Crime Fiction
Date Published: November 16, 2020
Publisher: Tekrighter, LLC
A crazed sniper. A loved one wounded, in danger of death. The unforgiving Fake News media. And a hidden villain more loathsome than any that Natalie McMasters has encountered before.
Nattie’s in the crosshairs as a series of seemingly random shootings terrorizes the city. She must fight to keep her polyamorous family from disintegrating, her emotions from running wild and her personal integrity uncompromised. This would be a formidable task for anyone, much less a twentysomething college student who just wants to graduate and get on with her life. Nattie must rely on old friends and new, but how can she even, when friends can become enemies in the blink of an eye? As Nattie nears an emotional meltdown, society collapses along with her, as the sniper’s depredations take their toll on the city.
Sniper! is a twisted, sexy, absolutely gripping descent into darkness jam packed with nail-biting suspense. Don’t miss it!
Interview with Thomas A. Burns, Jr.
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
Sniper! has many intertwining themes. I suppose the major one is that violence often begets violence. I took inspiration from the Washington-Virginia beltway shooting spree in 2002 as well as the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Much information about both of these events can be accessed on the internet.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
A crime fiction writer should read voraciously for inspiration and education. So I read true crime stories and ask myself how I could adapt them in a Natalie McMasters story.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
My primary goal in writing Sniper! was to produce a thrilling, sexy mystery and to further develop the character of Natalie McMasters. Naturally, I think I did a pretty good job, but that assessment is really up to my readers.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Just thanks for all the support and encouragement. I can see my career as a fiction writer growing daily, not only in book sales, but in fan interaction on social media, which is my favorite thing. I love to talk with all of to find out what you like (and don’t like) about my work. Follow my Nattie’s Readers group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/541595279667727/ . I’m also on Twitter (https://twitter.com/3Mdetective ), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/3mdetective/ ) and Tumblr (https://nataliemcmasters.tumblr.com/ ), and the 3M Detective Agency website is at https://www.3mdetectiveagency.com/ .
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
As with all of the Natalie McMasters books, I have little idea about where the book is ultimately going when I begin. So I enjoy solving the mystery along with Nattie and her friends.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
My next Natalie McMasters book is tentatively entitled Killers! and picks up right where Sniper! leaves off. Look for it in the spring or early summer of 2021. I also intend to keep writing Sherlock Holmes stories (you can find mine in the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, Vols. XIV, XVIII, and XXIV, published by MX Books, and in Vol. 1 of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Early Adventures, by Belanger Books). I also have a Sherlock Holmes/Solar Pons crossover story coming out in volume to be published by Belanger books early next year, and another H.P. Lovecraft pastiche planned under the pen name of Silas K. Henderson.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing Man from U.N.C.L.E. stories in marble-backed copybooks when I was in grade school. After earning bachelors and masters degrees in the biological sciences, I became a technical writer in industry and government for nearly 30 years. After retiring, I decided to become a full-time fiction writer.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Sniper!?
Natalie McMasters (Nattie for short) is a twentysomething short blonde (OK, it’s bleached!), way cute, and a pre-law student at State. To put herself through school, she's moonlighting as a private detective trainee at her uncle Amos Murdoch's 3M Detective Agency, when he hasn’t fired her or she hasn’t quit.
Maria de Guadalupe Ibáñez (Lupe) is Nattie’s wife. She met Nattie at a strip club where they wer both working as strippers. They married as an effort to keep Lupe, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, in the USA. However, they do love each other very much.
Danny Merkel is Nattie’s coworker, a partner in the 3M Detective Agency, and is in a throuple with Nattie and Lupe, who consider him their husband even if the State does not. Danny is a Marine no longer on active duty (there are no ex-Marines), and former member of the Capital City police department.
Eduardo Ibáñez is Lupe’s eight-year old son, who thinks he is very lucky to have two moms and a dad.
Other characters include Dr. Rebecca Feiner, Nattie’s therapist, Amos Murdoch, Nattie’s uncle and founder of the 3M Detective Agency, and Nattie’s mom, Ruth Murdoch McMasters.
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Sniper! who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
As much as I enjoy writing Nattie, I think she’d drive me ratchet if I had to spend time with her. So I think I’ll choose Danny. We have similar interests and outlook on life. I’d love to talk guns with him and spend some time at the range, benefitting from his weapons’ expertise. Maybe we could go back to the townhouse for one of Lupe’s fab Mexican dinners afterwards!
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