Andy Graham Author

Author of dark fiction and fantasy, dystopia, horror.

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One Book Interview #50 – David Hambling (Author)

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The One Book Interview hits its half-century this week and we have a great set of answers to celebrate.

(There may be a moderate amount of alcohol consumed sensibly later too.)

Author #50 is an author of both fiction and non-fiction.

His technology journalism has appeared in New Scientist magazine, Aviation Week, Popular Mechanics, WIRED, The Economist, The Guardian newspaper and others.

His novels have their roots in the myths and legends that stalk the streets and fields of South London.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Norwood, London – David Hambling

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. It’s a rip-roaring adventure – and arguably the first superhero story. The protagonist has multiple secret identities and the best technology money can buy, including ultra-accurate pistols and concealed body armor. But there’s more to it than simple adventure; it works on other levels as well, and as a study of the art of vengeance and its effect on the revenger it has never been bettered. It’s a real swashbuckler, but it is also a lot more, with some striking characters rather than just placeholders and truly memorable scenes.

Reading a work like this, you start to appreciate how the standard of popular fiction has declined over the last 170 years, and how much we can learn from earlier writers. Dickens and Shakespeare may not be to everyone’s taste, but Dumas is a joy. The phrase ‘entertainment for all ages’ fits perfectly.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

You mean as well as the Bible and the complete Shakespeare?  (The traditional literary gifts on Desert Island Discs).

If I was marooned on Mars I probably wouldn’t survive long enough to do any reading, and if I did survive I would probably be concentrating on staying alive and getting home rather than poring over literary works…

…but if I had to pick a stunning, long book to re-read, I’d pick Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. It’s an epic trans-European WWII sci-fi adventure with bizarre Nazi goings-on centered around the V-2 rocket attacks on London. It also manages to pack in esoteric lore, Pavlovian psychology, plenty of sex, and a great cast of characters. While the central story features a mission to discover the secret of a mystery device fitted to a V-2, subplots spin off in all directions. It’s a book that bears a lot of re-reading, and Mars – reached by rockets directly descended from the V-2 – might be a good place for it.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles may not look promising – you’ll find it in the literary fiction section. It’s a surreal horror story which starts with a missing cat and gets steadily darker and weirder as the protagonist’s wife vanishes, and he gradually learns more about the forces working against him. It all centers on an ancient well, now dry, which he descends and starts to dream strange dreams.

The evil is subtler and menacing than in in genre horror (though there is a certain amount of gore), and there’s an amazing flashback as one character recounts his experiences during the Japanese campaign in Manchuria during the 1930s. (Spoiler: it was not a happy time for any of those involved).  There is philosophy, but there are also surprising dashes of humour… one character’s impassioned diatribe about microwaved rice pudding reads like a stand-up comedy routine.

Murakami’s work also bears distinct traces of HP Lovecraft and his notion of Cosmic Horror, and for me that it very much a bonus.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

Never ask a parent to choose between their children!

As an author you’re always going to be most excited about the one you’re writing now. I’m just in the final edit stages of Master of Chaos, the fourth of the Harry Stubbs series. This is a sci-fi adventure set in 1920’s London involving Cthulhu-mythos mischief, with the lead character going undercover to work in a mental institution. Madness and mayhem abound…as usual there was a mountain of research to be boiled down and distilled, and some complex plot mechanics going on, plus this time I tried to do something more ambitious with the writing itself.  Overall, I feel I’m getting better.

Hence, of the books that are in already in print the one to recommend is the third Harry Stubbs, Alien Stars, in which our hero is searching for what his employer believes to be the Holy Grail – and which turns out to be something far more alien, and far more dangerous to our world.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

“Godel Escher Bach: an eternal golden braid.” by Douglas Hofstader is perhaps the most mind-expanding book I have ever read. It takes some intriguing mathematical ideas, in particular self-reference and paradox and shows how they apply to everything from music to the way that DNA replicates, and of course Escher’s amazing ‘impossible’ images, taking in Zen, human (and artificial) intelligence, meaning and meaninglessness.

It’s a far more whimsical book than this bare summary makes it sound, with the subtitle “a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll,” and it is, to coin a phrase, a book that makes you think.

It even inspired some of the core ideas in my latest work, Master of Chaos.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Professionally, the most inspiring books are the bad ones. Reading a good book makes me think I should just give up; reading a terrible one makes me think, “dammit, I can writer better than this!” and inspires me to try.

