Jonathan McCarthy

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I am a native of Maine and had the great fortune of knowing many, many relatives who grew up during the early decades of the 1900's and their stories inspire my stories. I am a nurse by trade in the area of psychiatric nursing have always been fascinated by disorders of the mind.

When and why did you start writing books?

I started in August of 2022. I had thought about writing for years and have spent countless hours on tractors and riding lawn mowers thinking about various stories. Finally, I had ordered a new laptop and wanted to do something interesting with it, rather than just paying bills online.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

Once I started writing, I couldn't stop. I am a complete "pantser" and never write from a plot. I have a general idea of where I want the story to end, but mostly I just imagine what someone might say or do in a given situation. So far, the stories continue to flow, and I want to keep writing as long as possible.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

The Mothers McGinn which will be out in late spring 2023. It has everything. Tragedy and triumph, good and evil and mostly it has life lessons spoken by a widow with twelve children. When I wrote it, some scenes made me laugh and some brought me to tears, but mostly I felt a sense of accomplishment at telling a story that I hope will make people feel good. A close second is Vindicta Sum which is a psychological thriller with a major twist. This was the most fun to write because I didn't know what would happen from one page to the next. This will be out in summer 2023 and is a departure from my historic fiction series.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

The third book in the McGinn Family Saga which is currently in the rewrite phase and is tentatively titles The Clan McGinn. It was difficult because I broke from my usual pattern and wrote from a plot, so the writing was very slow and the ideas don't flow as quickly when trying to stay within the context of a chapter.

Who is your favourite author and book?

I like Patrick O' Brian and the Aubrey-Maturin series that was the basis for the Master and Commander movie. His attention to historical detail puts you (the reader) on these ships and this is probably part of my love for historical fiction. I feel like the peril is so real that I have to tell myself they will live in the end, because there are more books.

What book are you reading right now?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (no relation)

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

From all around me. Anything could be an inspiration. The first book (The Red Road) is based upon an actual event in my family from the 1930s where a great-uncle was murdered on a dark country road. The case was never solved, and the story is my own version of how people would react to such a tragedy. I feel like anything, or anyone could be the inspiration for a great story.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I have a young son, so I truly do not have too much free time, But I try to get out and enjoy all the Maine has to offer. It is an incredible state and even living here for the greater part of my life I have not visited all of it yet.

Do you have any new books in the works?

I expect to publish five books in 2023-early 2024. I am working on a historical thriller about a private psychiatric hospital. It is not your typical "mad scientist" doctor story. It's about a regular doctor who finds himself compromising his scruples more and more to satisfy a rich benefactor and his own desires. The book also addresses the all too real struggles of women and homosexuals in the late 1930's world of psychiatric hospitals.