Meet C. Kevin Thompson and get a peek at The Letters

Today I welcome suspense writer C. Kevin Thompson to my blog. He gifted me with an Arc copy of his latest novel and I’m happily reading his interesting story and can’t wait to learn more about how he it came to be and a bit about Kevin as well.

Welcome Kevin.

Tell us about your upcoming novel?

My latest book is The Letters, and it is now out in e-book pre-order on Amazon. Its official release date is Feb. 18, 2020. I’ll just leave the backcover copy piece right here…

THE WORLD IS A CRAZY PLACE

WHEN THE LIVING ARE DEAD

AND THE DEAD ARE ALIVE.

Rachel Hamar—a Manhattan bank teller—lives nothing close to a Manhattan lifestyle. Residing in Washington Heights, NY, the only thing keeping her in The Big Apple is her mother—a long-time patient in a local psychiatric hospital. It’s December 2014, and the twentieth anniversary of her high school sweetheart’s tragic death. She’s not sure how much more heartache she can endure, especially after being told earlier in the day she no longer has a job at the bank. A casualty of downsizing.

In the midst of spiraling depression, Rachel receives a mysterious letter in the mail. When she opens it, she becomes cautious and skeptical of its contents and discards it as a mistake, concluding it’s simply addressed incorrectly or a postal worker’s faux pas in the midst of a busy Christmas season. But another letter arrives the next day. And another the day after that. Before long, she is in possession of several letters. Each one more puzzling than the last.

Thinking that someone may be playing a cruel game, she contacts the police, and this propels Rachel and the two detectives into one of the most bizarre cases they’ve ever encountered. Is it a friend’s cruel joke? Is it some stalker’s perverse idea of manipulation? Or is it something more?

Kevin, what inspired you to write your book?

For The Letters, it started with a conversation I had while in seminary years ago about abortion in an ethics class. This was coupled with a conversation I had with someone about heaven and how John Wesley believed it would be somewhat of a continuation of this life, just minus all the things that bring heartache and sin into our lives. Yet, other people have more of a greeting card/comic strip perspective about heaven, complete with pearly gates and St. Peter as the gatekeeper. The rest find themselves somewhere in the middle, I suppose. Other conversations found their way into the formulation of this novel as well, such as talks around verses from the Bible about how far God’s love travels into the sinful world we live in day and night, and what it looks like when it does – A love that weaves the spiritual and physical world together into an existence many of us, even Christians, try to separate, compartmentalize, and downplay—even rationalize away—so we can somehow fathom it with our finite minds.

It was all these thoughts, verses from Scripture, theological discussions and more that suddenly came together into what has been described by one of my readers as a “Christmas Carol-esque” kind of story. As Rachel, the main character, describes it in her little prologue,

Where did it begin?

Or where did it end?

That is the better question.

For somewhere in the heart, during a time filled with turmoil,

A story emerged.

It’s an account that will baffle the imagination of many.

A story no one will want to believe.

It will be dubbed a legend by some.

A fairy tale by others.

A lie by most.

However, what you are about to read is a story of passion…

And a story of deceit.

A story of rejection…

And a story of redemption.

Ultimately, however, it is a story of love.

For this is my story.

Interesting prologue. You definitely have my attention.

Do you have a favorite verse that resonates with you?

Romans 12:1-2. After Paul writes the first eleven chapters of the Book of Romans, he then says in so many words, “Now that I’ve said all these things in the first eleven chapters, do this and be this. If you do, you will be all that God envisioned.” For me, it is the most succinct description of Christian living, apart from Jesus’s “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. Do this, and you fulfill the law and the prophets.”

I must ask my favorite question.

If you could go back in time and give one piece of advice for your younger self about writing what would that be?

Start earlier and don’t stop! I had the itch way back in high school, but I never pursued it until much later in life. Had I started writing then, who knows where I’d be right now.

Every writer needs a support system to keep them pressing forward.

Who is your best support system to keep you focused on your writing?

I have several support systems. One is my family. My wife is a great encouragement to me and helps keep me centered on what’s important when I travel the roller coaster that is being an author. My daughters, my sons-in-law, my grandchildren and my extended family are my cheerleaders, keeping me motivated. Another support system I have is my critique group family. I want to give a shout out to my Word Weavers of Lake County, FL, group. Every month, it’s so good to meet and encourage one another as well as keep in touch in the days and weeks in-between. Another support system is my agent and his agency. Jim Hart and Elizabeth Kim have been so helpful in giving advice about the world of publishing. Then, of course, each publisher and their team are always so helpful. You can always learn a lot from all of them.

I always like to know where is your favorite place to write?

I have an office (a converted bedroom, actually) where most of the magic happens. However, if I had my wish, I’d be on the balcony of a condo, overlooking the beach, with a laptop desk in front of me, a cool breeze blowing off the ocean, and a drink sitting next me on a table. Between naps, who knows how many words a day I could write in that environment. J

It has been fun getting to know you better. And I hope my readers are curious about The Letters and preorder it. Click here to preorder.

More about Kevin

KEVIN THOMPSON is a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a kid at heart. Often referred to as “crazy” by his grandchildren, it’s only because he is. He’s a writer. Need he say more? Kevin is a huge fan of the TV series 24, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, NCIS, Criminal Minds, BBC shows Broadchurch, Shetland, Hinterland, and Wallander, loves anything to do with Star Trek, and is a Sherlock Holmes fanatic too. But you will never catch him wearing a deerstalker. Ever.

The second edition of his award-winning debut novel, The Serpent’s Grasp, is now available! The first four books of his Blake Meyer Thriller series are out as well. Book 1, 30 Days Hath Revenge, Book 2, Triple Time, Book 3, The Tide of Times, and Book 4, When the Clock Strikes Fourteen, are now available! Book 5, A Pulse of Time, is coming Memorial Day 2020! Book 6, Devil of a Crime, is coming fall 2020! And, his new standalone novel, The Letters, available in e-book to pre-order, and will release on February 18, 2020! The Letters is a “Christmas Carol-esque” book that will haunt your family pleasantly for years to come!