Burning Rome twice in one Emperor....

February is Snowdown celebration in Durango. For some reason, always the most bone-chilling weekend of the winter. Locals line Main Street downtown, stomping, waiting for the single firework above the train station, which marks the beginning of the parade when the first evening stars peep over Smelter Mountain. Crowding close, straining the man-barriers, people eagerly look south to see what they really came to see...the balloon gondolas. Resting on flatbed trailers, they come up the street with burners alight, trying with all their might to send their tongues of flame over the three and four story buildings on either side of the street.

The crowd Oohs and Aahs, and raise their hands to the warmth.
Suzanne Tyrpak plays a fiddle on a crowded corner.....

Only the fiddle is fiction in that paragraph. Suzanne might not have been there this year, the whole town has been sick, for nearly a month. I'd heard she'd been traveling and might have been tired. She travels a lot, which I envy. Her job for an airline at the county airport gives her that wonderful freedom. I don't blame her for hopping over the mountains at every chance. Once, she hopped over the pond, to the Med.    Italy.      Rome.

There was a flame-lit night in that city's past. Remember that?

How cool is that tie-in? Yeah, I'm feeling pretty smart.

Suzanne met me for coffee a few weeks back, to swap books, say hello finally, talk about what we love. Her book is new enough, I couldn't beg a copy. 'Vestal Virgin'. She posted me so I could get the file, and I jumped right in. Something had been admitted in that meeting, and I wanted the truth of it, to see what result had come of it.

Vestal Virgin was edited to the bone after she completed her first draft. It's her method; authors have those, you know. I was aghast. Cutting one of my MS would draw blood from me.

What happened to those words? Were there holes in the text? The book is about Rome, at the time of the burning. Would this novel have scorch marks, and voids in it from her handiwork, like the burned corners of the Turin Shroud? Could I read this and see the perforations?

No. Suzanne is an accomplished author, and I'm a dork. An editor once told me; anything can be edited. Done by an expert, it works. Ms. Tyrpak knew which threads to pull out, where to reshape. Here is my review of the result.

To the bone.... (her words)
What a bone! There is a feast of Ancient Rome within those pages; a banquet awaits anyone who loves the harshness of the stunning place. But, I would love to read the original draft. Send that Suzanne, instead of a print. :)  I'm that kind of reader. You can't give me too much of a beloved subject.

Now, let's talk about her other book; Dating My Vibrator: and other true fiction.
(I blush fire-engine red. So glad you can't see me right now. I bet you could sell that for $42.95, and it would still fly.)

So, what do I mean by burning Rome twice?
Hehe.  There were two fires smoldering there. Suzanne brings sparks from both into her text. Nero ruled, tyrannated, corruptivated... abused the citizens, at the time that Christianity was taking hold. It was creeping into place, doing what it does, replacing the voids within the downtrodden souls it touched. Rome, her citizens, was seething with a passion for something different. Rome had endured too much, from without and within, and was a tinderbox in too many hidden places. When those sparks ignited... Rome disappeared into smoke, and The Way began to bloom.

I keep seeing Donna Reed in that book cover.....

'Vestal Virgin' is Suzanne's debut book. She's approached self-publishing the way lions approached the early Christians - she's devouring it. She has some impressive admirers. Check out her thoughts on the e-book revolution in this publication: ArtsPerspective.com   Here is a link to her website.  As a gift to her readers, and any new ones meeting her for the first time here, Suzanne has agreed to give an e-book copy of 'Vestal Virgin' to anyone who comments below, and also goes to her blog to sign up and follow! The winner(s) will be selected at the end of the feature this week, and will be given a Smashwords code by email.

Ready Suzanne?

I’ve been shy about reading ‘Dating my…’  Am I a prude?
The stories are basically PG. Most of the stories are set in Durango—so you might enjoy it just for the setting. I’ve read a couple of the stories at the library, and no one called the police or threw me out so I think you’re safe reading the collection.

How many times a year do you hop a plane out of Durango?
I work for an airline so I travel a lot. Sometimes more than I want, because I often go to training up in Denver. Mostly, I travel in the slow seasons—never on holidays. I just got back from New York, where my family lives. While I was there I did research for my next novel; I visited the Roman and Greek wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the end of this month I’ll be going to the Seattle area, meeting up with another writer friend who recently moved there, Shannon Richardson. I try to get away about every other month.

