Author Takes Novel Approach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 19, 2007

AUTHOR TAKES NOVEL APPROACH

Fairhope, AL— Nothing makes an impact like a good story. So, when Alabama writer Joe Hilley wanted to focus attention on issues like political corruption, trafficking in women, and the methamphetamine trade, he turned to fiction.

"Fiction does more than entertain. It places information within a context. Not just any context, but one developed by the reader's own imagination. The reader actually becomes part of the story." Having the reader participate in the story was important for Hilley. So important, he developed an entire series of mysteries around the notion that fiction is a great way to address serious societal issues.

"This really isn’t a new concept. Novels have always been a mirror to society. We say, ‘take a look. This is how you think. This is how you’re acting. This is what you look like.’ Hopefully, we move our awareness forward a little.”

“Nothing happens in a vacuum. It happens in someone's neighborhood. But as long as it’s just an ‘issue,’ then it’s just a statistic. Just words and numbers on a page. To make a difference you have to own it. You have to know, ‘this could happen right here where I live.’ That’s what a story does. It helps you experience an issue in a personal context."

Think you don’t have a meth problem where you live? Read Night Rain and think again.

Set along the Gulf Coast and ripped from the latest headlines, Night Rain, the new legal thriller from attorney-turned-author Joe Hilley, takes you beneath the congenial veneer of everyday life to a world you’ve never imagined – one that’s closer than you think.

Night Rain will arrive in bookstores April (2007). You can read a sample chapter at www.joehilley.com

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High resolution cover art and author photo are available at www.joehilley.com/press