About the Author: Douglas Schofield
Douglas Schofield was raised and educated in British Columbia, where he earned degrees in History and Law. Over the next four decades, he worked as a trial lawyer in Canada, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. During those years, he prosecuted and defended hundreds of cases of serious crimes, and at one point held the position of Assistant Solicitor General in the Cayman Islands Government.
Although Douglas dabbled in creative writing for many years, Flight Risks was his first novel, published while he was fully engaged in his legal career. Enthusiastic reader feedback clearly justified the publisher’s initial reaction. A January 2011 review in Victoria Times-Colonist, a leading daily newspaper in Western Canada, described Flight Risks as:
“…a fast-paced snappy thriller … utterly believable … The resolution, while something of a surprise, is absolutely satisfying”
Over the years since then, Douglas has published five more novels and one well-received work of non-fiction. The latter, Giovanni’s Ring – My Life Inside The Real Sopranos, was the result of his collaboration with Giovanni Rocco, a former FBI undercover officer who infiltrated the New Jersey crime family known to law enforcement as “the true Sopranos.”
Which brings us to Douglas Schofield’s most recent novel.
The Last Viracocha, was released in December, 2024, and it is very much a different story. Its science-fiction / alien-contact premise is a significant departure of genre from his previous work. But The Last Viracocha is one he felt driven to write due to the currently calamitous state of our planet.
THE LAST VIRACOCHA
by Douglas Schofield
[WGAw Reg. No. 2167836]
In Incan legends, the Viracocha were the creators of civilization. They were said to have risen from Lake Titicaca during a time of darkness, wandered as beggars, and taught the people sustainable forestry and agriculture. One day, they disappeared into the western sky and never returned. Andean mythology insists that the Viracocha will re-appear in a time of great trouble.
Archaeologist Eve Barcelon is undeniably living in a time of great trouble. Runaway global warming, poisoned oceans, killer storms, gigantic forest fires, floods, droughts, and insane wars—in every possible way, humanity is courting its own destruction.
Eve cares about the state of the planet, but as an individual feels helpless. She was raised mainly by her mother, her father a remote figure, often away for weeks at a time. His neglect has affected her deeply. Eve was a supremely gifted student, earning her Ph.D. and an assistant professorship at Harvard University by her early twenties. Determined to put the pain behind her, her sole focus is on her academic career.
So, when she is approached by a mysterious philanthropic organization, and asked to lead an expedition to the newly-discovered ruins of an ancient Mayan city, she jumps at the opportunity.
And this is when events spin out of control. She finds herself drawn into a violent journey of discovery, from Belize to the high Andes of Peru, hunted by the implacable leader of a rogue American Army unit, and courted by another military operative she has no reason to trust.
Soon, Eve Barcelon will learn shocking facts about her ancestry.
Soon, she will discover an inexplicable inherited power.
And, soon, she will learn how vital she is to the preservation of humanity.
