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Jonathan Maas

Goodreads Author

Born

in New Haven, Connecticut, The United States

August 14

Website

http://www.jonmaas.com

Twitter

jonmaas78

Genre

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Influences

Bernard Malamud, John Updike, Sherman Alexie, Ridley Scott, Neil ...more

Member Since

January 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jmaas

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Jon Maas was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. After graduating from Stanford University with degrees in Biology and History, he's earned a living as a Musician, Peace Corps Volunteer, Standup Comedian, TV Producer and Web Designer.

His first novel, "City of gods - Hellenica" has been well received, and his second book, 'Spanners: The Fountain of Youth' won the award for 'Best Young Adult Fiction' at the 2014 San Francisco Book Festival.

His third book, 'Flare,' has been well received and most recently won 'Best Science Fiction' at the 2015 Southern California Book Festival.

He hopes to release his fourth book 'The Dog That Laid Eggs' early next year.

He writes on his bus commute to and from work, and has a soft ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Jonathan Maas 1) Just do it

2) Don't listen to anyone else, just do it

3) Start a project with a definitive end date in mind. One novel, one short story, get it done,…more1) Just do it

2) Don't listen to anyone else, just do it

3) Start a project with a definitive end date in mind. One novel, one short story, get it done, and put it somewhere, either self-published or in a blog.

Don't be the guy or girl who 'isn't ever quite done with their novel.' Be the person who 'has [some completed project] up [somewhere], and is currently working on their next thing.'

The most important step here is 'to get one thing up.' Want to be a novelist? Get that first one up. Even if it isn't your best work, just get it up so you 'at least have one.' Lionel Shriver wrote 7 books before she hit it big with 'We Need to Talk About Kevin':

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...

You don't need to write 7. You do however need to write one, be it a novel, short story, graphic novel, screenplay or anything else. You need to write your first thing, have it 100% done and readable somewhere, and that will free you to start writing the next one.

4) For your first book (or any book thereafter), pick the most fertile/easy premise you can imagine. Look at JK Rowling. She made it easy on herself by incorporating monsters we already know (unicorns and werewolves), being able to add monsters she made up (dementors), having a school were there is always a 'hidden room' to give the plot a kick in the butt ... and a hundred other things.

Make is as easy as possible at first. Writing something fertile and easy is more important for your first project than 'writing what you know.'

5) All you really need in this business is time. Find a way to schedule quality time to write (i.e. non-tired, repeatably scheduled time). As a working parent, I write on the bus to and from work. That's my time.

If you don't have time, you need to make it!

For more ideas on how to make time:

http://jonmaas.com/home/2014/08/27/ei...

6) One more powerful quote from Ira Glass:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/3094...

In short, plow through your bad writing. You're writing, and that means you probably have good taste in writing. You'll get frustrated because your writing can't compare your heroes John Updike, Chinua Achebe or JK Rowling.

The successful writers ignore the impulse to quit, and keep plowing ahead. Get through that initial 'suckiness,' for lack of a better word, and keep writing.

If you do so, you'll eventually 'get it acceptable,' and then you'll 'get it right.' Finally, you'll get to the point where you'll express some ideas that Updike, Achebe and Rowling never did, and that will make the journey worthwhile.(less)

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When choosing characters for your book, do you look at specific people to model that character after or do you just randomly come up with a type of person? Do you use people that you have met in your past?

Jonathan Maas Great question! The answer is varied:

1) Often it is good to just pick a character and just stick with it through the story, and let the story develop…moreGreat question! The answer is varied:

1) Often it is good to just pick a character and just stick with it through the story, and let the story develop the character. You sit down with these stories for a long time, every day, so you just stick with the plot and then tweak the character according to what feels 'true.'

Sometimes you need to sit down and say 'What makes this character unique? What am I bringing to the table of literature that has not quite been seen before?' If you don't have an answer, stick with the plot and just keep thinking about it until you have one. It doesn't have to be a big answer, just something that makes the character unique.

For example in Paula Hawkins' 'The Girl on the Train,' her protagonist is an alcoholic, and thus an unreliable narrator. It makes it interesting.

In Uzodinma Iweala's 'Beasts of no Nation' the narrator is a child soldier with limited education, and his English is not perfect. It just gives it that unique twist.

Not every character has to have such an epic twist to their persona, but it doesn't hurt!

2) Sometimes for villains (or antagonists) I have a little trick I do in which I think of people in my life that I really like, and then try to conceptualize the complete opposite of that person. It often yields interesting results.

3) Another trick I have is called 'Neil Strauss through a wormhole.' The non-fiction author Neil Strauss is excellent at encapsulating real-life characters. He'll interview you and write a non-fiction book that absolutely captures your essence.

I am not Neil Strauss (though at times I wish I was - he is brilliant!) - but I do have a little trick that softens that. I can't capture someone's real life essence like Strauss, but I can take their essence, put it through a wormhole and into a bizarre alien landscape, and see what that person would do there!

