Today we welcome author ATHOL DICKSON and another of his great books.
If you like suspense, you can't miss this one!
January Justice (The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs #1)
QUICK FACTS:
Release Date: November 29th, 2012.
Genre: Murder Mystery.
Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback, Kindle, PDF
The book is PG 13. Very little sex and nothing explicit in any way. There is some violence but again nothing graphic: gun shots, etc…
Synopsis:
Reeling from his wife’s unsolved murder, Malcolm Cutter is just going through the motions as a chauffeur and bodyguard for Hollywood’s rich and famous.
Then a pair of Guatemalan tough guys offer him a job. It’s an open question whether they’re patriotic revolutionaries or vicious terrorists. Either way, Cutter doesn’t much care until he gets a bomb through his window, a gangland beating on the streets of L.A., and three bullets in the chest.
Now there’s another murder on Cutter’s Mind.
His own.
Then a pair of Guatemalan tough guys offer him a job. It’s an open question whether they’re patriotic revolutionaries or vicious terrorists. Either way, Cutter doesn’t much care until he gets a bomb through his window, a gangland beating on the streets of L.A., and three bullets in the chest.
Now there’s another murder on Cutter’s Mind.
His own.
- So tell me about your new murder mystery, January Justice.
The
back cover pretty well tells the story: Reeling from his wife's
unsolved murder, Malcolm Cutter is just going through the motions as
a chauffeur and bodyguard for Hollywood's rich and famous. Then a
pair of Guatemalan tough guys offer him a job. It's an open question
whether they're patriotic revolutionaries or vicious terrorists.
Either way, Cutter doesn't much care until he gets a bomb through his
window, a gangland beating on the streets of L.A., and three bullets
in the chest. Now there's another murder on Cutter's Mind. His own.
January
Justice is the first in a new series will follows Malcolm Cutter as
he works as a chauffeur/crime sleuth and looks for his wife’s
murderer on the side.
- When did you decide to become a writer?
I
didn’t really make a decision to become a writer, so much as it
just happened. I was working as a partner in an architectural firm,
and spending most of my days dealing with handling business issues
instead of having fun designing buildings, which was not what I had
in mind when I went into architecture. I wanted some kind of creative
release, and I’ve always loved to read murder mysteries, so I
decided to try my hand at writing one. A couple of years later, I met
a newspaper editor who had good connections in the publishing world.
He volunteered to read my novel, and to my surprise, he thought it
was pretty good. He gave me my first professional editorial advice,
and after I made the changes he suggested, he sent the manuscript to
some friends of his. The next thing I knew, I had an offer from a
publisher.
It was all sort of accidental, so I never really
thought of writing as anything more than a hobby. But I enjoyed it,
and I had a publisher, so I kept writing. Then one of my novels won
an award and I flew to Denver to receive it. When they stood me up on
stage and praised the book and gave me a round of applause, I
remember thinking that somehow, I had become a writer. That was the
first time it sank in.
- Do you have specific habits when you write?
I
write toward a specific goal every day. Sometimes it’s a certain
number of words, and sometimes it’s the completion of a scene, but
one way or the other I give myself that goal and I keep writing until
I get there.
- Are you an early bird or night owl?
I’m
a morning person, usually up by five or five thirty, and working no
later than seven.
- If you could have coffee with any character of any book, who would it be and why?
Sherlock
Holmes would be near the top of the list. I’d like to try to stump
him. Also, I think it would be fun to have tea, not coffee, with Miss
Marple. I’d love to hear her call me “dear.” And Sam Spade, for
the witty banter.
- What do you do, besides writing?
Boats
and boating are a passion, and have been since I was very young. One
of the earliest photos of me was taken while I was “steering” a
boat on a lake. (Actually, I think it was my uncle doing the driving
while I sat on his lap, but I didn’t seem to realize that at the
time.) A few years later, I built a boat from Styrofoam packing
material one time and floated down a creek and into an underground
drainage culvert, which didn’t open up again for about three city
blocks. That was a big adventure. And just a few years ago my wife
and I sold our house and cars and moved aboard a boat and cruised on
it for a year, along the Gulf of Mexico’s northern coast, and up
and down the eastern seaboard of the United States.
- Is there something you want the readers to know about you?
I’m
humble but lovable, and if you don’t believe it, just ask me.
- Best reward as a writer?
When
I finish a scene, and I know it’s good, that’s a fantastic
feeling.
- How do you react to a bad review?
Over
the years I’ve had very few really bad reviews, and the few I’ve
had, I ignore. There have been maybe three or four from individual
readers on Amazon, and none from professional reviewers in print. So
I figure the best thing is to go on pleasing the majority instead of
worrying about the opinion of a small minority.
- Do you have a good relationship with your fans?
Of
course! How could I not love a fan?
