Baker Mischief Book 4
Political Thriller
Date Published: 06-10-2025
What would happen if a man of integrity, calm judgment, and firm
conservative principles were elected our President? Would he do better than
what we have? Or might he discover that behind America’s expressed
principles something still lingers from the Fall? That behind our longing
for justice, for community, for fairness, for freedom, for beauty,
proportion, for the things that nurture all that is good, Something is still
out there?
Let’s see.
Interview
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
I would say perhaps the central message in all my fiction is that contemporary American problems are complicated but not unsolvable. Behind that is the conviction that nearly any ideology distorts the problem and its causes, and necessarily makes problems harder to solve.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I want to make my characters as complex as people are in real life. And I would like to write better, more “listenable” dialogue, conversations in which each person’s speech is distinctively theirs.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written one memoir and four books of “political fiction.” The memoir, about my first wife’s illness and the dementia that led to her death, was about the hardest thing I’ve ever done. In some ways, it’s my best because it demanded the best out of me, but it’s certainly not an easy read, and I don’t think it’s my favorite. I’m still sitting with Wednesday, After, my most recent book, so I can’t judge it yet. I really did like First Tuesday, the one I did last year. Some nice surprises came out of that one.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
My main character is a retirement-age college professor who has some burning passions about justice. He is modest, handsome enough, a good teacher, and an experienced listener. Students love him because he takes them seriously. He is never arrogant, and he is skilled at enabling his students to realize their abilities—both in the sense of understanding their own value and achieving greatness. Martin Sheen (West Wing) would be the kind of actor I’d envision.
When did you begin writing?
I have been a writer since high school. I have been a story-teller since 2018. I became a novelist in 2021 or so.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
All of these books take about 10-11 months. I could write faster, but I have a life that I’m enjoying.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
Actually a bunch of writers, and I’d start with Dante in the 14th century. Writers like Tom Clancy, Stephen Hunter, John Ringo, Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, and C.S. Lewis all have played a role.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Finishing.
But seriously, the political novels I write require a fair amount—sometimes an intense amount—of research. I’m not a political scientist, like my main character, I’m a retired English professor. Understanding why things are the way they are in Washington, and how they got that way, meant (for Mondays, Mondays) hours of reading about the Supreme Court and how its decisions have affected us. It’s fascinating.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
Presidents can’t imagine consequences.
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?
One of my brothers wants me to write a book about local bureaucracy, and call it Friday Afternoons Off, and it’s possible. It would take my characters Ed and Melody Baker off the national stage, and give me a new direction. I’m already working on Thursday, Far to Go, the working title of the next book on national politics.
But I started off three years ago on a book called Upstream which addresses contemporary social landmines. Those are the kinds of problems that we find extraordinarily hard to remedy. We tend to see social problems way “downstream,” after they’ve gotten complicated, because we haven’t faced into their root causes. The causes are often deeply rooted in the way we think and how we’re influenced by others. So I’d like to work on that, but I think I will need to buy body armor first. The people who like simple solutions are out there, and don’t like to face how complicated people and culture really are. And no one likes to be responsible for creating our current social confusion, which probably means we are all responsible.
About the Author
Dr. Richard Sherry is the author of the Baker Mischief series, including A
Month of Sundays (2022) ; Mondays, Mondays (2023) ; and First Tuesday 2024.
The political thriller series introduces retired political science professor
Dr. Ed Baker, determined to open up American politics to daylight. He is
almost always up against both the law and forces attempting to conceal their
influence on American life. In A Month of Sundays, Baker uncovers who owns
senators up for election in 2020 and releases their emails to the voters in
their states. In Mondays, Mondays, he reveals a "voting bloc" in
the Supreme Court and who is influencing them. In First Tuesday, Baker and
his former students look at the influential forces behind the 2024
presidential election, with surprising results.
Richard released a memoir in 2020, The Long Run: Meditations on Marriage,
Dementia, Caregiving, and Loss (2020), about his first wife's illness and
death.
Richard is a retired college professor and administrator. He resides in
Minnesota and winters in Arizona with his wife Marjorie Mathison Hance,
author of the North lakes Murder Mystery Series.
Contact Links
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Purchase Links
https://mybook.to/WednesdayAfter
Amazon
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