# A Serial Killer Stalks Pastors in Upstate New York



## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Only $4.99 from Amazon Kindle!

He calls himself the Coppersmith&#8230;

A religious fanatic bent on murder, he begins systematically eliminating pastors in Upstate New York. From small towns to large cities he selects his victims, seemingly at random, and subjects them to a torturous death.

Janelle Becker is the agent with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit charged with solving the crimes. But even with the Bureau's resources, she finds herself ill-prepared to unravel the Coppersmith's message. Why do his methods keep changing? How can they know where he'll strike next? And can she escape her own dark past before it's too late?

As she and her fellow agents track down the clues of the Coppersmith, they find themselves following an ancient itinerary that hearkens back to the steps of the apostle Paul. It becomes a race against this faceless killer as they struggle to predict his movements and get ahead of his deadly message of judgment. Can they stop him in time?

The Coppersmith


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Michael-

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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks, Betsy and Ann. Reminders are good things! I'm just grateful to have another book available (finally!).


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

The book is really taking off in sales! I am so delighted! In one week, I sold more than fifteen copies (which is high for an unknown newbie like me!).

Thanks everyone who bought a copy!


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

Congratulations on your sales, Michael.

May you have many more, your book is on my tbr list.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Haven't seen any reviews yet of this latest work (actually, it's my first work), so if you've had a chance to read it, I'd appreciate your thoughts. 

A while back I started work on a sequel, and I'd like to know whether there's any interest.

Thanks!


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Sales for The Coppersmith continue to be strong. I hope those who read it enjoy the characters and the storyline. No reviews yet, but it's been "liked" by those who purchased it. Guess that's a good sign.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Here's an excerpt from the planned sequel to The Coppersmith. It's nowhere's near finished, and needs a serious rewrite of several key passages, but this one passage comes off pretty well, I think. The sequel is called Topheth, and it's about a serial arsonist burning churches. Once again, Janelle Becker is called to hunt him down. Anyway, let me know what you think.

_Fire blazes before him, roiling clouds of black smoke smelling of burning vinyl, fuel and rubber. Glass shatters and crackles as the flames press against the van's windows. Inside is Ashley. Little Ashley. He screams to her but she doesn't answer. He reaches for her but a wave of heat slams him to the ground. Ashley, Ashley!

Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.

His sob broke the silence and he looked up, startled by the sound.

Let me go, Daddy.

No, Ashley. It's time to come home.

Please, let me go.

Come home.

Daddy-

Now.

He picked up the bottle and the lighter, striding quickly to the front of the church. He splashed the fuel across the altar, the pulpit, and the new screen for the projector. He ran a line of it along the back bench of the choir loft, watching it dribble in sagging streams down the back of the pew. He dumped more on the carpet in front of the altar.

No, Daddy!

"It's time to come home, now." He bent forward and lit the cigarette lighter, holding the flame close to the fuel-soaked carpet.

"Obey your Daddy, now."

A burst of orange and blue flame shot out along the carpet, flickering whimsically under the altar. It reached the line of gasoline that had fallen down the right leg and started lapping greedily up the table. He stared at the flame, fascinated by the demon's pulsations. The fire climbed up the altar, and the line on the floor spread to the pulpit. Heat pushed against his face. It was a dance of hunger, a gyrating pulse of pure desire caressing, embracing, licking, gorging itself upon the wood.

Ashley.

The heat stroked his face, inviting. He gave himself to it, fingers of warmth his neck, his arms, his torso, his loins. He was aroused. Later, he'd feel guilty for this foreplay. Right now, he wanted to give himself to it, to let the spirit that claimed his daughter's life bring him to climax. He pushed out a heavy breath and retreated to the far pew. He fished out a fresh cigarette and stuck it between his teeth. The heat hadn't reached the rear of the church, and the back of the pew still felt cool to his touch. His desire subsided.

That was always the danger. The demon wanted him. It craved his flesh, to possess him body and soul-a lover whose embrace would kill. But the demon also carried his daughter's essence. He could bring her back, but only through fire. The succubus brought her with it, dangling her presence, her smell before him, bait to lure him into the infernal coitus. It was a treacherous courtship, letting the demon woo him. He gave the spirit the churches instead, letting it satiate its hunger on those who'd wrought his grief.

He took a drag from his cigarette and leaned his head against his closed fist. God, how he missed her! Firelight flickered before him, brightening the church with its intensity. A clump of ash fell away from his cigarette, collapsing on the floor like a delicate, gray snowflake. A single touch would smear it into oblivion.

