2016 IPPY Gold Medalist, Southern Fiction
"I like the insider view Matt Minor gives us on Texas politics. Remember the Rough Riders? A diverse bunch of soldiers, from gamblers and prospectors to college men and cowboys, they were brought together by Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Author Matt Minor is what I term a “rough writer.” He pulls together diverse characters and attitudes in a roughly drawn story that’s immediate, unpretentious and compelling."
-Chris Rogers Author of the Booker Krane series, speaker, writing instructor, and artist
-Chris Rogers Author of the Booker Krane series, speaker, writing instructor, and artist
Following a horrific terrorist attack on the southern border, a handsome, charismatic former rocker and poet, John David (JD) Dothan unexpectedly wins his district in the Texas Legislature.
After the freshman liberal is befriended by an influential colleague, Rep. Ron Martinez, he finds himself sitting on the controversial Select Joint Committee on Immigration Reform with his "first love," Pro-Life State Senator Rachael Logan. Together, JD and Rachael become the public face of the prestigious committee's contentious legislation. But the two are carrying not only the committee’s cause, but a destructive secret out of their mutual pasts' that could undermine it. Ever burdened with the stresses of family and business, the poet delves further into his romantic past; even if that past has the potential to undermine his future as a legislator. With the aid of his sharp but inexperienced Chief of Staff, Tryphena Taylor, he must navigate through a world where nothing is what it appears to be. Through a macabre twist of events that lead to a tumultuous rock bottom, Dothan is pulled not only towards the ugly reality of power, but his own redemption as well. 
A town has gone dry, and the general manager of a water district is found dead, presumably a suicide. His crazed widow is in denial and recklessly loose-lipped. Texas House District 100 is again in turmoil, and the interests of the landed class against urban sprawl are at odds.
Enter John David Dothan (The Representative). The world’s hippest legislator is back, but he is a changed man. Post-stroke Dothan dons an eccentric cane and is married to his former chief of staff, Tryphena Taylor. The two lovers reside peacefully tucked away in a country cottage with their rescued cat. But they are swimming against the tide. Caught between the past and the future, the rural and the urban, the representative is trapped in a no-win situation both politically and emotionally. When a constituent brings to his attention a mysterious ‘retention pond’ things grow increasingly murky. The waters turn completely dark when Dothan learns his forbidden first love, former State Senator Rachael Logan has been hospitalized. Armed with only his cane and sidekick, Mason Dixon (The District Manager), who serves as his new Chief of Staff, Dothan sets aside the ambiguities of politics and love in search of clarity and righteousness. But the cost of doing the right thing might not just be his young marriage…but Tryphena’s life. |
“Doing the right thing means you don’t eat”
So begins the sweltering narrative of District Manager, Mason Dixon, a haunted man serving Texas House District 100. After a constituent reaches out to his office with disturbing information about twisted activities going on in district, Mason finds himself drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a malevolent entity. While these events unfold, Mason begins dating a county judge’s assistant. Brenna is a single mother who is ready to start the next chapter of her life. Can she and the stoical Mason connect? Or will she become collateral damage to his unorthodox, occupational hazards? Mason soon finds that the danger has reached the highest ranks of the district, and that the century-old structure where he offices is not haunted, but instead possessed by an all too real menace. Can a man who is profoundly broken restore order when the very core of order itself has been corrupted? 
"Minor elevates the suspense genre with masterful literary eloquence." (Amazon Reviewer)
“Billy Lee Brammer Move Over,” (Amazon Reviewer) A pomegranate and rose, a feather, an ashen bird, an eight-pointed star… what do these and other ‘clues’ have in common? And what do they mean, if anything? Back from a tumultuous legislative session, divorced from his pregnant wife Tryphena, and living the life of a vagabond, Texas State Representative John David Dothan returns to House District 100 a beleaguered man. But his problems are just beginning. Rumors abound of potential opponents, from both parties. And the local headlines warn of an alleged stalker. What he needs at present is lodging, for both his office…and himself. At the advice of his chief of staff, Mason Dixon, he takes up residence in a hundred year old structure at the heart of the district. But working and living in the same spot might prove to be a grave misstep. In desperate need of an assistant, Dothan hires Kat Morgan, the dark haired daughter of a local elected official. Working alone together, it’s only a matter of time before an unprofessional love affair ensues. Soon the area is subsumed in a series of baffling, perversely artistic murders. Local authorities, under pressure to validate their power, circle the wagons for fear of outside interference. Suspect or solution, Dothan is dragged into both the investigation and a contentious political race; as his love for Kat consumes him. But what are Kat’s true intentions? And who is she really working for? Both by her contrivance and her ignorance, Kat is the culprit and the key that unlocks two mysteries. She is The Singular Passion… |