Posted on by admin

In Case You Missed It, The Big Cinch is Here

Civil Courts Building and downtown St. Louis. Setting for The Big Cinch
St. Louis Civil Courts Building. It’s obviously haunted. The Big Cinch by Kathy L. Brown, published by Montag Press.  Order here. (Images courtesy Missouri History Museum) Amazon.co.uk orders, here.

A new novel from Montag Press, The Big Cinch is a supernatural noir adventure by Kathy L. Brown. Order today. Sean Joye, a fae-touched young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean, new life in America. Until he asks the wrong questions. . . 

Click here to ORDER The Big Cinch

(Note: This post is an update of 12/9/21’s blog.)

I’ve been talking on and on about my new novel, The Big Cinch, for several months. (Some of you have listened to me on this topic for years!) I thought I’d devote some blog time to a proper pitch. Writers must often make these presentations to agents and editors. It’s hard! I worked on this spiel for days. Reading it will give you some insight into the publishing process as well as a teaser for The Big Cinch.

Sean Joye Investigations

The Big Cinch is a Dashiell-Hammett-style supernatural noir mystery novel featuring wizards and Mississippian mythology. A self-contained story, its events occur after those of my other Sean Joye Investigations: The Resurrectionist and Water of Life. These three books can be read in any order without confusion.

A Young Irish Veteran in America

Sean Joye is a disillusioned young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War. A recent immigrant to St. Louis, he finds himself embroiled in the activities of an elite, magic-dabbling family. The youngest daughter, Lillian, is eager to share her secrets—as well as her bedroom—with Sean, but he falls hard for Lillian’s fiancé, a WWI flying ace with a few secrets of his own.

The Big Cinch

Sean asks the wrong questions about a kidnapped toddler and missing Mississippian and Osage artifacts. Soon he is on the run, a suspect in his lover’s bludgeoning and a tycoon’s murder. The city’s powerbrokers protect their own interests with every resource at their command, from homophobic rumor to police brutality to dark magic. 

A Shadowy, Magical World

The Big Cinch immerses the reader in a magic-laced world that has barely survived a brutal global war, the 1918 flu epidemic, and rampant ethnic violence. The cosmic balance is off kilter, allowing destructive energies to seep through cracks in reality. Those energies have touched Sean. Ignoring his magical insights since childhood, Sean hoped to escape fae attention, forget his assassin past, and make a clean new life in America. He must tap the abilities he’s long rejected to protect the innocent and save his own skin. 

If You Like . . . . You Might Like The Big Cinch

The Big Cinch will appeal to a wide range of readers: 

  • Fans of a wise-cracking mage, such as in Ben Aaronovitch’s The Hanging Tree, Steven Blackmoore’s Dead Things, and Jim Butcher’s Skin Games. 
  • Lovers of secret societies that worship mysterious, supernatural forces, such as in Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country, Victor LaValle’s Ballad of Black Tom, Cherie Priest’s Chapelwood, and China Mieville’s The Last Days of New Paris. 
  • Supporters of fiction that reflects cultural and sexual diversity, such as in Anne Bishop’s Lake Silence: The World of the Others and V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Light. 
Book covers of Big Cinch comp titles
The Big Cinch is in good company. I enjoyed reading all these books for my comp title research.

What do you think Sean should investigate next? Comment on the blog. Click the blog title and a comment box will open at the bottom of the page.

If you enjoyed reading about my new novel, you might like this look at my process.

Click here to ORDER The Big Cinch

You can subscribe to the blog from the website landing page (scroll down).

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

Reviews, even a line or two, put the books you love in a more prominent position on Amazon and are vital for independent and small-press books to find their audience. Remember your most recent read? Leave a review for it on Amazon or Goodreads today.

Subscribe to the monthly newsletter for exclusive content. And, of course, I’m selling books. Check out all my stories at Amazon.com or visit my Shop to buy from Barnes and Noble. Wolfhearted is also available as an Audible audiobook, here.

 If you’ve enjoyed one of my books, tell the world! Consider leaving a short review at Audible, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Goodreads. The direct link to review The Big Cinch on Amazon is here, Wolfhearted  is here, The Resurrectionist, here, and Water of Life, here. Thanks in advance.

St. Louis Writers Guild published Love Letters to St. Louis last winter. This adorable letter-shaped volume of short stories, poems, essays, and illustrations included my first science fiction story, “Welcome to Earthport Prime: A Self-Guided Tour.” A perfect gift and profits benefit the guild’s young writers’ program. 

This post updated 1/6/2022