For me, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is a truly great bad book. It’s tautly written and the plot has you on the edge of your seat. It’s a real page turner…but the contrived plotting, cardboard characters and clunky dialogue had me howling with disbelief. (And don’t get me started on his legal but questionable misappropriation of the historical research by Baigent, Leigh and others).

I’m never going to write The Count of Monte Cristo, but I hope that any writer worth their salt who encounters Dan Brown will think “maybe I can do something in this vein, but not quite so terribly.”

To be fair, I have not read any of EL James ‘Fifty Shades’ series, so there may be even more stupendously great bad books out there, and I’m sure every reader will have their own favourite. I have enough inspiration for the meantime though, thanks.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

That would have to be The Elder Ice. It’s short – barely a hundred pages – and introduces Harry Stubbs, a former heavyweight boxer and sometime debt collector in 1920s South London. Now trying to make it working for a legal firm. Harry is tasked with tracking down a legacy left by a polar explorer – real life Antarctic legend Ernest Shackleton, who lived in this area.

Shackleton left behind a pile a of debts and hints that he has discovered something valuable, and much of the story centers on the question of what he could have brought back which was worth more than its weight in gold…which also kills people…

You can find David here.

David Hambling aims to bring authentic 1920s Lovecraftian horror to Norwood, his corner of South London, a little-known and haunted place where taxis dare not go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One Book Interview #35 – Kevin Kennedy (Author)

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Interview #35 holds the record for the quickest turn around to date.

Within 12 hours of the author kindly agreeing to be featured on the One Book Interview, I had the answers back. I thought it only right to put out the interview within another 12 hours.

You should read it, it’s a good one.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Scotland in the UK (well, it is at the moment…) – Kevin Kennedy.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland by Carlton Mellick III. I have probably read thirty or more books by Mellick. This was one of the first and the main reason I started to appreciate the Bizarro sub genre. There are so many great ideas in this book and Mellick’s style is a pleasure to read. It’s almost like having a bedtime story read to you when you were little, except the stories are absolutely mental, and often look at real issues in a very interesting way. I really enjoyed this one and while I could spend all day listing books like Swan Song and other fan faves, I feel this book deserves more credit than it gets.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Okay, so I said in the last post I wasn’t going to mention books like Swan Song. I lied. If you only had one book, which if we are honest, isn’t a plausible way to exist, it would need to be a pretty big book. Especially if you were going to re-read it, which is something I very rarely do. I think Swan Song and The Stand uncut version are the two longest books I’ve read. Although a lot of people may disagree, for me Swan Song was a far superior story and had a lot more going on in it. Post-apocalyptic fiction is one of my favourite sub-genres so there is a good chance I’d go with this one. It is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. It could be an idea to take something I haven’t read but if it turned out to be crap or written in a style I didn’t enjoy I’d be raging lol.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

City Infernal by Edward Lee. I started reading adult horror books when I was fifteen. I fell in love with Richard Laymons work and I read my way through everything he had written. When I finished all his books I tried another few authors and wasn’t impressed and just stopped reading. A few years later I found the old Richard Laymon message board and was recommended another few books and authors. The first four I bought were City Infernal by Ed Lee, Offseason by Jack Ketchum, Live Girls by Ray Garton and The Rising by Brian Keene. The suggestions were excellent. I loved them all but the world that Ed Lee builds in City Infernal was something else. It was entirely different from the type of horror Laymon wrote, and while I loved his style I also enjoyed Ed Lee’s style. I think it’s a book everyone should read. A lot of people talk about Edward Lee’s extreme horror and I love that too but this book is a tremendous story and not as hardcore as a lot of his other stuff.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