Have you ever worked in the café at the airport? The local joke, you know, everyone out there works at least once in the café…
There’s a cafe at the airport? No Joel, I don’t work at the cafe, but I often play piano out in the parking lot.

A three foot snowstorm doesn’t close that airport, does it. Have you ever been trapped out there?
Sometimes I work extremely long hours due to snow and rebooking. 4:30am till 9pm and later. It’s a tough job, but I enjoy it. And the airport is a great place to study people. I see people at their best, and sometimes at their worst. I check you in, and check you out.

You discovered your desire to write Vestal Virgin while on a trip to Rome. How long were you there?
My first visit to Rome was a dream-come-true—I traveled with a group of writers including Terry Brooks, Elizabeth Engstrom, John Saul, and Dorothy Allison for about a week. We hung out at cafes, wrote, wandered around the city and beyond. It was incredible. I got the idea for Vestal Virgin when I read a short blurb in a travel guide. There were only six vestals at any given time, and they were the most powerful women in the empire—sworn to thirty years of chastity at age seven, if they broke that vow they could be entombed alive. I thought: there’s a story!

The book took you back again, to complete research didn’t it?
Yes, I went to Rome a second time with a friend from Durango. We spent about ten days traveling through Rome, Florence and Venice. While we were in Rome, I hired a private tour-guide, a scholar who focused on A.D. 63-64, the time of the great fire—the year I write about. He showed us around the Forum Romanum, and gave me all kinds of interesting details I hadn’t found in books.

Some of the locations you visited that second time – those were not normal stops for tourists were they?
Most people don’t get the kind of details I got from the scholar tour-guide. For example, we walked around the site of the Domus Transitoria (Nero’s palace that burnt to the ground), and he knew the entire layout. I walked from one area of Rome to another, so I could get an idea of how long it would take to get around by foot. For example, I walked the route Elissa, my main character, walks from the Forum to what once was The Circus Maximus.

You’ve traveled to writer’s conferences, too? Where?
I attended the Maui Writers’ Conference and Retreat where I studied with New York Times bestselling writers including Elizabeth George, Terry Brooks, John Saul, Karen Fowler and Dorothy Allison. I’ve also attended Thrillerfest in Phoenix and New York City, World Fantasy Convention (don’t remember where), the Historical Writers’ Conference in Salt Lake, and one year Blake Crouch (Desert Places, Locked Doors), Shannon Richardson (Deadly Deceptions) and I attended Left Coast Crime together. We flew standby on my flight benefits to San Antonio. That’s where I first met Joe Konrath—the King of Kindle.

Are they ever going to finish that damned construction on Florida Road?
I believe construction is scheduled to be finished early in the next millennium. They’re currently building an overpass leading directly to the Rec Center, which will allow travelers to bypass Florida Road  - the toll will be $5.00, but I think locals get a discount.


Dating my Vibrator (and other true fiction) is an honest discussion about your life after divorce? Was that a difficult step to take, to write your own self onto those pages?
It’s not a discussion—honest or dishonest. It’s fiction, a collection of nine short stories. Yes, I used my experience as a jumping off point, but I do that with everything I write. Because some of the stories closely reflect my own experience, writing the stories saved me hundreds of dollars that I might have spent on therapy.

How many times have you ridden the train up to Silverton?
Why?
*snerk*

Do you bike?  Know 60 people who do?
Yes. Know in the biblical sense? That question is waaaay too personal!

How many bears have you seen near your place?
Last summer I had a group of friends over for dinner, and a bear cub showed up at the dumpster. We all ran out to see it—even the kids—before we figured out that might not be a great idea.

They say you are a local in Durango if you’ve ever spent a dime on Main Street. How long have you been here?
Where do you get these sayings Joel? I moved here from New York, Christmas of 1982. Threw my belongings into a VW hatchback and drove across country by myself. It was an adventure. I’m generally up for an adventure.

