Today we welcome author Jack Getze to StoreyBook Reviews.  He is the author of the Austin Carr series which are quite enjoyable!  Make sure you sign up for the giveaway at the end of this post.

Take it away Jack!

A funny thing happened while I was writing Big Mojo, the third novel in my Austin Carr screwball mystery series: A supporting character, Angelina “Mama Bones” Bonacelli, took over as my favorite voice. It’s scary more than funny, really, as Austin has always been my chosen speaker, the man whose odd opinions about life and women I — or some demon inside — needed to express. Plus, Austin’s the star of the show. It’s his series. It says so on the cover of every book. What am I going to do with this “thing” I have for Mama Bones?

Even looking back, examining her creation and early appearances, it’s hard to say when and how the change-over occurred. Austin did all the talking in book one, Big Numbers. Mama Bones tickled my funny bone when she showed up in book two, Big Money, by playing out a story I’d heard about one of my wife’s aunts who cheated at a church-sponsored bingo game. In my fictional version of this family story, the cheater — Mama Bones — was the mother of Austin’s boss and tougher than week-old tomato pie. She was hard-edged, owned a sarcastic sense of humor like Austin, but she also had a gigantic heart. And though no scenes were written from Mama Bones’ point of view in either book one or two, I knew she’d be back in Austin’s life.

Why? Because I enjoy making other people laugh, telling stories that crack people up, but I enjoy stories even more when it’s me doing the laughing. Pecking away at that tiny computer keyboard, I like to giggle and hoot while I’m making this stuff up, and I’ve discovered through the comments section of Goodreads and Amazon that if the scene, characters or dialogue make me chuckle or laugh, chances are excellent my fans will enjoy the work as well. Good thing, eh? Or maybe that’s why they’re my fans.

Another reason I knew I’d be coming back to Mama Bones was the wealth of tales I had about my wife’s old aunts and uncles, people now dead. The stories were safe to tell now and way too interesting for this writer to ignore. Thus, I have Mama Bones growing up in the summer resort of Asbury Park where her parents leased special soda-making equipment and illegal betting cards to venders on the Jersey shore, a business begun in the 1920s by her grandparents. Mama Bones’ grandma and grandpa were also political organizers, collecting cash from new Italian immigrants and boardwalk businesses, then delivering the bag money and the local Italian vote to whichever party paid them most.

I wanted to use this background, so in Big Mojo, the third and current series offering, I gave Mama Bones dozens of scenes from her point of view. Like I said, I’m not exactly sure when, but somewhere during the writing of her dialogue and thoughts, she became my favorite. She was funny, tough and eccentric enough to keep me entertained, verbally abusing her son for being outsmarted by Austin; wondering if she should go for the Sig Sauer 9mm under her pillow; or creating a magic potion to dunk Austin in shark-filled waters.

Yes, I love people that make me laugh, and Mama Bones did the job. I tried her out for a bigger role in Big Mojo and she jumped on it — the whole relationship between her and Austin being funny because the two of them always try to out smart-ass each other. In addition to the humor, though, what gives the laughs a tough edge is an underlying tension between the two because of differences between Austin and Mama Bones’ beloved son Vic, Austin’s partner. Austin can’t be sure of Mama Bones’ intentions — or loyalties. One of Big Mojo’s climactic scenes is probably a good example. I don’t want to give the ending away, but in book four, coming out later this year, Austin briefly recalls what happens in Big Mojo: “And while it is true Mama Bones saved my life several times, the most recent occasion involved only a last minute change of heart, her outlaw hand on a switch that could have ground me into mincemeat.”

Synopsis

“Gordon Gekko meets Janet Evanovich in this wry and winning caper—Jack Getze does it again!” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award winning author of Truth Be Told

Wall Street’s miasmal garbage washes up on the Jersey Shore when a small time broker falls in love: Is he attracted to the beautiful lady—or her brother’s inside information? Held spellbound by a steamy, auburn-haired woman with a dubious past and a get-rich-quick, insider trading scheme, Austin Carr knocks down a beehive of bad-acting Bonacellis, including the ill-tempered “Mr. Vic” Bonacelli, who wants his redhead back, and local mob lieutenant Angelina “Mama Bones” Bonacelli, architect of a strange and excruciating death trap for the fast-talking stockbroker she calls smarty pants. To survive, Austin must unravel threads of jealousy, revenge and new affections, discover the fate of a pseudo ruby called the Big Mojo and slam the lid on a pending United States of America vs. Austin Carr insider trading case. Can Austin and his Jersey Shore mouthpiece possibly out maneuver the savvy U.S. District Attorney from Manhattan? Will anything matter for Austin ever again if Mama Bones flips that switch?

About the Author

Former Los Angeles Times reporter Jack Getze is Fiction Editor for Anthony nominated Spinetingler Magazine, one of the internet’s oldest websites for noir, crime, and horror short stories. Through the Los Angeles Times/Washington Post News Syndicate, his news and feature stories were published in over five-hundred newspapers and periodicals worldwide. His two screwball mysteries, BIG NUMBERS and BIG MONEY, are being reissued by DOWN & OUT BOOKS, with the new BIG MOJO to follow. His short stories have appeared in A Twist of Noir and Beat to a Pulp. Getze is an Active Member of Mystery Writers of America’s New York Chapter.

Website * Goodreads

Giveaway

1 eBook copy of Big Mojo, open internationally!

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Tour Participants

January 5 – Kelly P’s Blog – Interview
January 6 – Tea and A Book – Review, Giveaway
January 7 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
January 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – Guest Post, Giveaway
January 8 – Lilac Reviews Review, Giveaway
January 9 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Giveaway
January 10 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – Interview
January 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – Review
January 12 – Back Porchervations – Review
January 13 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
January 14 – dru’s book musings – Guest Post, Giveaway
January 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review, Giveaway
January 16 – readalot – Review
January 17 – Serenity Doesn’t Come Easy Review, Interview, Giveaway
January 18 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading – Review, Giveaway
January 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – Guest Post, Giveaway
January 20 – Michele Lynn Seigfried’s Blog – Review
January 21 – Jane Reads – Review, Giveaway
January 22 – Read Your Writes – Spotlight