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The Last Call, JD Seamus: Author Guest Post 8.24.09

He’s hardly a saint, but Jimmie Collins believes in putting family first.  Since his “legitimate income” barely makes ends meet, he supplements it by fencing things that fall off the back of trucks. He’s amassed a small fortune, and with the help of his Mafia connections, nets a huge score and buys the bar he has always dreamed of owning in midtown Manhattan.

With his ailing wife and disabled daughter tucked safely away in Florida, Jimmie tends to his other family: his longtime and loyal bar patrons.  But for the man used to happy hour and high spirits, life is about to take a heartbreaking turn.  When Jimmie is diagnosed with cancer, he is forced to prepare for the inevitable. In order to ensure that his family is provided for financially, Jimmie is going to have to act fast to find someone who can go overseas and retrieve his laundered fortune.

That someone turns out to be a bookie who insists that he is “just the right guy for the job.” But the money never comes through and it isn’t until after Jimmie has died that his friends realize something is amiss.  Who took Jimmie’s money, and why?

As this band of characters sets out to find answers and right this terrible wrong, they’ll rally their forces to do what any good friends would do:  save the day.  Through a mixture of fierce loyalty and dumb luck, these friends will risk life and limb to provide one final, fitting toast to the man who saw them through thick and thin. If this close-knit cadre succeeds, someone will be coming up empty when it’s time for last call.

One part hard-hitting crime, one part mystery, with a splash of action, adventure, and humor, Last Call is resplendent with colorful characters and spiced with tension. Not for the faint of heart, Last Call is a spirited novel that raises the bar on modern crime fiction. - FROM THE AUTHOR SITE

Last Call was voted 2008 Best Regional Fiction by Reader Views Annual Literary Awards and won 2009 Honorable Mention for Fiction with both The New York Book Festival and The Beach Book Festival. Last Call is a ForeWord Magazine 2008 Best Book finalist. Recently, was named a finalist in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the categories of General Fiction, Regional Fiction, Best Cover Design and Best Overall Design.

AUTHOR GUEST POST...Irish Musings—Fun Part of Writing
Book signings. Absolutely love them. Not the tepid white wine of some vintage in the plastic glass with the runny cheese on a paper plate. Nope. It’s when I get to meet the real reason I write. The readers, the great people who read my books. I love to talk to them, joke around, make them laugh-enjoy that instant gratification if they are a return reader.

It’s fun for me to see what parts of the book they liked. And the cool part is that I’m always amazed when they tell me what they liked and didn’t like. It’s a game I play-trying to guess before they tell me.

I get an elderly man in plaid with sensible Rockport shoes or those Propet Village Walkers and I know he’s going to say the ‘shoot ‘em up, action parts like the hotel fight scene in Cozumel. It’s always a trip when it’s the love scenes that my elderly reader likes most of all. He describes them in as vivid detail as I wrote them. The librarian next in line is the one that likes the action and the fact that everybody that died was completely by accident. The Nun behind her also liked the love scenes but tells me she has to go to confession three times during the week when she read my book. Not sure that’s good or bad but from the Nun, I’ll take it.

Next in line is the ‘Soccer Mom’ and she fools me because she likes the bar scenes and the jokes. I’m thinking there is no way in the world this innocent all-American Mom has ever been in a bar much less likes the off color jokes that go back and forth. But she does.

Then you have the tough ‘logger type’ and he likes the closeness and the bonding between Nathan and Jimmie during Jimmie’s last days. This rough burly guy actually admits crying when Jimmie died and Nathan found him and put off calling the police because he wanted to spend a little more time with him. I have to confess to the lumberjack that I cried when I wrote the scene and there’s an awkward moment while we pull our ‘manhoodness’ together.

Then the tanned, Birkenstock wearing tree hugger who shares the fact that she wanted to kill the dastardly bad guy lawyer herself and loved all the strong, female characters. She admits that she is surprised to find out that the JD in my name isn’t for Jane Doe-she was sure a woman wrote Last Call. I’m a tall, life time weightlifter but I’m absolutely delighted that she enjoyed my book. Maybe a little queasy- but glad she liked it.

The crowd reaction makes dealing with an agent, publisher, distributor and snittish editor all worthwhile for me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...Novelist JD Seamus has lived and worked among some of the most amazing characters ever to have walked the Earth.

After decades of working in the world of retail finance, e-commerce, and venture capital, Seamus began writing a series of novels based in Manhattan.

With a keen eye for detail, Seamus takes to heart the old adage to “write what you know.” Borrowing from real life experience, Seamus delivers highly entertaining tales full of sparkling wit and dark humor.

Whether pondering life’s most absurd or most wonderful moments, or showcasing a character’s foibles or triumphs, JD Seamus is dynamic new voice in the world of fiction. Seamus may make you blush, he may make you cry, but he will certainly leave you entertained.

Today, Seamus is happily at work on his sixth book in South Florida and dividing his time between his family and Braves and Jaguar games. You can visit his website at www.jdseamusbooks.com.

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About The Book Faery

Farrah is from the Raleigh, North Carolina area and married to her high school sweetheart. She's a 30-something mom to 3 crazy yet loveable kids who keep her constantly on her toes. Books can be found in every room in the house and bags as well. Reading is done every moment she gets the chance and a typical afternoon of fun would often find her and the 3 kiddos at a local bookstore or library hunting for the next book. She's currently working towards her goal to one day owning a cafe/bookstore in a historic downtown area where it's all about the reader's experience...community, atmosphere and the love of books.