Is a new book in the works yet?
Several novels and another collection of short stories. I plan to bring out another historical suspense novel this coming December, Agathon’s Daughter. It’s set in Classic Greece. Here’s a description:

Agathon’s Daughter:
Born a bastard and a slave, Hestia has a gift—the power to read people’s hearts. This gift brings her notoriety and takes her on journey through the upper echelons of Athens. Sold to Lycurgus, a prominent statesman with sadistic tendencies, she becomes his consort. As Hestia’s wealth and fame increase, so does her despair. Determined to escape her cruel master, she faces enemies at every turn, but the fiercest enemy she faces is herself. To gain freedom, she must unravel the mystery of her past and confront the demons in her own heart. 

Online marketing is a struggle, at best, and we all have our favorite outlets, but you are partial to Kindle Boards aren’t you?
I think marketing online is fun—even addictive. I enjoy connecting with readers and writers via my blog, Facebook and Twitter. My fave hangout is Kindle Boards. It’s a friendly forum where readers and writers connect. I learn a lot there, exchange information and keep up on the latest epublishing news. I also hang out at a few Amazon forums in the US and UK.

Tell me what your typical writing day entails. Do they happen often enough?
At one point, before my divorce, I had time to write for hours every day. Now I write when I can. I like to have a chunk of time, so I can get lost in the story—but it doesn’t always work out that way. I write when I’m not working at the airport.

Highest peak you’ve visited?
The twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Explain what you meant by ‘cutting to the bone’ on Vestal Virgin. Why did you feel that was necessary?
I write, and then cut. I prefer economy in sentences. My first draft or two is usually over-written. I like to leave room in my writing for the reader’s imagination. For example, I stay away from detailed descriptions of a character’s appearance and allow my readers to create the images. Less is more.

Is traditional publishing your ultimate goal, or have you reached your desire already?
My ultimate goal is to support myself writing fiction. Thanks to epublishing, I think I can reach that goal in about three years. Traditional publishing was my dream for a long time—I’d love to work with a great editor and see my books in libraries and stores—but traditional publishing no longer guarantees those things. These days, with all the changes in the industry, I’m not sure if traditional publishing would be beneficial or a hindrance. 

How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing seriously for about thirteen years, but I’ve always been a writer. In school, I used to entertain my friends with short stories, and I’ve always written (mostly bad) poetry. I’ve also written a few plays.

What is the perfect product, in your mind; an outstanding story, or something so unique that it simply stands out on its own?
A great story well told.

Have you ever boated/rafted down the Animas?
I did one of those tourist raft trips once. And I’ve cruised up the Nile. Researching a story—natch. Does that count as rafting?
Yes, it counts. Thank you bunches, Suzanne. Coffee is on me next time...

***

Durango is a river town. Our lovely little Animas. The Spanish named the river "Rio de las Animas Perdidas", "River of the Lost Souls". Named, truthfully, for the Native Americans who resisted Catholicism, the Animas is a river that kills; if you attempt it during the runoff, too high up from town. There are places where the current is so strong, lost kayakers are not found for days. There were currents in Rome, during the rein of Nero, and he was their cold source, emotionless as snowcapped peaks in May sunshine. Caught in his icy grip, even loving friends might die, friends who loved, but were not.
You thought you had heard that about him? Suzanne rafts you through those waters, but you will be chilled through. And, it's not even Nero's story...

Remember to stop by her blog, http://ghostplanestory.blogspot.com/ after leaving a comment below. We will notify the winners a day or two after her feature post.
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Looking over there...forever.

For a month, Jason's tractor eluded him. It had been continuously visible, in the only other news item on the front page with our Nestor Maronski story - right under the foul critic's own photo. Posted on election day, but previewed at Bestsellerbound for more than a week, the entire joke fell flat because it was never noticed. So I mentioned it below, in the interview, and voila!...wild goose chase.

But now, our featured author JASON MCINTYRE

That's a Richard Widmark stare. Now I know why the ladies have been thrashing at me to hurry this post. Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra both tried to emulate it, but kept their eyes more open. It might have originated with Kirk Douglas, but Widmark nailed it. Hollywood loved it so much, it seemed a requirement - leading men, put your soul into your eyes - well, there's Jason, by giffy.

I've gotten a dozen femails from my teaser page - "Who IS that guy?"  Even my wife; walking past as I diddle with the images in the post just now - "It's about time," she mutters. But, he's painfully shy, I'm told.  He even scheduled the birth of his daughter to derail the timing on this post....his new daughter is so beautiful, I relented to wait but didn't have to.

