Q&A With Jay S. Bell

Lis Malone was kind enough to connect me with thriller author Jay S. Bell. Jay is the author of the new spy novel Welcome to Cottonmouth releasing this summer on July 8^{th from} Blackstone Publishing! 

Q: Jay would you please give a brief description of Welcome to Cottonmouth & talk about where the idea for the novel came from?

A:  Imagine if you will, he said in his best Rod Serling voice, a sleepy town far from the mainstream, buried deep in the pine forests of rural East Texas, where the residents are a bit…odd. Retired spies defected foreign agents, and ex-special operators live in anonymous peace and quiet, provided this sanctuary city to protect them from harm.

The story features an ensemble cast; however, it revolves around two main characters, Devlin Mahoney, a somewhat broken former undercover operative for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Britte Thorpe, a young woman with a checkered past.

As a cover occupation, Mahoney runs the Cottonmouth Motor Inn, and is the de facto mayor of the secret community, charged with maintaining the town’s cover and most importantly, staying out of trouble.

This may not have been the best choice, as Mahoney is a whole shipload of loose cannons. When Britte and a teenage girl check into The Cottonmouth, he learns right away they’re on the run from some very bad people.

Mahoney’s mandate is to not get involved, not make waves, and stay out of trouble. Well, of course he can’t do that, now, can he?

This idea for this novel is crystalized from a mix of sources. At the time of writing, the furor over sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants dominated the news. The movies Red and Red II got me to thinking about retired spies. I started pushing my What If button and the two thoughts converged into Cottonmouth, Texas, as small town named for a snake who lays quietly in the grass, bothering no one…until, of course, you step on it.

Q: What drew you to writing? 

A: Psychosis. A lack of supervision. 

From my teens to my thirties, I devoured fiction. Not literature with a capital L, but the pulps like Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, John D. McDonald, and Mickey Spillane. A lot more kids would enjoy reading if schools threw out The Great Gatsby and used I, the Jury instead. As the writers I admired dropped off the mortal coil, one by one, I had difficulty finding the kind of books I liked reading, so I said to myself, “Hey, how hard could it be?” and gave it a go. Famous last words.

Q: How long did it take you to write Welcome to Cottonmouth and what do you hope readers take away after reading the book?

A: The first draft? Not tremendously long. I work a full-time job, so I write in spare moments. I would guess six months to a year of writing time. The hard part—or the next hard parts, as every facet of writing is hard—was the pitching and acceptance of the manuscript, then the editing and the re-editing. This may have been a full four-year project, start to finish. My earliest recorded date mentioning Cottonmouth is March of 2020. Publication July 2025. Don’t get into writing if you want instant gratification.

A takeaway? I want people to buy the sequel, of course, and all my other books. Mercenary ambitions aside, Cottonmouth is (I hope) a fun read that entertains. No serious message. Nothing too heavy. Sure, as hell not Lit-ra-ture.

Q: If there were a sequel to Welcome to Cottonmouth what would the characters be doing right now? 

A: There is a sequel. The first draft is halfway completed. Mahoney and crew are up to some serious shenanigans. 

Here’s a hint: There’s a traitor in the community who sells the identity and location of at least one of the residents to a foreign agent.

Q: If Hollywood were to get the rights to Welcome to Cottonmouth who would be your dream cast to play the characters you created?

A: In truth, Hollywood does have the rights to Welcome to Cottonmouth. We’re a long, long, long way away from casting. The actors may not have been born yet who will play these characters. (Did I mention we’re a long way away from casting?)

But…

For Mahoney, I like either Sam Rockwell or Tom Hardy. For Britte, I would go with Margot Robie first, of course, or maybe Bridget Regan, though both are older than the character in the book. (I’m hopelessly in love with Bridget Regan, so that plays into my choice.) My Russian sniper would be Alexander Skarsgård. Hannah Moshe, my ex-Mossad motherly figure…I would have to go with Marisa Tomei. I have more, but I sense your eyes have glazed over…

Q: Where can readers purchase your new book and follow you on social media?

A: Thank you, Bianca. Welcome to Cottonmouth is available now on presale with official publication on July 8, 2025. Your readers may use the following link to order the book and handles to follow my social media ramblings.

Order on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aX6V5BF

Author Website: https://www.jaysbell.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JayScottBellAuthor

X: @Pprbackwrtr

Instagram: @jaysbell2025