Swift Six Character Interview – Daniel Jacobus -#mystery
Swift Six Set 3 – Character
Name: My name is Daniel Jacobus, with an accent on the “o.” My two friends – Yumi Shinagawa, my former student turned concert violinist, and Nathaniel Williams, my corpulent African-American Watson – call me Jake. People under the misapprehension that I like them call me Daniel, and occasionally people who try to kiss my ass call me Dr. Jacobus, though I’m no more of a doctor than Doctor Dré.
Which book/world do you live in?
I live in the 8-part mystery series named after me, if you want to call that living. You’d think Elias might have bothered to ask me if I wanted to be in his books, but what else is new? Anyway, here are the titles: Devil’s Trill, Danse Macabre, Death & the Maiden, Death & Transfiguration, Playing With Fire, Spring Break, Cloudy With a Chance of Murder, and Murder at the Royal Albert. A lot of murders. Not my problem.
Tell us about yourself: (Name, race/species, etc.)
I’d rather not, but since you insist. I was born in Germany. When I was a kid, my parents shipped me off to New York to study the violin at Juilliard. That saved my life, as they were incinerated at Auschwitz during the War. I was a violinist in the Boston Symphony for a while, but, well, you’ll find out what happened when you read the answer to the next question. Anyway, I became a violin teacher, for better or worse, mainly worse.
How do you see your world?
I don’t see my world, since I’m blind. That happened many years ago, the day I auditioned for concertmaster of the Boston Symphony. Sudden, you know. Career kaput. It happens. That, and my parents’ death, and one other thing I’m not going to get into here, soured my view of the world. Is that surprising?
A better question would be, “How do you hear your world?” Answer, in all its intricate clarity. What one sees is more often than not reality. What one hears more likely reflects the truth and not an “alternate set of facts.” I listen.
What part do you play in this tale?
Elias made me his protagonist for some reason that eludes me. I’m not particularly likeable, as you’ve no doubt already figured out, though I could care less, and the last thing I want to do is solve someone else’s murder. I’d much rather lie on my frayed sofa in my rundown hovel in the Berkshires hills with my slobbering bulldog, Trotsky, listen to my old LPs, and rail against the injustice in the world. But once they get a bee in their bonnet, Yumi and Nathaniel just won’t leave me alone. They drag me all over the place to help them and the police solve crimes that they don’t have the common sense to solve on their own. And, what do I get for it? “Great job, Jake.” That, and acute heartburn.
Do you consider yourself a good person/creature?
I’m somewhere between Mother Teresa and Jack the Ripper. If you want to know which one I’m closer to, you’ll just have to read the books.
Do you follow any religion?
My family was Jewish, as you might have guessed. Because of what happened to them, I’m almost a total atheist. I would’ve said “total atheist” without the “almost” qualifier, except that I haven’t yet figured out any other way to explain Mozart.
What is your favourite colour/food/music (pick one)?
A pastrami sandwich on rye bread with extra mustard, preferably from the Carnegie Deli, except they’re out of business.
Links to book etc
Website: https://geraldeliasmanofmystery.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerald.elias
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EliasBooks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geraldelias504/
Amazon link to books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=books+by+gerald+elias&i=stripbooks&crid=3F2MFVZM0TP5K&sprefix=books+by+gerald+elias%2Cstripbooks%2C149&ref=nb_sb_noss
