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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

An Interview with J.A. Konrath...

Author, J.A. Konrath was kind enough to add Benston Blogs as a stop on his Blog Tour. He stopped by today to answer a few questions for me. For those few people out there who don't know, Konrath is the fabulously talented author of the Jack Daniels series. His first novel, Whiskey Sour (2004), introduced Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. Others in the series include Bloody Mary (2005), Rusty Nail (2006), Dirty Martini (2007), Fuzzy Navel (2008), and Cherry Bomb (2009). The books combine hair-raising scares and suspense with laugh out loud comedy. The next book in the series, Cherry Bomb, will be released in July of this year. Now, onto the good stuff:

Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what did you want to be before you became an author?

I wanted to be a model for husky pants. But then, when I was barely a teen, they stopped making husky sizes.

Damn those clothing designers for shattering my dreams.


Your stories are fairly creepy, where do you get your ideas?

I mean, I'm not offended by the term "husky." Now they're called "relaxed fit" jeans. It's the same thing, but there's nothing sexy about being a "relaxed fit jeans" model.

What was your question again? Ideas? Mostly, I watch old reruns of the Outer Limits and steal the concepts, like Alan Moore did with Watchmen.


What writers do you read regularly or even irregularly?

I'm not sure if this is the place to talk about my irregularity.

But there are many authors I love. Blake Crouch, Henry Perez, Jeff Strand, Tasha Alexander, James Rollins, Barry Eisler, Raymond Bensen. Lots of people.

My absolute favorite author is Dr. Seuss. In fact, I tried my hand at writing a few Dr. Seuss-style children's books. Here are the titles:

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE MY WIFE

HORTON HATCHES A TERRORIST PLOT

ON BEYOND DONKEY PUNCH

MARVIN K MOONEY WILL YOU PLEASE DROP DEAD

THE CAT IN THE HAT GETS NEUTERED

GREEN EGGS AND E COLI

THIDWICK THE BIG HEARTED COKE DEALER

MR. BROWN CAN MOO, AND THEY PUT HIM AWAY

THERE'S A WOCKET IN MY POCKET, AND I BLAME CIALIS

BOOMER THE TUMOR

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sell any of these. I think it may be some sort of rights-issue thing.


Do you write every day? If so, give us an idea of what your typical writing day looks like.

I wake up early and make some eggs.

Then the smoke alarm goes off, because the eggs are burning because I fell asleep again.

Then I spend ten minutes explaining to the firemen that show up how I'll be more careful next time.

I go back to bed, and the next thing I know, it's around noon. Time for lunch. I want to make an egg sandwich, but I'm out of eggs. And bread. And pretty much everything except some sort of fruit that's been in the refrigerator forever and might be a lime.

It's not a lime. It may not even be fruit. So I put it back and think about cooking some pasta but that seems like a lot of work for just lunch, so I go take a nap.

Around three I get up, ready to start my work day, but first I need to eat something. Do pizza places delivery at three? I make a few calls. Nope, no one delivers before five.

I check the fridge. The lime thing is still there, but it looks like it moved from where I saw it last. I'm really hungry, so I decide to give it a try.

It's not a lime, because limes don't have bones.

When I finish eating, I sit down at my computer and write my daily quota, thirty pages.


What are you currently working on besides answering these questions?

Currently working on rewrites for TRAPPED, which is my second Jack Kilborn horror novel. The first one, AFRAID, comes out March 31. My one goal is for everyone in the Western world to buy just one copy. That, and so clothing designers to bring back husky pants.

What are the titles of your books and where can we buy them?

The Jack Daniels books, which I write under the name JA Konrath, are Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, and Cherry Bomb, which comes out July 7.

If you notice, each of these books is named after a drink. In fact, each title is a two word drink, and the first word ends in the letter Y.

If you string all the first words together, whiskey bloody rusty dirty fuzzy cherry, it sounds like a really fun weekend.

