Shaun Is Writing.

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.

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.

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.

 Buy Jack Is Writing here at Amazon USA

                                         Amazon UK

                                         Smashwords.

                                         Bibliocracy

              

You can follow Shaun on Facebook here- Shaun Adams Facebook.

on Twitter here- @Jack_is_writing

Or pop over to his excellent blog here- Jack Is Writing.