Another chapter of THE MONEY TREE!

[Sam Mills]

 

I thought I would give you another sample chapter from my novel, THE MONEY TREE, an action-adventure chase set right here in WNC.

 

To remind you, here's the synopsis from the book jacket:

 

Tom and Huck take on The Sopranos! Set in the wilds of Western North Carolina – near historic COLD MOUNTAIN –  the story turns on two teen brothers' chance discovery of a drug dealers' money drop in the knothole of a tree. The impoverished boys enjoy the "fruits" of "the money tree" until they are caught in the act by the mafiosi whose money it is. (At the same time, they witness the murder of a pot farmer wrongly thought by the dealers of being the one who’s robbing them.) The boys narrowly escape, setting off a wild, downriver chase through the trackless Green River Wilderness – a chase that pits unarmed country boys and armed-to-the-teeth city men in a "guerrilla" war to the death.

 

Again, I see my story as a counter-DELIVERANCE tale in which the mountain people are the good guys, the cityslickers the villains.

 

The novel is also a Young-Adult take on Cormac McCarthy's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - though my book predates his by two decades. (It's a crossover novel - not a typical YA - so adults will enjoy it too.)

 

As this chapter opens, the boys have been robbing "the money tree" for nearly two weeks and are basking in their upscaled lifestyle. In this chapter, the do-do hits the fan: they are finally caught in flagrante robbing the money drop in the tree. At the same time, they witness the murder of a pot-farmer. The chase is joined with  a vengeance!

 

Tony Vendetti is the feckless mafioso who runs the WNC end of his capo-uncle's drug operation based in Atlanta. Eggar Mosely is a local man who works as mob liaison with area farmers willing to grow the new cash crop.

 

If you like it and want to read more, it's available as a Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002T44I1C.