Meghan: So, you’ve made it back for round three, Jon, where the questions get more and more difficult.
What are your go-to horror films?
Jon M. Jefferson: This is where things get a little weird. I am not strictly a horror writer. I don’t have a list of horror films that I could consider a go-to. Now there are some tropes in movies that really get me though. Monsters in their various forms or super cheesy over the top gore. Stuff like that hits me in my giggle places.
Meghan: What makes the horror genre so special?
Jon M. Jefferson: And this is still a tough one to define. My forte is within the realm of speculative fiction. Horror has a place in there but it isn’t the only thing for me. Now with that said, we can step into a deeper thought of horror. It’s one of those things that can hit us on a primal level. I’m talking about more than just jump scares or slasher stuff. It’s the truly horrific that digs deep into our psyche.
We’ve been watching the show Goliath on Amazon. In the first season there is this scene. Billy Bob Thornton is walking next to his current love interest when she is run down by a van. It’s a fast moment where the realization of what just happened takes a moment to settle into your brain. But you feel it on this deeper level and the reality of it stays with you.
Meghan: Have any new authors grasped your interest recently?
Jon M. Jefferson: I’m horrible at this. I’ve actually been catching up on some older stuff, especially in comics. The more recent books I’ve read have been from series that I have been reading for years. I dare say I am probably about two years behind the times right now.
Meghan: How big of a part does music play in creating your “zone”? What do you listen to while writing?
Jon M. Jefferson: Music is life. I listen to probably more than most sane people should. And it falls into quite a few categories.
Right now I am listening to mindless self indulgence. You just get these moments where you need to sing the words mother fucker with abandon.
I have this thing though… I’m big into specific female vocalists. And it’s something you wouldn’t expect of me. I’m talking, Diana Krall, Vanessa Carlton, even Sade. Their voices and music brings to mind smoke filled beer halls. Maybe a rocks glass with whiskey and a single cube of ice. It’s a mood, a place outside of time where ideas congregate.
Meghan: How active are you on social media? How do you think it affects the way you write?
Jon M. Jefferson: Depends on how you mean active. I mean, I’m a troll and take pleasure with shit posting memes that offend. I’m not sure this has anything to do with writing.
Meghan: What is your writing Kryptonite?
Jon M. Jefferson: I’m not sure I understand the question. My writing is nothing like green rocks from an alien planet.
Meghan: If you were making a movie of your latest story/book, who would you cast?
Jon M. Jefferson: Is this a trick question? I would cast me as the lead, duh… I’m pretty and have personality coming out my hinie.
Meghan: If you had the choice to rewrite any of your books, which one would it be and why?
Jon M. Jefferson: Not a one. I’m a different person than I was when I wrote them. I don’t reject who I was. That person helped me get to the person I am now.
Meghan: What would the main character in your latest story/book have to say about you?
Jon M. Jefferson: “That fucker? What the fuck do you want to talk about him for”
Meghan: Did you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Jon M. Jefferson: Hell, I hide shit in there that even I can’t find. You make it sound like I might know what I’m doing.
Meghan: How much of yourself do you put in your books?
Jon M. Jefferson: Depends on the story and the characters.
Meghan: Have you ever incorporated something that happened to you in real life into your novels?
Jon M. Jefferson: I have stolen the lives of others to put into stories. That stuff just does what it wants to do.
Meghan: Are your characters based off real people, or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Jon M. Jefferson: I am haunted by dumbasses.
Meghan: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Jon M. Jefferson: The older I get the more I identify with red foreman.
Meghan: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Jon M. Jefferson: Currently, finding a moment when I can keep my eyes open long enough to do something.
Meghan: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Jon M. Jefferson: Life exhausts me. Telling stories is one of those things you can do for fun. It’s less draining on paper than in real life.
Meghan: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with the bad ones? Have you ever learned something from a negative review and incorporated it into your writing?
Jon M. Jefferson: What other people think about me is none of my business.
Meghan: What are your ambitions for your writing career? What does “literary success” look like to you?
Jon M. Jefferson: The ultimate goal is always going to be making enough money from this bit of professional lying to go full time pro. Sadly, it isn’t always as easy as it looks. There are things you have to do as a professional liar that seems so counter revolutionary to the process. I mean, sometimes you actually have to do stuff. And no one wants to be a part of that.
Jon Jefferson writes Speculative fiction with forays into Noir and Bizarro. His stories have appeared in the 2013 Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Anthology, and the Weird Tales Magazine web site. His work can also be found on Amazon and Smashwords. Flash fiction stories can be found at his site Misadventures in Strange Places or his anthologies, short stories, and Novellas can be found at his Amazon Author page.
A longtime fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories in all their forms, he has spent most of his life looking for magic in the everyday moments of life. He hails from the tundra of Southwest Michigan. The monsters in his life include his wife, two daughters and grand babies.
Zack, Zack Goldman, pleased to meet you. I’m a runner. I know you don’t know what that is. It’s better if I just show you.
See this wire? Yeah, this one here coming out of my arm. This is my connection to the net. You probably don’t know that one either. I’ll get to that.
There was a time when wireless was the way to go. Everything connected in what they used to call clouds. The world was easier then.
Then we found true virtual reality. Jammed that shit straight into our brains. Wireless wasn’t fast enough. We’re talking full on change in perception of worlds here. The MMOs that people used to play were immersive, you were part of their world. Kid’s play.
The net changed all that. World Dynamics created the first neural net. A virtual world built in the user’s mind. Sure, it was electronic, and computers were a key component. Hell, you have to have a deck as part of your interface. But when you are logged into the net, the physical world is the world your programming creates.
Sure, it’s all still data, nothing but 1s and 0s. It’s your user interface that sets the stage and builds the world you see. Like I said, I’m a runner. In the old world they might have called me a hacker. I specialize in data retrieval.
And I’m late. So, if you will excuse me, I have work to do.
Meghan's House of Books 