You Only Get One Shot: A Horror Novella that I co-wrote with J.C. Michael. It’s the longest piece I’ve written by quite a bit and it’s also the most time I’ve invested in the one piece of work. We changed things several times along the way and it’s good to have someone to bounce ideas off of. I think we both found it pretty easy to work together which helped and by the end up I think we have a pretty great story. The feedback has been excellent from readers and authors alike. J.C. also wrote a short prequel to the novella in Collected Halloween Horror Shorts.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon. It’s the book that started me reading adult fiction. I read Point Horror books when I was young and then fell away from it. I hadn’t read in years, then we got told we had to write an essay for English class when I was fifteen. I left it to last minute and then grabbed this book for 10p at a jumble-sale just because it had a Ouija board on the cover. I then realized the book was about six hundred pages and I think I had three days to read it and write the paper. It should have been an almost impossible task but I think I read about three hundred pages the first night. It was absolutely riveting. The story totally sucked me in and I only put the book down because I needed to get a few hours sleep. After this I read Island and continued on from there.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Probably Funland by Laymon. I don’t want to make it all about Laymon but sometimes when I’m thinking of new ideas and I think about the type of story that I enjoy reading, I think of Funland, as I really like stuff involving carnivals, boardwalks or piers with rides and stalls and circus stuff. Something about the whole carnie vibe works well with horror. Funland was among my favourite Laymon books, and ever since reading it, I’ve always looked for stories in that vein. The most recent story I have written, Halloweenland, featured in my new Halloween antho, is about a special kind of traveling carnival that sets up on a pier, funnily enough. It is completely different from Funland in every way but I think it definitely influenced my taste in horror and that translates into the stories I write.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

You Only Get One Shot: A Horror Novella, is the only work I have out that isn’t part of an anthology but I do put together the Collected Horror Shorts series, which has received some amazing praise. I have stories in each of the anthos and we have a fantastic mix of upcoming indie authors and some of horror genres top sellers. You can now pick up Christmas, Easter and Halloween editions.

 

You can find Kevin at: www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk

Kevin J Kennedy is the co-author of You Only Get One Shot, and the man behind the best-selling Collected Christmas Horror Shorts & Collected Easter Horror Shorts anthologies. His short stories have featured in many other notable anthologies in the horror genre.

Kevin lives in a small town in Scotland with his wife, step daughter and two strange little cats.

Keep up to date with new releases or contact Kevin through his website: www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk

 

 

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One Book Interview #33 – Jenifer Ruff (Author)

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As you might expect from a library director’s daughter, this week’s author grew up surrounded by books. She now writes surrounded by greyhounds – Ed, Myrtle & Lillian.

I’m not sure what the connection between the two is, but it works – author #33 is a bestseller of psychological suspense.

(Maybe the dogs provide editing and proofreading services? )

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Charlotte, North Carolina – Jenifer Ruff.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Night by Elie Wiesel. The horrific first-person account of survival stuck with me long after the last page. I learned something profoundly important about dignity, suffering, and the human race. It’s not about the writing, but the story being told.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

I don’t usually reread books, so I’d pick the longest book I haven’t yet read—Game of Thrones. I just finished binge-watching the television series. I should have read the books first. Most of George Martin’s characters are living a nightmare. They might put my marooned-on-Mars situation in perspective.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Creatures of Appetite by Todd Travis. I downloaded his independently published book for free from a promo email. I love dark thrillers and mysteries with intricate plotting and I thought his was pretty near perfect. It’s hard to believe publishers aren’t begging for his next books, and I know they’re not because at the end of the book he asks for donations so he can keep writing.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

Only Wrong Once, a bio-terror suspense novel available Sept. 28th, 2017. It was inspired by my DHS agent brother. He can’t tell me anything about his job, but I know he’s privy to intelligence that would make me shudder. Only Wrong Once benefits from what I’ve learned from my previous three published novels. My hope is that I’ll never stop learning and improving the craft of writing, so my most recent book will always be my favorite, until the next one comes along.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

This is the hardest question! I know which books I enjoyed the most, but did they influence my character or personality? Probably not. But a terrible, bestselling, traditionally-published book did. I won’t mention the title because it doesn’t matter and it’s only my opinion, but the book got me thinking, “If he can do this, then I sure can.” Sort of reverse inspiration. And now I’m a writer, so I should thank the book’s author and publisher for providing a bit of motivational influence.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott is one of my favorite books on writing. It’s clever, insightful. self-deprecating, hilarious, and inspirational all at once. Anyone might enjoy it, but no writer should miss it.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Only Wrong Once. It will be discounted through most of October. I started writing it two years ago, but recent terrorist attacks and national policies have made it even more relevant, which really escalates the fear factor. All my books have a dark edge, but this one is frightening because it’s realistic.

You can find Jenifer at: www.jenruff.com

 

Jenifer Ruff is the author of psychological suspense books and an avid fitness enthusiast and hiker. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her family and a pack of greyhounds.

