plans. 
Caught up in foggy, tangled events, Charlie turns to hotel manager Gabe Kasper for help, and Gabe is intrigued by the haunted soldier who so desperately desires peace. When helping his new lover places Gabe in danger, the old warrior in Charlie will have to take drastic action to protect him... or condemn them both.

In Whistle Pass, KevaD serves up a thrilling story of betrayal, backroom politics, a combat veteran who just wants to be left alone, and an innocent first kiss with deadly ramifications.

The author, also known as prize-winning author and journalist David "DA" Kentner, is a former Chief of Police, U.S. Army veteran, and winner of Calliope magazine's 18th annual short fiction contest. As a freelance journalist, he interviews both famous and soon-to-be-famous authors for GateHouse News Service and the (Freeport) Journal-Standard. He currently has eleven published books with another romantic tale of suspense contracted for release in 2012.


ISBN-13: 978-1-61372-376-0
To order copies:
Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2792

David can be contacted at dakentner@yahoo.com or at his mailing address:
5424 Bus. Rt 20 W
Freeport, IL 61032

Q&A with KevaD

Q) How did the pen name KevaD originate?

A) KevaD is actually Dave K backwards. Not much of a disguise, but it was never meant to be. When I learned my first book would be published I got stage fright. Now, understand, I used to dismantle IEDs, assisted the Secret service and State Dept in providing personal security to the President and Secretary of State on foreign soil, worked as an undercover narcotics agent, investigated murders, robberies and all kinds of assorted crimes, headed a police department with 79 employees, spoke publicly at the drop of a hat, and was shaking in my slippers at the thought of having a book published.

For me it was like walking through the looking glass. That’s how the idea of KevaD came to be. He lives on the other side of my mirror.

Q) What kind of books do you read?

A) Everything. Really, I do. I love books of every flavor and genre. That said, I’m a tough audience. I don’t finish most books I start. But when an author and story grab my attention, I’m their willing prisoner to the last page.

Q) Describe yourself in one word.

A) Perplexed. My mind is constantly churning with characters and storylines. There isn’t much I can’t look at and see a tale buried within it. I’m sure this trait existed before I started writing, but once I actually sat down and unlocked that part of me, it’s been nonstop. I sometimes envision characters plotting against me because I haven’t had the chance to tell their stories yet. Kind of scary at times.

Q) What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

A) Though not necessarily the most adventurous, I rode a camel around the Egyptian pyramids. That was pretty cool. For adventure… three buddies and I river-rafted for a week when we were teens. Tame water.

Q) What’s your favorite food?

A) Pizza. I generally start my day with a glass of milk and Hershey’s syrup.

Q) Where and when do you write?

A) For now, I have a corner in the living room. I’ll write any time, day or night.

Q) Which of your heroines/heroes is most similar to you?

A) Taylor Hughes and Cheryl in my romantic suspense novel “Sunday Awakening.” Taylor is ordinary. It’s how he deals with situations that makes him extraordinary. He’s pretty much that guy next door who hasn’t quite figured his life out yet. Then he’s thrown into circumstances where he can either walk away or put it all on the line, knowing that at the end of the day he’ll go back to being that guy next door on the outside, but forever changed inside.
Cheryl is feral but nurturing. She has no idea why she had to survive years of torture and abuse, but she did. And she uses that strength that kept her alive to look for her dream of a home and family. If a reader looks under Cheryl’s coarse exterior they’ll find all she wants is what we all want – to be happy.

Q) Where are you from originally?

A) I was born in Savanna, IL, but once I entered the second grade my dad’s job as a traveling engineer for the Milwaukee railroad had us moving the entire time I was growing up. When I left home, I continued living the way I’d been raised – on the move. It wasn’t until I took a job with the Freeport Police Dept at the age of thirty that I finally found a place to settle down.

Q) What advice would you give to those who have never written a book, but believe they’d like to?

A) Do it. Don’t put it off. Life will throw every distraction it can at you. You see, even if the book is never published, just writing that vision is a huge achievement, and one you can be very proud of.