Release Date: October 1, 2017
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Source: Smith Publicity
Synopsis
A politically ambitious couple will stop at
nothing to obtain the presidency. He is a popular governor of a western state.
A philanderer, but charming, good-looking, charismatic, a dream candidate.
Thomas Jefferson Carver is a capable administrator and attracts sycophants like
moths to a flame. People willing to sacrifice themselves and anyone who opposes
him.
Darla Bunton Carver is the political brains behind their rise to power. Amoral and single-minded to the point of obsession it is her ambition to succeed her husband to become the first woman president of the United States. And nothing will stand in her way to achieve it. Including her husband’s numerous affairs, money scandals, homicide cover-ups, murder and even treason. Whatever is necessary. Their true goal? Power and wealth for themselves.
Darla Bunton Carver is the political brains behind their rise to power. Amoral and single-minded to the point of obsession it is her ambition to succeed her husband to become the first woman president of the United States. And nothing will stand in her way to achieve it. Including her husband’s numerous affairs, money scandals, homicide cover-ups, murder and even treason. Whatever is necessary. Their true goal? Power and wealth for themselves.
My Thoughts
A Marc Kadella mystery, Political Justice can be read as a standalone or apart of the series. This book definitely had me wanting more, which made me not want to put the book down. I finished the book in a day and a half (due to having to go too work) but I can't wait till the next one comes out. I really liked how realistic the characters and story line became the further I got into Political Justice. I will definitely be reading more from Dennis Carstens!
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Author Q&A
1. How long have you been writing? What
genres have you written?
I actually
wrote my first book The Key to Justice in 1999 – 2000. I tried to go the
traditional route to get it published and was met with total disinterest and
rejection. Discouraged, I did not take it up again until 2011. My son
encouraged me to self-publish on Amazon. The response surprised me with its
success which encouraged me to continue.
The legal
world, murder mystery/courtroom drama is the only genre I have written so far.
I am extremely interested and well-read in history and I have in mind a couple
of historical novels based on actual events that I will eventually do.
2. What has been the greatest influence on your
writing?
I am a
retired lawyer who always enjoyed a good legal genre novel. What got me
interested in doing one is most of the books in the genre left me wondering if
the author had ever seen the inside of a courtroom. Ever represented a live,
human client with a real legal problem or tried to make a living practicing
law. Some do such as Scott Turow and Steve Martini who are very experienced and
very good. Then others such as John Grisham, James Patterson and Michael
Connelly who clearly have no clue. I wanted to write more realistically about
what it is like.
3. Are you currently writing anything now?
I am about
to start, and by the time you read this will have started, the eighth of the
Marc Kadella legal mystery series. No, I am not going to tell you about it. Buy
it, you’ll like it.
4. How do you typically begin your projects?
To me the
main thing I need to have mostly figured out before I start writing is the
ending. I think it is very important to know where you are going so as not to
wander off too far as can happen. Writing a book is almost like building a
house. You build the story one step at a time. And just as building a house you
better have a pretty good idea of what it is supposed to look like when you are
finished.
I do not
use a written outline. I know what my beginning is going to be, my ending and
the middle. I keep a lot of notebooks around the house, especially by my bed,
for when ideas pop into my head so I can make notes of it.
As for
characters, this is the main thing I am trying to accomplish. I want to create
an emotional tie between the reader and the characters (good or bad, favorable
or unfavorable) to keep the reader engaged to find out how they all make out in
the end. Several of my characters are in all of my books and I do keep a
written profile of each to be consistent. I also do that with non-recurring
characters for the same reason.
I normally
focus on one book at a time but things come to me about future books. When this
happens, I write up notes about it so as not to forget. Makin notes is
extremely important. I once had a dream and I awoke in the middle of the night
thinking about it. It was a great idea for a book. I laid in bed for at least
twenty minutes thinking it through and was quite pleased about it. Instead of
getting up and writing it down I was certain I would remember it in the
morning. When I woke up I remembered having a dream, waking up and thinking
about it but could not remember one thing about the dream itself. Still have
not. Take notes. Do not rely strictly on your memory.
5. What aspect of your writing do you consider
your strength? Your weakness?
I prefer
to have my characters tell my story with their actions and interactions and
their dialogue. I do not use a lot of third party narration for this. I think
it helps with character development, creates the reader-character bond and
makes the story flow along better. When reading I can get a little bored with
page after page of third party narration.
I am a
lawyer, not a grammar expert. Apparently, there are people out there who
believe they are. I have used the internet to check on grammar usage all the
time and have found there are differing opinions on proper usage. If you think
you are a grammar expert, you probably are not. At least others will disagree
with you. Plus, I use dialogue the way people actually speak not the way your
sixth grade English teacher tried to get you to speak.
6. What are the next steps after publishing a
book?
At first,
I did nothing much except publish on Amazon and let them do the marketing.
There are services out there who will work with you for a fee or commission to
use Amazon and other book promo organizations to promote your book. I am just
now starting to use them and it has worked for me. But, I was fortunate to do
well right away which, from what I understand, is quite unusual.
7. What advice would you give a writer who is
starting out?
First of
all, be disciplined. Writing a 300 plus page fiction novel is very difficult.
It is a lot of work. There are millions of partially written manuscripts
sitting in desk drawers in this country from people who found this out. They
wanted to try it, and good for them, then got part way into it and ran out of ideas.
I treat
writing like a job. I am retired but I get up every morning around 6:30 and am
at the desk by 8:00 every day. I have a daily goal of what I want to accomplish
and I get at it and work until I have it. If you are employed, make a schedule
every week of times when you are going to write and stick to it. If you can’t
be that disciplined, odds are pretty good you are going to fail. Know that
going in.
So as not
to be overly negative, it is also very rewarding. I am fortunate enough to have
had some success and am making a pretty good living at it. I also like the
creative side of it. Apparently, I have a fairly active imagination and
creative streak. Not to brag but I have received more Five Star reviews from
readers than all other reviews combined. Each time you get one of those it
feels very gratifying to know that all of the work you put into the book was
not a waste of time.
Write
about what you know. If you are a doctor don’t write science fiction about
interstellar space travel. You can do that but it will not seem factual.
Be
realistic about your target market. I happen to have worked in a genre that is
very popular with the reading public. My audience was quite large going in.
Children’s books are enormously popular. For some reason people keep having
babies and buying books for them to teach them to read. Apparently, no one
tells them about dealing with teenagers. Books about the exciting life of a
plumber, not so much.
