Proud T-burg resident publishes new thriller

Trumansburg’s own Tom Harley Campbell has just published his second John Burke mystery, “Blue Book.”

The suspenseful thriller follows the adventures of retired homicide detective John Burke, who returns to investigate a cold case involving the unsolved death of a Mississippi cop. His investigation leads him to a nearby Air Force base, where Project Blue Book, a government project on UFO phenomena, is being studied. Will Burke end up in the dangerous crosshairs?

The proud Trumansburg resident was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, before coming to town in 1981 to play bass in Mac Benford’s old-time string band. He met his wife, Annie, almost immediately after moving to the area, and they have been married for 40 years. His wife is an artist and also a writer, and the Campbells play in TOiVO, a local dance band.

“I love everything about the Ithaca and Trumansburg area — the gorges, the lakes, the four seasons, the generally liberal vibe, the wine, the beer, the food, the golf — all of it,” Campbell said in an email.

The author is in his element here in Trumansburg.

“Trumansburg is full of artists, writers, scientists, social activists — a lot of people trying to do the right thing,” Campbell said. “I can’t think of anywhere I would rather live.”

“Blue Book” is dedicated to the memory of Campbell’s childhood friend and classmate Karl Quintanilla. Quintanilla’s father, then Maj. Hector Quintanilla, was the last director of Project Blue Book, the United States government’s study of UFOs, which was headquartered in Area B at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, just over a mile from Campbell’s home.

In 1968, a year before Project Blue Book was shut down, Campbell interviewed his friend’s father for a high school journalism class assignment, and Hector shared his insights.

“He fed me all the same stuff that he was feeding the press back then, but when we finished the interview, I asked him — off the record — what he really thought about UFOs,” Campbell said. “He said, ‘Tom, I believe that it would be awfully arrogant of us to think that we are the only intelligent life that exists in this vast universe.’”

Campbell was introduced to journalism during his junior year. After high school, he attended Ohio University for a year in hopes of becoming a journalist. Campbell says he’s dabbled in a few newspaper and magazine projects and the occasional short story since then.

Along with being dedicated to his late friend and classmate Karl, “Blue Book” features two main characters who are loosely based on Karl and his father.

Campbell and his late friend lost touch after high school, when Karl’s family moved back to Texas after Project Blue Book ended.

“I tried in vain to track him down in the last few years, and finally found out that he died a few years ago,” he said. “He never knew about the book. I have since reconnected with one of his sisters. She is now reading ‘Blue Book.’”

The local author shared that he believes in UFOs and intelligent life beyond Earth.

“Twice — once in Ohio as a young man, and once here in Ithaca 40 years ago — I saw something in the sky that I could not explain,” Campbell said.

Campbell cites Frank Drake, a Cornell University professor and astrophysicist who developed the now-famous “Drake Formula” in the 1960s, which asserts that the Milky Way alone likely contains millions of advanced civilizations.

Two-time author Campbell draws a subtle parallel between his favorite writers and his own work.

“My favorite is Swedish writer Henning Mankell, who wrote the Kurt Wallander mysteries. I mentioned him in passing in ‘Blue Book,’” Campbell said. “I didn’t realize until after I wrote ‘Satan’s Choir,’ the first John Burke mystery, that my protagonist was a lot like Wallander — conflicted, divorced, with a single child who also becomes a cop.”

Despite the rise of digital publications, Campbell believes that tangible books will always exist, and he offers some sage advice for those who dream of writing a book.

“Stop talking about it and write the damn book!” he said. “The writing is the fun part. The publishing end of it? — a total beating and a brutal slog that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But then, I’m an old fart and old school. I’m sure the publishing process might not be so intimidating to younger writers.”

Campbell said he writes fairly quickly, completing the first drafts of both “Satan’s Choir” and “Blue Book” in about six months before finding a solid editor.

Greg Dearth, a musician and artist from Dayton, Ohio, designed the covers for both of Campbell’s books. Dearth, a long-time friend of Campbell, quickly transformed the vision into art.

“Greg and I tossed around ideas,” Campbell said. “He would send a sketch, I would okay that, and then, boom! It was done. Both covers only give away the very first pages of the books. The covers are oil paintings, which are now stretched and framed and hanging in my man cave.”

With two books under his belt, Campbell says his other interests, such as golf, bring him joy.

“We have a magnificent golf course in Trumansburg,” he said. “I also like doing little projects in and around the house, and Annie and I both enjoy gardening.”

“Blue Book” was published by Cayuga Street Press. A book launch and signing party was hosted at Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts earlier this month. “Blue Book” is available in Ithaca at Odyssey Bookstore, Pastimes in the Dewitt Mall, Lincoln Street Diner and Barnes & Noble.

Learn more about Tom Harley Campbell at tomharleycampbell.com.

Trumansburg Connection appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.