U.L. Harper's Interview: Who is Jason Halstead
Good day or night or evening to everyone. U.L. Harper here, author of the recently released In Blackness (Sci-fi/horror/drama/). Don't forget to pick it up from Amazon.com or wherever books are sold. I had an opportunity to catch up with Jason Halstead the author of Wanted, Voidhawk, and The Lost Girls. Had a pretty good meeting. Here it is below.
Q.) Jason, tell us about the genre you're writing in and how you came to write in that genre.
A.) That’s a harder question than you probably meant it to be! I write in multiple genres and have a really hard time confining a book to only one. Since you’re holding a gun to my head (don’t worry, it’s got ‘Nerf’ on the side of it), I’ll go with science fiction.
I write sci-fi because I enjoy it so very much. To me it takes the best of the imagination and makes it believable. Fantasy is fun too, but sometimes it’s hard for me to suspend my disbelief and really get into a story. With sci-fi I consider it the author’s job to either make it believe or to tell a story so darn good that I don’t care if some things don’t make sense.
With that said, I often mix fantasy or paranormal into my science fiction. My reasoning behind it is that any technology so advanced as to be beyond our understanding is considered magic.
Oh, and there’s virtually always a romance angle (or several) going on in any of my stories. What fun would life be without emotion, heartbreak, and the triumph of love?
Q.) Who would you consider an influence in your writing? It doesn't need to be another author. Maybe it's someone you've never met.
A.) I’m influenced by everything. When I lived in southeastern Utah I was often inspired by the beautiful vistas. At other times I find myself filled with a new idea thanks to the music of Evanescence, John Denver, Megadeth, or others. Sometimes it’s another writer who gives me an idea that I have to spin off into another direction altogether.
I’m also influence heavily by people. The people I talk to on Twitter, my blog, or via email can have some very thought provoking ideas. Other times it’s people I know who are going through rough times, or maybe even people I don’t know that I’ve read about.
In short, inspiration is everywhere. The tricky part is opening my eyes and seeing it.
Q.) Even while inspired the writing world is hard. What keeps you pushing forward?
A.) Pushing backward is damn near impossible! Seriously, try it sometime – put your back up to something and start pushing away at it. It’s an awkward movement and sooner or later you’re going to fall on your butt. Probably pull a muscle while you’re at it. No thanks, I’ll move forward instead. Safer and that way I can see where I’m going.
That’s a quirky answer, but that’s because trying to succeed is the only option for me. I fail at plenty of things I attempt, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. It means I just learned a lesson on what not to do, so now I can try again. I’ll never succeed if I don’t keep trying, and so far I’m making steady, if slow, progress on reaching my dreams.
Q.) Here's the silly question of the day. If for some unforeseen reason you were only allowed to write one more book in your life, what would it be about and why?
A.) Only one book left in me until the end? Well it wouldn’t be a book aimed at public consumption. It would be about me, and it would be for my family. I’d want them to know me inside and out, not just from what they’ve experienced of me as their father, but for them to have something to realize that I’m more than just “Dad”, I’m also a person with as many emotions and fears and hang-ups as they will have when they grow up. And then they could share it with their kids, so on and so forth.
And of course I’d go out of my way to let my kids and wife know what I think of her as well. Being a guy I try, but probably fail, to communicate just how wonderful a person I consider her to be.
Q.) Now let's take some time to talk about your newest release. Tell ulharper.com two things about it, something to make people want to read it.
A.) The Lost Girls is a story about woman who saves other people so she doesn’t have to save herself. Her name is Katalina Wimple and she’s a special victims detective in Phoenix, Arizona. She’s also a survivor of a childhood attack that made her a special victim.
The Lost Girls follows her as she tries to stop a kidnapping ring that is selling young women into slavery. Along the way she gets caught up with her therapist, who’s motives are suspicious, and then must resist the seduction of a prostitute whose motives are far too evident.
Did I mention the exploding vehicles, gunfights, and treachery?
Q.) Exploding vehicles, gunfights and treachery. Sounds like a good time. With all that being said, it took us a while to get to it, but tell us three things about your latest book that might not be in the pages. You know, behind the scenes stuff.
A.) I’m liking this line of questioning more and more! My problem is that I can only reveal so much – the sequel to The Lost Girls (Traitor) is soon to be released and the third book in the series is ready for editing.
