Ask the Author: Jason Pargin
Answered Questions (35)
Jason Pargin
I'd like to write another one, the soonest it could be out would probably 2028 as I'm currently writing the next JDATE book which is due at the end of next year and out in 2026 and ideally I'd have two years to write the next book after that (I only gave myself one year to write Zoey 3 and it nearly killed me, like I barely left my desk for an entire year, it was awful).
Jason Pargin
Oh no just to be clear: there are no supernatural or sci-fi elements to this upcoming novel! It is a ticking-clock thriller that takes place present day, in our world! So yeah it was always its own idea, I'd been thinking about it for years and am hoping that existing fans will go along for the ride
Jason Pargin
The interesting thing is I actually can't remember how I came up with Marconi's name though usually I have SOME reason, even if it's just some trivial connection or in-joke. I know I didn't just type it randomly so it's entirely possible I ran into this bit of information in an article back in 1997 or whatever and decided to use that name for the one person who would notice the connection. It's also possible I named him after the inventor Marconi who invented radio (the spirit world as a spiritual metaphor comes up in the first book a couple of times and repeatedly in the original online stories). Or maybe it was both idk
Jason Pargin
We'll definitely see that in future books (assuming the publisher wants future books!) but prepare to be surprised. For example, we get the impression that Will is almost never home, he's always out doing stuff. So it's probably a dusty reflection of however his wife decorated it before she passed, and he regards it as a place to change clothes before leaving again
Jason Pargin
Well the idea for Zoey came first, and the character of Will needed to be the perfect foil for Zoey. Not someone who is her exact opposite or her perfect enemy, but someone who is aligned with her but different in ways that create the most volatile mix. She would love to categorize him in some simple way (evil, privileged, whatever) but he tends to defy categorization at every turn, which drives her crazy. He is everything she is not and yet somehow she keeps seeing shades of herself in Will and shades of Will in her. And in that sense he represents the system as a whole, she would love to hate it and dismiss it and root for its downfall but she is frustrated by every effort to truly separate herself from it.
Jason Pargin
I don't think Dave would ever learn to cooperate with or trust the Suits so that would probably go wrong almost instantly. How long Zoey survived in the JDATE universe would depend on whether or not she had an Amy in her life.
Jason Pargin
Different universe! The supernatural is real in the JDATE universe, but not in the Zoey world. They will never cross over unless I get really bored or run out of ideas which to be frank could actually happen at any time
Jason Pargin
Here's a nice thread with links to some great Youtube horror shorts (which in many cases are parts of channels you can then explore):
https://twitter.com/HauntedDriveIn/st...
These Japanese faux documentaries are also great/creepy:
https://www.youtube.com/c/pro9ramQ
As far as authors, Brian Evenson is a great one to check out:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Thanks for the kind words!
https://twitter.com/HauntedDriveIn/st...
These Japanese faux documentaries are also great/creepy:
https://www.youtube.com/c/pro9ramQ
As far as authors, Brian Evenson is a great one to check out:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Thanks for the kind words!
Jason Pargin
Well I never wanted people to think "David Wong" was the actual name of the author, the cover flap and "about the author" section always had my real name in there, going back to the JDATE hardcover (same with my online writing, my real name was always displayed at the end and in my social media profiles, going back to 2007 or so).
With the first book, putting the protagonist's name on the cover was just supposed to be a continuation of the bit I had been doing online, where my writing was framed as the work of a drunken, angry, mentally unwell small town white guy who had chosen that as an alias because he had enemies who were trying to track him (something he explains at the beginning of the first book, which establishes him to the reader as something of an idiot as that is a terrible alias for him). It was a bit I was borrowing from Lemony Snicket, where author Daniel Handler portrayed his books as having been written by one of the shady characters in the book, and that character was so eccentric and ridiculous that you'd never think it was a real person. It's supposed to add some flavor to think everything you're reading came from the hand of this weirdo.
But of course as my writing got more popular, not everyone was going to be aware of that context (I came up with the pseudonym when my work was being read by less than a hundred people) and it really doesn't make sense when writing other books that don't feature the character. So in retrospect I should have just had my real name on there from the beginning.
With the first book, putting the protagonist's name on the cover was just supposed to be a continuation of the bit I had been doing online, where my writing was framed as the work of a drunken, angry, mentally unwell small town white guy who had chosen that as an alias because he had enemies who were trying to track him (something he explains at the beginning of the first book, which establishes him to the reader as something of an idiot as that is a terrible alias for him). It was a bit I was borrowing from Lemony Snicket, where author Daniel Handler portrayed his books as having been written by one of the shady characters in the book, and that character was so eccentric and ridiculous that you'd never think it was a real person. It's supposed to add some flavor to think everything you're reading came from the hand of this weirdo.
