Oregon Chief Garners Writer’s Grand Prize

Oregon police chief and author Ken Lewis was named the First Grand Prize winner in the National Public Safety Writers Association 2010 writing competition for his 2009 crime fiction thriller "Little Blue Whales" during the PSWA annual conference June 17-20 at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. First Place in the competition was awarded to author Mike Orenduff for "The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy" and Second Place to Mark Bouton for "The Second Savior."

Lewis, a thirty year veteran of law enforcement, has been Chief of the Rogue River, OR Police Department for the past nine years, having moved to the Rogue Valley with his wife JaNell after previously serving as the Brookings, OR police chief for two years and before that, Chief of the La Push, WA Police Department (one of the fictional settings for the Stephenie Meyer's cult classic series of "Twilight" novels) for twelve years. "Little Blue Whales," framed against the breathtaking backdrop of the southern Oregon coast, tells the story of a police officer who, while trying to outrun his past, brings the deadly consequences of his actions into the town and lives of the people he has sworn to protect. Lewis, who is represented by The Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency of Hollywood, CA., says that his next book "The Sparrow's Blade," a sequel to "Little Blue Whales," is scheduled for release in November of 2010. "Little Blue Whales" can be found locally at Oregon Books in Grants Pass, Barnes & Noble in Medford, and Rogue River Pharmacy in Rogue River, and online booksellers everywhere, including Amazon's Kindle Store.