The Lost Girls takes place in my Dark Earth universe – which is our world with a twist (portals opened to a parallel world where technology did not advance beyond the dark ages, in its place they used magic to create civilizations ruled by tyranny).
The characters in The Lost Girls were so powerful to me one book wasn’t enough. The second book (Traitor) is soon to be released and the third one (Wolfgirl) should be due early in 2012. A fourth book featuring Katalina Wimple is also in the works, titled Black Widow.
Last but not least, Katalina also has a cameo role in my novella, Voices. I had a completely different plan for Voices but as the story unfolded it took on a life of its own and the characters let me know what really happened. It then became my job to write it down as quickly as possible. Voices takes place between Wolfgirl and Black Widow.
Q.) Quick question. What was the last darned good book you read besides your own, and could you tell us what you liked about it so much. You know, a story you wished you wrote, and don't forget to tell us who wrote it
A.) That’s an easy one: The Capable Man, by Marc Hamlet. I liked it so much I had to help him get it published. And since then it’s been doing quite good – with any luck this will help push it from good to great, I know Marc deserves it!
Q.) What is a piece of advice you would give an up and coming author or a new author or someone looking to get into the business.
A.) I try to give loads of advice to would-be writers. Check out my blog (http://booksbyjason.wordpress.com) to browse through the posts. But as for something special or more important than the rest, I’d say stay the course. Be persistent and never give up…unless you’ve had a restraining order filed against you, that is.
As long as you keep trying and keep an open mind to feedback and criticism, there’s no reason why you can’t grow as a writer and as a person to reach whatever goals you aspire to.
Q.) Now let's get to the actual writing. What are your writing strengths? If you don't have any strengths just lie. I mean, I know plenty of perfect people, I'll just add you to the list.
A.) Why yes, I’m the best writer there ever was. Don’t believe me? Just ask me!
How about I offer up some objectivity? I’ve been told in reviews that I write women well – as in they are realistic and very believable. I’ve also been told that I do a great job with dialogue and showing, rather than telling, a story. How about action scenes – one reviewer credited me with putting actions scenes together in a way she’d never seen before and absolutely loved it (I believe it involved blending action and magic).
What else do I do well? I’m not sure, but I invite people to read my books and offer their opinions so I can grow and become better for it!
Q.) I love your honesty. Okay, be careful here. What are your weaknesses as a writer? If you don't have any weaknesses, feel free to let everyone know that you have none. Once again, some people are perfect and everyone simply has to understand that fact.
A.) Well of course I have weaknesses. If I didn’t I’d have nothing but bestsellers, paid off student loans, and no debt to my name. Figuring out what they are is a constant struggle though. I love getting feedback from people, even if it’s a brutal editor. It’s always a learning experience for me and it helps me to become better writer and a better person.
I tend to write as though I’m watching the story unfold before me. That sometimes keeps the POV more limited than some people might like, but I prefer it that way – I don’t feel the character should know everything and therefore, neither should the reader (until it’s time to reveal whatever devious plot twist I have planned, that is).
Another potential weakness is my love for movement and action. That doesn’t mean constant kung-fu fighting, jus that I like to have my stories moving forward and always working towards telling the story. I try very hard to not get hung up on rhetoric or redundancy. I figure if I wouldn’t want to read it, why would anyone else?
Q.) I love the limited POV. I’m with you on that. Last silly question of the day. Let's say you just finished your masterpiece. I mean, you wrote "the end", checked the word count at 150,000 words, stood, pumped your fist in victory and then the power shut off in the house and fried your hard drive and everything was lost. Lucky you, you made a back-up on your thumb drive that you found, for some reason, in your dog's mouth...and he just swallowed it, so you run down to the local coffee shop to retrieve the version you emailed to yourself but you were hacked and all is really lost. What do you do now? I'd run up and down the street naked with a hammer in one hand, a lollipop hanging from my mouth and a tear falling from my cheek. But what about you?
A.) I’ve lost plenty of stories in the past. If it’s worth it to me, it’s worth the work of rewriting it. I’ve taken additional steps to insure this doesn’t happen anymore – between USB storage, storage on multiple systems, email storage, and even a RAID 5 array on the dataserver I have in my basement.
But if it did my motto in life would be applied here. Suck it up and get to work. Work doesn’t get done unless I get to work doing it. Or as the female daycare provider at the gym said to my wife just last night, “Man up, Buttercup!“
I can be found on the web at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
My blog is located at http://booksbyjason.wordpress.com.