But of course as my writing got more popular, not everyone was going to be aware of that context (I came up with the pseudonym when my work was being read by less than a hundred people) and it really doesn't make sense when writing other books that don't feature the character. So in retrospect I should have just had my real name on there from the beginning.
Jason Pargin
I do a massive amount of outlining and pre-planning before writing (most authors say don't do this) and build in all of these complicated call-backs and easter eggs etc (some of which people literally never find!). Like Book 3 is intended to be read twice, once you see the revelation at the very end and realize what was going on the whole time, but who actually does that? Nobody! It's all for nothing. Also I hop around while I'm writing so if I think of some funny pay off, I'll just scroll up and insert the setup. It's a chaotic nonlinear process and is not very efficient at all. No one should do this.
Jason Pargin
I'm not aware of such a technology, though usually when I say that it turns out it's something they actually have in Japan. It just feels like the next frontier in junk food is controlling the temperature, chocolate chip cookies that can warm themselves right before eating...
Jason Pargin
Everything is on hold due to the Hollywood strikes! Any activity that involves writers - including pitching or developing shows, is on hold until the studios come around and offer a deal! When things resume there will presumably continue to be meetings on both fronts and then you're waiting for a streaming service to say yes.
Jason Pargin
This is not a universal rule, it's just the one that I went with, but my deal was I wasn't going to try to charge money for my writing until I got good at it because I was basically asking readers to beta test my writing, to see how they responded and what I might have been doing wrong. So I wrote for free on the internet for several years before eventually selling print copies of my novel and getting hired to edit for a major outlet. I know the fashionable advice is to never work "For exposure" but that rule is for when profitable companies come and try to get you to do creative work for them for free - the rule is not a general life rule like "never give work away just so you can get feedback." I think MOST novelists these days come from a background of having written fanfic on wattpad or something like that, where they just put it out into the world and looked at the response and used that as their book-writing school. Otherwise I feel like it's hard to get better at writing in a vacuum, you want some kind of feedback to address your writing blind spots (of which you will have many, at first - you'll get so focused on some perfect descriptive sentence you've crafted without realizing that the entire chapter, or entire plotline, shouldn't even be in the story).
Jason Pargin
I have not read any of these, including yours
Jason Pargin
Well I do still have a site for my longform columns (jasonpargin.substack.com) but yeah I reach a thousand times more people on TikTok. I mean prior to joining I had basically zero experience doing any kind of on-camera work at all aside from a couple of classes in college 25 years ago. I mean, for the first ten years of my blogging career I remained totally anonymous, writing under a pseudonym and keeping my photo hidden (until 2007, when the JDATE hardcover came out and I was hired at Cracked, in both cases making my real name/face public). So I never wanted my own face/personality to be tied to the work, but that's not the way the world works now. At least not for me!
The audience has all moved to TikTok so that's where I went, then spent a solid month last year just... learning how to be an on-camera personality. I realize not every author has to do that kind of thing but I definitely do
The audience has all moved to TikTok so that's where I went, then spent a solid month last year just... learning how to be an on-camera personality. I realize not every author has to do that kind of thing but I definitely do
Jason Pargin
Not any specific inspiration, I just thought it was very scary the idea of an evil entity granting you superhuman talent at something, it's like the last thing you'd expect.
Jason Pargin
I thought I was but I don't think anyone else did. I said things I thought were funny even if no one else agreed, which is not a good way to become popular but you can eventually turn it into a career if things break just the right way
Jason Pargin
Well that one was never printed because it was largely rewritten into This Book is Full of Spiders, so it always creates copyright issues (remember the publisher owns the rights to these works, not me - I can't grant permission for anyone to do anything!)
Jason Pargin
Thanks! Yes we had one rabbit but never cats (my wife is allergic to the latter), our bunny was great but any time I say that I always follow up by pointing out that they are very difficult and fragile animals and we did months of research before getting one. They have very expensive diets and require a lot of clean-up etc. We were very happy with him but I always hate hearing that parents got one for their kid just spontaneously because you really do have to know what you're doing! I know you didn't ask that but I always seize my chance to put it out there
Jason Pargin
I not only haven't done any of those drugs, I don't even drink alcohol, I avoid all of that kind of thing (I'm fine with other people doing them, all of my friends do). It would take a long time to explain why but it boils down to the fact that I don't think I'd be able to do them casually, in small amounts.
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