Mount Vernon firefighter and paramedic publishes third thriller

Mount Vernon local Jared McCann recently published his third novel, "Enemies with Me."

In between serving his hometown as a firefighter and paramedic, McCann pens thrillers. In his latest book, he uses his hometown as the setting for his suspenseful story involving a young girl on the run and a firefighter/paramedic who feels compelled to protect her. McCann finds joy and inspiration using the familiar sights of his area.

With two other novels, “Marked for Judgement” and “The Dead will Rise,” under his belt, McCann said he felt drawn to write a story about a child in danger.

“I for one, and I like to believe many others, like a story about a young child who has their life threatened and someone bold to stand up for them, even when that person doesn’t know much, if anything, about them— someone who’s willing to put their life on the line for that child,” McCann told the Mount Vernon News in an interview.

McCann has to get creative to find the time to write around his busy schedule that includes a leading youth group and woodworking. He began writing after a year of reading many novels.

“I thought, 'These authors started somewhere, so can I— I can do this too,'” he said. “And from there I started writing, many nights staying up till one or two or three in the morning doing it.”

Without God, he noted he couldn't have done it. While faith plays a part in his stories, McCann bills himself as a writer who is a Christian, not a Christian author. He said his stories are for everyone, and he hopes they will resonate with readers from all walks of life, pointing out that writing good characters is key.

“When you can really hate or love a character, care about what happens to them, connect with them, feel what they’re feeling, then you can really entertain your reader,” he said.

McCann is proud of his efforts, considering he has no writing background. It allows him to tell anyone interested in writing that it's possible.

“Like many things, you just have to put your heart and mind to it, but then you actually have to follow through and put in the effort and hard work,” he said.

McCann will be signing books outside CA&C Railroad Depot on Oct. 16 from 4-7 p.m. His book is available from Paragraphs Bookstore, Amazon and through him.