Today
I'm really pleased to announce that we have writer Shaun Adams here at The
Futurist. I've just finished reading his new anthology of dark tales, 'Jack Is
Writing' and have posted my review here. Shaun was kind enough to give up a few
minutes to talk to me about 'Jack Is Writing', his influences and plans for the
future.
Tony: Hi Shaun thanks for agreeing to answer
a few questions for The Futurist.
Shaun: No problem, it’s very kind of you to invite me over.
Tony: I really enjoyed reading your new
anthology, ‘Jack is Writing’. I picked up a few constant themes and would
like to start off by talking about those.
I
mentioned apocalypse and asylum in my review. Are these two
themes of Armageddon and insanity something you purposely choose
when sitting down to write and if so why?
Shaun: Ouch, straight in at the deep end with this first one. This is a very
good question. Most of the stories (excluding the 100 word flashes) in Jack Is
Writing began life as prompt based contest entries at a writing website. I do
tend to gravitate towards the horror contests so straight away I’m on the left
hand path as it were. I don’t believe these two particular themes are set in my
mind when I begin writing, at least not consciously.
It’s not as though I sit down and flip a coin, but
as you have pointed out there is definitely a pattern emerging.
Tony: There is a mix of dystopia and surreal
horror in your writing. These are very dark subjects to tackle. Is this
influenced by writers you admire?
Shaun: I would say so, yes most definitely. From an early age, I was reading
books by Pierre Boulle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Wyndham, H.G Wells and Jules
Verne plus a weekly dose of 2000AD comics.
By the time, I left High School in the early 80’s I
was reading a mixture of sci-fi, violent western serials and fantasy. George
Orwell’s 1984, Stephen King’s The Stand and William F. Nolan and George Clayton
Johnson’s Logan’s Run were also milestones. Here is a dark little secret
shared, growing up in a time when nuclear war between the Soviets and the west
was still in the back of a lot of people’s minds, I used to imagine stories
about surviving such a catastrophe. Some of these got scribbled down in
school exercise books, none survive though.
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Don't mess with this man, he survived a nuclear threat! |
Tony: Well at least we all survived that
threat, even if some of your stories didn't. I sense a love of sci-fi creeping
into your writing. Is this a genre you would like to explore more in the
future?
Shaun: Ah, you got me bang to rights; I’ve always been a fan of the genre.
Mostly the recurring lesson seems to be that there is always a bigger
fish, and one day we will find that out. What could be better than horror and
monsters in outer space?
Tony: Horrors from inner
space maybe? Some people do believe that UFOs don't come
from the stars, but below the oceans and being kept secret by world
governments. Speaking of which, you mention the Santa Clause conspiracy in
‘Eight Clicks to Eternity’ and have hint at conspiracy site trolls in ‘I
never Ordered Pizza’. Are there any conspiracy theories you subscribe to?
Come on I won't tell the CIA.
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I will not listen to your Moon landing nonsense. |
Shaun: Ha, no I’m sorry to disappoint you there. I love all that stuff
though, The Lone gunmen in X files, that guy in Independence Day, “Hello boys,
I’m back.” That kind of tinfoil Stetson wearing craziness is very dear to my
heart.
Tony: Oh well looks like I won’t be picking
up my reward from Washington then. Finally can you tell us when we will may see
a Shaun Adams novel. Also what's next for you on the writing front?
Shaun: I’m working on something at the moment that is much longer than
anything I’ve attempted before. Whether or not it reaches novel length remains
to be seen. I can promise there will be madness and dark imagined creatures
aplenty though.
Tony: Thanks for taking the time to visit us at The Futurist today and talk to us Shaun. Good luck with Jack Is Writing.
Shaun: Thank you.
You can follow Shaun on Facebook here- Shaun Adams Facebook.
on Twitter here- @Jack_is_writing
An interesting interview - he sounds like an interesting guy, Tony.
ReplyDeleteTony, thank you very much for taking the time to review my book and inviting me over for an interview. My first interview. ;)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the support. You did a grand job.
Hi Tony, just dropping in to let your readers know that Jack Is Writing is now exclusive to Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Shaun. The link to purchase are here-
ReplyDeleteAmazon UK-
http://amzn.to/OaUqWa
AMazon USA-
http://amzn.to/N6ftZl