Book Tour: $100 Amazon GC Giveaway & Interview with Big Money by Jack Getze

Big Money by Jack Getze

I enjoyed “Big Money” immensely. It brought to mind film noir, Humphrey Bogart – and basically good guys that get caught up in the consequences of their bad choices.

~Back Porchervations

Big Money (Austin Carr Mystery)

Publisher: Down & Out Books (January 12, 2014)

E-Book File Size: 884 KB

ASIN: B00HHAOZN4

Paperback: 218 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1937495671


Goodreads: Big Money 


Synopsis:

In this jaunty follow-up to Big Numbers, a scruffy stockbroker returns to tangle with mobsters, women and his own big mouth. The good news, as the story opens, is that the hero is in the company of a gorgeous naked lady. The bad news is that she’s pointing a shotgun at him. It’s a typical predicament for Austin Carr, a semi-shady New Jersey financial professional temporarily in charge of Shore Securities…He’s being extorted into opening a money-laundering account for local crime boss Bluefish; an auditor who was investigating his company has turned up murdered; a fetching state police captain figures he’s the key to her organized-crime probe; and his boss’s mother has been picked up for fixing her church bingo game.

Carr is continually getting into trouble over his weakness for breasts, his penchant for self-incriminating statements and his vestigial moral sensibility, which, like an appendix, makes itself felt at inconvenient times. — Kirkus Indie

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.

Interview

How long have you been writing?

I earned my first byline at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner at the age of nineteen. Not quite half a century ago. I started my first (and only unfinished) novel one year later.

What makes you like to write?

People always told me I was good at it, I suppose. I was a terrible student and excelled at nothing but writing stories for the high school paper and playing golf. To be fair, I also loved to read, and telling stories came naturally. Just ask my teachers and ex wives.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Elmore Leonard is my favorite author. He's also my mentor although I never met him -- and never will now, of course. I've read everything he's ever written, not only because I love his protagonists, but also because his writing craft is simply the best on the planet. I study the way he writes, particularly how he uses dialogue to tell the story. A lot of critics and even some famous writers will talk about style, about beautifully written passages, about perfect words so unusual readers must stop to look them up. Mr. Leonard teaches it differently: If it sounds like writing, he says he rewrites it. I couldn't agree more. Authors should be invisible, not dazzling.

What are your favorite things to do besides writing?

I love good food so my wife and I eat out whenever we can, often with friends and family. My favorite vacation is a week on the beach, sunning and reading and swimming all day, having a bottle of wine and fresh fish that night for dinner. I'm making myself hungry. I'm rusty at both, but I play golf and rock guitar in reasonable fashion.

How long did it take you to write Big Money?

Tough question because I stole a major chunk of an old manuscript's plotline and several characters. I worked for years on something I called BLACK GRAVY -- about a small New Jersey businessman who gets hustled by the local mafia. But when my agent sold BIG NUMBERS the first time, and the publisher wanted a second book in the series, I substituted Austin Carr's character for the small businessman and wrote BIG MONEY in three months.

What is your favorite scene to write?

Austin and his friend Luis talking at Luis' bar. I find myself going back there a lot, especially when Austin's in trouble, or isn't sure what he should do next. I wish I had a friend like Luis. Maybe I use the character of Luis to hash out my own feelings.

Who designed the cover Big Money?

An anonymous artist belonging to online organization called 99designs. My publisher's guy touched it up, but the cover for BIG MONEY came from an open competition that I managed and paid for. Fans voted for the final version on my blog.

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

Austin. He's the devil on my shoulder. I get to say and do through him what I often want to say in real life but don't have the courage or quick enough wit. I usually keep my mouth shut, a little because my mom taught me if I didn't have anything nice to say, I should say nothing, but mostly because I don't think of the funny comments fast enough in real time. Being a writer let's me take months to dream up a comeback. What's more fun than that?

When did you start writing?

I was fourteen or fifteen, I guess. Short stories for the English teacher in high school. I remember her reading one of my tales out loud to the class. I can't remember the story, but I do remember the title. The Elephant Wore Rubber Boots. The class loved it. Maybe that's what hooked me.

How many books did you write before you were published?

Again it's a tough question because BIG NUMBERS was my fourth completed novel, but it didn't get published for twenty years, and only after I'd been rejected on six or seven more --depending on whether you count a new version of the same story separately. I did that with BIG NUMBERS-- wrote several versions -- and I have also written about four versions of a stand alone thriller currently entitled BLACK KACHINA. Truth is, I wrote more than a dozen novels over forty years before I saw one in print.

Thanks for your interest in my work. Jack.

Author Links:

http://austincarrscrimediary.blogspot.com

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18050373-big-numbers

Praise For Big Numbers

It’s a good, funny story filled with suspense and adventure.
~Socrates Book Reviews

…quite a bit of action, drama and intrigue to balance out all the hilarious trouble Austin seems to bring with him wherever he goes.
~Turning The Pages

If you like your mysteries with plenty of thrills with a side of crazy these pages will be flying.
~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

I was definitely surprised at some of the twists that occurred.
~Storeybook Reviews

  I was hooked. I like an early hook in books. It grabs me and sucks me in quickly.
~fundamental

I love the character that is Austin Carr…
~Shelley’s Book Case

Big Numbers was a great read.
~Kaisy Daisy’s Corner

This book is so f*&%*&g funny, I read it right through in one sitting.
~Rantin’ Ravin’ and Reading

The book is full of nonstop humor, lots of violence, sex and enough bad guys and other quirky characters to keep the pages turning.
~Celtic Lady Reviews

The twists and turns that happen are not predictable, and the writing is superb. I’m definitely a fan of this series!!!
~Reviews by Karen

The story is dramatic and funny.
~Brooke Blogs

A well developed main character, good dialogue and colorful secondary characters kept me turning the pages to discover what could possibly happen next.
~Queen of All She Reads

…very entertaining, quick to read, and though it is a mystery – it also has a light hearted feel to it.
~Books and Needlepoint

Getze has combined humor, action, and quirky characters to keep the story going!
~Author Rosalee Richland

I think a lot of people will love the situations that Austin gets himself into and watching him wiggle his way out of!
~Community Bookstop

Austin reminds me of Charlie Brown. You keep hoping things will workout for him. But you know that Lucy will jerk the ball out from under again.
~readalot

I recommend Big Numbers to mystery fans, especially those who like their mystery splashed with a dash of noir, a pinch of zany, some thrilling, and a lot of funny.
~Jane Reads

… this mystery/thriller is filled with edgy humor and sharp dialogue.
~The Self Taught Cook

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