Me, jealous of whose looks my wife admires? Hell no. Ask me if I'm jealous of his writing...go ahead. I'll admit that. Almost with pride.

Taking time from his busy life: editing, designing, blogging, coaching swim teams, freestyle rock climbing, coloring with his son and singing songs while they fight over the color red...Jason types a few stories and teaches me how it should be done. I play with sparklers in my tales. Jason is firing repeated aerial bombs, and the ground shakes, moments after you are blinded by the text.

If there is an omnipresent, over-arching theme to describe this fellow, I would pick a single word: LIGHT.
He plays with light in your mind, changing single-odd words into something jarringly visual. That's the reason he's perfected the Richard Widmark jab with the eyes; slightly closed. He's modifying how they shine out from his thoughts, or you might be burned with a glance.

Oh COME ON! Some of you are musing.

Ok. Silly. Look at this; the trailer for his book 'On the Gathering Storm.'

I was so confident of that statement in blue, that I didn't even view the trailer until I posted the link here. Jason is that obvious, and damn, he even used the word himself in his own teaser, amid the flash of images which evoke the same word.

Jason doesn't think like you do, or I do. He can't write, without bending light. He is a graphic designer/commercial artist deep inside; and he's smart enough to let that shine. Reading him, is an experience similar to fireworks. It is explained, somewhat, in my review of the book. His style, in 'Storm', is close to the way Eddie Izzard does comedy; a stream of conciousness. But, I would add, with a streak of absurdism mixed in. You find yourself somewhere in time with his character, Hannah, and her thoughts seem to have nothing to do with .... anything. Don't be fooled. Every minute detail relates to the whole.

"But," you are wondering, "you aren't being very funny about him."
"That takes a bit of familiarity," I reply.
'On the Gathering Storm,' his first novel, and the Nestor Maronski story on Bestsellerbound; those are the only two points of reference that I have for him.  Yet.
Well...discounting the fact that he adores the funny things his son might say. (I'm dying to know who Kevin is.) He Tweets those wonderful, sweet kid-mutterings, and wrote a bit of the same humor into the Maronski text, with the cute, three year-old daughter of a character. "Outtadabed! OUTTADABED!"

Yes, he is the second half of the Nestor Maronski incident. From that event, I can assure you, Jason has a wicked humor, and is very open. Maria Savva says that was a great deal of fun for her. Jason talks about it a bit, in his interview. Before we get to that, however, you deserve to know that he has written more than a dozen short stories; blogs at every whim; wrote three other novels...let's get you updated....

'Thalo Blue' is available now after a groundbreaking run as a web-serial. 'On The Gathering Storm' is breaking records for the voice artist, Jeffrey Kafer, it is now an audio book. Jason likes to be ahead of the curve. 'Shed' is also storming the web with outstanding download stats. There couldn't be a better time to grab something by this author, and discover why Indie books are becomming the first choice for readers all over the world.

Here are Jason's collected works, lined up. (and you can find them all at this link) Those images are not in order....

If you've not visited his website yet, please do so, and read this post, Jason teaches what he so easily demonstrates. While you are there, look over the rave reviews being posted. He has an enthusiastic following, many of whom love the word 'weird' when they speak of Mr. McIntyre, and those are other authors saying that. His wife will call him weird, and understand it better than any of us. But, she would also tell you that, though he will almost never dance with her, when he does, he sings in her ear.
Yes, ladies...her guy matches those eyes.

His infant daughter decided to take a nap, so he snuck those moments to answer a few questions... Grab some coffee - this is great.

You count things, compulsively. Don’t you?  14    77     943    2       244

Well, I don’t know as I count things in an obsessive way, but I do have a strange draw to numbers, sequences of them, how they add up and reveal patterns. I use a lot of that in my writing and more all the time. I think we are tied to math, as humans. The need to explain things pulls and pushes us towards the numbers, in all things. Astronomy, history, geometry. Literature is the only art form that doesn’t rely on them. I guess I feel a responsibility to pull them in somehow.

How many nicknames does your son have?

Ha! A LOT! His real go-to name is Squeaky, derived from Squeaks which is because, as a newborn, he, well, squeaked.  For consistency, my new baby daughter goes by either Sneaks or Cheeks. Variations, my goodness, where to begin? Squeaky McGee is a popular one for my older boy. Cheeky Monkey for the daughter. They change from week to week. My wife and I have names for everything in our lives. (Man! Did I nail that analysis, or what!)

