Message from Gus LeGarde

Welcome, dear readers.

Aaron asked me to write this introduction. I must say, it feels a bit strange knowing you may read about the private and most painful aspects of my life.

In Double Forté, you’ll learn about my first love, Elsbeth, who died in a manner most unfitting such an ethereal and fiery spirit. I still picture her brooding eyes and delicate fingers each time I play a Chopin mazurka. She shouldn’t have died so young. She shouldn’t have died at all.

You’ll experience my childhood summers in Maine, through Tremolo, and the mystery of the missing little girl who haunted my dreams. Though I dearly loved Loon Harbor and the camp my grandparents ran on the lake, 1964 was a most challenging summer.

Now my life is out there–literally an open book–ready to be celebrated or ridiculed by millions of strangers. You’ll know what feasts I cook for my family, what variety of beets I grow in the garden, what games I play with my grandchildren, and how nuts I am about my dog.

You’ll watch me chase villains through the wintry woods and rescue a mute child from an icy hillside. You’ll hop back in time to my days in Boston, where I wrote the musical "Spirit Me Away," showcased in Upstaged. You’ll feel my pain when I recount the days just before my father died. And you’ll peek into my hotel room in Paris when I consummate my second marriage.

It’s pretty scary.

Should I have let Aaron write these books?

He convinced me that in addition to providing literary amusement, it would also set a great example for mankind. That in the face of the media explosion of sex and violence, folks craved wholesome entertainment. They wanted to be reminded how to nurture one’s family, be one with nature, live for the greater good, and stand up to evil.

Was he right?

I don’t know. But he says he gets lots of fan mail at aaron.lazar at yahoo.com. He tells me the ladies want to marry me. And that some of the guys have written to thank him for reminding them about the importance of stopping corporate madness to spend time with a child or to take walks in the woods with their dog. And I guess they all get a bit of a thrill from all the chase scenes.

Folks stop me in the market and ask if Aaron embellishes the stories to make them sell. I have to admit that he does–just a little–my house really isn’t as clean as he portrays it. And sometimes dirty clothes reach for the ceiling in the laundry room. Mrs. Pierce tries her best, but we are a very lively and messy family.

Well, Johnny’s calling me to help him catch fireflies. I can’t disappoint him.

If you’re interested in buying some of Aaron’s mysteries, you can order them online or at your local bookstore, or drop him a line. He keeps boxes of them around the house, too, and loves to autograph them to send to readers. And he’s a real ham. So if you have a book club or library event that needs a literary guest, contact him. He really gets into it.

God Bless,

Gus LeGarde

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Read Excerpts from Gus LeGarde mysteries:

and the first in the Sam Moore, green marble series:

Three books featured above are available for purchase. Healey's Cave (the first in the paranormal mystery series featuring Sam Moore) and Mazurka are in the final stages of publishing and should be available by summer 2008. There are also seven additional books, either in the publishing queue or with available rights.

And remember, take pleasure in the little things. Listen to the details: the crackle of the woodstove as it cools, the soft rustle of grass beneath your feet, the whisper of breath when a baby sighs in sleep... Absorb the beauty around you, whether it's the flash of love in an old woman's eye, or the fragile petal of a tiny orange cinquefoil. Let them sink into your soul, for they will provide untold comfort in the years to come.

- Aaron Paul Lazar