Do you have any appearances scheduled?

On March 23, at 7pm, I'll be doing a signing with Barry Eilser in Milwaukee, at the Mystery One bookstore. I'm doing other stuff too, probably.


What advice would you like to give to other writers or anyone interested in becoming a writer?

Never take "no" for an answer. If an agent or editor rejects you, you should keep calling them and emailing them, over and over and over, until they relent and give you a three million dollar contract.

Also, when you're writing a novel, try to remember to use verbs. Editors like verbs.

Thanks for having me here, Rebecca. After goofing off for most of this blog tour, it's nice to finally be serious for once...


Joe

http://www.JAKonrath.com
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/jakonrath


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4 comments:

Karen from Mentor said...

Rebecca,
Thanks for having Joe. The interview was laugh out loud funny. (again) Have you been following the tour every day? I don't know how he keeps his material fresh.(probably beer)
Today Joe said:

"If you string all the first words together, whiskey bloody rusty dirty fuzzy cherry, it sounds like a really fun weekeend"

I'd take out bloody and rusty....but that's just me.

I'm pleased to see a fellow ohio citizen on the tour.
I'm going to check out IN THE WASH.
Thanks, now off to work, I've procrastinated enough, I've got characters who want to say stuff dammit, and nothing's getting done while I'm following Joe around in the cybersphere.
Karen :)

Vickie said...

Now why won't the Dr Seuss folks take those title ideas?
Really like Blake Crouch. Read LOCKED DOORS and next up (when I am brave again) is DESERT PLACES. Now to look up the other authors mentioned.
Intriguing interview of a DITL of J A Konrath.

Jake Nantz said...

That's it. Next time I go to a bar, I'm going to order a whiskey bloody rusty dirty fuzzy cherry. Just to see what he/she does.

Funny as always, Joe!

JA Konrath said...

Thanks for having me, Rebecca.

A Little Bit of Mystery: Short Mysteries to Confuse and Amuse

Where I've Been...

Listen to my interview on the Jeffery S. Miller show.

Listen to my interview on Calling All Authors.

Listen to my interview on the Let's Just Talk w/Kathryn Raaker.

Listen to my interview on Radio Free Baxter.

Where I'll Be...

After a short break in the summer, I'll be at the following locations:

8/11/09 Allen Park Public Library, Allen Park, MI 6:30 p.m.

Looking for something entertaining for your library or bookstore patrons? Looking for a fun way to spend a couple of hours? Do you love mysteries? Then you need to schedule a Tea & Mystery event for your library or bookstore! The fee is minimal and the presentation is fun and informative! Attendees will be given the chance to win great prizes and share their thoughts about the mystery genre and their favorite mystery writers!

E-mail me today at lonestoryteller@yahoo.com for details on how to set up your Tea & Mystery event!

Books by Rebecca Benston

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“You'll find yourself looking forward to more stories from the files of Rona Shively.”

Michelle Shealy, Reviewer for MyShelf.com

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“Rebecca Benston has written a detective with plenty of suspense…I hope there will be a sequel…”

Annick, Reviewer for Euro-Reviews

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“The story is good, the plotting great. Rebecca Benston draws you into the story from the first page. Read the book.”

Lucille P. Robinson, An Alternative Read

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“Rebecca Benston’s twists, turns, and descriptions are utterly engaging.”

Tracy, Fallen Angel Reviews

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“In The Wash is like a 1930’s film noir detective story that had a modern, edgy twist and a female lead.”

Janet Davies, Once Upon a Romance Reviews

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“Under Lock and Key is an enjoyable, fun book! Rona Shively is a delightful character. I loved her off-beat, quirky personality and her outstanding sense of humor.”

Connie Harris, MyShelf.com

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“Talented author Rebecca Benston shows the reader just how complicated life can get suddenly and how people you thought you knew, aren't who you thought they were.”

Anne K. Edwards, Mysteryfiction.net