Author Interview: Jack Everett

Imagine New Year celebrations ending in Jihad - destruction and death so far beyond 9/11 and 7/7 as to be incomprehensible.

Fatalities in the tens of thousands shakes a population hardened to modern violence from its apathy; a change in government, a transformation of society - A divided Fortress Britain of lynchings, beatings and no-go enclaves ruled by fundamentalist law. Human rights legislation is repealed and Britains own version of Guantanamo Bay, is started where undesirables are forcibly
repatriated.

Fuelled by global warming, a huge natural disaster calls for everyone to pull together. Despite religious differences, diversity of skin colour and conflicting cultures, can human beings seize this final opportunity?

Still at large years later, the New Year Jihadist has a nuclear bomb and a private agenda - the Prime Minister becomes his target of choice.

Author Info:

Jack Everett writes in partnership with David Coles who has been his friend for many years. They write in several different genres from Young Adult to Sci-Fi through Historicals to Thrillers and even Medieval Mysteries. In his spare time Jack grows vegetables listens to Trad Jazz, some Country, Blues singers and reads a wide range of subjects. For many years David worked in computers whilst Jack worked as a Training Adviser. David is a member of the Historical Society and Jack is both a member of the Society of Authors and the International Thriller Writers Association. They both live in Yorkshire, England though Jack is a frequent visitor stateside. All of their books can be bought from www.archimedespresse.co.uk or the authors website www.jackleverett.me.uk whilst some can be bought from any good on-line bookstore and others from Acclaimed Books.

Interview:

1. When did you decide to start writing?

At the time I was in a job in construction which required me to work on demand and many times there was no demand. One day I was about to bin a receipt book- lots of never to be used 3rd copy yellow pages when I had an idea for a story which I just had to write down. That early start gave me a hobby which at times has become a compulsion. It has given me laughs and occasional tears but at no time since have I ever considered not doing it.

2. What is your genre and why did you decide to write a novel in it?

I write in several genres- not wishing to get labeled as that man that writes Romances or Westerns or Biographies; about the only three I haven’t written in- and have no favorites. I try to make each story an adventure that anyone can slip into whether in the past, present or future.

3. Were you worried about the word count of your work?

I have never worried about quantity but my first published work was returned and I was asked to get it down from 84,000 to 60,000 which I hated but had to do for the sake of seeing my first book in print. I have since been asked to remove thousands of words from a manuscript only to say no which resulted in my removing it from that publisher to another. That was my latest novel 1/1 :Jihad-Britain.

4. Do you have any writing quirks and what are they?

I still write with a soft feel ball pen and only write from crack of dawn to lunch. I can’t type fast enough to get the words down and afternoons are family and chore times.

5. If you can describe your latest novel in one word, what would it be and why?

Engrossing: on so many levels as it imagines what would happen if insurgents bombed the UK killing tens of thousands. It follows the lives of the Prime Minister, the new government that rises from the ruins of the event and many people that have been touched by it. The mood of the public is examined and decisions-not always popular- are made.

6. How did you decide on the title and what does it mean?

1/1 is the date it occurs passing midnight on a New Years Eve, the insurgents claim any war on the west is a Holy War hence Jihad and it was taking place in Britain. Many alternatives were considered and an author can never be sure that he has made the right choice but in this case as we state on the cover, ‘after 9/11 and 7/7 what comes next,’ the publishers decided to run with it.

7. What do you hope your readers will get out of reading your novel?

A little of the feeling that it could have happened to us and perhaps we would have reacted like that or like one of the characters in the story.

8. Tell us a little about your road to publication.

It was a rocky one with many rejections and comments like not at this time as our lists are full. I feel that anyone who gets accepted straight away is either very lucky or knows someone but if it is your dream never give up.

9. What advice can you give other aspiring authors out there?

My last answer really answers this question but never expect to get rich or even make a living from writing, if you are doing that you are on the road to disappointment. If it happens embrace it but consider yourself lucky because it happens to less than one in a thousand. I write because that is what I am a writer I would still write even if a book I had written failed to sell. So if that is what you want to be go for it but only accept what comes along, don’t expect.

Blogger Remarks:

Thank you very much Jack for taking the time to share with us your experiences on the road to publication and your advice to many aspiring writers out there. It's always interesting to peek into the mind of a fellow wordsmith.