 

 

 

 

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One Book Interview #26 – CJ Harter (Author)

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Dead bodies. Libraries. Poetry. Bedbaths.

You don’t usually get them all in the same place or at the same time.

Except in this interview.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Manchester in the UK – CJ Harter.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Gosh, is there such a thing? If pressed, I choose His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. It’s got something for everyone: love, passion, betrayal, adventure, quest, weird gadgets, religion, atheism, witches, talking polar bears and angels.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Remembrance Of Things Past/In Search Of Lost Time by Proust. Never read it. I’d be hoping it’s as good as they say it is. If it isn’t, what a time to find out!

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Most recently, The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances. I usually avoid thrillers that have subtitles like ‘The most gripping psychological thriller since the last most gripping psychological thriller’. And I write psychological thrillers!

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

So far, my only published novel is Rowan’s Well, a psychological suspense. I’m very fond of it, especially as it’s just won a Chill With A Book Readers’ Award and been shortlisted in the Words With Jam First Page Competition.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Anne Of Green Gables by LM Montgomery. As a child, Anne Shirley was my hero and role-model. She faced the world bravely, with love and humour, and had a rich imagination. I confess, she’s still my hero.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

If you mean books about how to write, then Stephen King’s On Writing is a must-read. I also love Steering The Craft: A 21st-Century Guide To Sailing The Sea Of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Rowan’s Well is out there and waiting for you.

Some friends you’re better off without.

‘A sophisticated, compelling thriller’ ‘I couldn’t put it down’ ‘Gripping to the last page’ ‘Extraordinary and uncompromising’ ‘Compelling family drama that wouldn’t be out of place as a BBC drama’ ‘Had me in its thrilling spell’ ‘Highly recommend!’ – Amazon reviews

I’m about to publish Fitful Head, a modern ghost story. Imagine you lose your mind, and something’s waiting to take its place. Widow Isobel Hickey thinks she’s being haunted by her husband, but she’s wrong.

Even before publication, Fitful Head has been runner-up in the prestigious Writing On The Wall Pulp Idol contest and shortlisted in the huge UK-NWC competition where it was placed 11th from 3,112 entries.

Keep an eye on my website for details of release date and pre-order. I’ll soon be publishing a taster short story The Haydock Haunting. Read it if you dare.

You can find CJ at: www.cjharterbooks.co.uk

I’ve dissected human bodies in Sheffield, shushed library-users in Wigan, shared poetry in Liverpool, organised bedbaths in Salford. Now I live in Manchester,UK, and help folk connect with their creativity through writing. I have a degree in Literature and Philosophy, I’m mother to two adults, wife to one and slave to two tiny dogs.

 

 

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One Book Interview #25 – Leo Nix (Author)

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‘Writing fiction is the best therapy in the world.’

It’s official.

This is the professional’s opinion.

A man who has worked with psychopaths and their victims in prison and private practice.

A man who has been publishing articles and books on psychology and related subjects for over twenty-five years.

And, more importantly, a man who named John’s Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids as one of his book choices. For which, I almost vetoed his interview.

Why? I have an irrational fear of sunflowers, which I can only explain by watching that film at an early age.

(Considerate ‘friends’ have sent me postcards of sunflowers with ‘we’re watching you‘ and ‘we know where you live‘ written on the back.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Marree in Southern Australia – Leo Nix

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

I’ve read thousands of books since I was a kid but there is one that does stand out above the rest: Bryce Courtenay’s The Power of One. A story set in South Africa during the 1930’s and 40’s during those terrible apartheid years. It’s about a small boy raised by his single mother but spends most of his time with an elderly neighbour who teaches him how to live. He meets up with a native boxing trainer in the prisons and learns to box. Boxing is his entry into manhood and makes for a good backdrop to the various racial and social tensions in the country. It’s strongly character driven set against the violent background of those torrid years in South Africa’s history.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Well, I guess I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on my reading. If I was to take a book to enjoy I’d take Shike a two volume series by Robert Shea. Robert Shea writes the story of a young Zen monk, a Zinja, and the struggles he is put through by his religious order to escort a young princess across the country. It is a rites-of-passage adventure, some lovely martial arts and swordplay which illustrates Japan of the samurai era. It has powerful characters and a story backdrop of intrigue and violence, loyalty, love and honour. I’ve read the series quite a few times over the years and can easily pick it up and enjoy it all over again.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Chris Harris’ UK Dark Series – UKD1. A post-apocalypse series set in the UK. I fell in love with post-apocalypse books after I read John Wyndham’s The Day of The Triffids at school a long time ago. Since then I’ve been hooked on post-apocalypse stories. Chris’s writing style is easy to read and his stories simple, uncomplicated and highly plausible. I haven’t read all his books, I’ve only just finished book 1, but I’m looking forward to reading the rest.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I write both non-fiction and fiction. I found that my writer’s ‘voice’ has changed since I started writing fiction. Now that I’m about to start writing another non-fiction book on psychotherapy for PTSD and anxiety, I’m actually looking forward to see how I write in the more formal format of a self help genre.