Thanks for stopping by, Jason. Don’t be a stranger!
And oh yeah. Here's the plug for my book. Have a good day everyone!
Q.) Jason, tell us about the genre you're writing in and how you came to write in that genre.
A.) That’s a harder question than you probably meant it to be! I write in multiple genres and have a really hard time confining a book to only one. Since you’re holding a gun to my head (don’t worry, it’s got ‘Nerf’ on the side of it), I’ll go with science fiction.
I write sci-fi because I enjoy it so very much. To me it takes the best of the imagination and makes it believable. Fantasy is fun too, but sometimes it’s hard for me to suspend my disbelief and really get into a story. With sci-fi I consider it the author’s job to either make it believe or to tell a story so darn good that I don’t care if some things don’t make sense.
With that said, I often mix fantasy or paranormal into my science fiction. My reasoning behind it is that any technology so advanced as to be beyond our understanding is considered magic.
Oh, and there’s virtually always a romance angle (or several) going on in any of my stories. What fun would life be without emotion, heartbreak, and the triumph of love?
Q.) Who would you consider an influence in your writing? It doesn't need to be another author. Maybe it's someone you've never met.
A.) I’m influenced by everything. When I lived in southeastern Utah I was often inspired by the beautiful vistas. At other times I find myself filled with a new idea thanks to the music of Evanescence, John Denver, Megadeth, or others. Sometimes it’s another writer who gives me an idea that I have to spin off into another direction altogether.
I’m also influence heavily by people. The people I talk to on Twitter, my blog, or via email can have some very thought provoking ideas. Other times it’s people I know who are going through rough times, or maybe even people I don’t know that I’ve read about.
In short, inspiration is everywhere. The tricky part is opening my eyes and seeing it.
Q.) Even while inspired the writing world is hard. What keeps you pushing forward?
A.) Pushing backward is damn near impossible! Seriously, try it sometime – put your back up to something and start pushing away at it. It’s an awkward movement and sooner or later you’re going to fall on your butt. Probably pull a muscle while you’re at it. No thanks, I’ll move forward instead. Safer and that way I can see where I’m going.
That’s a quirky answer, but that’s because trying to succeed is the only option for me. I fail at plenty of things I attempt, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. It means I just learned a lesson on what not to do, so now I can try again. I’ll never succeed if I don’t keep trying, and so far I’m making steady, if slow, progress on reaching my dreams.
Q.) Here's the silly question of the day. If for some unforeseen reason you were only allowed to write one more book in your life, what would it be about and why?
A.) Only one book left in me until the end? Well it wouldn’t be a book aimed at public consumption. It would be about me, and it would be for my family. I’d want them to know me inside and out, not just from what they’ve experienced of me as their father, but for them to have something to realize that I’m more than just “Dad”, I’m also a person with as many emotions and fears and hang-ups as they will have when they grow up. And then they could share it with their kids, so on and so forth.
And of course I’d go out of my way to let my kids and wife know what I think of her as well. Being a guy I try, but probably fail, to communicate just how wonderful a person I consider her to be.
Q.) Now let's take some time to talk about your newest release. Tell ulharper.com two things about it, something to make people want to read it.
A.) The Lost Girls is a story about woman who saves other people so she doesn’t have to save herself. Her name is Katalina Wimple and she’s a special victims detective in Phoenix, Arizona. She’s also a survivor of a childhood attack that made her a special victim.
The Lost Girls follows her as she tries to stop a kidnapping ring that is selling young women into slavery. Along the way she gets caught up with her therapist, who’s motives are suspicious, and then must resist the seduction of a prostitute whose motives are far too evident.
Did I mention the exploding vehicles, gunfights, and treachery?
Q.) Exploding vehicles, gunfights and treachery. Sounds like a good time. With all that being said, it took us a while to get to it, but tell us three things about your latest book that might not be in the pages. You know, behind the scenes stuff.
A.) I’m liking this line of questioning more and more! My problem is that I can only reveal so much – the sequel to The Lost Girls (Traitor) is soon to be released and the third book in the series is ready for editing.
The Lost Girls takes place in my Dark Earth universe – which is our world with a twist (portals opened to a parallel world where technology did not advance beyond the dark ages, in its place they used magic to create civilizations ruled by tyranny).
