Thank you for reading Never Look Back and supporting Book Cabana!
I’ve been writing books since I was twelve years old, and publishing for the last eight years. I always wanted to be a horror writer when I grew up, having read just about everything Stephen King and Dean Koontz put out. But as life does, it had other plans for me.
I still write and publish horror, but I’ve found a more natural feel for writing in the thriller genre. Naturally, that’s led me to read the likes of Baldacci, Child, Patterson, Silva, etc. You know, all the big household names in the crime/thriller sphere.
These authors have built massive careers by producing books readers find addicting. My focus over the past year was to get a deep understanding of what goes into such wildly successful books. And so, the character of Jonny Mendez was born!
Ex-SEAL, ex-CIA, and all around bad ass. What can’t he do?!
With Jonny, I wanted to create a familiar, but different character. I’m not aware of any Latino action heroes in the book world. In film, we have Machete! But as I browse the best seller charts, I don’t see any characters who look like me…not that Jonny Mendez looks like me. The guy could swallow me whole!
More than appearances, I wanted to bring my culture and background into the character and story. The family struggles, crazy aunts, and of course, the constant search for good green chile (which I was surprised to learn isn’t even a thing in many states – poor Jonny!).
This was also my first book written in the first person. I don’t why, but I always had a fear, or maybe just a discomfort, for writing in the first person. I’d tried it in the past and gave up after a chapter. But for this book, I forced myself through it, and by chapter three, realized I was writing not only in first person, but in the present tense.
Oof!
My editor had some words for me on that, but it’s all good now. Now, I can’t imagine writing in the third person. I had so much fun staying in one character’s mind throughout an entire story. And with it being Jonny Mendez, I can’t wait to write more sticky situations to help him get through.
He’s your typical ex-military drifter who has to come up with crafty ways to get out of dangerous scenarios. In Never Look Back, he has to deal with a cartel raising all kinds of hell in the small town he was simply trying to escape to for a quiet vacation (hate when that happens!). Mix in some questionable cops, feds, and politicians, and Jonny has the recipe for chaos.
But only he can sift through it all. Who can he trust?
All that matters is that you can trust him.
Enjoy meeting Jonny, and be sure to check back for your adventures with him.
Happy reading!
Andre Gonzalez