Downey author returns for book signing
DOWNEY — Downey native Shannon Capps will be at the City Library on Saturday, May 14th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. to meet readers and sign copies of his new novel, Runaway Train, the story of a young TV reporter caught in a web of corruption.
“I’m beyond excited, " Capps, who graduated from Warren High in 1982, says. “That library is directly responsible for my lifelong love affair with books. I spent countless hours there as a kid—and loved every minute!"
Capps, 58, grew up on Guatemala Avenue in Downey, attending Roger Casier, Maude Price, Griffiths Middle and Warren High schools. He went on to graduate from the University of Southern California with a degree in Broadcast Journalism before working as a TV reporter in Texas and Oklahoma.
"The new novel is loosely based on my time as a journalist," Capps, who writes under the name S.W. Capps, says. “And with recent studies showing trust in the media at all-time lows, the timing for a book like this is perfect.”
Those studies are revealing. According to a recent Gallup poll, only 9 percent of Americans “trust the media a great deal”, while 33 percent “don’t trust them at all”.
“It didn’t used to be that way,” Capps says. “When I started out in the business, people trusted the Dan Rathers and Tom Brokaws of the world. But somewhere along the way, that changed. My new book sheds some light on how it all happened.”
Runaway Train, published by D.X. Varos, Ltd. in Denver, Colorado, is set in 1987, shortly after the FCC killed the Fairness Doctrine. It is the story of a wary first-time TV reporter, forced to confront the sinister forces behind the station he works for.
The novel, an ‘Independent Press’, ‘Reading the West’ and ‘Eric Hoffer’ book awards nominee, is Capps' third work of fiction, the Midwest Book Review calling it “a solid, fast-paced action piece, compelling on many levels, from social commentary to intrigue”.
“Good reviews are nice,” Capps says, “but talking to readers is the real reward. And in this case, I’ll have the opportunity to spend time in a place I love and catch up with some old friends.”
Capps will be making the trip to Downey from Brush Prairie, Washington, where he now lives. Since leaving the world of television news, he has spent much of his time on two wheels, exploring the country via motorcycle and writing about it. Over the years, his features have appeared in Rider, RoadBike, and RoadRUNNER magazines. And he is currently working on a childhood memoir set entirely in Downey.
The City Library is one of the last stops on Capps’ book tour, one that included signings in Arizona, Oregon and Washington. Copies of Runaway Train will be available for purchase at the Cormack Room event, but Capps will also be happy to sign pre-purchased copies.
The novel is available in paperback and eBook on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and the author’s Web site at swcapps.com. For more information about the May 14th event, which is free to the public, readers are encouraged to contact the Friends of the Downey City Library (friendsofthedowneylibrary@gmail.com, 562-231-7099, 11121 Brookshire Avenue, Downey