Welcome to the marvelous world of Moonshine Mafia, a Crime Caper, Inspired by True Events. The first book of a trilogy.
It’s a family saga. The McKenna family, Scots-Irish from Ulster, Ireland. My fictitious maternal family. I loved my actual family dearly and I’m forever grateful that they were such a assemblage of fascinating characters. Those now distant relatives gave my book it’s soul…and story line. They were moonshiners and bootleggers and the law would on occasion snatch them away from us, but mostly for home brewing liquor, something the family had done for hundreds of years.
The setting is Appalachia…West ‘By Gawd ‘Virginia, up in the hollow, excuse me, the holler. Prohibition American. What a fun time: Moonshine, mobsters, murder and mayhem. Bootleggers, flappers, speakeasy’s and bad guys called G-men. What’s not to like? It’s all here.
Moonshine Mafia, A Family Saga
Hi, this is Jon Marple. I wrote the book. Not every book mind you, just Moonshine Mafia. A Crime Caper. Inspired by True Events. Book One of a trilogy. The family McKenna, Scots-Irish from Ulster, Ireland.
In the first book, the McKenna family finds it’s way from Ulster to America before the American Revolution. A lust for freedom, land and a desire to be left alone, pushes them to the Appalachia mountains in Colonial Virginia. To the outer reaches of what would eventually be the State of West Virginia, in the Panhandle, nestled in the Northwest corner of the State, bordered by the Ohio River, just south of Pittsburgh, high up in a hollow called Devil’s Run. They take their stand with a few other like minded Scots-Irish people. The brew their alcohol as the clan had done for centuries.
We move forward to the early 1900’s to Pappy & Lula McKenna’s and their children. They have twins, Lamar and Loretta. Loretta wants out of the hollow. She wants her children to be free of moonshining, bootlegging and other family transgression. She becomes a religious zealot, a member of the Mormon faith. Lamar, however, pursues a life of crime.
Loretta’s first child is Jack. Jack Walker, the ‘Good Son’. He becomes a strait-laced defense lawyer, ‘Gentleman Jack’, and eventually takes that inevitable late-night call from his Uncle Lamar to bail him out of another ill-fated caper, but moonshine, the mob, lots of cash, and a beautiful woman ignite the dormant fire of his rebellious, Scots-Irish nature.
In the process, you will meet Jack, Larmar and Lorretta of course, but they come with a grand cast of characters:
- Larry Prittchitt, Lamar’s criminal side-kick. He’s fat and funny and has palsy. He doesn’t mean to be funny, but there it is.
- Peaches Fantazzi, the Madam in Lamar’s brothel. Brash and sassy.
- Samantha Ruby, the sexiest girl in the cat-house.
- Pappy McKenna, the twins father. Henry McKenna, their grand father. Pappy defends his property with violence against federal agents. Both men imprisoned at one time or another in Federal Penitentiary’s for moonshine and bottlegging.
- Spencer “The Hillbilly Hotshot” Sprat, the defense lawyer & Jack’s law mentor.
- Big Gio, the mobster who controls the area.
- Sofia, Big Gio’s beautiful, sexy granddaughter, who grabs Jack’s heartstrings and will not let go.
It’s prohibition time when mobsters and Moonshiner’s got rich. Speakeasy’s, murders, flappers and riches. When Jack creates a flow of moonshine to big city mafia boss Al Capone, Bugs Moran, Lucky Luciano and other gang kingpins during prohibition, the blood flows and Jack Walker is in the middle of it all.
About Book two. Not so fast, Cowboy. You will have to wait a bit. But just for you, the first chapter can be found at moonshine-mafia.com.
Can’t wait for Book Two? Me, too, cause I have no idea how it will end.
Jon
PREORDER MOONSHINE MAFIA TODAY
About Moonshine Mafia
Welcome to the marvelous world of Moonshine Mafia, a Crime Caper, Inspired by True Events. The first book of a trilogy.
It’s a family saga. The McKenna family, Scots-Irish from Ulster, Ireland. My fictitious maternal family. I loved my actual family dearly and I’m forever grateful that they were such a assemblage of fascinating characters. Those now distant relatives gave my book it’s soul…and story line. They were moonshiners and bootleggers and the law would on occasion snatch them away from us, but mostly for home brewing liquor, something the family had done for hundreds of years.
The setting is Appalachia…West ‘By Gawd ‘Virginia, up in the hollow, excuse me, the holler. Prohibition American. What a fun time: Moonshine, mobsters, murder and mayhem. Bootleggers, flappers, speakeasy’s and bad guys called G-men. What’s not to like? It’s all here.
