Former Missourian reporter Mark Bliss publishes mystery novel

Former Southeast Missourian reporter Mark Bliss has published his first mystery novel.

Mark Bliss

Bliss' new book, "Foul Rising," takes place in a fictional city of Elmwood, Missouri, and its neighboring village across the Mississippi River, East Elmwood, Illinois.

"It really centers around the floodwall and a fictitious city in Southeast Missouri," Bliss said. "But I'm sure people locally read it will probably read it's very much like Cape."

The story centers around an uncovered plot to blow up the floodwall in Elmwood, the murder of a bartender who happens to be the mayor's nephew and two news reporters, Connor Tate and Rachel Short, who are tasked with solving the two mysteries.

"I could not have written this book if I had not previously been a newspaper reporter," Bliss said. "Because a lot of the observations about flooding, as a result of having witnessed floods, and written about them and interviewed people who are in the middle of a flood fight.

"In general, I think any writer of fiction takes what that person knows in describing a town, or describing the landscape or whatever. I think they take what they've seen and experienced and turn that into a community. Even though it's fictitious, there has to be some reality to it."

Bliss began writing the book in January 2020 and finished in February of the same year.

"I spent the next several months revising the manuscript," Bliss said. "With the pandemic, the process slowed down. But I ramped up revisions to the novel last fall as I looked at best way to get my book into print."

Bliss self-published the book with the help of a friend who lives in Springfield, Missouri. He hopes to turn his novel into a series revolving around Tate and Short, and has already begun planning the next book.

"Foul Rising" is available on www.Amazon.com, the Kindle Store and Kindle Unlimited. Bliss also plans to sell copies at www.Facebook.com/MarkHBliss15, and is available by email at mbliss3901@yahoo.com.