The Search For Maggie Caslon

Dale Matson

“This is a story about the search for one of the most famous personalities of our time, Maggie Caslon. She was beautiful, talented, young and rich. Her disappearance was a mystery. The world held it’s collective breath as the search unfolded. It is also the story of those ordinary anonymous souls who were in the world’s spotlight for a brief period of time because they were associated with the search for her. This is also true of her boyfriend Ryan who was referred to as a “male companion” in the first newspaper account of her disappearance.”

Thus begins my newest book that will be available as a paperback from Amazon and in Kindle format early next week. After writing 10 non-fiction books, it is my first work of fiction. Actually, it is fact-based fiction. The location of the story is real. The story is told through my eyes as a civilian working for Fresno County Search and Rescue. This is a mutual aid search including several other agencies. It is not unlike many of the searches in which I have participated. (I really am with the Fresno County SAR team).

I wrote an earlier account of several searches that was factual called “Seeking The Lost: Stories Of Search And Rescue."

Part of this story is the idea that there are the famous and there are the rest of us. The rest of us lead anonymous lives from birth to death. Some become famous through infamous deeds. Killing JFK made Lee Harvey Oswald forever infamous. The further you get from the famous, the more you fade into obscurity. For example, how many people know who Marina Oswald is as the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald? She is still alive and once again leads an anonymous life.

The process of writing fiction has been enjoyable and a revelation for me. Some authors say that the characters tell them what to say. Maybe down the road, this will work for me. Friends say Ernest Hemingway wrote about his experiences. I always liked his crisp style of writing. I created my own cover once again (in photoshop) and each time is quite a challenge. The Kindle version is actually more difficult than the paperback because the file submission process for an E-Pub really does violence to the formatting. I pretest the mobi files on my Kindle Fire before submitting them to KDP and believe me there is a great deal of trial and error. The paperback interior is submitted as a PDF which is very stable.

You can now digitally review your files on line which means that you don't have to order a review (proof) copy before approving publication.

I have a devotional that is half finished and languishing on the back burner. Maybe it’s time to finish it.

Pax,

Dale+