Your writing for the Nestor incident is markedly different from ‘On the Gathering Storm’. Which is closest to your natural style?

The style used for ‘On The Gathering Storm’ is closer to my natural voice. I worked with the incomparable Maria Savva on the Nestor Incident and I think, to a degree, I mirrored a bit of what I was reading in her voice. It’s not really method (and I hate that word) but I do have a pattern where I re-read what I wrote yesterday a couple of times to get the rhythm of its voice engrained back into my head. When writing Nestor with Maria, I did the same...and, of course, my re-reads were of Maria’s work from the day before, not my own. I’m like cottage cheese that way: very malleable. I’m a sucker for good advertising. My kids will be able to get whatever they want from me!

Your work as a graphic designer is evident in your writing. Are you still very busy, as a designer?

My day job involves managing bigger Communications and web projects. We don’t always have the proper budget to keep on top of the associated design needs so I end up doing a lot of that. I also have a side business as a designer where I continue to work for clients to get their ideas represented in visual form, whether it’s for ads or websites or other creative. As you can imagine, I’m extremely busy.

You sit down and draw with your son a lot, don’t you?

You know, Joel, when he was born, I went out and bought art sets and markers and all kinds of paper. I was so excited for that exact thing: drawing with my boy. He’s just two now so we’ve yet to really get into it, but I’m itching. We have gotten crayons and paper out a couple of times but he loses interest in two or three minutes. I usually end up sketching cats and puppies and things to make him laugh. I say “What should I draw?” and he’ll point to a kitchen counter or a cup. In those instances, he’s usually pretty underwhelmed with the result.

Your family is growing again, quite soon? Boy or Girl?

We are so fortunate to welcome a baby girl over this last weekend. She is doing well and so is her mum.

You have written a ton of short fiction. Is that a cleaner format – compared to writing a novel?

So much! I like writing a short story, 2,000 words, or even 8 or 9,000 because you can immerse yourself in it but don’t have to give your heart to it for weeks or months. It’s getting harder for me to write 150,000 words. You’ll notice that ‘On The Gathering Storm’ is just around 70,000 or so. It’s a deep read but not a lengthy one. My life is getting more fragmented and I have less time to read so I end up choosing shorter books. Inevitably, I seem to write shorter ones too.

Plus, in long fiction, you may have a story element or character arc that doesn’t see its payoff for 50,000 words. As a reader, it might be a couple of days to get to it, long enough for it to stew in your subconscious and have some meaning. As the writer, 50K can mean a month of distance from the first kernel of thought to the payoff. In reality, I may have been committed to a mental institution in that span of time and may never be able to see how it turns out.

Are you missing a right ear? We can’t tell from your posted pics.

I talked on the phone with my wife when we were courting, always on the right side. I had to get that ear surgically closed because it became very finely tuned to only her voice. The chores would get done and the garbage would be taken out but a strange, female-sounding tinnitus developed only in that side. The procedure what quite simple. Think of stuffing insulation into an old fireplace chimney. I hear almost nothing on my right side and the lobe has turned to leather. That’s where you can stand if you want to talk about me and not have me listen in.

Who is the one literary figure you would love to hand your books to?

Jeffrey Eugenides. I would want to know what this particular, living Pulitzer winner would say and to see if I could raise his eyebrows while reading - even once.

Are you involved in the endless agent-chase that consumes so many new authors?

I simply don’t have time for it. I’ve seen marginal success in e-format in a self-published venue and have had numerous folks suggest to me particular agents that might be interested. I’ve looked into some but have not queried for more than two years. I have so little time and would prefer to spend what little I do have in exploring new written worlds that I create for myself and the readers who come along. Plus, I have little interest in sanitizing or streamlining my work for a traditional audience which many publishers wish to do.

Light in motion. That’s a common visual theme for you. You even mention it, almost in passing in Hannah’s story – with her photography work. Can you define why?

I’m a visual guy. I even love how words look on a page and I pay attention to the size and spacing of paragraphs, where quotations marks fall and all of that. It is almost unconscious how I put the light movement into Hannah’s story -- at least at first. As I re-read early parts, I noticed it too, and began to play it up, using it as a motif tangentially to her love of photography, something I share with her. My upcoming novel, THALO BLUE has another young artist at its center. He is a painter and is obsessed with colour. So much so, it actually manifests itself for him physiologically.

