The Color of Wounds

SCIENTISTS HAVE SPENT DECADES SEARCHING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH THAT WOULD GIVE U.S. SOLDIERS BATTLEFIELD SUPERIORITY. FINALLY, A TEXAS UNIVERSITY LABORATORY HAS IT IN ITS GRASP — BUT AT WHAT EXPENSE? NOT IN DOLLARS, A MUCH HIGHER PRICE. It's been nine years since Kent helped one of his veterinary school classmates expose inhumane animal testing at a prominent university. Now, after all that time, his good intentions are coming back to haunt him. Bombs are destroying his hometown, then blackmail, and a veterinary co-worker is murdered. When the killer threatens to destroy the thing that Kent holds most sacred in the horse world, Kent devises a plan to defend it. It looks like it may work — until Kent and his redbone hound, Lucinda, end up in a fight for their lives. Kent refuses to sell his souls to the devil — not at the expense of the animals he has sworn to protect.

The Kent Stephenson Thriller Series The Kent Stephenson Thriller Series is about the exploits of a veterinarian who is a lifelong resident of a small Upstate New York town. Through his work, he gets drawn into cases of murder, bombings, arson, and other mayhem. He and his constant companion, a hound dog named Lucinda, unravel the crime, which is never as it appears, and bring justice. In essences, the novels are mystery/thrillers played out against a backdrop of veterinary medicine. The primary goal is to give the reader a satisfying mystery/thriller experience. The secondary goal is to give the reader a little insight into veterinary medicine and animal welfare. In book #3 in the series, THE COLOR OF WOUNDS, it's been years since Kent helped an old classmate expose inhumane animal testing at the research center of a prominent university. But now, after all that time, his good intentions are coming back to haunt him. Ex-members of the US military-industrial complex have Kent in their crosshairs. When threats and blackmail don't stop him, they bring on the bombs.

If you've read many author biographies, you are aware that most authors know at a young age they want to be writers. That's not the case for Frank Martorana; he never wanted, or expected, to be a writer. In fact, the thought of him as one would make his high school English teachers chuckle, for sure. From the time he stopped wanting to be a cowboy, all he ever wanted to be was a veterinarian. He loved, and did well, in science classes, especially biology. Humanities, like literature and writing? Not so much. It's strange how things work out. Martorana grew up in upstate New York, near Albany. When He graduated from the Veterinary College at Cornell University, his plan was to work as an associate in a successful practice for a year or two, make his "rookie mistakes" under their reputation, and then start a practice of his own. To that end, he joined the Cazenovia Animal Hospital, a thriving central NY mixed cattle, horse, and pet practice. The only problem is— he never left. Over the years he morphed from the rookie in constant need of mentoring, to the old man who has mentored a handful of bright young veterinarians that followed after him.