Interview with Stephen Jared Author of Jack and The Jungle Lion

Please Welcome Stephen Jared Author of Jack and The Jungle Lion, who stopped by to answer a few questions.

BLH: When did you begin Writing?
I started writing in my late teens.

BLH: Who is you mentor ? Who do you look up too?

I wish there had been a mentor for me. Instead, I learned by doing. The people I’ve looked up to most have tended to be film writers, probably because movies captured my imagination before books. Obviously, I’m a fan of the Indiana Jones series. Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio wrote some terrific modern adventure comedies. Probably my least obvious favorite writer is Woody Allen. Woody’s dialogue doesn’t depend on performance; it’s funny on the page. His stories go off on wildly imaginative trajectories. There’s a rhythm in his writing that probably stems from the music he likes. His films are like no others.

BLH: What is your reading pleasure ?

Mostly, I read adventure fiction, old Hollywood non-fiction, and I’ve read a lot of non-fiction about Modern Art. I’ve always been fascinated and inspired by Picasso.

BLH: If you have any favorite authors , who are they and why ?

My favorite authors are classic adventure authors -- Jules Verne, Rafael Sabatini, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle. Their best works are full of enchantment and humor. The heroes seem both larger than life and real, which is possibly why they’ve lasted so long.

BLH: What part of the writing process do you love ? What part do you hate?

It’s exciting to conceptualize something new, to imagine what it could be, to get an idea and extrapolate on it. I also love refining. The tone I strive for always comes to life as I edit and edit. But the middle part of writing– bringing all the big set pieces of the plot into a cohesive whole – can get laborious.

BLH: If you could write outside your genre what would that be?

Probably science fiction. I’d love to take a swing at it but probably never will. I think there are important elements to being a good sci-fi writer. I think you have to be technically minded, and I’m not. I also think you should be somewhat of a futuristic visionary, and I’m not. I’m too preoccupied with the past.

BLH: How did you come up with your premise for your books?

Jack and the Jungle Lion is rooted in a number of stories that were hugely influential when I was young. Romancing the Stone was probably the biggest influence. At its core, the story is about someone who always lives vicariously through a fictional hero then gets to live out a hero’s adventure for real, and on that journey discovers a more true self, and is then able to truly fall in love. My next book is a crime fiction, Ten-A-Week Steale, and it’s about a guy who has returned from World War I only to find corruption and lies among those in power. One of the most contemptible politicians happens to be his brother. I tried to intermingle high ideals with human frailty, and its set in Hollywood against a backdrop of 1920s glamour and decadence. It’ll be out before the end of the year.

BLH: What is scene is easier to write? Harder?

I have no trouble with dialogue. It comes easily for me. As an actor, I have to give dialogue a lot of thought, so that may be why it’s natural for me to write it and have fun playing around with it. Action, on the other hand, can get complicated.

BLH: If you could write with anyone who would that be and why?

I suppose the ultimate dream for me would be to write with George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. I have so much admiration for them, and would love to write something I think is great then have one of them explain to me what could make it better.

BLH: What would you like to say to your readers?

I’d just like to suggest that one copy might not be enough, that perhaps purchasing several copies for safekeeping might be worthwhile. And consider that family and friends might enjoy one of my books too. Family and friends should also have several copies for safekeeping. They make lovely gifts.

BLH: Where can your fans find you ?

I’m easily accessible through my website and/or Facebook.

Website

Facebook

Paperback: 126 pages

Publisher: lulu.com (June 19, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0557508932

ISBN-13: 978-0557508938

Amazon

Battling giant snakes, poison pits and hostile headhunters after a plane crash in the Amazon, movie star Jack Hunter reveals himself to be something altogether different from the macho adventurer he plays in Hollywood. Luckily for him, he's marooned with movie-industry animal trainer Maxine Daniels and her two kids. The lovely "Max" has more than enough high-spirited courage and fiery determination to get them all home. But when terrifying natives capture the feisty heroine, fate calls on the handsome actor to become the hero he always pretended to be in pictures. With such daring demands on the two-fisted matinee hero, will Jack embark on a journey to win the heart of the woman he loves-or perish in the darkest jungles of the Amazon?

