JIM CARSON
jamesacarson.com
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JIM CARSON, a former Marine, studied Theatre Arts at various California universities where he won numerous awards in acting, directing, and speech. His pursuit of a vocation that would satisfy his dreams led him to many occupations: firefighter, soybean farmer, director of Underwater Rescue, night school teacher, and the job that always paid the bills, a commercial construction contractor. Ask him to tell you about the time he was flying to his house in Key West and walked away after totaling his V-tail Bonanza on takeoff from the Destin Airport or the time when he was hired as a sparring partner, unaware it was Davy Moore, the Featherweight Champion of the World-he was paid $10 a round.Jim was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He has two adult children, one in Nashville, Tennessee and the other in Richmond, Virginia. He lives on 3 acres in a 1920 Italian Renaissance house with a small leak in the tile roof that nobody can find.
A Chasing After The Wind
A Chasing After The Wind is Jim Carson's long awaited novel and the first of his powerful trilogy.
No one should have to start life with a tragic loss, but Mack Shannon had no choice, it was as if he was born with a birthmark of a black cloud.
Sent by his Uncle Mickey to live at an all boys Catholic orphanage, he meets his life long nemesis, Crazy Ray, a devious and unsavory character that causes him to be hunted and beaten for a crime he didn't commit.
After a second clash with the police, his uncle is forced to take action and under the cover of darkness in the early morning mist,
Mack is shipped off on a towboat downriver to Natchez, Mississippi to live with a spinster aunt on her 100,000-acre farm, Shamrock Plantation.
These misfortunes are like a disease with no cure, but Mack learns to use them as building blocks for the upcoming challenge of a once in a lifetime opportunity from his Aunt Irish.
Will Mack rise to the challenge of becoming greater than he ever imagined, or will he fall into the Memphis underworld of drug lords and hit men?
Praise for Jim Carson’s
A CHASING AFTER THE WIND
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“What a treat Jim Carson is! Rarely do you find a new author with such a clean, crisp style – each phrase locking you into the moment with a sharp clarity. The pace in the beginning of the book has you breathing in gasps from the onset – high-intensity scenes empowered by remarkably descriptive prowess. The first quarter of the novel fairly races along before the author pulls back the throttle a little and begins to allow the reader into the depth of his characters. And the characters are skillfully brought to life – bright, dangerous, sexy, and manipulative.
In A Chasing After The Wind, we watch a young, gritty Irishman rise from a “child of the street” to a man of power and wealth, but it’s a tangled, vicious, sensual journey, with more twists and turns than a “Wild Mouse” roller coaster. Carson’s style reminds me of a combination of Lee Child and Harold Robbins. His exacting knowledge of military tactics, aviation, boxing, skiing, automobiles, and weapons makes the book “believable” on so many levels, and his sense of timing is impeccable. With the debut of this novel I’m left a little in awe. While I’m considered a “best-selling novelist” with ten books to my credit, I somehow feel, a year or two from now, I’ll be saying with pride, “Yeah, I knew Jim Carson when he was just beginning…”
Michael Reisig – author of “The Road To Key West” series
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A Man's Hungry Heart
A Man’s Hungry Heart is the sequel to master storyteller Jim Carson’s powerful trilogy that takes place in the river town of Memphis, Tennessee overlooking the mighty Mississippi.
After the début novel, A Chasing After The Wind, Mack Shannon continues his quest for power and recognition by gambling all that he owns and can borrow to design and construct, a development consisting of the Trinity Towers: three, 33 story corporate towers, a world class shopping mall, and The Astor Hotel and Casino.
This is the largest private endeavor in the history of Tennessee. Mack spends every waking hour fighting to insure its success, but two of his childhood nemesis, Crazy Ray and Dago, return and continue their revenge to destroy his empire.
Mack, a patron of the arts, has offered his palatial home to celebrate the 125th birthday of The Beethoven Club. Among the guests is Chancellor McKenzie O’Connor, a woman who can finally match him in wit and ambition, and when introduced: Mack turned at the call of his name and was so stunned by her natural beauty and magnetism that his heart skipped a beat. He was close, so close he could smell her minted breath. He stared for the longest time into her green eyes and for the first time he understood what the songwriter meant when he wrote, “When Irish eyes are smiling, they steal your heart away.”
Fantasy is not reality. Reality, of which he is unaware, is that she has signed a warrant for his arrest.
Now, at the top of his game, he has narrowed his objectives to what is most important in his life: his legacy and his 10-year old daughter, Irish Shannon. Will Mack complete his life long dream of power and fame? Or will he have to risk more than just his fortune to save his young daughter?