Something fell up front, sending a shower of sparks toward the ceiling. He started, looking up at the front of the church engulfed in flames. Outside the church, flashes of red pulsated against the windows. He'd stayed too long. Swallowing hard, he pushed himself from the pew and darted for the exit. He grabbed the handle and pulled, stunned when the door refused to budge. He tugged again, but it wouldn't open. Behind him, he heard the demon laugh. He turned around, staring wide-eyed at the entrance to hell he'd opened up. The abyss of fire and smoke stood yawning before him. He turned and yanked on the door. _


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

I must say, I am a little surprised by how well The Coppersmith is selling. Over the past three months, it has been, hands-down, my number one generator for sales. It accounted for the bulk of my sales in April and May, and nearly half the sales in June (which is when I released a third book.). That being said, the sales haven't slacked off at all. It has consistently sold right around the same amount each month. With my other books, I expect to see a bump and lag in sales, but not this one.

I'm curious to see if this holds true for some of the other books I'll be releasing soon.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Finally got around to beginning the rewrite of the sequel to The Coppersmith, called Topheth. I managed to completely redo the second chapter, which puts the hero, Special Agent Janelle Becker, more in line with who she is in the first novel (ie: struggling against an addiction to prescription pain meds). I haven't looked too heavily at the rest of it yet (still trying to finish another novel first), but it doesn't look like it'll be that much trouble to get it in shape. And with 25K words already written, it shouldn't take that long to get it finished. I think you'll like it.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Something rather startling has happened. I'm not sure if it relates to the simple reporting of cumulative sales over several months into one month, or if it's reflective of a single month's sales, but The Coppersmith really took off in the Apple I-Tunes store last month. I more than doubled my total sales for the month just with The Coppersmith alone.

That's pretty amazing, if you ask me.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

I've been plugging away at the unfinished projects on my plate, taking them one at a time instead of four at once, and I'm finally making some headway. The good news, for fans of The Coppersmith , is that I'll finally be getting to work on the sequel, Topheth, in a few more weeks. I'm wrapping up the sequel to a traditionally published novel this week, and immediately after I'll be penning the last third of a fantasy-psychothriller novel I've been working on since April.

Immediately on the heels of that, I get to work on Topheth. I'm expecting to begin right around October, and I hope to wrap it up before the end of the year--maybe even before December. At any rate, that's the plan!


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Okay, okay. So it looks like Topheth will have to be on hold a little longer. I guess you could say I got sidetracked with NaNoWriMo, although the simple truth is that I've been stuck on a different project for a little while now - making very little progress, actually.

Nevertheless, I am committed to getting Topheth done in the near future, so hopefully we won't have to wait long.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

So it looks like The Coppersmith is my best seller for 2011, and this despite being listed for only half the year! I'm very pleased with the results and hope I've made some fans out there.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

The Coppersmith continues to surprise and enage new readers every week. I'm hard at work on the sequel, too. It's worth a look.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Try this mystery on for size. If you want to solve the puzzle of The Coppersmith, you'll need a map of New York State, and a working knowledge of the New Testament. Barring that, I recommend a quick read through the book of Acts.

See if you can figure out why the Coppersmith does what he does, as well as where and when, before the FBI profilers do.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Still plugging away at the sequel. The book is being reviewed by my Wednesday evening Writer's Group at the library, and they've been offering quite useful critiques--as well as encouragement. It's tricky picking up the threads of a story I set aside so long ago, but it's getting easier. The more time I spend with it, the stronger the story feels - though I can definitely see areas between then and now where I've grown as a writer.

One of the encouraging things my group recently said to me, while reading some of the "back story" in _Topheth_, is that they wanted to read _The Coppersmith_ now, just based on what I described.

If you're looking for a good summer read, this may be the one for you.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

I've got two new reviews of The Coppersmith up (finally!), with at least two more on the way.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

The Coppersmith will be FREE as a Kindle Select Promo from Wednesday, August 29 through Friday, August 31st. Grab it while it's hot!


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

The Coppersmith has surprised me by being my number one bestseller since publishing independently. We gave away almost 14K copies during our free promo, and since then it has continued to far outstrip everything else in sales. The book is really taking off.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

So far, out of 23 reviews, The Coppersmith is garnering a solid 4.2 stars on Amazon!


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## lanaslifetips (Sep 25, 2012)

Hi I am new and apparently I have to do a post like this before I can do anything else.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

lanaslifetips said:


> Hi I am new and apparently I have to do a post like this before I can do anything else.


No problem, Lanaslifetips. I've been there myself.


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

Just a few days ago, sales of The Coppersmith topped a thousand. This is in addition to the nearly 14K copies given away at the last promo. This means The Coppersmith has outsold all my other books combined. Not bad at all, given that it's my very first novel!


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## Michael J. Scott (Sep 2, 2010)

I was talking with my son the other day (also a writer) about a movie we'd recently rented - a psychothriller (don't blame me. His Mom wanted to see it!), and we were discussing the nature of the serial killer, especially the way he blamed the victim for his own actions. I mentioned this is fairly typical of serial killers, and he wondered how I knew.

Naturally, I said, "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you."

No, I didn't say that. What I did say is that I had to do a lot of research into the minds of serial killers in order to write The Coppersmith in the first place. Definitely one of the creepiest subjects I ever had to study. But I think the result is convincing.

Read it for yourself and see if you agree.


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