Yuma author hosts book signing event and dramatic reading

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma local, Allen T. Grimes, performed a dramatic reading and signing his new book 'When the Lantern Swings' at the Yuma Foothills Library on Saturday July 6 from 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Grimes's novel was released July 2, 2024.

Grimes is a retired Special Agent with the FBI and former Akron Police Officer and now he is pursuing his career as a writer.

He says his inspiration for 'When the Lantern Swings' stemmed from his honeymoon trip he took with his wife and this book was actually 37 years in the making.

The book is about Ed Freemen, retired cop turned senior park ranger, came to Lake Hope looking for a fresh start after shooting a teenage robbery suspect armed only with a BB gun. But his dream of writing citations and leading nature walks is shattered when the mangled remains of a young woman are found on the Moonville Rail Trail. It looks like she was run over by a train, but the tracks were removed forty years ago.

Freemen and his team discover the legend of a railroad worker run over by a train a hundred years before. The ghost returns every ten years to wreak vengeance on the guests of Lake Hope State Park. As more bodies are discovered, he is tormented by the voice of the dead teen. Despite his deteriorating mental state, Freemen must overcome the ghost of his past and stop the lantern-wielding menace before he reaches his diabolical quota for this decade.

You can purchase the paperback copy of 'When the Lantern Swings' for $16.95 on his website, or you can get it on Amazon starting Tuesday, July 9.