BLB Tour Author Interview with Naomi Clark of Night and Chaos

1. When did you begin writing?

I’ve always written. When I was a little girl, I used to buy stickers with pictures of ponies on

and write stories about them. I say “stories,” they were only about two paragraphs long, but I

feel that’s not a bad start! I didn’t get serious about novel writing until I was about thirteen or

fourteen though.

2. Who is you mentor? Who do you look up to?

In terms of a mentor, there’s no single person I can name in that respect, but I’ve been lucky

to have some great critique partners who are always very honest and wise. I also benefitted

from very tough and clever tutors at university, where I did a creative writing degree, and

they really helped me hone my skills!

3. What is your reading pleasure?

I love urban fantasy and anything with a touch of the paranormal or supernatural about it.

I’ve been reading a lot of YA books recently as well, and I love the wide range of subjects

and issues they tackle. At the moment I’m revisiting HP Lovecraft’s short stories – that’s a

definite reading pleasure for me!

4. If you have any favorite authors, who are they and why ?

I’m a massive fan of Stacia Kane for her unique world-building and gritty, no-holds-barred

stories. I also love Caitlin Kittredge and Laura Bickle for the same reasons. I recently

discovered Michael Marshall Smith, who writes thrillers and sci-fi, and I love his books –

they’re just really unusual and challenging.

5. What part of the writing process do you love? What part do you hate?

I love writing first drafts, when I’m exploring a new world and new characters. I don’t plan or

plot in advance, so the first draft is always a surprise to me! If I hate any part of writing, it’s

editing – trying to catch all the typos and mistakes you’ve made is really hard when you’re

already so familiar with what you’ve written. I tend to see what I think I’ve written, rather than

what I actually have written ... which is why you need good critique partners!

6. If you could write outside your genre what would that be?

I love noir films, so I’d love to write a noir novel. Something with mobs and private eyes and

femme fatals.

7. How did you come up with your premise for your books?

It either goes two ways: it all comes to me at once, which is great. I get a plot, a title,

characters, everything, all in one rush, and then it’s just a matter of doing any research I

think I’ll need.

Or I get a plot but no characters, or characters but no plots, and then have to poke around

in my imagination and see if I can work with what I’ve got. Sometimes you have to abandon

ideas because you just can’t flesh them out, or save them for the future. I’ve got a ton of

ideas for the future that I know I’m just not good enough to write yet.

8. What is scene is easier to write? Harder?

I like writing dialogue best – it always comes naturally. Description is always fun, but I dread

writing fight scenes. I always struggle to keep it straight in my head where people are and

what they’re doing, so my fight scenes are always rather jumbled in the first draft.

9. If you could write with anyone who would that be and why?

That’s really hard... I would have loved to write with Lovecraft when he was developing his

Cthulhu stories. His works have been a big influence on me, and I know he liked to share

his world with other writers. That could have been fun. With regards to living writers, well, if

Kane, Kittredge or Bickle dropped me a line, I’d be hard pressed to refuse...

10. What would you like to say to your readers?

Just that I hope they enjoy my books! I love writing them, so it’s always great to hear if

people loved reading them

Thank you Naomi for your time, Now where you can find her on the web!

Blog

Twitter

About Naomi:

Naomi Clark lives in Cambridge and is a mild-mannered office worker by day, but a slightly crazed writer by night. She has a perfectly healthy obsession with giant sea creatures and a preference for vodka-based cocktails. When she's not writing, Naomi is probably either reading or watching 80s cartoon shows, and sometimes she manages to do all three at once.

Blurb:

Ryan McCarthy fled Applied Paranormal Theory and Tactics, her father, and her lover six years ago, desperate to build life away from the weird science and supernatural experiments of her childhood. But everything she hoped to escape comes back with a vengeance when she’s kidnapped and tortured by a possessed APTT employee out for revenge on the man responsible for his possession: Ryan’s father.

Now, reunited with the lover she abandoned, Ryan is forced back into a world of danger and darkness she no longer understands, pursued by enemies with powers she can’t fathom. But Ryan’s not entirely powerless herself. She’ll have to use every trick she knows – as well as the mystic gift she hates – to stay ahead of those enemies. And that will be easier said than done.

Amazon