Today we welcome James Mathis who writes the exciting Father Tom Mysteries!
James Mathis was born in Orlando,
Florida in the halcyon days when the land was covered with orange groves and
swamps, with nary a mouse in sight. He discovered his love for writing in high
school, though history remained his first passion. After getting a PhD in the
subject from the University of Florida, he began an enjoyable career as an
archivist with the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Following a bout with cancer, James
rediscovered his love for writing, beginning a series of mysteries based on the
germ of an idea that he had been toying with for some time. Father Tom Greer is
now among his best friends and most trusted confidant and the two are looking
forward to many adventures in the near future.
What
would you say are your strengths as an author?
I believe my strengths are writing compelling and
believable characters, and crafting plots that compel the reader to keep turning
the page. I've had several comments from readers who said they could not put
the book down once they started reading.
How
often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I try to write every day, though usually that winds up
being six days a week. I still have a full-time job, so I wake up early to get
a couple of hours of writing in before I have to start work. My word goal is at
least 2,000 words a day. I find the pomodoro method of writing sprints (write
for 25 minutes, break for 5) to be very effective. I also track each day's
work, including the days I do not write.
Five
years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
I would like to be making enough as a writer so that,
with my retirement income and living a minimalist lifestyle, can write full
time.
If you
could offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Study the craft of writing, the
discipline of writng, and the business of writing. Develop a consistent writing
habit so you're writing a certain number of words each week (if you cannot
write every day). Decide what you want to write and read books from your genre
to become familiar with the common tropes that readers expect, then try to
think how you can turn those tropes on their head in order to create something
fresh.
What
would you consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?
“I couldn't put it down.”
What
are you working on now?
I've finished The Framed Father, and it will be coming
out on September 1. I am beginning to outline the next book in the series, The
Reluctant Return, which I hope to release in mid-February. I'm also considering
writing a Father Tom Mystery Christmas novella for subscribers to my newsletter
and those who follow me on Facebook.
Website: https://www.jrmathismysteries.com/
Mailing List sign-up (they can also
sign up on my website or Facebook page): https://mailchi.mp/6fca0c513493/newsletter-sign-up
THE
PENITENT PRIEST
A wife murdered.
A killer at large.
A man of God with a
painful secret.
When Tom Greer's wife Joan was murdered and her
killer never caught, he left Myerton determined to leave the painful memories
behind. Ten years later, now-Father Tom Greer returns as the temporary pastor
of Saint Clare's Parish in Myerton—where he married and mourned his wife.
Assigned there for four months, Father Tom’s only desire is to serve God's
people quietly then leave again. He has no desire to revisit the past.
But the past won't leave Father Tom alone…
Secrets uncovered and a mysterious encounter in
the confessional forces Father Tom to confront painful truths about Joan and
her murder. When a police detective—a woman from Father Tom’s own past—refuses
to reopen the case, he decides to take matters into his own hands.
It turns out to be a fateful decision, for
Father Tom has secrets of his own…
Don’t miss this first book in a new clean
mystery thriller series featuring Father Tom Greer.
THE FRAMED FATHER
Forbidden love, murder, and explosive secrets engulf
Father Tom Greer in this second entry in the Father Tom Mysteries.
When the Archbishop receives an anonymous letter alleging
that Saint Clare’s pastor Father Leonard McCoy of inappropriate behavior with
the young parish secretary, he sends Father Tom back to Myerton from the quiet
of the monastery to look into the charges. When the secretary is found dead and
Father McCoy is charged with her murder, he must work against his ex-fiancée
Detective Helen Parr and the State Attorney--who is also her boyfriend--to
prevent a miscarriage of justice.
But everything is not as it seems...
James Mathis’ books are available
from multiple retailers:
The Penitent Priest: https://books2read.com/u/4AK59N
The Framed Father: https://books2read.com/u/bwdAzG
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