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Praise for Jim Carson’s
A MAN'S HUNGRY HEART
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A wonderful book that captures one young man's struggle to riches and power. A must read for any fan of Southern literature!
Amazon Reviewer
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In “A Man’s Hungry Heart” Carson shows the gutsy depth and character-driven storytelling of great authors like Michener and Clavell. Filled with rich detail and protagonists that walk off the page, Carson describes the life, and love, and sometimes danger of the high finance, jet-set society, and the continuous, sometime shady, struggle for power and wealth. He captures you with characters and situations so real – whether it be the complexities of high-rise construction, the deft control of aircraft, or underseas adventures off Key West, you just know this writing comes more from “been there and done that” than imagination. Another great read by this new author!
Michael Reisig, Clear Creek Press
Author of "The Road to Key West" series
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I gave the first book in this trilogy 5 stars and the second is even better and I plan to try to preorder the last in the series. This one was even better and I can't wait to see how the story of Mack and Irish ends. They deserve a happy life but I'll have to wait and see. I've recommended it to several of my friends. I love this kind of book It draws you into each character's life and gives you glimpses of their lives in the past and present.
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Amazon Reviewer
The Right Choice
In his most powerful novel, The Right Choice—the third book of his dynamic trilogy—Jim Carson continues with the final story of Mack Shannon in his epic rags-to-riches series.
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Set in the river town of Memphis along the banks of the Mississippi River and the “way-down-South” Conch City of Key West, the story begins with newly appointed Federal Judge McKenzie O’Connor. Always late, she races to her first self-defense gun lesson at the home of Captain Kevin O’Shea of the Memphis Police after receiving threatening anonymous letters. This one lesson saves her life when she is confronted with a drugged-out, lifelong criminal. From one disaster to another, Mack is continuously fighting off attacks by his nemeses, Crazy Ray and Dago—most egregious, the kidnapping of Mack’s daughter, Irish.
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With skill and passion, the author moves quickly through a rich range of characters:
​-- Dr. Jin Girod, M.D. and veterinarian, a true Cajun and soon to be a part of Mack’s family.
​-- Amala Kahn, beautiful Moslem, deceptive, con artist. Captain Kevin O’Shea was thinking marriage—Amala was thinking money.
​-- Dr. Devi Shah, eminent neurosurgeon who comes to Mack’s rescue.
-- Nico, you will have to wait and see for yourself.
​-- There’s Elizabeth and Darcy, Romeo and Juliet, Scarlett and Rhett, and now you have Mack and McKenzie.
“THE RIGHT CHOICE.” A great read! It made me miss three of my favorite TV shows. I couldn't stop reading and as soon as I finished, I ordered book one, “A CHASING AFTER THE WIND” and book two, “A MAN’S HUNGRY HEART.” Forget TV, I’m going back to reading again. Thank you, Jim Carson.
​Deborah Diane Miller, 2025
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Jim Carson is a gifted writer. If you read, “The Right Choice,” the third book of his trilogy just published this year (2025), you will know why. His characters jump off the pages as real people, especially the protagonists Mack Shannon and McKenzie O’Connor. It is a fast read, a page turner, a rags to riches story that you will go back and read over again.
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Robert Pinner, 2025
Finally, Mr. Carson has come out with the last book of his trilogy. I have been eagerly awaiting (checking Amazon and his website) for his third book in this series. Wow, the wait was well worth it. First, I went back and read the last two chapters of the sequel so I could follow the end of the story and pick up where the new story, The Right Choice, begins. Guess what? Those two chapters hooked me again. I binged, and read all three books over a weekend. It was great, it was like watching a great TV series. Chapter after chapter, thoroughly researched and skillfully crafted, the storyline flowed with such powerful narrative and artful dialogue, three books became one.
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Steven R. Pepper, 2025
What I like best about Jim Carson’s riveting writing style is his books read like a combination of fiction and nonfiction, especially his latest book, “The Right Choice.” I learn something new every time I read one of his books. I’ll read something incredible about his main character, Mack Shannon, like losing an engine flying his airplane, Hookah diving while lobstering in Key West, or snow skiing deep powder on Black Diamond slopes in Aspen. I’ll say to myself, that can’t be right. Then, I google it and he’s right. He must do a tremendous amount of research, or could Jim Carson be Mack Shannon? :) Uh-oh, what about romance? No problem, there’s lots of strong and passionate women, especially the fiery redhead protagonist, McKenzie O’Connor.​
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J. Anthony, 2025
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JIM CARSON