Interview: John Mathews

Book: A Game of Greed and Deception

#DRAMA #MYSTERY #CRIME

Bio: John Mathews is a tenured University Professor of English currently living in Rome, Italy. Immersed in a long and somewhat stressful career, he feels the desire to break out of the mold and delve into macabre thriller fiction novels which focus on the dark side of human nature. He writes captivating thriller and suspense fiction books with the goal of pulling the reader into the plot through the minds of unforgettable characters. Complete with great suspense, plot twists, and shocking scenes, his stories will keep you guessing until the very end.

Book: A Game of Greed and Deception

  When the charming Tammy Worthington takes her wealthy husband and step-daughter on a holiday weekend in the Colorado Mountains, she has purely sinister intentions. Her husband is killed in a tragic auto accident, just as she had planned...and now her pending fortune awaits her. 

But things don’t go Tammy’s way and that is where the book gets interesting. With no body to be found in the wreckage, the dead husband- just becomes a missing person, and Tammy is seemingly trapped inside the cabin with someone stalking her from outside.
This is wear John Mathews takes you on a macabre mystery drama of a sick and psychotic woman driven by her soulless greed who quickly turns from the hunter to the prey. The scenes include deadly traps and medieval torture devices, hidden doors and rooms, and an underground labyrinth of torture chambers that are not for the faint of heart. 

Rating: Four and a half Full Sails out of five.

 Artemis: When did you decide to start writing?

      John: As a lover of mystery and suspense, I had put together several ideas for screen plays. I decided that it would be better to let these stories unfold as books and started on my first novel more than a year ago.

 Artemis: What author inspires you?

 John: Stephen King. He is the master of horror and I've been reading his books for more than 20 years.

 Artemis:  What are you working on now?

 John:  I have started my third book, and second full length novel. It will be a dark and chilling psychological suspense.

Artemis: What book is on your nightstand right now?

John: Gone Girl .

Artemis: Why Gone Girl , what is it about that book?
John: Gillian, created a unique compelling plot, realistic memorable characters and great twists that the reader doesn't see coming.

Which book had the most profound influence on you as teen?

John: The Great Gatsby 
Thanks, John for being on -Just a Writer or a Thought Producer.
If you want to follow up on some of John's books or influences, I recommend the following books:F. SCOTT FITZGERALD PREMIUM 9 BOOK COLLECTION (5 NOVELS & 40+ SHORT STORIES) The Great Gatsby,This Side of Paradise-The Beautiful and the Damned-Tender ... Button. (Timeless Wisdom Collection 2525) 
And,The Complete Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects   

 

Interview: Rick Gangraw

Interview with Rick Gangraw

Book: Deathly Silent 

#MURDER #MYSTERY #SUSPENSE

Bio: Rick Gangraw is the award winning author of  Secrets in the Ice and Deathly Silent , two murder mysteries with a twist at the end.  His new novel— Escape from His Past —is tentatively planned for a spring 2015 release.  When he's not dabbling in fiction, he enjoys sports, hiking, kayaking, camping, and researching his family history.

Artemis: What book/s are you currently reading?

Rick:  Ted Dekker’s  BoneMan's Daughters and Nicholas Sparks’ Safe Haven both very well written, interesting styles, and excellent reads.

Artemis: Do you prefer paperbacks, hardcover or Kindle , Nook ? 

Rick: I prefer a paperback that I can carry around easily, usually an older copy that I may use for writing notes on certain pages.  I like the feel of a book and can’t picture myself ever going to a Kindle or Nook.

Artemis: What books have influenced you the most?

Rick:  Past and present.

Past?  - As a teenager, my favorites were Jack London (“Call of the Wild”, “White Fang”), Edgar Allen Poe (too many to list here), and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (many of the Sherlock Holmes stories).

Present?   - Recently, I’ve been studying the writing styles of Ted Dekker (“Obsession”) and Dean Koontz By the Light of the Moon .

Artemis: Can you tell us a little bit about the plot of your book?

Rick:  Erik Johnson was wronged fifteen years ago and it changed everything.  He’s now back in town and on a mission of vengeance against those who set him up.  He only remembers some of the details, but he knows enough to realize who ruined his career, his family, his life and that’s all that matters to him.
     Erik provides clues to Bill Ljunglof, a priest haunted by his own past, and Tami Anderson, a police officer whose greatest fears come alive in this case.  They work together to determine who is giving them information on prominent people in the community that have died recently, and how they could be linked together.  Meanwhile Erik finds that through intermittent memories, everything is not what it seems. As Erik pieces together what actually happened to him all those years ago, he can’t believe the revelations, nor can Bill or Tami.

Artemis: What qualities does your protagonist have? 

Rick: In  Deathly Silent , my protagonist put his enemies through a crematorium while they’re still alive and buries another alive.  However, he’s really not such a bad guy.  He’s personable and likeable, even leaving hints to a police officer and a priest to uncover the conspiracy involving those community leaders.  I want you to hate him at first, but then feel sorry for him by the end of the story.

Artemis: Why should we read your book ?  

Rick:  I tried to come up with some of the worst nightmares I could imagine, and put several characters through those experiences. I also gave the main character a type of amnesia, only revealing his past a little at a time over the course of the story, culminating in the climactic ending. From page one, you see how cruel the main character can be, but as you read, you wonder if he’s really the bad guy in the story.

Rick , thanks for being with us, You have a lot of great reviews on Amazon. I wish you continued success with your book.       Note: Readers you can sample Rick's book by clicking any link on this page.