Tucson author Shannon Baker was named the 2017 Author of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers  on July 15. This makes Baker a two-time recipient, having been named the 2014 Author of the Year as well.

Baker, author of the Nora Abbott mystery series and Stripped Bare, the first book in the Kate Fox mystery series, said that receiving the award was very special to her.

"I've been a nomad, especially in the last ten years," she said. "I was always an outsider and I never really fit in. So when I joined RMFW, they were kind of a constant for me. They became my substitute for family and community."

She also spoke about her next book, Dark Signal, the second in the Kate Fox series.

"Kate has just been sworn in as county sheriff and she gets a call that there has been a fatality on the train. It's the first case she's ever had as sheriff and it's all new. She kind of has to prove herself."

She said that the book was largely inspired by her husband, Dave Furman, who worked as a train conductor for 42 years.

"When I asked 'how would you kill someone on a train?' it was kind of scary how many ideas he had, right off the top of his head," she laughed.