It’s meant to be entertaining and fun. I did start out striving to be to a serious writer like Hemingway, but I fell short. I thought, ‘That’s fine, since Hemingway had no sense of humor what with all the wars and loss of private parts and such’.
It is inspired by true events. Yep, that’s true…sort of. My family didn’t do the dastardly law-breaking like the family in the book. Well, not all of them.
This is my first novel, but Book Two…Moonshine Mafia, The Good Son, is on its way! I admire how you exercised such remarkable restraint at that exciting announcement.
Illustrations by Robert Santoré
You can purchase book one right on this page. Audio, ebook and print. For fun post and update’s, go to instagram.com/moonshinemafiabook/.
Ready for you to laugh and cry, love and hate. Then you can move on to Chapter two.
When that glorious date comes and you have your own treasured copy of Moonshine Mafia in hand and all comfy in your favorite reading spot, I suggest a wee touch of Moonshine to get into the proper motif of the book.
I can assure you, that will help the read go down smooth and easy, with a nice little kick at the end.
About The Author
Jon Marple has been in law and business for over fifty years.
His early years were defined in the Appalachia hills of West Virginia, before the family moved to Columbus, Ohio.
The transition from a Hillbilly boy to white middle class America of the 1950's, was quite a cultural shock for the Lad. He found his footing in sports, playing on championship teams in football and baseball at Columbus North High School. From there it was off to Brigham Young University, where he got mildly more interested in academia, and became the first member of his family to graduate from college.
At the College of Law at the University of Washington, he discovered he had a knack for writing, winning the Moot Court competition for best written brief brief before graduating with a Juris Doctor degree. He also played on the University's first rugby squad.
As a trial lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice, Jon was in many high profile cases, the most notable being the infamous “Pentagon Papers” trial.
Moving to the Federal Communications Commission as a Senior Appellant Attorney he defined his writing skills with briefs before the Federal Appeal's Court and the Supreme Court.
Eventually, he decided to venture into private business and law, founding a start-up company that eventually became listed on NASDAQ, where he served as Board Chairman and CEO.
He has been writing short stories through the years, some can be viewed in the 'Short Stories' section on this web site.
Now, he has published his novel, “Moonshine Mafia.” Inspired by true events, this family saga is just the beginning, as two more books in the Moonshine series are on the horizon.
Father of four with twelve grandchildren, he lives in Montgomery, Texas. He enjoys swimming, the Buckeye's and Astro's.
Chapters
Fire In The Holler
The Law Steps In
Lamar Walks the Straight and Narrow
The House on 21st Street
Larry Gets a Gun
Peaches is a Pip
The Law Comes a-Callin’
Land and Freedom
On the Road to Atlanta
Is There a Doctor In The House?
The Race Is On
Purdy As a Peach
Lamar, You Are Lookin’ Fine Today
Let’s Roll a Quirly
Greatest Truck Values in America!
Peaches Fantazzi and Samantha Ruby A Pair You Can Bank On
Curly’s Dream A Bootleggin’ Souped Up Six-Ton Truck
Sweet as Peach Pie
Pillow Talk
Road Trip!
Scrap Iron is My Life
The Big Truck Rolls
Nothin’ too big, ya understand. Just a small piece of da pie.
Lamar Cases The Joint
Is it Love? Or Money, Honey?
Lamar on Bended Knee…Quite a Sight
The Bride Wore White
The Devil’s in the Details
Thunder is a Rollin’
Trouble in Paradise
Welcome back, Lamar. We’ve missed you.
Jack’s Epiphany
Willie Jack and Loretta
You Don’t Mess With Loretta McKenna
Jack is Hamburger’d
An Eye for the Buckeyes
Jack, I Need Your Help…
Lock Up
So Happy to See You Back in Court, Lamar
Meet the Nickelodeon five
Pappy Gets Served
How’d They Know That?
An Impartial Jury From a Cross-section of The Community Sixth Amendment to The Constitution
It Really Don’t Matter That Much
The FBI Seeks Justice
FBI…we’re here to help
The Red Dress at Big Gio’s
Mule Kick, Kick’s In
Illustrations
Illustrations by Robert Santoré
Reviews
Moonshine Mafia
A Crime Caper Inspired by True Events
Written by Jon H. Marple
Contact
20821 D. Eva Street, Suite 82
Montgomery, Texas, 77356
howdy@moonshine-mafia.com
www.Moonshine-Mafia.com
+1 (936)525-0202
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