By Rick Madewell
Assistant Editor

Mike Leach received an indelible influence early on by the veterans around him. He spent time on the front porch steps of cracker homes in St. Cloud as they swapped stories about World War II and the Korean War.

He listened to them. Closely. And he realized at a very young age that “freedom is not free” and that perpetual vigilance is the price of maintaining it. He understood it enough — at that very young age — that he knew he would take it to his grave.

Leach recently had his first — he’s saying there are more to come — novel published, “Lords of Circumstance.” It tracks the lives of two men who face difficult times in their early lives but later unite to locate the ultimate biological weapon that was decades ahead of its time.

The book, printed at the end of October, already is receiving extraordinarily high marks by reviewers.

A check of Amazon.com shows five stars out of five stars as the average review of it. Out of the 30 reviews of the book listed earlier this week, all gave it the highest marks possible except for two, who gave it an extremely respectable four stars. All were highly complimentary and some even compared the newbie author to the famed writer James Patterson.

Here are a few of those reviews:

• “Wow! What a captivating read. Leach holds your interest with his unique style that allows the reader to visualize every twist and turn in every city and country his subjects visit. I couldn't put it down and have already suggested it to my Kindle friends. Can't wait for his next story!”

• “Mike Leach joins the short list of rookies who hit a home run their first time at bat. His intricate plot and fascinating characters held my interest from page 1. I loved the unpredictable twists and turns as I tried to guess at the next action. Lords of Circumstance cost me a couple of nights of sleep. I couldn't stop reading until well past the time I knew I should be going to sleep. I expect many more great stories from this writer and look forward to the sequel.”

• “This book is so well done I was honestly disbelieving this was a first effort, but must accept the author's word. The plot is masterly constructed and the ending is a total surprise. Mr Leach has a gift for character development that makes his protagonists both real and empathetic. You genuinely care about them and what happens to them.”

Leach said he was inspired to write the novel by growing up in St. Cloud, and was influenced greatly by some of his teachers.

“My third-grade teacher at Ross Jeffries Elementary School, Louise Barton, got it all started,” he said. “Later, a very special St. Cloud High School English teacher, Barbara L. Clark, had even more impact. Her influence over a two-year period was critical. ‘Lords of Circumstance’ is dedicated to her memory.”

The author said he spent two years of researching and writing for the book and another, because of the response, will soon follow.

“The response to ‘Lords of Circumstance’ has been overwhelming,” he said. “Once you’ve read it, you’ll understand that it demands a sequel. It’s already under way.”

Although Leach said he knew at young age he was destined to write, he didn’t realize he had what it took to put together a novel until 2008, when he entered a contest in North Carolina that required only the first chapter of a novel — 1,500 words — be entered.

He won first place.

When presented the award by an internationally known writer, Leach was told, “It would be a shame not to finish this story.”

“So,” Leach said, “500 pages later I did.”

He said his family has given him great encouragement with the book.

“My wife, Gail, as well as other family members, have commented about getting so engrossed in reading the book that they frequently forgot who had written it,” he said. “For a writer, that’s the ultimate compliment.”

The book is $14.95 in paperback on Amazon.com, $7.99 for the Kindle edition.