LUMBERTON — Local author p.m. terrell will be touring the county this week to promote her newest novel, “The Banker’s Greed.”
Terrell, who lives in Lumberton, will be signing copies of the book at the Pembroke Public Library at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, at the McMillan Memorial Library in Red Springs at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, and at the Osterneck Auditorium in Lumberton at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
“This is going to be the grand finale of the spring book tour and I’m real excited about doing it because I’ve got so many friends in the area and so many fans here,” Terrell said.
The events are free and open to the public.
The suspense thriller begins with the kidnapping of the daughter of a powerful and influential banker in Nashville, Tenn. The daughter knows her survival could depend on her ability to remember every detail. When she escapes and provides information to the FBI, all the clues lead back to her father. Now she is faced with becoming the prosecution’s star witness, but she worries she could be sending an innocent man to prison.
Terrell co-wrote the book, her 12th release, with T. Randy Stevens, the CEO and chairman of the Board of First Farmers Bank.
“It’s my first time to collaborate with another author,” Terrell said. “It was a fantastic experience. We wrote by e-mail and we e-mailed each other every single day for over a year as we collaborated on this.”
The role of the dog in the book was auctioned off to benefit the Robeson County Humane Society. The winner was Abby, a golden retriever who belonged to Tommy and Marion Thompson of Lumberton.
“Animals are my passion and anything that can help with the homeless animals here in the county or abused or neglected animals,” Terrell said. “I just wish I had more to give them — they are a fantastic organization.”
In the book, Abby overhears her owner, Jessica Palmer, being kidnapped in the lobby of the apartment building. But the dog is unable to get past the door of their apartment to rush to her Jessica’s aid. Abby continues to play a crucial role in the book, leading FBI Agent Grant Bailey to clues. And she is there at the end of the book when Jessica confronts her kidnappers — and must fight for her life.
Lumberton resident Dick Taylor also helped by providing technical advice for the book. He provided information on a 1936 Stout Scarab, a car he owns and which became an important part of the book’s plot, as well as a variety of other antique vehicles, such as a 1948 Davis and a 1906 Rolls-Royce that were in a garage of antique cars owned by the book’s villain.
“Robeson County is really rich in inspiration and ideas and I love getting the community involved in my books because they can give me a sense of realism that I can’t get in other places, such as just in my imagination,” Terrell said. “With Dick Taylor, he knows antique cars much more than I ever will, and he was able to give me fabulous information that I used in the big climactic scenes in ‘The Banker’s Greed.’”
Terrell moved to Lumberton in 2005 when her husband Don, a helicopter pilot and retired military officer, began flying for the North Carolina Forest Service at the Lumberton Airport. A native of Washington, D.C., Terrell has been active with the Robeson County Friends of the Library, Robeson County Arts Council, and other community endeavors. Though her husband is now stationed in Afghanistan, she continues to make Lumberton home.
Terrell’s 13th book, “Vicki’s Key,” which is set in Lumberton, will be released at Book ‘Em North Carolina.
— Features editor Amanda Munger can be reached by phone at (910) 272-6144 or by e-mail at amunger@heartlandpublications.com.
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