PRAISE FOR "JANUARY JUSTICE"
I was looking forward to reading this book especially when I discovered the author was returning to the mystery thriller genre. No one can weave a story, create real live characters and make someone enjoy the English language as much as Athol Dickson can. From page one I was hooked. The story was intense and deep. The plot was complex but I never felt lost. We stayed right with the main character Malcolm Cutter as he deals with his wife's death, re-cooperates from a near death experience and tries to get his life back together while undergoing a deep international plot to clear a terrorist organization of wrong-doing.
Never before in a book have I ever become so well-acquainted with a person who was never in the book but only mentioned in a past tense. It could only have been pulled off by an author that understands human nature and how we think deep inside.
- Steve Taylor-
Excerpt
Chapter 48:
One of the strangest things about the city was the sudden way it disappeared around the edges. One minute you were down on Sunset Boulevard surrounded by glass and concrete, and the next thing you knew you were up on Mulholland Drive, alone in the rough country. From a high window or a rooftop almost anywhere in Los Angeles you could see the mountains, and there was always something ravenous up there looking down.
I was up among the hungry creatures, standing at the edge of a cliff, with Hollywood and Santa Monica far below me in the distance. One step forward and I would be in midair. I was looking down and wondering if Haley had considered how suddenly you could go from city to wilderness. Then I wondered if it was a distinction without a difference, if the city might be the wilderness and the wilderness the city, and maybe Los Angeles’s edges seemed to disappear so suddenly because there really was no separation between sidewalks and mountain paths, buildings and boulders. Up in the mountains or down in the city, either way the carnivores were in control.
I imagined Haley, out of her mind, running full speed off the cliff. I wondered what it had been like, that final second or two before she hit. Had she realized what was happening? Did she recognize the city lights below for what they were, or did she really think she was flying toward the stars? And did she think of me?
Stepping closer to the edge, I slid the toes of my shoes into the air. I looked down two hundred feet, toward the spot where she had broken on the rocks. I stood one inch from eternity and tried to imagine life without her. I could not summon up a single reason why I shouldn’t take that final step, except for one. I thought about the kind of animal who would drive someone to do what my wife had done. Predators like that were everywhere. I should know. I had trained for half my life to be one of them. I was hungry, looking down on the city. If I was going to live, the hunger would have to be enough, for now. But I would sink my teeth into him, sooner or later. I would do that for Haley, and for myself, and then maybe it would be my turn to see if I could fly.
I stepped back from the edge. – Chapter 1
I imagined Haley, out of her mind, running full speed off the cliff. I wondered what it had been like, that final second or two before she hit. Had she realized what was happening? Did she recognize the city lights below for what they were, or did she really think she was flying toward the stars? And did she think of me?
Stepping closer to the edge, I slid the toes of my shoes into the air. I looked down two hundred feet, toward the spot where she had broken on the rocks. I stood one inch from eternity and tried to imagine life without her. I could not summon up a single reason why I shouldn’t take that final step, except for one. I thought about the kind of animal who would drive someone to do what my wife had done. Predators like that were everywhere. I should know. I had trained for half my life to be one of them. I was hungry, looking down on the city. If I was going to live, the hunger would have to be enough, for now. But I would sink my teeth into him, sooner or later. I would do that for Haley, and for myself, and then maybe it would be my turn to see if I could fly.
I stepped back from the edge. – Chapter 1
I paused to look at Simon and Teru, wishing there were some way to avoid it. I said, “The village we went back to on that second day was Laui Kalay.”
Neither of them reacted at first.
Then Teru said, “Oh no.”
Simon rose and carried his teacup to a sink. I watched as he carefully washed out the cup with a soapy cloth. He rinsed the cup, then placed it on a wooden rack beside the sink. When that was done, he didn’t return to the table. He stood still, looking down into the sink.
Teru said, “You were there? When they cut off all those fingers and knocked out all those teeth? You were really there?”
I said, “The court-martial found me guilty.”
“But I remember that video like it was yesterday. That marine with the knife, chopping off the corpses’ fingers for their rings. The others breaking out dead people’s teeth for gold. All those marines cracking jokes. They must have showed it a thousand times on television.” Teru looked at me. “You weren’t in it.”
Still staring down into the sink, Simon said, “If memory serves, the sergeant in command was convicted of filming the unpleasantness with his cell phone, so of course he was not shown in the video.”
“Holy mother of God,” said Teru. “You’re that guy?” – Chapter 8
Neither of them reacted at first.
Then Teru said, “Oh no.”
Simon rose and carried his teacup to a sink. I watched as he carefully washed out the cup with a soapy cloth. He rinsed the cup, then placed it on a wooden rack beside the sink. When that was done, he didn’t return to the table. He stood still, looking down into the sink.
Teru said, “You were there? When they cut off all those fingers and knocked out all those teeth? You were really there?”
