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ABOUT M THOMAS LONG
M Thomas Long has been a writer, speaker, and trainer for over 20 years. He and his wife of 32 years live just outside Nashville, TN. He has one daughter, and as of last spring, a son-in-law.
Blue Monday marks his entry into the world of fiction writing, something he will tell you has been on his life list for many years, but he just never took the time to make it happen. During a near fatal incident, one of the main regrets he felt was that he never wrote the books that were inside him wanting to be written.
In Blue Monday, his first fiction novel, he draws from a rich and varied background that includes designing and performing as a concert stage lighting designer with Grammy award winning artists, working alongside many pastors and celebrities, and traveling the country working as a Microsoft technical trainer.
His hobbies include reading, golf, motorcycles, drawing, running, guitar (ok, a little guitar), songwriting with his daughter, and traveling with his wife.
Visit M Thomas Long’s site: www.mthomaslong.com
ABOUT BLUE MONDAY
Matt McAllister is the pastor of the fifth largest church in his state. He was a very public opponent of the lottery. When he accidentally purchases a ticket, he is stunned but his children are elated.His plan: throw the ticket away, protect his position as a minister and avoid wrestling with the very real temptation to take the money and run…even if the odds are millions to one. His children’s plan: rescue the ticket from the trash, wait for the drawing and start deciding on cars, vacation homes, and travel destinations.
Long before the drawing takes place, Matt struggles to deal with the responsibilities and challenges of being a pastor, a father, and a husband as he deals with a long list of people and circumstances ranging from eclectic and funny, to frustrating and sad.
Matt begins each day determined to put the situation with the ticket behind him. The harder he works to deal with it, the bigger it gets. Every effort to avoid the potential damage the situation could cause makes it spin out of control even faster as new circumstances unfold.
Then the drawing takes place.
Suddenly, there’s at least 186 million reasons, some hilarious, some tragic, that Matt’s life, family, friends, and church will never be the same.”
Blue Monday by M Thomas LongMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was an absolutely refreshing book that I think just about anyone would enjoy. I loved the premise of the book. What would a pastor do if he won the lottery--even if it was by mistake? And from there, one thing led to another which led to another, which led to yet another thing. I think you would call it the snowball effect. This book is written with a fantastic sense of humor, and although it seemed like a thick book, I had no problem finishing it in just a few hours!
There are no sex scenes--only a happily married couple who still want to be together after 20 years and are faithful to each other! There are a few mild "profanity" words, but it is nothing major, and mostly I found them humorous because of how they were used. It was nice to see a church where the gospel was being preached and the pastor believed he was called to be a minister. And yet he liked country music!
I was a Southern Baptist before I came to my current denomination, so I know somewhat about Baptist issues and church politics. This book was right on. The secretary essentially "runs" the church, and there are the proverbial church board members who also love to gossip and complain. And I was so glad the minister had an older mentor to turn to in his times of need. I think he should have consulted with him a little bit more and not tried to do everything on his own. But I'll let you guys make that call--read the book for yourself.
This is one of the most delightful Christian books I have read in a while. I might complain if a Christian publishing company published it because of the few choice words in the book, but I loved this, and I think most people would. Don't worry--it's not preachy at all. I think that will increase it appeal.
The name of the book is quite intriguing. I never thought about Monday's being a let-down for ministers. And I guess that makes sense. Sunday is the big day for them, and then on Monday, it is rather "blue."
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, an all opinions are 100 percent mine.
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Adding to my TBR list!
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