Palm Springs author James Dain spins a twisted tale in his new mountain resort thriller

A dead skier, a missing phone and a dangerous hit man creatively collide in author James Dain’s compelling new page-turner, “Blood on the Mountain.”

As Dain has done in previous books (“The Body in the Alley,” “Everyone Dies in Youngstown”) he revolves the tale around an ordinary person caught in a maelstrom. In this case, it’s Mag Cutbank, a snowboard instructor hellbent on uncovering the truth about the death of his fiancé, Kayla, who was in a mysterious accident on the slopes.

“Life is a mystery, right? And we don't understand other people,” Dain said of his novel’s plot and characters. “We can never really get into people’s heads and see what's going on, so, I do believe that writing fiction of any sort is a way of putting yourself in other people's shoes — empathetically and understanding their point of view.

“I also believe that especially in thrillers and action-type genres, we use that as a way of processing or imagining ourselves in certain situations,” he added. “You know ... what would we do?”Dain, who lives in Palm Springs and is known as Dave Voda, had that in mind with “Blood on the Mountain.” The captivating tale takes readers to a seemingly tranquil Colorado resort, but the slopes are destined to be stained. As the main drama plays out, Dain’s protagonist finds himself determined to find the truth, and when he does, it’s a life-altering moment.

“I like writing about people trapped in some kind of extraordinary situation and who must rise to the occasion,” Dain said. “That's the vicarious thrill of those kinds of books. From the time we're little kids reading books, until we die, we’re looking for how to relate to other people. I'm trying to imagine how we would handle certain problems.”

Originally from Pittsburgh, Dain’s father was a steel worker, his mother a seamstress. Growing up, he immersed himself with James Bond books and others that were “of a certain era.” Authors Helen MacInnes and Raymond Chandler, for example, were big interests and he also sported a love for science fiction. Mostly, it was the stories that compelled him to follow his creative interests.

Dain moved to New York when he was in his 20s, enjoying the fervor of the Big Apple for about two decades. A move to Los Angeles in the 1990s opened new doors, and he soon started visiting Palm Springs, quickly falling in love with the area. Eventually, he bought a place in Movie Colony, only to lose it during the recession. After leaving the area for work, Palm Springs lured him back and he’s been enjoying the desert scene again since 2015.

The inspiration behind “Blood on the Mountain” began with the locale. Dain was drawn to set the events against a stunning backdrop, hence the ski resort. But that, too, hit close to home. Dain coaches at Big Bear Mountain Resort in Big Bear, is a member of the American Association of Snowboard Instructors, and is a Level 2 certified instructor.

“Blood on the Mountain” is his third novel, and his previous work nabbed the Best Novel award at the Los Angeles Neo-Noir Festival.

“Having worked at a ski resort for the last 16 years, I've seen the inside of all that,” he said of the impetus of his latest read. “Beyond Big Bear, I’ve worked a season up in Colorado and Winter Park. I just kept thinking, ‘What kind of story could I weave around that?’”

He also pointed out the myriad deaths on ski slopes in any given year.

“People die in accidents, they hit trees, they go over cliffs, and so on. That was kind of the inspiration — what if what happened was actually a murder and not an accident? You know, there is some controversy over [former Palm Springs mayor] Sonny Bono, who died in a ski accident. He skied into a tree, apparently, but some people believe that he was assassinated for reasons I don't really know. But that’s the theory going around. So that was kind of in the back of my mind as well.”

It took several years for Dain to work on his thriller, always returning to his work and filling up the blank pages. All the while he credits Palm Springs, in part, for being a source of inspiration.

“This is a beautiful place,” he quipped, noting a recent jaunt to the mud volcanoes along the Salton Sea just to “poke around.”

“I've traveled a lot around the country, and in other countries, and I always kept coming back to Palm Springs as a great place to live, not just to retire.”

When asked what he hope readers take away from “Blood on the Mountain,” he mentions the inner resolve dwelling within all people.

“I hope readers will feel courage to move through any situations that might come up, and I don't want to give away the ending, but when readers get to it, they’ll see it’s an interesting quandary about why people commit crimes,” he said. “Like, why did they go off their rocker?”

“Blood on the Mountain” is also part of Dain’s Hard Knocks series of books, which he’s clearly passionate about. He culls from real-life, too, and enjoys his work in the desert.

“I’m an adjunct at College of the Desert. Often, it depends on how much work they have, but when I teach English there, I’m reminded that I came from a blue color, working-class family,” he said. “So, the Hard Knocks series reflects how life knocks you around every now and then, but that those situations usually give you an interesting opening to move through something.”

“Blood on the Mountain” is available on Amazon and most major booksellers. Learn more about James Dain at JamesDain.com.

Greg Archer’s features on the entertainment industry have appeared in the USA Today Network, MovieWeb, The Advocate, Palm Springs Life, and other media outlets. His memoir, "Grace Revealed," chronicles his Polish family's odyssey during World War II. gregarcher.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs author spins twisted tale in new mountain resort thriller