Indie Interview with Giacomo Giammatteo, author of Murder Takes Time #mystery
Conversations with authors and writers from the self-publishing world.
Meet Giacomo Giammatteo
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Best Known for: Murder Takes Time
Somehow he survived the transition to adulthood, but when his kids were young, he left the Northeast and settled in Texas, where his wife suggested they get a few animals. He should have known better. They now have a full-blown animal sanctuary with rescues from all over. At last count, they had 41 animals—12 dogs, a horse, a three-legged cat and 26 pigs. Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who takes walks with him every day and happens to also be his best buddy.
Since this is a bio, some of you might wonder what he does. By day, he is a headhunter, scouring the country for top talent to fill jobs in the biotech and medical device industry. In the evening, he helps his wife tend the animals, and at night—late at night—he turns into a writer.
Today, I’d like to welcome Giacomo
(Jim) Giammatteo to the Masquerade Crew. I have had the pleasure of
reading one of Jim’s books; Murder Takes Time and thoroughly
enjoyed it, so you can imagine how excited I was to have the
opportunity to interview him.
Dear Jim, thank you very much for agreeing to participate in the Indie Author Spotlight.
How long have you been writing
and how did you get started?
I got started late in life,
when my youngest son was a teenager. He had been an avid reader until
8th grade when the school began mandatory reading of
certain books. To keep him from losing interest in reading
altogether, I bought some fantasy books and we began reading them
together and then discussing plots, characters, etc. Soon we carried
this further, to the crazy notion that we could write a book, so we
plotted out a series of epic fantasies, and started writing. But then
he discovered girls, who were far more interesting than fantasy
books, and that left me alone. I put the idea on the shelf for years,
but then got the bug and began writing. I haven’t stopped since.
Your book, Murder Takes Time, is
doing exceptionally well, was this your first book? If not, what was
your first published book and did it do well?
The first book I wrote was
the fantasy I mentioned above, but I haven’t published it. I have
three of the four books done in the fantasy series. When I finish the
fourth, I’ll publish them. I like to make sure things all fit into
place before I publish.
Tell us a little bit about
Murder Takes Time…
Murder Takes Time is
my…baby. I grew up on those streets mentioned in the book, and a
lot of the trouble the kids got into really happened. Even the roach
races were real. (There is a picture of the original sign we used to
advertise on my website.) It came about because my kids kept
insisting I write a story about my time growing up, but I couldn't
figure out how to tell it. Then I came up with MTT.
How does this book differ from
other mystery novels?
I think it differs in a lot
of ways. First, the entire premise is different. People call it a mob
story, and a mystery, and so on, but it’s not really that. It’s a
story about three kids and the friendship they had. It’s about life
and how people get torn apart by things that happen in their lives.
Most of all it’s about friendship and honor–old school codes by
some standards—and how that can affect a person’s life.
So instead of starting with a mystery, I started with three boys and their code of honor and built a mystery around them. Perhaps the best way to describe it is to use something one of the Amazon reviewers said. I wish I’d have thought of this myself:
- This novel is not just a murder mystery.
- This novel is not just a thriller.
- This novel is not just a love story.
- This novel is not just a life story.
- This novel is all in one. OBI Amazon reviewer
You have achieved what many indie authors dream of- how did your success come about?
It’s difficult to say what
success is, or isn’t. I certainly haven’t achieved “success”
in terms of sales, but I have in my own mind by the reception I’ve
gotten for my books. The readers seem to enjoy them and that matters
the most to me. In fact, the best measure of success for me was when
I went to the genre I’m in on Amazon—hard-boiled crime
fiction—and I sorted by Average Customer Review. Out of @ 4500
books, my three books were rated # 1, 2, and 3. That made my day when
I saw that. It was far better than sales, although my wife might
disagree with that.
Do you have any special tips that you’d like to share with other authors, regarding writing, marketing or publishing?
I’m not big on giving
advice because everyone has to do what they feel is right, but there
are a few universal truths to writing, IMO. If I were forced to name
three, it would be these: make all your characters real,
not just the primary ones; learn to be a storyteller; ignore most
rules of writing and write what you feel in your heart.
Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers?
Thanks! And I mean that.
Readers are fantastic. When I get a letter from a reader telling me
they liked the book, it makes my day. If there is one thing I’d
like to let them know it’s that (IMO) most writers don’t do this
for money; they write to share their stories and, hopefully, have
them enjoyed.
Why did you choose to write in the mystery genre?
I first published in the
mystery genre, but I actually write in several genres, including
Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, and have even started dabbling in
children’s books.
Do you also read? What sort of books?
I used to read every night.
Lately, I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time. When I do read it’s
a wide range: mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, history, military history,
biographies, business.
How did you learn to write?
By reading.
What are your thoughts on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
I could probably go on
forever about this. They both have their place, but I think in the
long run big, traditional publishing is in for a rough ride—unless
they change. The biggest obstacle all writers face is visibility,
even traditionally published writers have this problem, unless they
happen to be one of the lucky few who get the big budgets for
advertising. The second biggest obstacle is getting into physical
bookstores. Most of them won’t take an indie, which is almost
unbelievable nowadays, but it’s still the norm. That obstacle will
soon fall though, and when it does it will open up a huge new area of
opportunity for the self-published authors.
Do you have any more books being released soon?
I have five books out now,
although two were just released. Murder Takes Time, and its sequel,
which is Murder Has Consequences. There will be six books in this
series, each one following the “rules of murder” mentioned in
book one. Book three Murder Takes Patience should be out in the
spring.
I also have A Bullet For Carlos out, which is the first in another series, Blood Flows South. And I have just released a novella about one of the secondary characters in that book. The sequel, A Bullet From Dominic, will be out either late this year or early next year.
I also have my first non-fiction book out, No Mistakes Resumes, and it is the first in a new series. The second book No Mistakes Interviews will be out late this year.
I have another new series, Redemption, starting with a release in September of Old Wounds.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself or your books?
As to myself, I’ve been
married to my “Angela” for 44 years, since we were 17. (If you
read MTT you’ll know what that means.) I never graduated high
school because I got married and was supporting a family. My wife and
I have an animal sanctuary where we care for abused and abandoned
animals; we have 45 at present.
As to the books, I am passionate about
writing and delivering the best books I can to readers. I do
everything to ensure there are no mistakes. I even guarantee my
books. If you buy a book and don’t like it, all you have to do is
write me and tell me what you didn’t like and I’ll give you
another one free, or, if you don't want that, I’ll refund the
money. This applies to digital books only. And your reason can’t be
because of violence or language, because I tell everyone up front the
books have that. I have this stated on my website. The guarantee does
not apply to my non-fiction books.
Thank you, Giacomo!
