Guest Post & #Giveaway – The District Manager by Matt Minor @AuthorsAssist @The_Minor_Key @KristineTHall #LoneStarLit

StoreyBook Reviews July 14, 2016July 11, 2016

THE DISTRICT MANAGER

by Matt Minor

Genre: Political Suspense
Publisher: Dead Tree
Date of Publication: June 30, 2016
Number of Pages: 266

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synopsis

District Manager Cover

“Doing the right thing means you don’t eat”

So begins the sweltering narrative of District Manager, Mason Dixon, a haunted man serving Texas House District 100. After a constituent reaches out to his office with disturbing information about twisted activities going on in district, Mason finds himself drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a malevolent entity.

While these events unfold, Mason begins dating a county judge’s assistant. Brenna is a single mother who is ready to start the next chapter of her life. Can she and the stoical Mason connect? Or will she become collateral damage to his unorthodox, occupational hazards?

Mason soon finds that the danger has reached the highest ranks of the district, and that the century-old structure where he offices is not haunted, but instead possessed by an all too real menace.

Can a man who is profoundly broken restore order when the very core of order itself has been corrupted?

“Matt Minor knows Texas politics from the inside, and he weaves a devious tale of deceit and death and even a little romance. Buckle your seat belt and hang on for the ride.” — Bill Crider

guest post

Writing The District Manager

Guest Post by Matt Minor

Writing The District Manger was a taxing experience. It literally drained me emotionally, physically, and dare I say, spiritually. Mason Dixon, the story’s protagonist, is a haunted if not a disturbed man. The tale is told in the first person. Inhabiting Mason for the time it took to complete the first draft of the novel left me in an unhealthy state: one that literally found me in the hospital by year’s end.

Mason is an emotionally stoical character and an introvert, two characteristics that I do not personally possess. Shifting into that mode on a repeated basis disrupted my equilibrium dramatically. The one attribute of his that was borne from the author is the protagonist’s outrage at injustice, which often reaches the point of hyperbole. Like I said, I was left in an unhealthy state.

The District Manager is a fast paced, realistic gothic novel. It begins by suggesting, and then later climaxes with an underground dog fight; the scene in question very disturbing for its realism. The version of this scene that actually made it into the final novel was contrived after much editing. I was advised that the original draft was simply too over the top. However, my editing team had to concede, despite their consternation, that the original was very well written.

When I was still conceiving The District Manager I had the odd circumstance of coming into contact with an individual who was intimate with persons who had actually been convicted and incarcerated for illegal dog fighting. Over numerous drinks he described to me in considerable detail the process by which this violent, illegal enterprise is conducted. I knew after our discussion that even the best of my imagination could not sculpt a more compelling/disturbing picture than what he related.

I went with it. Hardcore realism.

When the book was finished and the editing process was complete, I found the novel to be both an enlightening and dislocating experience. The District Manager is a train wreck; a train wreck you cannot take your eyes away from…I hope.

Enjoy.

about the author

Matt Minor presently serves as a Chief of Staff in the Texas House of Representatives. He has worked as a political campaign manager and is a well-regarded public speaker. Matt has authored official state publications, oversees syndicated editorials, and is a speechwriter and district radio legislative commentator. Prior to his life in state politics Matt was a professional musician and entertainer. Matt’s hobbies are centered on the arts, including the craft of poetry, an interest that has brought academic recognition and numerous awards.

His first novel, The Representative was an Amazon Political Fiction Bestseller the summer of 2015. It was accepted and archived into the Texas State Legislative Library. In April of 2016 The Representative won an IPPY Gold medal for Southern-Region Fiction.

Matt Minor resides with his wife Stacy on their ranch property in Wharton County, Texas. He lives in Austin during legislative session.