10 Questions With Jeffrey Wilson
1. Your military background was quite evident in The Traiteur’s Ring. How close to reality did you try to make your scenes in Africa?
Hey, Carl. Great to talk with you again and congratulations on your coming book RECLAMATION MOTHER EARTH from Montag Press. We are all excited to see it!
While the story line of THE TRAITEUR’S RING is clearly fiction, I made an effort to make the military scenes as close to life as possible. The challenge is not so much the action as the characters. Military characters in American fiction are often overblown and cartoonish, I find. My goal was to make the Navy SEAL characters in my novel as much like the team guys I have had the honor of serving with as possible, instead of two dimensional comic book characters. The men and women of Naval Special Warfare are friends, and fathers and mothers. They are husbands and wives who work hard at an impossible job, but then come home and do yard work and pay bills and go out with their friends. I tried to make the SEALs in my book a picture of the real-life heroes whose company I have shared.
2. Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
Like most writers I was influenced first by great books I have read. I grew up reading King and Koontz as well as thriller writers like Le Carre and Ludlum. I have always loved to write, and as a budding writer I tried to emulate the style of the writers I enjoyed most. I love character driven stories, as you can tell from the authors I mentioned, and I try to build realistic characters into my work because for me that is what makes a story really come alive.
3. What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
Well, it’s hard to top that first professional contract, of course. I have had the great privilege of working with JournalStone Publishing run by Chris Payne. That has been a wholly positive experience. Signing a three book deal with them was a definite high point. I also remember vividly opening a box and seeing my book in actual, hold-it-in-your-hands print for the first time. That was a great moment as well.
4. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
At the risk of sounding like a total geek, I would grab the complete works of Shakespeare. There is incredible diversity in his work—romance, action, horror, drama, and of course lots of ghosts, which I love.
5. How did you get involved with the Navy SEAL Foundation and what would you like to share about the foundation?
The Navy SEAL Foundation is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to caring for wounded members of the Naval Special Warfare community and the families left behind when these warriors make the ultimate sacrifice. They do everything from helping provide for travel expenses for families to be together during long periods of rehabilitation, to caring for wives and children of fallen SEALs and providing scholarship programs for dependents of NSW troops.
Obviously there are a number of great programs similar to this, such as Wounded Warrior Foundation and others, but NSF has a special place for me since it is the families of my friends who directly benefit from their work. I have lost a number of close friends in the community over the last few years and I am glad that NSF is here to help care for their families and make sure these heroes are not forgotten. Anyone interested can learn more at www.navysealfoundation.org
6. Who is your favorite writer?
My son Connor, whose book A GIANT PENCIL made him the youngest, traditionally published fiction writer in America. He has amazing creativity and drive, and the story is incredible.
Stephen King is pretty good, too.
7. What current writing projects are you working on?
My second novel, THE DONORS, was released about 2 months ago and is getting a lot of great attention, which is fun of course. It’s a supernatural, medical thriller set in a hospital and definitely more of a classic horror novel than my first book. The main character is a five year old boy who can see things in his dreams that grown-ups can’t—which allows him to see the horrible things going on at the hospital where he is a patient. Strange men with glowing eye are lurking in the shadows, and someone seems to be harvesting skin and organs from unwilling donors. My third book in my deal with JournalStone is FADE TO BLACK, a story of a man caught between two realities. In one, he is a young Marine, slowly dying in the streets of Fallujah and in the other he is a young, middle school teacher and devoted husband and father. When the ghosts of his fallen comrades in one reality start intruding on the other, he has to find a way to save himself and his family from his insanity—or worse, the possibility that both realities are possible.
I just finished my fourth novel, JULIAN’S NUMBERS, about a ten year old with a special gift, a handful of ghosts, and a family sailing vacation from hell. I also just started a new project called WAR TORN.
8. You have been involved with a wide variety of lines of work in your life. What is the strangest job you have ever held?
Honestly, I find writing to be the strangest job I’ve ever had. It still seems strange that people will pay me for the great fun of making up stories to share with other folks.
Once, when I was working as a contract pilot flying power line patrols and aerial mapping missions for very little pay, I worked every morning as the ground crew for a commercial hot air balloon operation in exchange for the “privilege” of living for free in the owner’s hangar. I didn’t even get to enjoy the traditional glass of champagne after each balloon flight, because I had to go fly later in the morning.
9. What type of scenes do you most enjoy writing?
What’s great about the way I write is that the characters reveal themselves to me as I work, just as they do to the reader as they read. In other words, I very rarely have much idea what is going to happen next and so the process of writing is almost recreational for me—I’m excited to see what will happen next, just as I hope the reader will be.
I really like to write the scenes where characters show their real, inner self. When you write horror and supernatural fiction, as you well know Carl, it is easy to lose the real and believable side of your characters. Writing about them getting up in the morning, having dinner with their spouse, worrying about their day, shows them in a real way that allows readers to more easily accept the situations you place them in. It’s very important to the story, but also great fun to write. The risk is over doing it and trying too hard. In real life, people reveal only a little bit of themselves to other people, even those they are close to, so you have to allow the characters to unfold slowly and naturally.
10. What is it like to have your eleven year old son, Connor, be a published author?
Connor’s success has been even more exciting for me than my own. To see your child work hard and succeed at something as elusive as traditional publishing has been an amazing thing—but then he is a truly amazing young man. His book is a wonderful story that kids love and parents and teachers really seem to appreciate for its very positive message. What has been fun is watching him do book signings, TV interviews, and readings, and then go home and hook up with his best friend and skateboard or play Nerf Gun battles—like being a published author at age 11 was just no big deal. He has remained a warm and humble kid and we are so proud of him. Check out his book at Barnes and Noble online, Amazon.com, etc or have a look at www.thegiantpencil.com
Hey, Carl. Great to talk with you again and congratulations on your coming book RECLAMATION MOTHER EARTH from Montag Press. We are all excited to see it!