The characters in The Lost Girls were so powerful to me one book wasn’t enough. The second book (Traitor) is soon to be released and the third one (Wolfgirl) should be due early in 2012. A fourth book featuring Katalina Wimple is also in the works, titled Black Widow.
Last but not least, Katalina also has a cameo role in my novella, Voices. I had a completely different plan for Voices but as the story unfolded it took on a life of its own and the characters let me know what really happened. It then became my job to write it down as quickly as possible. Voices takes place between Wolfgirl and Black Widow.
Q.) Quick question. What was the last darned good book you read besides your own, and could you tell us what you liked about it so much. You know, a story you wished you wrote, and don't forget to tell us who wrote it
A.) That’s an easy one: The Capable Man, by Marc Hamlet. I liked it so much I had to help him get it published. And since then it’s been doing quite good – with any luck this will help push it from good to great, I know Marc deserves it!
Q.) What is a piece of advice you would give an up and coming author or a new author or someone looking to get into the business.
A.) I try to give loads of advice to would-be writers. Check out my blog (http://booksbyjason.wordpress.com) to browse through the posts. But as for something special or more important than the rest, I’d say stay the course. Be persistent and never give up…unless you’ve had a restraining order filed against you, that is.
As long as you keep trying and keep an open mind to feedback and criticism, there’s no reason why you can’t grow as a writer and as a person to reach whatever goals you aspire to.
Q.) Now let's get to the actual writing. What are your writing strengths? If you don't have any strengths just lie. I mean, I know plenty of perfect people, I'll just add you to the list.
A.) Why yes, I’m the best writer there ever was. Don’t believe me? Just ask me!
How about I offer up some objectivity? I’ve been told in reviews that I write women well – as in they are realistic and very believable. I’ve also been told that I do a great job with dialogue and showing, rather than telling, a story. How about action scenes – one reviewer credited me with putting actions scenes together in a way she’d never seen before and absolutely loved it (I believe it involved blending action and magic).
What else do I do well? I’m not sure, but I invite people to read my books and offer their opinions so I can grow and become better for it!
Q.) I love your honesty. Okay, be careful here. What are your weaknesses as a writer? If you don't have any weaknesses, feel free to let everyone know that you have none. Once again, some people are perfect and everyone simply has to understand that fact.
A.) Well of course I have weaknesses. If I didn’t I’d have nothing but bestsellers, paid off student loans, and no debt to my name. Figuring out what they are is a constant struggle though. I love getting feedback from people, even if it’s a brutal editor. It’s always a learning experience for me and it helps me to become better writer and a better person.
I tend to write as though I’m watching the story unfold before me. That sometimes keeps the POV more limited than some people might like, but I prefer it that way – I don’t feel the character should know everything and therefore, neither should the reader (until it’s time to reveal whatever devious plot twist I have planned, that is).
Another potential weakness is my love for movement and action. That doesn’t mean constant kung-fu fighting, jus that I like to have my stories moving forward and always working towards telling the story. I try very hard to not get hung up on rhetoric or redundancy. I figure if I wouldn’t want to read it, why would anyone else?
Q.) I love the limited POV. I’m with you on that. Last silly question of the day. Let's say you just finished your masterpiece. I mean, you wrote "the end", checked the word count at 150,000 words, stood, pumped your fist in victory and then the power shut off in the house and fried your hard drive and everything was lost. Lucky you, you made a back-up on your thumb drive that you found, for some reason, in your dog's mouth...and he just swallowed it, so you run down to the local coffee shop to retrieve the version you emailed to yourself but you were hacked and all is really lost. What do you do now? I'd run up and down the street naked with a hammer in one hand, a lollipop hanging from my mouth and a tear falling from my cheek. But what about you?
A.) I’ve lost plenty of stories in the past. If it’s worth it to me, it’s worth the work of rewriting it. I’ve taken additional steps to insure this doesn’t happen anymore – between USB storage, storage on multiple systems, email storage, and even a RAID 5 array on the dataserver I have in my basement.
But if it did my motto in life would be applied here. Suck it up and get to work. Work doesn’t get done unless I get to work doing it. Or as the female daycare provider at the gym said to my wife just last night, “Man up, Buttercup!“
I can be found on the web at http://www.booksbyjason.com.
My blog is located at http://booksbyjason.wordpress.com.
Thanks for stopping by, Jason. Don’t be a stranger!
And oh yeah. Here's the plug for my book. Have a good day everyone!
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