I said, “The court-martial found me guilty.”
“But I remember that video like it was yesterday. That marine with the knife, chopping off the corpses’ fingers for their rings. The others breaking out dead people’s teeth for gold. All those marines cracking jokes. They must have showed it a thousand times on television.” Teru looked at me. “You weren’t in it.”
Still staring down into the sink, Simon said, “If memory serves, the sergeant in command was convicted of filming the unpleasantness with his cell phone, so of course he was not shown in the video.”
“Holy mother of God,” said Teru. “You’re that guy?” – Chapter 8
Olivia screamed again, and a vision overwhelmed my thoughts. Suddenly, instead of the shack with its glowing window, I saw Haley’s face contorted with terror in the darkness up above, Haley screaming at a mirror on the wall in her trailer, Haley screaming that she saw Satan, Haley screaming out for Jesus as she slammed her fists against the mirror, breaking it, bloodying her hands and yet slamming on and on. I heard the screams and saw Haley in her final moments and knew that what I saw wasn’t a madman’s fantasy but was instead my true and final memory of our last moments together.
I shook my head. I wiped rain from my eyes. I told myself to think of what was noble, good, and true. The vision faded, but the screams remained. I had to stop the screams this time. I started up the trail, and with my first step out into the open, a strange sense of peace descended. This was what I had been created to do. This was who I was and who I would continue to be in whatever time was left to me without Haley. It wasn’t about a death wish. On the contrary, life at last had regained meaning, even if the end of life was imminent. Climbing that path, knowing bullets might slam into me at any instant, I was happy for the first time since I lost my wife. I still had a purpose, after all. I was useful. It felt like I was going home.
I shook my head. I wiped rain from my eyes. I told myself to think of what was noble, good, and true. The vision faded, but the screams remained. I had to stop the screams this time. I started up the trail, and with my first step out into the open, a strange sense of peace descended. This was what I had been created to do. This was who I was and who I would continue to be in whatever time was left to me without Haley. It wasn’t about a death wish. On the contrary, life at last had regained meaning, even if the end of life was imminent. Climbing that path, knowing bullets might slam into me at any instant, I was happy for the first time since I lost my wife. I still had a purpose, after all. I was useful. It felt like I was going home.
The Author
A master of profound suspense.
Athol Dickson's mystery, suspense, and literary novels have won three Christy Awards and an Audie Award. Suspense fans who enjoyed Athol's They Shall See God will love his latest novel, January Justice, the first installment in a new mystery series called The Malcolm Cutter Memoirs. The second and third novels in the series, Free Fall in February, and A March Murder, are coming in 2013.
Critics have favorably compared Athol's work to such diverse authors as Octavia Butler (Publisher's Weekly), Hermann Hesse (The New York Journal of Books) and Flannery O'Connor (The New York Times). Athol lives with his wife in southern California.
Find more about Athol Dickson at: http://www.atholdickson.com
FOLLOW THE TOUR:
Tour Schedule
First Part of the tour:
Lindsay's Scribblings: Guest Post.
March 22: A Writer's Life: Caroline Clemmons: Guest Post
March 23: Laurie's Non Paranormal thoughts and Reviews: Interview.
March 24: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest Post
March 22: A Writer's Life: Caroline Clemmons: Guest Post
March 23: Laurie's Non Paranormal thoughts and Reviews: Interview.
March 24: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest Post
March 26: I know that Book: Interview
March 27: My Devotional Thoughts: Review.
March 28: MK McClintock Blog: Interview
March 27: My Devotional Thoughts: Review.
March 28: MK McClintock Blog: Interview
Second Part of the tour:
April 3: Deal Sharing Aunt: Review.
April 4: Libby's Library: Review.
April 6: Books, Books the Magical Fruit: Guest Post.
April 7: Kimberly Lewis Blog: Guest Post.
April 4: Libby's Library: Review.
April 6: Books, Books the Magical Fruit: Guest Post.
April 7: Kimberly Lewis Blog: Guest Post.
April 9: Marketing Cafe': Guest Post
April 13: Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer: Guest Post.
April 14: BK Walker Books Etc.: Interview
April 15: Bookworm Babblings: Review.
April 16: Bunny Reviews: Guest Post.
April 17: Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.
The prizes are 2: an e-copy of the book and a $20 Amazon Gift card.
Open Internationally.
5 comments:
Thanks for chatting Athol :)
Thanks for having Athol today!
Great interview! The best thing to do for a bad review is to ignore it.
Looks like an intriguing story! Styrofoam boat? Very cool, my After School kids are building a boat made of corrugated cardboard, it will seat up to five and then we will race at a water-park in a citywide event, with five kids manning the boat! So hopefully the kids will also have an adventure:)
I wish you well on your tour!
Good luck on the tour. Will be putting it on my to-read list.
Post a Comment