Ask the Author: Jeff Somers
Answered Questions (9)
Jeff Somers
Every month I receive a letter. No return address. A single sheet of paper. A single line on the sheet: "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer."
Every month. Without fail. For 23 years.
I suspect solving this will not be pleasant.
Every month. Without fail. For 23 years.
I suspect solving this will not be pleasant.
Jeff Somers
Lord Peter and Harriet Vane from Dorothy L. Sayers' books. Although set in the early 20th century, they're a thoroughly modern couple: smart, bantering, and eager to solve mysteries in their spare time.
Jeff Somers
Never say never. I just finished putting out six novellas that linked together into a full novel (http://avery-cates.com/shorts.html) and I have ideas on where the story goes from there. No firm plans at this moment for more, but I'm not one to let a good novel outline go to waste!
Thanks for reading them--really glad to hear they're your faves.
J
Thanks for reading them--really glad to hear they're your faves.
J
Jeff Somers
Hi Amber!
We've got some things brewing for the Ustari Cycle, starting with some digital-only short stories coming out in 2016 to tide everyone over until a few things I'm not ready to reveal are, er, ready to be revealed.
Jeff
We've got some things brewing for the Ustari Cycle, starting with some digital-only short stories coming out in 2016 to tide everyone over until a few things I'm not ready to reveal are, er, ready to be revealed.
Jeff
Jeff Somers
I get this a lot. My first choice, naturally, would be *me*: A pudgy man in glasses who flinches every time a loud noise goes off. If my Hollywood Masters rejected this suggestion, my *second* choice would be Jason Statham, who has the right kind of world-weary expression and take-a-beating physical skills to be Avery. He's starting to get a little old for the role, but still in the range, I think.
Jeff Somers
With a breaking heart, I must report that no, I have yet to discover their new identities after they entered WitPro. I have written thousands of letters, and they come back unopened. But they smell of Petra's scent, and I know they're seeing them. Someday I will find them. And when that day comes I will call upon you to help me, probably by digging.
http://jeffreysomers.com/blather/?p=3804
http://jeffreysomers.com/blather/?p=3804
Jeff Somers
Hey Jennifer - thanks for asking. It's been a little confusing, which I apologize for.
SO: Originally, Trickster was going to have a standalone sequel that was going to be called "Fabricator." I wrote this novel and it kicked ass. Then the publisher suggested I write a short story as a free eBook giveaway in-between Trickster and Fabricator, to make sure no one forgot all about me in the six months between the books, so I did and I wanted to call it "Mageshkumar" which somehow got entered into the database despite the fact that I was the only person in the universe who wanted to use that title.
THEN, for obscure reasons that only big-time publishers understand, the decision was made that we should re-launch the whole thing as a single book, combining Trickster, Mageshkumar (now re-titled "Negotiator") and Fabricator into one book of such massive combined awesomeness a fleet of animated songbirds has been following me around ever since. And thus was birthed "We Are Not Good People."
And then my publisher said, "Hey, since Mageshkumar/Negotiator ended up as part of WANGP, we need a new short story to give away as an eBook!" and so I was released from the cold, dark basement they normally keep me chained up inside and I wrote "Fixer" which is currently free in all manner of places for all manner of eBook platforms, including Kindle and Nook.
Hope that clears it up. As to why all these things had to happen, all I know is that Jeff merely pawn in game of life.
SO: Originally, Trickster was going to have a standalone sequel that was going to be called "Fabricator." I wrote this novel and it kicked ass. Then the publisher suggested I write a short story as a free eBook giveaway in-between Trickster and Fabricator, to make sure no one forgot all about me in the six months between the books, so I did and I wanted to call it "Mageshkumar" which somehow got entered into the database despite the fact that I was the only person in the universe who wanted to use that title.
THEN, for obscure reasons that only big-time publishers understand, the decision was made that we should re-launch the whole thing as a single book, combining Trickster, Mageshkumar (now re-titled "Negotiator") and Fabricator into one book of such massive combined awesomeness a fleet of animated songbirds has been following me around ever since. And thus was birthed "We Are Not Good People."
And then my publisher said, "Hey, since Mageshkumar/Negotiator ended up as part of WANGP, we need a new short story to give away as an eBook!" and so I was released from the cold, dark basement they normally keep me chained up inside and I wrote "Fixer" which is currently free in all manner of places for all manner of eBook platforms, including Kindle and Nook.
Hope that clears it up. As to why all these things had to happen, all I know is that Jeff merely pawn in game of life.
Jeff Somers
Absolutely! I have ideas, certainly, that I haven't taken the time to flesh out, because I've been working on other things. But Avery deserves more time, and I have thoughts on prequels and sequels that might someday take shape. Thanks for asking!
Jeff Somers
First of all, yes. Second of all, which cat? There are so many. And more every day, I swear, like the "Pink Elephants" sequence from "Dumbo."
It's actually more likely the other way around; I probably project the character I'm currently writing onto the cats, especially as I get deeper into my cups, until I hallucinate the cats acting out the next scene of the book, which is, in a nutshell, my writing process:
1. Drink
2. Hallucinate cats acting out scenes
3. Write it down in incomprehensible scrawl
4. ?????
5. Profit!
J
It's actually more likely the other way around; I probably project the character I'm currently writing onto the cats, especially as I get deeper into my cups, until I hallucinate the cats acting out the next scene of the book, which is, in a nutshell, my writing process:
1. Drink
2. Hallucinate cats acting out scenes
3. Write it down in incomprehensible scrawl
4. ?????
5. Profit!
J
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