Another Carthage trilogy in the works!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2008
WHO: Marcus J. Mastin, Watertown, has written three mystery novels set in Carthage, where he grew up. His latest, “Revenge of the Reaper,” published in November, is the finale to his first self-published trilogy, “The Carthage Chronicles.” He is a stay-at-home dad for his children, Sebastian, 6, and Alana, 3, and is working on a parenting book and a second trilogy set in Carthage.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WRITING? "Actually I've been writing short stories since I was in grade school. I received several awards in grade school for my writing. But as far as writing novels and stuff, I started in September of 2000. I was taking college courses at the time and was in an English course and was writing poetry and I said I'd like to expand my writing repertoire. I said well, I'd like to give writing a novel a shot, because I always wanted to write at least one novel in my lifetime."
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WRITING A NOVEL SET IN YOUR HOMETOWN? "It was very exciting because the more I wrote, the more I talked to people, and the more I learned about the area. The first book is based on a ferry service that comes to town. I had no idea there was an actual ferry service in Carthage. So talking to people I got to learn about that."
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE FROM CARTHAGE PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ YOUR BOOKS? "In Carthage the response has been just great, I mean phenomenal. I've had people from Carthage actually call my house and ask if they can get a signed copy from me and then delivered to them. I've got my books at my wife's salon in Carthage, and they've been selling really good there as well. I think overall people are very pleased to see their hometown in print."
HOW MUCH OF YOUR STORIES IS BASED ON FACT? "I like to call my books historical fiction. A fictional story based on a historical place or historical events. I just have to say that it's 20 percent fact and 80 percent fiction."
WHAT IS THE PLOT OF THE THIRD BOOK? "The third book, 'Revenge of the Reaper,' picks up the story line exactly where the last page left off in the previous book. The killer's body from the previous story goes to the morgue and is about to be cremated when three days later his body disappears and the murders start happening again."
DID YOU ALWAYS INTEND FOR THIS TO BE A TRILOGY? "It was intended to be a three-part series, but over the course of it I think it's going to be two trilogies. I kind of wrapped up a lot of the reaper story line in the first three, but the villain from the first book has never been found. And kind of hints are dropped throughout the three books that he may return."So what I'd like to do is develop a second trilogy based on the same heroes but a different adventure, kind of dropping the whole reaper persona and carry on from there."
WHAT WILL THE NEXT SERIES OF BOOKS BE ABOUT? "It's still going to be called 'The Carthage Chronicles.' Parts four, five and six will pick up a couple years after the third one and will focus on the return of the villain from the first book and how he is kind of messing with the lives of the people he thinks did him wrong."
WHERE DO YOU HOPE YOUR WRITING CAREER TAKES YOU? "Writing mystery novels and horror novels are probably my first true love. But if I could get the at-home parent book to take off and go on a national book tour, do speeches and stuff based on that material, I'd feel comfortable doing that as well."
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS? "If someone's looking to break into writing novels, the first thing I'd have to tell them is to write what you know. Pick a genre you feel comfortable with and work with it. If you know a lot about the horror genre, you like horror movies, don't try to write a romance novel.
"It's not going to come easy. It's going to be difficult, frustrating, and you might give up on it. And I'd also like to probably suggest, stick to one project at a time. I have known other writers who try to tackle two to three books at a time and none of them get finished.