While the story line of THE TRAITEUR’S RING is clearly fiction, I made an effort to make the military scenes as close to life as possible. The challenge is not so much the action as the characters. Military characters in American fiction are often overblown and cartoonish, I find. My goal was to make the Navy SEAL characters in my novel as much like the team guys I have had the honor of serving with as possible, instead of two dimensional comic book characters. The men and women of Naval Special Warfare are friends, and fathers and mothers. They are husbands and wives who work hard at an impossible job, but then come home and do yard work and pay bills and go out with their friends. I tried to make the SEALs in my book a picture of the real-life heroes whose company I have shared.
2. Who has been your biggest influence as a writer?
Like most writers I was influenced first by great books I have read. I grew up reading King and Koontz as well as thriller writers like Le Carre and Ludlum. I have always loved to write, and as a budding writer I tried to emulate the style of the writers I enjoyed most. I love character driven stories, as you can tell from the authors I mentioned, and I try to build realistic characters into my work because for me that is what makes a story really come alive.
3. What’s the greatest moment in your writing career?
Well, it’s hard to top that first professional contract, of course. I have had the great privilege of working with JournalStone Publishing run by Chris Payne. That has been a wholly positive experience. Signing a three book deal with them was a definite high point. I also remember vividly opening a box and seeing my book in actual, hold-it-in-your-hands print for the first time. That was a great moment as well.
4. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
At the risk of sounding like a total geek, I would grab the complete works of Shakespeare. There is incredible diversity in his work—romance, action, horror, drama, and of course lots of ghosts, which I love.
5. How did you get involved with the Navy SEAL Foundation and what would you like to share about the foundation?
The Navy SEAL Foundation is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to caring for wounded members of the Naval Special Warfare community and the families left behind when these warriors make the ultimate sacrifice. They do everything from helping provide for travel expenses for families to be together during long periods of rehabilitation, to caring for wives and children of fallen SEALs and providing scholarship programs for dependents of NSW troops.
Obviously there are a number of great programs similar to this, such as Wounded Warrior Foundation and others, but NSF has a special place for me since it is the families of my friends who directly benefit from their work. I have lost a number of close friends in the community over the last few years and I am glad that NSF is here to help care for their families and make sure these heroes are not forgotten. Anyone interested can learn more at www.navysealfoundation.org
6. Who is your favorite writer?
My son Connor, whose book A GIANT PENCIL made him the youngest, traditionally published fiction writer in America. He has amazing creativity and drive, and the story is incredible.
Stephen King is pretty good, too.
7. What current writing projects are you working on?
My second novel, THE DONORS, was released about 2 months ago and is getting a lot of great attention, which is fun of course. It’s a supernatural, medical thriller set in a hospital and definitely more of a classic horror novel than my first book. The main character is a five year old boy who can see things in his dreams that grown-ups can’t—which allows him to see the horrible things going on at the hospital where he is a patient. Strange men with glowing eye are lurking in the shadows, and someone seems to be harvesting skin and organs from unwilling donors. My third book in my deal with JournalStone is FADE TO BLACK, a story of a man caught between two realities. In one, he is a young Marine, slowly dying in the streets of Fallujah and in the other he is a young, middle school teacher and devoted husband and father. When the ghosts of his fallen comrades in one reality start intruding on the other, he has to find a way to save himself and his family from his insanity—or worse, the possibility that both realities are possible.
I just finished my fourth novel, JULIAN’S NUMBERS, about a ten year old with a special gift, a handful of ghosts, and a family sailing vacation from hell. I also just started a new project called WAR TORN.
8. You have been involved with a wide variety of lines of work in your life. What is the strangest job you have ever held?
Honestly, I find writing to be the strangest job I’ve ever had. It still seems strange that people will pay me for the great fun of making up stories to share with other folks.
Once, when I was working as a contract pilot flying power line patrols and aerial mapping missions for very little pay, I worked every morning as the ground crew for a commercial hot air balloon operation in exchange for the “privilege” of living for free in the owner’s hangar. I didn’t even get to enjoy the traditional glass of champagne after each balloon flight, because I had to go fly later in the morning.
9. What type of scenes do you most enjoy writing?
What’s great about the way I write is that the characters reveal themselves to me as I work, just as they do to the reader as they read. In other words, I very rarely have much idea what is going to happen next and so the process of writing is almost recreational for me—I’m excited to see what will happen next, just as I hope the reader will be.
I really like to write the scenes where characters show their real, inner self. When you write horror and supernatural fiction, as you well know Carl, it is easy to lose the real and believable side of your characters. Writing about them getting up in the morning, having dinner with their spouse, worrying about their day, shows them in a real way that allows readers to more easily accept the situations you place them in. It’s very important to the story, but also great fun to write. The risk is over doing it and trying too hard. In real life, people reveal only a little bit of themselves to other people, even those they are close to, so you have to allow the characters to unfold slowly and naturally.
10. What is it like to have your eleven year old son, Connor, be a published author?
Connor’s success has been even more exciting for me than my own. To see your child work hard and succeed at something as elusive as traditional publishing has been an amazing thing—but then he is a truly amazing young man. His book is a wonderful story that kids love and parents and teachers really seem to appreciate for its very positive message. What has been fun is watching him do book signings, TV interviews, and readings, and then go home and hook up with his best friend and skateboard or play Nerf Gun battles—like being a published author at age 11 was just no big deal. He has remained a warm and humble kid and we are so proud of him. Check out his book at Barnes and Noble online, Amazon.com, etc or have a look at www.thegiantpencil.com
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