"Perception of Power by Bruce Thomason, is more than three hundred pages of nonstop thrills. The conspiracies leading to the crime, as well as the resulting investigation, are planned meticulously. This book is a page-turner with an excellent narrative. The suspenseful nature of the drama is taken to its pinnacle with competence and efficiency by the backdrop of characters. With a flurry of side plots to add interesting twists and turns, this book is capable of engaging a reader completely. And the characters are well crafted; I sympathized with all of them, including the villains." -- Readers' Favorite
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tallahassee, FL. With its tenth annual competition now complete, the Florida Book Awards has announced winners for books published in 2015.
Bruce Thomason, Jacksonville Beach, was awarded the Bronze Medal in Popular Fiction for Perception of Power (BATJAK Publishing).
More than 200 eligible publications were submitted across the nine categories of competition. Coordinated by the Florida State University libraries, the Florida Book Awards is the nation's most comprehensive state book awards program. Submissions for the 2015 awards were read by juries of three members, each nominated from across the state by co-sponsoring organizations.
The Beaches Leader
Jacksonville Beach, FL
Bruce Thomason, retired Jacksonville Beach Police Chief and current city councilor, recently published his third crime thriller, Perception of Power. The setting for all three novels is Jacksonville Beach and features fictional characters from the police department. Thomason, a law enforcement veteran of 45 years, first ventured into writing fiction in 2007 when he penned a short story as a Christmas present for his three grandchildren. Santa’s Super Rescue; How Beezle T. Claus Tried To Steal Christmas starred the children, all of whom had super powers they used to help Santa save Christmas. That experience, along with encouragement from his wife, Jackie, convinced Thomason to try his hand at a novel involving the gritty world of crime and police work. Body Toll, published in 2008, is the tale of a serial killer stalking his victims in Jacksonville Beach and is the first of three novels in the ongoing Detective Clay Randall Thriller Series. The Six O’clock Rule followed in 2010, featuring Randall’s investigation into a high-level drug ring that leads to multiple murders and eventually reaches its tentacles into the police department. Then came a five-year gap before the Perception of Power was published. Retiring in 2012, Thomason felt the need to decompress for a while. “At least, that’s the excuse I give for taking another three years to finish the story,” Thomason laughs. In the new book, the action starts early as Clay Randall draws the wrath of a powerful United States Senator, who becomes obsessed with destroying him. “This story is as much a political thriller as a crime thriller,” Thomason said. In addition to the U.S. senator, characters include members of the Jacksonville Beach City Council, which Thomason is quick to point out are not patterned after current or former council members. “While there are a few characters based on real people, the politicians are total fabrications,” he insisted. Thomason said there are more adventures to come for Clay Randall. In addition, he and his wife, who serves as his editor and primary sounding board for plot and character development, are exploring the possibility of coauthoring a crime novel. “The only thing we haven’t decided is how to resolve creative conflicts when both our names are on the book,” Thomason said. The novels, including Perception of Power, are available in trade paperback and digital formats at brucethomason.com, Amazon, Barnes and Noble/Nook, and iBooks.