One of your readers said she almost felt like calling you a liar. I rolled at that, but understood it. She reviewed ‘The Night Walk Men.’ Can you tell why she would say such an odd thing about you?

Hmmm. I must go and see if I can find that particular review. Would you mind waiting a moment? I’ll grab you a cup of tea while I’m up. ‘Twon’t be but a moment...

Oh yes, I quite liked that review. I don’t take it personally as the narrator of that short is being a bit of a jerk and telling things in a way that makes you think he’s being, at the very least, selective. It was quite intentional. I like stories that mess with the reader’s attention, aptitude and trust. My hope with the entire ‘Night Walk Men’ series of books (forthcoming) is to take readers on a ride they enjoy but have them constantly unsure of whether the narration is being truthful. I want it to be packed with surprises. And maybe some dynamite.

“Billy Boy...” You’ve certainly damaged that song for me now. How did you select it, and did you try any others? I would be disturbed to know you sing that with your son. (ha!) Do you?

I’ve never sung that and will not sing it to any children I come into contact. It is ruined for me as well and I apologize to anyone else who’s had it ruined. My mother knew this song from when she was a little girl (though she did not sing it to me, either). When I was writing ‘On The Gathering Storm’ I was visiting her at her house and she was making cherry pies. For some unknown reason she started singing this song, dug up from her subconscious. It transferred over to me, and that afternoon, I sat down to write and the song made it onto the pages. Like I said, I’m a marketer’s dream. I have nine hundred of those blankets with the sleeves that you wear like a backwards coat. I also have a lot of potato peelers and can openers and food processors.

Have you ever had a recurring nightmare?

I have loads of them. Joel, you may not be surprised to learn that a great number of my stories have their beginnings from a dream. I also dream a lot about my stories as I’m writing them. It scares me but also fuels the process as I strive for a meaningful, thrilling end.

I hear Andrew Bird as a very young Lou Reed, but maybe, without all the resignation and anger. Do you agree?

I’ve never heard that comparison but love Lou Reed as well as Andrew. Bird is a musician I’ve only discovered in the last two years and adore every note he’s recorded. I would agree with the assessment of Reed as expressing some resignation and anger. Bird, however, has the resignation only starting to peek through. He looks at the world, with all its quirks and quarks and can’t help but comment on it...in his own way. But without really passing judgement, I think. Some of my writing is similar actually, but I still fight with my inclination to share my opinion. That’s where a fellow like Sparrow, the narrator for ‘The Night Walk Men’, comes in handy. I can mask some of my perhaps distasteful passing of judgement as his and not confess that it may be my own.

Name the one film that stunned you visually.

Only one? Forgive me if two spring to mind. The Shawshank Redemption shows sweeping crane camera movements of this dirty old brick prison yard. Such a breathtaking view of something so horrific for the characters appeals to me as I like the dichotomy. I also appreciate the film’s use of lighting, something you noted in my novel. Blacks against colour. Dark corners grow and receded. We move with characters throw brightly lit areas to darkly mysterious ones. It mirrors the ups and downs of life, the in and out of the shadows we all witness.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is also a stunning flick because here’s a man who now lives his entire existence in his own mind after a startling accident. As a person who’s writing has been described as ‘heady’ I suppose I can related a bit to the expanses this man travels inside himself. Some of this is tied to why my website is called The Farthest Reaches.

You don’t like clocks?

Hate ‘em. They are constant reminders of what we haven’t finished, what still remains to be done, who we’ve lost, what we don’t know yet. I do not understand why watches and clocks are considered fine gifts to hand out at retirement parties. Would I really want such a ticking thing to remind me of my impending doom?

“Words are powerful things but intent is nine-tenths of their meaning.” Is that yours?

Yes. Did I tweet this? Things occur to me and I used to write them in a notebook or in a text file on a computer. I have a Twitter account now which is a perfect outlet for mental cases like myself. Short, rapid bursts of gunfire. 140 characters? No problem. I’ll give you exactly 140. Just don’t tell me I can’t give you another 140 in an hour.

