Special to the Enterprsie
Bill J. Looney has spent a lifetime in public service and, since retiring in 2008, has written three novels using eastern Kentucky as the backdrop.
Looney spent the first few months of his 2009 retirement writing a novel that blended his love of history with a present day mystery.
The fiction thriller called “Satan’s Breath,” centered in and around Pike County involved mining, WWI, romance, history and suspense.
His second novel titled “The Lost Star of Jerusalem,” likewise offered a thrilling suspenseful tale spun around historic events with settings in Pike County and Harlan County.
Last month, the author published his third novel titled “Angel of the Abyss,” which once again uses rural eastern Kentucky, primarily Harlan County, as the setting for his thrilling new tale.
“I wanted to use my beloved coalfields of eastern Kentucky in my writings. Our beautiful mountains are often neglected by authors. We have much to offer here in historic Kentucky and I can think of no better place for story telling than these mountains of mystery,” says Looney.
The author was born in Harlan County in 1952 and attended Harlan City Schools. Both of his grandfathers were coal miners.
“I am very proud of that,” said Looney.
His novels have received good ratings at online stores, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The books are praised for their fast moving story line and thrilling ride.
“The books can be read separately, but I use some characters from book one in book two and from book two in my latest novel. This gives the reader a sense of comfort with familiar characters,” explains the author.
Looney’s trilogy is available at most online bookstores.
Looney, a 1970 alumni of Harlan high, is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee where he played football in the early 70s. After graduating in 1974 with a degree in business administration, he enjoyed a brief banking career before finding his real calling in government finance and management.
Looney, retired from a long career in government, once served as the State of Tennessee Budget Director under the late Gov. Ned McWherter.
More recently he served in a city management position in Florida before retiring in December 2008. Looney is currently doing research on his fourth novel.
The author will be appearing to sell and sign his three novels at Jewelcraft on Tuesday and Wednesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
His email is twogunbill60@gmail.com and he encourages feedback from readers. The author invites readers and friends to stop by and visit him and discuss his novels.
Post a Comment
