SCC Author Sees Book Become Reality

By Mitch Traphagen

SUN CITY CENTER - An area man has seen his hard work become reality with the release of his book, Overkill - A Detective's Story, which is now available.

Although the author, Elmer Snow of Sun City Center, is quick to point out that the book is a work of fiction, his words, his imagery and the mental picture that he clearly paints reveal his in-depth experience. In many ways, Snow's work of fiction is the child of his real life experience.

One of the beginning paragraphs paints a picture that can only be drawn from having been there and knowing the subject so well that the very feeling is clearly conveyed to the reader:

January 12, 1993, was a bleak and cold day. The oak bench in the Upper Marlboro Courthouse reflected the coldness that could be found outside the windows. It showed the scars of 60 years of boredom, emotion, anxiety, and hate. The patina spoke of thousands of sweaty palms that had rested on the edge of this very bench. A few initials were crudely carved in the wood, reminding an observer that at one time, pocketknives had not been banned from the courthouse. This very bench had served as a temporary resting place for thousands of criminals, vagrants, family members, and police officers as they reflected on their transgressions, or cultivate the lies they would tell when they entered Courtroom One, a mere thirty feet away. (Excerpt from Overkill - A Detective's Story).

Previously covered in the Observer News, Snow's career has extended from being a police detective to being an executive bodyguard. In-between have been such things as town mayor, journalist and his current career as a private investigator. Snow makes good use of his varied career and experiences to create a highly readable and enjoyable story that plays out well in the imagination of the reader.

Overkill is available at www.publishamerica.com. The book is currently listed on the front page under new releases but may also be found by searching the online store using the book title as the search term.

As the book has only been released in the past week, no information on retail store distribution was available at press time.