Photo caption: Michael Snow has authored a Desert-based thriller about woman fleeing a cult. Peter Day / The Leader
By PETER DAY
Editor
Lucerne Valley residents might not give it a second thought as they drive out of town on Highway 18.
But there, on the north side of the road just east of Trade Post Road, stands a vestige of Lucerne Valley’s past. Although information is sketchy, some say the forboding Nelson Studios’ gate and picturesque water tower marked the location of a silent film or experimental film studio.
And, according to Big Bear author Michael Snow, the image was perfect for the cover of his new thriller, “Zion’s Web.”
“I was driving to Apple Valley when I saw it,” Snow said. “I flipped a U-y and went back to take a quick picture with my phone.”
Later, after his wife Jan shared his excitement, Snow went back with his Canon DSLR camera to take a high-quality photo. He added the words “Keep Out” and adjusted a few graphic elements in Photo Shop, and the image was ready to be sent to the publisher, the Larry Czerwonka Co.
“The picture I came up with in Lucerne was a good fit,” he said.
“Zion’s Web” is a traditional thriller — complete with murder and suspense — about a woman named Brenda Cooper who escapes a fictional polygamist compound in Trona. The head of the ficticious cult is loosely based on Ervil LeBaron, the real-life leader of a violent group based in San Diego in the 1970s.
The book introduces a character named Zacariah Burton, a private eye who lives on a boat in San Pedro.
“It’s a detective thriller,” Snow said. “It’s got lots of twists and turns.”
Although the book’s antagonist is a so-called fundamentalist Mormon polygamist, Snow, a lifelong member of the church, is drawing a distinction between the mainstream mormon church and various cult offshoots that have no part in the religion.
Rather, according to Snow, the book has a “very positive” view of Mormonism and only lightly addresses polygamy. He notes that the Mormon Church renounced practice in 1890.
“The bishop of my church read it and he liked it,” Snow said. “All of them (who have read the book) have been very complimentary, very positive. It’s not a preachy book.”
Snow has been writing for 30 years and originally wanted to be a newspaper reporter before landing in the banking industry. He formerly was the credit manager at First Mountain Bank and currently writes real estate bank loans for the company.
The Friends of the Lucerne Valley Library have expressed interest in holding a book signing for Snow and “Zion’s Web” later this year, he said.
For more information, visit www.michaelsnowauthor.com.