Home Sweet Home
Regular visitors to this blog know that I love meeting authors from all over the world. But I'm always just a little bit more excited to find one that lives nearby or grew up here in the Spokane area. Such is the case with this week's interview. But I won't tell his story. I'll let him do it for me.
James Moser
My
guest this week is James Moser, author of Chasing Prophecy. Jim, tell us
about yourself...where you're from, your family...
I was
born and raised in the lovely metropolis of Spokane, Washington. I
moved to Seattle in 1995 for work, met and fell in love with my wife in
grad school at the University of Washington, and we now live in the
Maple Leaf Neighborhood with our 8 year old son, and I also am prone to
run-on sentences and semi-colons; did you notice?
I did. So, what kind of books do you write?
Chasing
Prophecy is a YA Thriller or Romantic Suspense novel, 280 pages, told
from POV of 17 year old boy.
Your
acknowledgements at the end say that you structured Chasing Prophecy
around To Kill a Mocking Bird. Can you give us a little run down on
that?
Great question. Thank you. Yeah, this book started with an idea about writing a
character based on my all time fave lit. character: Boo Radley. I love
how he kind of dominates that book w/o ever speaking a word and is
on-stage for just a handful of scenes, and one big one at the end.
That's very Bigfoot-ish. I live in the Bigfoot sighting capital of the
world, Western Washington, and it's amazing how much energy people put
into this topic. Like: he's more powerful by what we DON'T see. I
love that idea. It's really a different kind of faith--very powerful.
Going deeper than that would spoil everyone's fave scenes in the book,
so I'll leave it at that. :)
Who are your writing inspirations?
So many. When I was a kid, Beverly Cleary + Judy Blume. Later Stephen King. The last few years have been
all about Sherman Alexie's True Diary, Jay Asher, & the complete
works of John Greene. Male writers with male characters and male POV
teen lit. is a pretty recent development--so those have been my go-to
guys for this particular project. I think True Diary is the most
important thing to happen in YA in a looooooooooong time.
Any indie authors that have piqued your interest?
Su Williams, of
course. Aw, shucks! I read a really interesting literary fiction-type book about a
dog who helps out after a hurricane in Mexico--Lobo by David Gordon Burke. Just really well written.
What one piece of advice, website...would you give to new writers?
Don't write randomly. Use 3-act structure. Nearly everything
published follows something sort of like that formula. Just starting
& staring at a blank screen is a recipe for exhaustion. Don't do
it. Buy a copy of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, which covers
the main grammatical problems we all run into. Read Stephen King's On Writing.
I haven't read King's 'On Writing' but I have a favorite quote from it...at least I think it's from that one...
Is there anything upcoming that you'd like to share with my readers?
"When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of
every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down
to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but
it must be done." Stephen King, November 1973
A
new 3-book series will be released in March, 2015. It's set in North
Seattle, will be kind of a teen quest that takes place in Seattle,
involves the environment + bigfoot as key plot elements. In the Author
Notes of Chasing Prophecy, there's a sign-up link for promotions,
giveaways, and updates about the release of that new series.
Here's my review of Jim's book Chasing Prophecy:
Here's my review of Jim's book Chasing Prophecy:
5.0 out of 5 starsBigfoot Gets BIG Stars
I'm a little skittish when it comes to reading
stories about Bigfoot...always thought it was a bit of bunk. But Moser
writes a believable tale that isn't necessarily about Bigfoot. It's
about some ordinary kids who have the misfortune of falling into trouble
and the fortune of having a Sasquatch guardian. I was very impressed
with this well-told story. It's basic framework is structured like To
Kill A Mockingbird...a clever concept. Moser is a captivating story
teller. Definitely a 5 star hit!
“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Please take a few moments to check out Jim and his book.
Here's the link to Chasing Prophecy on Amazon.
Jim Moser on Facebook
@moser_james on Twitter
Thank you so much to Jim for giving me an interview. I've enjoyed getting to know you, here and via email. We'll have to do coffee next time you're in town. And thanks to all of you who come to visit me each week and spend a little time getting to know some of the indie authors that grace the literary stage.
As always...
Dare to Dream!
Su
For those who haven't read Dream Weaver & Rock Star...I've listed a combo file on Amazon with both books at special price. Both books are affordable...and a steal...at $0.99, but the combo deal is just $1.49. Where else can you get 2 books for less than 75 cents each? Stop by and check them out.
As always...
Dare to Dream!
Su
For those who haven't read Dream Weaver & Rock Star...I've listed a combo file on Amazon with both books at special price. Both books are affordable...and a steal...at $0.99, but the combo deal is just $1.49. Where else can you get 2 books for less than 75 cents each? Stop by and check them out.
And, coming in July...PRIVATE EYE! The raging conclusion to this dark tale of mind-benders!
If you enjoyed this interview with Jim, or want to learn more about him, feel free to leave comment and we'll get ya hooked up.
Know an author who needs a shout out? Send 'em my way!
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| This is Kooper, the latest addition to the Barton menagerie! |
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