But to get to your question, the third book in my series, Sundown Apocalypse 3: Homeland Defense, I thought was slightly more aggressive and emotionally hard hitting than the first two. Homeland Defense sees one of my female protagonists run a mission into the middle of the terrorist township of Mount Isa, northern Queensland, Australia. She’s a tough girl but the events of book 3 lead to some PTSD of her own in book 4 which comes out on the 2nd July.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

The Red Chief by Ion Idriess, the true story of an Australian aboriginal chief passed down from generation to generation. It was recorded almost word for word from the last surviving full-blooded member of the Gunnedah tribe in the early 1950’s. A story of a young man who reaches warriorhood amid the greed and vindictiveness of his tribal leaders. Beautifully written by Ion L. Idriess, a prospector and bushman who write fifty odd books on Australian aborigines early last century. If anyone wants to learn how the Australian aborigines lived and loved before white settlement, this is a book they should be reading.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

As a professional author, Devon C Ford’s After It Happened post-apocalypse series. A friend suggested I have a look at his books and I fell in love with the series. By the time I’d read book 3 I was convinced I had to write my own post-apocalypse books. I look for strong character-driven novels with challenging settings which push the characters to face up to and overcome adversity, Devon’s books have that.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

Book 1 of my Sundown Apocalypse series, simply called, Sundown Apocalypse. It’s available on Amazon. Set in the harsh, central Australian deserts, the ‘red centre’. I like to spend time working on character development, pushing them through hell and back again to illuminate their growth as valuable members of their community. As a psychologist this is what challenges me most, to demonstrate how individuals can change and grow despite the horrors of a violent, psychopathic environment. Despite the difficulties they face they can still find time for love and deep friendships. If you like Australia and deserts wrapped into a post-apocalypse setting, this is for you.

You can find Leo at: www.leo-nix.com

Leo Nix is a psychologist who has worked with psychopaths and their victims in the prison system and in private practice. Through his writing he endeavours to bring to life real people in their struggle for survival against extreme adversity. He has a wife who actually enjoys reading his books, three children and two delightful grand children, plus a cat with no tail called ‘Piggy’.

 

 

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One Book Interview #19 – Jason Parent (Author)

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Hot on the heels of last week’s 18th birthday celebration, the One Book Interview is back to business as usual. Today, I’m very happy to be taking part in a book tour for an exciting author by the name of Jason Parent. His new book  A Life Removed is out now. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy not so long ago. You can find out what I thought of it tomorrow, but for now, here is a taste of what Jason likes to read when he’s not writing. (Interestingly, three of his choices made the top twelve list in last week’s 18th birthday book summary.)

Good people of the Internet – Jason Parent.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The Stand, by Stephen King – It is a genre-defining tale of good versus evil that should be required reading.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

The Martian, by Andy Weir – I’d need some chance of being able to grow potatoes. Of course, I’d probably also need potatoes.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series. Historical fiction, not quite horror or my usual cup of tea, but altogether perfect.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My books vary so much in genre and tone that my answer to this question changes daily. But so as not to cop out, I think Wrathbone and Other Stories is one of my best works.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Tucker Max’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. The book never answers the question whether beer is, in fact, served in Hell, so I have made it a life-long ambition to drink as much beer as possible before I get there. I’m guessing it’s all mimosas and umbrella drinks down under the earth.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Not Tucker Max’s books. Stephen King’s On Writing has made me re-examine my craft.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

That depends on how dark they want to go. I have a couple of novellas priced at $0.99 to allow potential readers to give me a try. But my novels are all stand-alones, so my latest, A Life Removed is as good a start as any (and happens to be set earliest chronologically).

You can find Jason at: www.authorjasonparent.com

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.

When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists in a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

 

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