Page 66 October 2 0 1 4 Author to speak at upcoming Arcadia News book club By Amanda Goossen Defector in Our Midst, an exciting new political thriller by local resident Tom Fitzgerald, will have readers on the edge of their seat as they follow CIA agent and top terrorism expert Myk McGrath. Trained by his mother to be aware of his surroundings, shoot a gun and get a good read on people, Agent McGrath has never understood his mother’s agenda regarding his upbringing. With many parts of her past buried in a shroud of secrecy, he has chosen, for the most part, to let things go and move on with his life. As the country’s most respected agent, McGrath is chosen to search for a group of terrorists who have somehow outsmarted the government and sneaked into the United States. With their agenda of destruction well known, McGrath has limited time, resources and friends he can trust in his race to save the people he has sworn to protect. And in the midst of it all, the secrets of his family history begin to come to light. A powerful and well-written drama, Defector in our Midst is a radiant read by a debut author, destined to be a best-seller. On October 30 Tom Fitzgerald will join the Arcadia News Book Club at the Saguaro Library at 6:30 p.m. for an evening of Q&A. If you’d like to attend, please email Amanda@arcadianews.com. Arcadia News was recently given the chance to chat with Tom Fitzgerald, where he answered a few questions about the writing process and his future as a novelist. AN: Writing Defector in Our Midst was not your first career. Can you share a bit about what led to writing your first book? TF: My first career was that of an accountant. After graduating from ASU with an accounting degree I went to work for a company in downtown Phoenix. I remember after working for six months I would go home and bang by head against the wall while ranting, “Accounting? What in the world were you thinking, Tom?” I left the accounting world and eventually got into the homebuilding industry and started my own luxury homebuilding company. I had been wanting to write a novel and would get various ideas, but nothing that really moved me until my family vacation to Washington D.C. We visited the National Holocaust Museum and I came across a display on Lidice, Czechoslovakia and I was really moved. I told my family to move on through the museum without me. I continued to read about Lidice. It was the spark I needed to get to work on my first novel. My main character has deep roots to Lidice. AN: Have you always been a writer? As a child scribbling in notepads and writing short stories? Or was this a new venture? TF: I have always enjoyed writing, but this is definitely a new venture. I feel very fortunate to have found something that I am passionate about and I am especially thankful for the tremendous feedback from those who have read the novel and want to know when the second is coming. I guess that’s the best validation of all. AN: Were you surprised at what it takes to get a novel published? TF: I was very surprised at how difficult it is to get published. It made me appreciate the hard work and tenacity of those authors who I enjoy reading. AN: In Defector in Our Midst we see politics, the CIA and terrorism. Was the research and learning process intense? TF: I absolutely loved the research process for Defector in Our Midst. There was a lot of fascinating history and facts that I came across during my research. As I write the second novel, I continually come across intriguing events that I knew nothing about. I am always moved when I come across the many stories about the brave men and women who serve in the armed forces. AN: Without giving anything away, did you always know the direction of the characters and the plot or did it change as you were writing? TF: I thought I knew the directions of the characters and plot, but that is something that definitely evolves and changes with By Nicholas S Photo by NTK As the Ar program con talent and im coaches, sch players them responsibility Devon Fergu the team, has of rallying sup “We captai up interest,” absolutely res for every gam to be traveling A three-spo football, bask Devon had n until his fresh “That was it’s absolutely freshman yea me up to va season.” Devon may as a freshma doubt in his m wanted to pla “I wanted t of Larry Fitzg fit too, I’m fas Last year du was a huge pa the Titans. He receiving yard BOOK OF THE MONTH Defector in Our Midst BY TOM FITZGERALD SCHOOL AGE BOOKS By Dan Wirtel FORGET ME BY K.A. HARRINGTON Morgon’s boyfriend, Flynn, died right after they had a fight. But Morgon knows someone murdered him, because she saw Flynn get hit by a black SUV. Trying to forget him and prove to her friends she is moving on, Morgon was going to upload her only picture of Flynn and a note saying goodbye on FriendShare. But when the social website recognizes the face, it asks her if she wants to tag the picture with Evan Murphy. Perplexed, she goes to his profile and finds someone who looks exactly like Flynn. Now seriously confused, she has a goal to find out if Evan is Flynn and has been lying to her since they met, or if there is something else hidden in their similarities. THE EYE OF MINDS BY JAMES DASHNER A newly released virtual reality game called The VirtNet, gives players the chance at a “new life.” There are rules though, and when these rules are broken, reality and virtuality combine to produce nightmares. Someone begins breaking these rules and is actually killing people in real life. In a desperate search, the government and game producers need to find this hacker and stop him, but the only way to catch a hacker is to use another hacker, before it’s too late. Dan Wirtel is an avid reader and a sophomore at Valley Lutheran High School. time. As I continued to write, there were many things in Defector in Our Midst that began to grow and take on new life. It is the fun and creative part of writing that I enjoy the most. AN: Will Myk McGrath be a reoccurring character? What do you see in store for him? TF: Myk McGrath is most definitely a reoccurring character. I am about 30 percent into the follow-up novel and I can tell you that we will find out a lot more about Myk and his ties to the past. As Myk attempts to foil the next plot against the United States, we will journey with him and uncover more about his history.

Page 67 October 2 0 1 4 ARCADIA SPORTS As AHS team improves, players look toward lofty goals By Nicholas Smith Photo by NTK Photography As the Arcadia High School football program continues to rise in both talent and importance within the state, coaches, school officials and even the players themselves have taken on the responsibility of heightening fan interest. Devon Ferguson, one of the captains for the team, has taken on the responsibility of rallying support from the community. “We captains have really tried to stir up interest,” he said. “And the fans have absolutely responded. They’ve come out for every game this year and they are going to be traveling for the away games too.” A three-sport athlete who competes in football, basketball and track for Arcadia, Devon had never played tackle football until his freshman year in high school. “That was the first time,” he said. “But it’s absolutely my favorite sport. I loved it freshman year and then Coach Abt pulled me up to varsity during my sophomore season.” Devon may have been new to the game as a freshman, but there was never any doubt in his mind as to what position he wanted to play. “I wanted to be a wide receiver because of Larry Fitzgerald,” he said. “It’s a natural fit too, I’m fast with long arms.” Last year during his junior season, Devon was a huge part of the offensive success of the Titans. He ended the season with 533 receiving yards, and also returned another 274 yards on kick returns. But the 5-5 win- loss record didn’t exactly meet Devon’s and the other players’ expectations. “That’s going to change this year,” Devon said. “We’re going to be doing some damage in the playoffs.” To make those changes, Devon and his teammates have set personal and team goals to reach during the season. “Personally, I want to have 100 yards receiving and a touchdown per game,” he said. “As a team, we don’t want to give up a single touchdown for the first three games, and we also want to average 40 a game. We’re pretty specific with our goals.” Devon is also sending highlight films to schools and reaching out to coaches via email to try and achieve another goal: a place on a college football roster. Going forward, the players will reach for those goals with the support of the community behind them, something the players are thrilled to have. “I absolutely love everything about playing football here,” Devon said. “The fans are behind us and this is the year for us.” KACHINA Quality Dry Cleaning 602-955-5540 3926 E. Indian School Road Arcadia Family Owned & Operated Since 1959 Home & Office Pickup & Delivery Available Devon Furgeson (#3) is one of the captains of the Arcadia football team. GO! FIGHT! WIN! Titans Football in October See schedule on page 68