It yields a lot of fun results as well!(less)

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Jonathan Maas’s books

Average rating: 3.7 · 1,467 ratings · 343 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	Flare 3.81 avg rating — 485 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hellenica (City of Gods, #1) 3.70 avg rating — 330 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dog That Laid Eggs 3.36 avg rating — 143 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dion: A Tale of the Highway 3.50 avg rating — 146 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Horsemen (City of Gods, #2) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 62 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spanners: The Fountain of Youth 3.77 avg rating — 128 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thylacine Dreams: 6 Tales of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy 4.02 avg rating — 50 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	-100: A Time-Travel Horror Romance by Jonathan Maas (Goodreads Author), Patty Smith (Editor) 3.76 avg rating — 34 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Litter: A Paranormal Teen Pregnancy Thriller with a Literary Feel by Jonathan Maas (Goodreads Author), Kaoklai Thepchinda (Illustrator) , Patty Smith Economos (Editor) 3.42 avg rating — 36 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Children of Another Bible - We Were Not the Only Ones 3.42 avg rating — 52 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Jonathan Maas's Blog

Soft Launch of the Next Book! The Litter

Cover of The Litter: A Paranormal Teen Pregnancy Thriller with a Literary Feel - by Jonathan Maas

Hello! I am doing a Soft Launch of the next book - The Litter: A Paranormal Teen Pregnancy Thriller with a Literary Feel -

Announcing it here on Goodreads and only a few other places, and it is on Kindle only at this point - but you can check it out here!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TFB3HLT Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 24, 2019 10:26 • Tags: book-launch, fantasy, launch, paranormal, pregnancy, romance, scifi, teen-pregnancy, thriller, werewolf, werewolves

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Series by Jonathan Maas

City of Gods (2 books)
by

Jonathan Maas (Goodreads Author)

3.74 avg rating — 392 ratings

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Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing DC Meets Looney Tunes by Tom King (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The most extreme of mashups The format is straightforward - each episode has a Looney Tunes character meet a DC character, first in the DC world, then in the Looney Tunes world. And each issue brings absolute insanity. And it is all incredible. Wile E. ...more
12 hours, 29 min ago · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of DC Meets Looney Tunes by Tom King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — DC Meets Looney Tunes by Tom King <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing Tales from the Crypt, #5: Yabba Dabba Voodoo by Fred Van Lente (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Very good
Jan 22, 2020 08:38AM · 1 like · like · see review
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing The Punisher, Volume 3: Last Days by Nathan Edmondson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Great conclusion to a great series. Though I prefer the style of Punisher Max, this series took a different direction, and took it in an incredible way. The Punisher gets a friend in this! Sort of haha. Any case, great series, and I highly recommend ...more
Jan 22, 2020 07:42AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Punisher, Volume 3 by Nathan Edmondson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Punisher, Volume 3 by Nathan Edmondson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing Illegal by Eoin Colfer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Tale documenting the harshest of migrant paths This is not an easy tale, but it is important. I recommend it but be warned - it hits you with full force. Very good tale though.
Jan 21, 2020 08:48PM · like · see review
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Quick tale told from a child's point of view - very good!
Jan 21, 2020 08:46PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Very good, hope to write a full review shortly.
Jan 21, 2020 08:45PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Indistractable by Nir Eyal. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Indistractable by Nir Eyal <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing World Gone By (Coughlin #3) by Dennis Lehane (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Just incredible - I hope to write a full review soon.
Jan 19, 2020 06:36AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of World Gone By by Dennis Lehane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — World Gone By by Dennis Lehane <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing Stranger Things: The Other Side (Graphic Novel) by Jody Houser (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Very good, I highly recommend it !
Jan 16, 2020 08:02PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stranger Things by Jody Houser. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stranger Things by Jody Houser <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas rated a book it was amazing The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It delivers what it promises Quick read, right before bed. Moves at a quick pace, the character finds herself in the middle of a bad situation, and then sees it all the way to the end. I recommend it!
Jan 16, 2020 09:34AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jonathan Maas is currently reading World Gone By (Coughlin #3) by Dennis Lehane (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2020 02:34PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of World Gone By by Dennis Lehane. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — World Gone By by Dennis Lehane <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Jonathan Maas

“I know precisely what honor is, Heracles. Honor is the artifice kings sell the peasants’ sons so that they may fight and die without pay. Honor is what drives a peaceful man to bloody vengeance. Honor is what drove the Celts to behead the children of the Apache Courts.
- The Egyptian God Bes”
― Jonathan Maas, Hellenica

tags: bes, death, egyptian-gods, hercules, honor, revenge

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“Having an attack of self-doubt about your writing ability?

Step #1 - Tell yourself - 'I'm the best damn writer there is, and the world deserves to hear my voice.'

Step #2 - Repeat Step #1 until you believe it.”
― Jonathan Maas

tags: hemingway, inspirational, writing

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“The only thing you really need to be a writer is time. Regular, consistent time, quality time when you're not tired.
I write on the bus to and from work, that's my time, 1 or 2 hours every single day.
Make the time, keep at it, and you'll be a real writer before you know it.”
― Jonathan Maas

tags: inspirational, parenthood, time-management, writers-on-writing, writing, writing-process

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Bookworm Bitches : 2015 Covers of the Rainbow Challenge	43	233	Oct 12, 2015 04:31PM
The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	2708	543	Nov 30, 2017 09:01PM
Pro-Active Destru...: * Free Kindle Books	1180	564	Apr 27, 2018 12:21AM
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Paranormal Romanc...: The title game with a paranormal twist	4110	1685	Jan 23, 2020 12:17AM
Paranormal Romanc...: Book title letters game	2551	1034	14 hours, 20 min ago

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Jonathan’s Quotes

tags: inspirational, parenthood, time-management, writers-on-writing, writing, writing-process

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tags: hemingway, inspirational, writing

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“Countless times, I remember watching him toss ideas—pretty far-out ideas—into the air, just to see how they played. And if they didn’t play well, he would move on.”
― Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

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“A man hates the person he has wronged, paradoxically. I think it’s because the victim is a perpetual reminder that he behaved shamefully.”
― Ken Follett, Edge of Eternity

21 likes

“Long hours spent checking off a to-do list and ending the day with a full trash can and a clean desk are not virtuous and have nothing to do with success. Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list—a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results.

To-do lists tend to be long; success lists are short. One pulls you in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction. One is a disorganized directory and the other is an organized directive. If a list isn’t built around success, then that’s not where it takes you. If your to-do list contains everything, then it’s probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.”
― Gary Keller, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

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