A riveting new novel from Eric Rill, author of Pinnacle of Deceit and The Innocent Traitor, is about a race against time. The ticking time bomb is Saul Reimer’s sanity. His Alzheimer’s is going to be the catalyst that will either bring his family together or tear it apart.
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Chance Encounters By Eric Rill
I took a trip to Queenstown, New Zealand about five years ago. I was just starting An Absent Mind. For those of you who are familiar with New Zealand, you know there probably aren’t many places farther from North America, and Queenstown sits on the southern part of the South Island. It is remote, beautiful, and almost impossible to describe, with its soaring mountains that rise vertically without slope from the lakes.
I chose a six-room lodge in a wooded area with a view down to the lake, that a college friend had recommended. The owners were so lovely and caring. Nothing was too small or too difficult for them to do for their guests, including putting a bottle of Grey Goose in the freezer so my martini would be well chilled at the communal cocktail hour. The owner’s wife, Joanne, told me there would be only two other villas occupied during my stay. A family would arrive the next morning, and a couple two days later.
A family did show up the next afternoon—a husband, wife, and two lovely daughters. It turns out the husband was Ridley Pierson, a best selling author. We all decided the next morning to go over to an adjacent island on the TSS Earnslaw, an hour-and-a-half trip. Ridley was on his laptop almost nonstop, a dedicated author if I ever saw one. We did have a chance to talk about writing, which was great. They left the next day, and we still email each other every now and then.
The next night, at cocktail time, a youthful man in a black sweater showed up. His wife had caught the flu back home, and he had had to make the trip alone. I introduced myself and he said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Mitch Albom.”
As in Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People you Meet in Heaven? I wanted to blurt out. But I just smiled and shook his hand. We all decided to go for dinner—Mitch, Joanne, and me—to a rib place in town.
Over dinner I told him about my novel and why I was writing it, and how hard it was, given the subject, and the fact that my father had had Alzheimer’s. He told me not to quit, that it was a worthwhile project.
We spent another day and then it was time for me to leave. We stayed in contact, and when the book came out, I mailed him a copy. He sent me a lovely email, congratulating me, and telling me he would try help me get the word out about An Absent Mind. Thanks, Mitch!
Who would have “thunk” five years ago in a remote area of the world!
Prizes for the tour are as follows:
• One randomly chosen commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Eric Rill was born in Montreal and graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts, and from UCLA with an MBA. He held several executive positions in the hospitality industry, including president of a global hotel group. His hobbies include trekking, scuba diving, and collecting antique carpets. Eric has two sons and divides his time between his residence in Panama and international travel. You can reach him at his website at: www.ericrill.com
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