Colors On The Mountain

Her hometown is on the edge of a killing environmental disaster, and a young reporter must find the proof and publish the story to stop it. Along the way, Kate Templeton has to deal with a controlling mother, a vicious corporate boss, an unknown twin sister, and a knockout punch that should have ended her… It doesn't.

She couldn’t believe the biggest story of her life would fall in her lap the day she was murdered. Resting in Peace would just have to wait until she nailed the man who killed her….

 

Kate Templeton was bored. The routine scut work of a reporter’s life at the Lackawanna Tribune was enough to drive any 26-year-old nuts. It was tedium, pierced by the chaos of an occasional major story.

The routine of boring municipal news cracks wide open one day when local activist Norma Hogan accuses a mining company owner of illegal operations in a drilling site on the mountain, right outside of town.

Norma’s lifelong friends Mary Rose and Tom Thompson own the property, leasing a back portion of the land to World Energy Corporation. Norma’s convinced spiraling health problems on the mountain are tied to the operation, urging Kate to investigate the situation. 

When the Thompson’s farmhouse disintegrates in a scorching fireball one night, killing the couple, life on the mountain changes forever.

Kate knows she is facing the story of a lifetime and meets Norma Hogan one night to review proof that ties the Thompson's death to World Energy Corporation CEO Eric Gavin.

Their meeting shatters in a searing hail of bullets, and Kate is forced to move in a direction she never saw coming.

Kate connects to family and friends she loves, as well as those she never knew. Kate joins with her ancestors and an army of colorful souls to avenge her murder, and stop an environmental disaster that could destroy the future for millions.

Susan Gazzara lives in the middle of the New Jersey Pinelands, with her husband Joe, their adult daughter Stephanie, two adult sons and a beloved grandson live nearby. Stephanie's birth 35 years ago made Susan a lifelong special needs parent. As the mother of a child with severe autism spectrum disorder, she quickly learned the ins and outs of special education advocacy, and continues to struggle daily with the lack of services for the severely behaviorally challenged. Susan has worked as a journalist for well over 30-years in television, radio, print, and digital media. Two stints as the editor of small-town community newspapers convinced her of the urgent need to provide fair and consistent local news coverage. "Decisions that impact communities are made in municipal meeting rooms, and good reporting gives all citizens a seat at the table," she said. The seed that eventually gave birth to Colors on the Mountain took root from Susan's quest to communicate with her daughter and listen to her unique way of replying. Colors on the Mountain moved from idea to page following the deaths of Susan's parents and an aching need to know that some connections don't break; they change and sometimes change again.