His
first published novel, Spyfall,
featuring Los Angeles Private Investigator Stan Wade, appeared on bookstore
shelves in October 2015 and since its appearance, John has been
writing at a stunning pace. There have been four additional Stan Wade novels—set
in 1950s Hollywood—a couple more featuring a P.I. named Elliot Cross—set in
1980s Columbus, Ohio—three science fiction novels, a couple short story
collections, and his most recent effort, a globe-trotting thriller titled The Pandora Block (due out on February
3, 2018).
His
work is tightly crafted and stylistic, exciting, and often accompanied by humor.
Skyfall won the 2016 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for
Best Comedy. His work has been called, “humorous and interesting,” “exciting,” “[c]lassic
hard-boiled PI action,” and “a sheer delight.”
John was kind enough to interrupt his busy writing schedule for an
interview. The questions, as always, are in italics, but the answers are so
much more important.
What’s your latest novel?
The Pandora Block. It’s a big world-spanning
multi-character techno-thriller Near science fiction, which means it takes
place only a year or two from now.
Without breaking any of your personal taboos, would you give us an idea of what you’re working on now?
Sure. The book is titled Crossroads:
Hollywood and Vine. It takes place in 1989 and my private eye in Los
Angeles, Stan Wade, meets Elliot Cross, my private eye from Columbus, Ohio. It’s
the very early days of the Internet, which is sort of like an electronic wild
west and these two guys are hired gunslingers.
Are
there any challenges bringing your two series characters—Stan Wade and Elliot
Cross—together in a single story?
Both
are PI’s and a lot alike, so... one must die!
Stan
Wade’s stories are set in the Hollywood of the 1950s and more than a few
real-life celebrities make appearances—Walt Disney, Humphrey Bogart and Alfred
Hitchcock are only a few—and to my untrained eye both the history and
celebrities portrayed seem accurate. Do you have a particular interest in
Hollywood and how do you research the setting, and real-life characters for
these tales?
My
second book is titled [Collector’s
Guide to Treasures from the Silver Screen ]. It was published in 1989, so that’s at
least how long I’ve been interested in old movies. And as you know there are
two dimensions to Hollywood: one, the stories in the movies that you see on the
screen and two, the stories behind the scenes about the studios and the actors.
Thus, right away there is a dramatic tension between the two realities. Enough
so that thousands of biographies have been written to reveal the true story
behind famous directors like Orson Welles or actors like Robert Mitchum. In any
event that’s enough for me to imagine the world where Stan Wade can struggle to
separate truth from fiction. My job is just to record all that in as dramatic
way as possible. And I love my job!
What was your first published novel?
The first book was titled Starfall.
It’s the first of the series of Stan Wade, LA PI novels and takes place in 1959
when NASA was just beginning. Did you know that there was actually an eighth
astronaut in the Mercury 7 program, except he was murdered? It was an enormous
amount of fun to write and still is a good read today.
You write both science fiction and
mystery very well, and often, as in Starfall, combine the two genres. Do you think of
yourself as a science fiction or mystery writer, both, or simply as a
writer?
Both categories fit, of
course, but I’m more focused on conveying honest emotions and real characters
regardless of genre. Hope that’s not too
stuffy.
When did you first realize you wanted
to be a writer?
This happened several times in my short life: once when I was a
teenager, once when I was in the military, and once more when I was in
corporate America. In all three cases, life seemed dull and boring, so my way
of jazzing things up was to take a shot at being a writer.
You mentioned you were in the
military and worked in corporate America. Would you give us an idea about your
background?
I realized some time ago
that I was a middle-aged, middle manager from the mid-west. I wanted to be
something more, so the stories started flowing.
How do you go about writing?
The best I can tell, you just have to do the work. It doesn’t
matter whether you go long-hand or with a computer; outline or not. What
matters is that you do it as if it were a job. Put on your hardhat and make the
donuts. Within minutes, you’ll be having fun!
My greatest pleasure
is the self-discovery. Every time I write, I learn something about myself that
part of my brain never knew before. It’s also a joy to add to an art form,
which means I enjoy the actual act of creating something from nothing. There is
no better joy than sitting back and gazing at something new you’ve created.
Are there any writers that
inspired—or continue to inspire—your own writing?
I’ve been inspired probably by
300 writers; what day is this? Currently I’m trying to figure out how James Lee
Burke is able to pull off such quality prose.
If you could write anything, without
commercial considerations, what would it be?
The type of work I’m aiming for ultimately is an epic
multi-generation family saga that explores how life changes as events in the
world occur and points of view shift. If that sounds too heavy I’d also like to
write a comic strip.
If you were stranded on an island and you
had only one book, what would it be?
Ye Gods and little fishes! That would depend on which island
we’re talking about and the mood I am currently in. Honestly, there’s no way I
could live with only one book.
If you were allowed only to recommend
one of your own novels, or stories, which one would you want people to read?
“The Maltese Fountain”. It’s a short story that appeared in one
of my anthologies: The Last Martian
Chronicles.
You’ve written several short stories,
do you have a preference between writing novels and shorts?
I prefer novels. The
shorts are okay, but confining. I guess I have a lot to say.
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