March 15, 2009 – Fort Worth, Texas – With the controversy surrounding American immigration policy and the continuing violence and chaos brought on by the Mexican drug trade, Jeffrey Osburn has written a novel that could very well have been written in today’s headlines.

Under the Fifth Sun (StoneGarden Publishing, 1-60076-128-3) began years ago, with Osburn’s interest in Mexican history and contemporary culture. Having studied both pre- and post-Colombian history and the cultural anthropology of Latin America, he searched for a way to dramatize the historical and current issues that make Mexico the source of fascination it has always been for Osburn.

The book is populated by a Customs and Border Protection agent caught up in international intrigue, the colorful directors of an up-and-coming defense contractor, two cousins who illegally enter the U.S. seeking jobs, the ambitious and nefarious leader of the Sonora Drug Cartel, and a newly elected Mexican president embroiled in a bitter political rivalry, all intersecting in a fast-paced plot feeding off today’s issues.

The author and business executive leverages his personal and professional experience to create realistic fiction that is both engaging and enlightening. His novels use contemporary hot-button topics to challenge and inform readers about the mutual interests at stake in the Americas including border security, immigration reform, drug and human trafficking and the emergence of popular socialism. Osburn wrote most of Under the Fifth Sun in two to three hour blocks each night over the course of a year. Fortunately, he was able to coax out of retirement an experienced copy editor—his mother—for a few days to put the final touches on the galleys before printing.

Jeffrey Osburn is a member of the Writers League of Texas and lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife Rosalinda, their daughter Ashley and son Travis. Under the Fifth Sun can be ordered online at Amazon.com and Stonegarden.net.

Review copies and interviews upon request.

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