Whether in a notebook or on Twitter, these little bits of oddness have a way of bobbing to the surface and floating there like a plastic fishing lure until my mind scoops them up and uses them. Sometimes they find their way into stories...or, more likely, they form an idea in a story. Or something for a character to latch onto as a mantra.

That quote, perhaps unintentionally describes poetry – a writing form that lets words become something other than their obvious. Have you attempted poetry? Care to reveal any?

I have written a bit of bad poetry, yes. THALO BLUE, my upcoming novel, showcases some. My best poetry is probably similar to my best prose -- that is, I write it fast and without agonizing over the word choice to much. If I do, it loses itself.

I know where your tractor is!

When Nestor Maronski came to life on BestsellerBound, we recognized it instantly as something unique. Tell us what it was like to trade narrative content with Maria Savva.

It was so satisfying on a number of levels.

One, because it grew organically out of a simple comment that bestselling author, Darcia Helle made. We should write a story about a reviewer who gets what’s coming to him in the most awful way. On a lark, I wrote the intro of the book and was astonished when Maria picked up the torch and kept going.

Two, because it’s the kind of story I don’t write. But I found real joy in learning to write some funny, satirical situations mixed with my usual heavy drama. If there’s something I fall down on it’s probably putting enough humour in my writing, even though I’m, ahem, a wickedly funny individual. There were also some straight ahead action bits that were fun to write. I think every writer, even as an exercise, should write in a different genre than her own.

Three, the fact that we actually gained a small following over the weeks as the story unfolded. People were interested and made comments that spurred us both to keep going. It was exhilarating and I’m toying with doing a larger project as a web serial. Keeping readers up until all hours, keeping nursing mothers from being able to sleep because they’re too scared of my particular brand of monsters, it’s so appealing to me. I really do have issues, don’t I?

I’m terribly interested in writers who put their characters into disturbing, horrible situations. Has any of your family glanced at you with worry, after reading your work?

While supportive, my family has not read one word of my work. I’m not really sure why. I only charge them cover price for the books and require that they purchase multiples if others would like a copy. It’s very odd, but I come from a family of non-readers. People in my family read short magazine articles or the sports section, but they don’t seem to read fiction. As a kid, I was going to the library by myself and filled bookcases at our house with books but others didn’t bother with it.

My wife, however, read an early draft of ‘On The Gathering Storm’ and loved it to pieces. She is incredibly excited that other readers are discovering it. She thinks this indie e-book movement is very exciting because it means more people can share the burden of her husband’s overactive imagination.

Haven’t you noticed the tractor story yet?

I have no idea what you’re talking about Joel. I worry a bit because you’re so astute that you may be referencing something I should know. I think, “I wrote a short story, very specifically about a man driving a tractor in his field near a slew, but this was years ago and it has not seen publication. Is Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick actually able to read my mind now? And, more importantly, is there a novel idea here?”

***

Thanks, very much Jason. I’m sharing nothing about the tractor; I’m less astute than cunning. Any of you readers who clue him in, will have your keyboard glued shut. I’ve been painting a bit myself, and used Jason in the art. He has to find it.

So, I’ve introduced you, gentle readers, to three outstanding authors in this blog-beginning. Implicit in those mentions is my belief you each should read them. I couched that plea with humor, thinking you would understand it. I will state it plainly for Jason McIntyre: you should buy his first novel ‘On the Gathering Storm’. You need to know it. No chill has ever run your spine as it his words will bring. Another of his readers states; Jason is writing “- some of the most beautiful sentences being published today.”

That means, he’s impressed me?

Here is his picture again, so you don’t break your thoughts to go see it at the top. That stare. Why did I make so much of it in the lead notes? I experience this fellow in flashes, and those silly words about the stare were a flash. He calls it a Grasp. I wrote those words before he answered the interview questions, before his darling little girl was born. One answer in his interview made it all come clear. He hates clocks, and I understand him suddenly. I don’t even understand my own wardrobe retentions, but, I understand Jason. The clocks were the key.

Jason is staring into something that fascinates him, deeply. It’s drawing from his inward energy. He is watching every second of the journey around him, memorizing it; drinking in the light. And he is writing his journey down for us; the first steps to immortality. Look at his stare. He is fascinated by the light in his life. If he can write it, use it, turn it, master it, achieve its speed – Jason will have outrun time.
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