I was fortunate to be visiting the East when my new book “The Sniper,” was published. The event happened in New York City on March 7 of this year. I spent a morning and lunch with St. Martin’s Press, Marc, who had helped me through the publishing process of the book. It was a great experience – I had a million questions for him, and he answered all with patience.

I spent 7 nights in the East Village a 40’s and 50’s hangout of the beat generation. Allen Greensburg and Jack Kerouac to name a couple. I was hoping to bump into their ghosts and maybe I did.

The narrow streets are as the poets and writers and jokesters described them in their writing. It was cold this early March when I was in the city and the following is an example of what I experienced.

“The freezing wind howls up the canyon like streets blowing newspapers like kites and carboard boxes skid and bounce up the pock marked pavement. Garbage trucks squeeze between Mercedes’s and scooters as burly men leap from behind collecting man’s trash from ancient cans giving off the smell of rotting cabbage and yesterday’s meatballs. A businesswoman wearing a long wool coat and a watch cap pulled down over long black hair and cold red cheeks clutches a laptop as she clicks along in high heels squinting into the freezing wind. A young man wearing an unkempt beard weaves through traffic on a bicycle, his tattered blue UCLA jacket over a flannel shirt isn’t warm enough and his pants and tennis shoes are shiny with wear. His face is pink, and ears are red from the stinging cold. He has determined ice blue eyes and bites a homemade cigarette in his teeth. He steers one handed with a clear plastic bag of cans over is shoulder. The smell of burning marijuana follows him as the pedals on through another day of homelessness.

And so it went for a week, walking these streets to an early morning breakfast in a nearby diner, then adventuring out, usually in the back seat of a taxi to explore the wonders of the city. The cabbies were a treat themselves, sharing with me a wealth of information about the world we live it. Each from another country who came to American and melted in. One was from Tibet – I loved hearing what he said about his homeland and his move to America. All were great patriots who appreciate the USA more than some lucky individuals who were born here.

Three months have passed since the publication. Amazon shows over 350 4.4 out of possible 5-star reviews. The number is phenomenal! If you are one of the reviewers, please accept heartfelt thanks from Chuck and me. The feedback from you is appreciated more than you will ever know. The project took over 4 years. I interviewed Chuck at least a dozen times and I visited Vietnam to find and feel the country Chuck new so well. I found An Hoi, the base near Da Nang that housed his sniper platoon. The only thing left is the air strip where Chuck helicoptered out of on his missions. Its lonely now and hot and red dust is still blowing in the wind.

See more about the book.

Jim Lindsay
25 June 2023

I’m excited to see the cover of my new book, “The Sniper.” Untold story of Chuck Mawhinney. Only a teenager, Chuck racked up the most confirmed kills of any Marine before or after his tours in Viet Nam. I believe the cover of this book, designed by St. Martin’s press defines the scary battlefield in a country torn by civil war.

Reading this true story will show you what kind of man is capable of the feat. You will be with Chuck during his growing up years – high school and bouts with the local law about drinking beer and speeding fast cars and motorcycles. You’ll live with Chuck in a humid and dangerous jungle as he tracks and dispatches the enemy. And you will feel his pain as he comes down from the indescribable high that no one could ever understand and how he dealt with it.

St. Martin’s Press of NY plans to release the book March 3. It will be available on Amazon and other locations.

Jim Lindsay
21 January 2023

(The working title for my biography of Chuck Mawhinney).

After 5 years of bleeding ink, I have finished the manuscript. It’s close to 200 pages of text and there will be many photos from Chuck’s collection.

From the result of sending query letters I now have a contract with an agent located in Massachusetts. And in a short time he has received offers for the book. One of which is among the 7 largest publishers in the world. I’m excited and humbled. And I’m happy for Chuck who deserves the best.

Check back as the progress continues.

Jim Lindsay
21 June 2021

I’m pleased to announce I’m writing another book.

Chuck Mawhinney, a Vietnam war veteran, has the most confirmed kills of any sniper in the history of the U.S. Marine Corp. As a writer and one who lived through the tur­moil of that war I am honored to write his story.

Chuck’s life story is begging to be told. He was not only a deadly killer, but also a lik­able, genuine person who reeks with charisma. Chuck’s colorful blue-collar upbringing in mountain-town Lakeview Oregon during the 50’s and 60’s contributed mightily to his becoming the man he is. Having a city policeman father was not only character building but hysterically funny at times. In Juvenile Hall there were two file cabinets: one for the bad kids in town and one for Chuck Mawhinney. Chuck liked drinking, cool cars and fast motorcycles.

In 1967 at the age of 18 he joined the Marines and began his ascent from recruit to the Marine Corps’ most deadly sniper. During his tours – in one of the most dangerous war zones of Vietnam – his character and charisma helped him deal with life and death in a hell hole with other young men a long way from home.

After Vietnam Chuck married and settled into his post war life, raised a family, and was content that no one knew of his accomplishments in war. In 1991 he was startled and dismayed when outed by a fellow Marine sniper, Joseph Ward, who spoke of Chuck’s number of kills in his book, Dear Mom. Newspapers picked up the story and Chuck’s life changed forever. He was troubled at first but accepted his new fame and used the opportunity to train service men and lawmen in the art of long-distance shooting.

Chuck’s life story will be revealed through this book at an opportune time. After years of hoping the memory would just go away, people are now curious and reading about the Vietnam War.

