Author Interview with J. Thorn

I'd like to introduce J. Thorn --he graciously offered his expertise a while back when I was struggling with some music industry info --straight from the source is always the best kind of research to do, in my opinion, and J stepped up with some vital tid bits. So I thought you'd all like to meet my new rock star buddy --who also happens to be a writer ;-)


1) While reading your collection of short stories, I often found myself thinking about how lyrical your words were –given your background as a musician, in what way do you think that influences your writing?

I approach storytelling and songwriting (in Threefold Law) the same way. My Twitter bio starts with “crafting stories” and those two words say it all. Some people use a canvas and others use a hunk of clay. I happen to do it with song and prose. If the work does not flow, it’s hard to connect to the reader or listener.

2) What kind of writer are you? Do you plot your stories out? Do you have a particular routine?

I am a writer that thrives on the unknown. I don’t plot my stories. In fact, I rarely know what they’re going to be about until I start writing. I am the first reader and if I’m not entertained I can’t expect anyone else to be. A good friend of mine said it’s like those “pick your own adventure” books you read as a kid and I think that sums up the excitement of channeling the story instead of forcing it into an outline. I will admit that somewhere towards the end of the first draft I’ll identify events that should propel the story to a logical end, but that’s as close to plotting as I get. I have some quirky exercises I use throughout the process of writing a novel and most of those ideas I gleaned from Stephen King’s “On Writing”. But for me, committing to 1500-2000 words a day is critical to writing a novel. Butt in chair; no excuses.

3) How long have you been writing for?

I’ve been writing all my life. I started writing fiction about three years ago. Burden of Conquest was my first novel. I was reading piles of epic fantasy at the time and I had an itch for a world that didn’t necessarily involve dragons and orcs, so I created it. The trilogy is a 175,000 word monster. I’m too stubborn to ease into anything.

4) Why did you decide to go with self-publishing?

I was spending more time querying agents than I was writing. I’m a restless soul and I don’t think I’d have the patience to see my writing move like a snail through the traditional publishing hoops. I’m always open to representation but I think I’ve blacklisted myself by self-pubbing with Amazon.


5) I found that your collection was quite an assortment of genres ranging from psychologically horrifying to mystical and introspective, where does your inspiration come from?

I wrote most of the short stories in Tales From a North Shore in a condensed time frame, a point when I wasn’t sure what my niche was going to be. I think I’ve landed in the psych horror/paranormal camp and that’s probably where my newer works will end up. I get inspired by simple ideas and situations, most of which have to do with the unexplainable. I like coming up with those explanations. (In case you missed it, I did a review of this collection a couple of weeks ago)

6) What are your goals for the future? Where do you want your writing to take you?

The French Riviera! In all seriousness, I’d like to sell enough books to make a modest living. I don’t need much from the material world to be happy. Sharing my craft with others is really important to me as well. I believe the publishing revolution ignited by Amazon provides the best chance at making all of that happen. And world domination. That’s a goal of mine as well.

Wow -- I seem to know quite a lot of people striving for world domination --good luck to you ;-)

Links:

Official page/blog - http://www.jthorn.net/
Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004ZVF3MK
Twitter - @JThorn_
Threefold Law - http://www.threefoldlaw.com/

Check out The Seventh Seal --Haven't read this one yet but plan too!