This book has been an ongoing project with hundreds of hours of consulting with Chuck in his man-cave garage in Eastern Oregon. I’ve read dozens of books, biogra­phies and history books about the war. In March of this year I was in Vietnam where I toured battle sites with a group of American Vets from Saigon all the way up to Hanoi.

With a Vet from Minnesota I searched out and found Chuck’s combat base. Named An Hoi, now deserted, lost and jungle covered, the vacated Marine base is located 20 miles southeast of Da Nang. I stood on the abandoned airstrip in horrendous heat imagining the sounds and sites of the base during war 50 years ago.

Jim Lindsay
26 June 2019

The long anticipated 2nd book in Jim Lindsay’s Little Bastards Series, "Swerve", is out and available. Fol­low­ing the highly acclaimed "The Little Bas­tards," Swerve begins as the first book left you – the horrific wreck at the rail road tracks on the Boulevard where hot rodding, blue collar Sonny Mitchell has saved the life of Marylyn Swanson, a beautiful high school heart throb bank­er’s daughter. Sonny’s 40 Ford is wrecked, Marylyn’s father warns him off and the sawmill where he works is about to take out bankruptcy. If that's not enough, there’s a new kid in town with a hot Impala gunning for Sonny’s title of "drag race legend." Find out how Sonny fights seemingly unwinnable odds in dealing with a mystery at the sawmill, the hot kid's challenge and his quest to have the girl of his dreams.



To own your own signed “Swerve,” send $20.00 to

Stamper Press
34339 Colorado Lake Dr.
Corvallis, Oregon, 97333

The first book, "The Little Bastards" is still available signed for $20.00 or send $35.00 for both.





Advance Praise for Swerve:

In Swerve we return with Jim Lindsay to American in the 1950's, the era of rock'n'roll, fast cars, and seemingly eternal youth. Discover what it was like to live that life, with the thrills and consequences captured in this exciting sequel to his unforgettable The Little Bastards.


For starters Sonny has fallen in love with a beautiful girl whose life he has saved, but she's from the wrong side of town–her father owns the bank and doesn't cotton to hot rodders in leather jackets. This love story, along with the strong vibes of class distinction, weaves through the book, and it's just one of the elements that will keep you turning pages to find where it goes.
     The extra treat in this sequel is a well-plotted detective mystery that Sonny sniffs out at the lumber mill, and that develops into another action adventure with multiple outcomes to finish off the book. It's even better than the first one. There's no question that author Lindsay is a natural born storyteller. The pace never slackens. This one starts out with a bang and ends with a bang. And what's between is darn good storytelling.




Read all about "The Little Bastards", Jim Lindsay's first book in the series, just after the Swerve excerpt below!

Re-Introducing Sonny Mitchell in the Sequel to The Little Bastards

By Jim Lindsay

An Excerpt:

Downtown started to get lively with sirens blaring and flashing lights, as police cars appeared in front of a store on 1st street. They had arrived from every direction to what looked like a jewelry heist. Joe, Miles and I had just left the scene on bicycles pedaling like crazy north over the highway bridge where we dropped off on a trail that led to the darkness of the golf course, just as headlights from two cruisers popped over the crown on the bridge behind us. Through the brush I could see they had stopped on the high point of the bridge and thrown on their spotlights. We raced across the fairways one after another, following the river until we reached the trestle that led to the safety of our side of town. We ditched the bikes and scaled the timbers to the rails and began our sprint for our side of the river. We were on a dead ass run halfway across the bridge when the searchlights caught us. "Hit the dirt!" I yelled as I tackled Miles crashing our bodies into Joe who went down in front of us.

I froze with my face in the treated wood of the ties sucking in the smell of creosote. Beams of light bounced around us, ricocheting off the support timbers and over the rails. They had us pinned down and we couldn’t move. It was only about a hundred yards of open territory between us and safety but in our predicament it might as well have been 10 miles. With the breeze out of the west came buzz and static spilling bits and pieces of conversation from the source of the lights, the police hunting us from the other bridge. Eerie red shadows flashed across the river at us given off by the rotating gumballs on top of the cop cars on Water Street.

Suddenly I felt a vibration under me, then a ringing sound came through the rails. Son of a bitch a train’s coming! I had to think fast. If we got up and ran it would give us away and we’d go to reform school. If we stayed hunkered down we might live through it and keep our freedom.

"We’re going to die." moaned Miles. I could hear him crying.

"Shut up!" yelled Joe. "I'd rather die than go back to that court house."

"If they catch us," I yelled back, "we’re going somewhere besides the courthouse and it won’t be as nice! I still had Miles by his ankles. "Get hold of Joe’s feet." I said "We’re going to ride this out."

The bridge began to shudder under me and the train got louder charging toward us. Miles was blubbering and threatening to jump and run. I had a death grip on him and he was clamming onto Joe.

And then it was on us.

The engine came first making a crashing booming sound like rolling thunder. Then the wind with it carried an ear splitting howling sound drowning out the horrendous racket of the diesel engine as the barrage of train cars came roaring over us with their steel wheels grinding on the rails. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was throwing me around like a doll. I was sure the throbbing was going to heave me into the rolling steel above me tearing me to shreds.

Don't Miss The Little Bastards, Jim Lindsay's first book in the series, below!