Interview With Author JJ McMoon

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JJ McMoon

Today I’m interviewing JJ McMoon, a fellow James River Writer.  His latest work, “Lives – Perception is Reality,” is a literary fiction and was released on June 1, 2010.  I’ve read it, and was hooked from the very beginning with its intense depiction of an array of different characters’ lives joining together, and then drifting apart, and then coming back together in deeply emotional ways.  I couldn’t put it down, and that’s a tremendous statement to come from this curmudgeonly reader.  I personally have and will continue to highly recommend his book, but the purpose of this interview is to let JJ’s own words recommend his efforts.

Please tell us a little bit about your book.  

My first book, “Lives – Perception is Reality,” was published in 2010 and got rave reviews.  I also wrote an adaptation and a novella prequel for Ed Wood’s “Plan 9 From Outer Space” in 2012.  Since then, I’ve been writing screenplays.

What is the book’s genre?  

Literary Fiction

Is this the only genre in which you write?

I like crime fiction, also.

What is it about this or these genre(s) that interests you?

I like to write stuff I’d like to read.  And I like to read things I’ve never read before.  So I stick to characters that people can relate to, and yet have not been seen in other books.

How did you come up with this latest plot?  

When I wrote Lives, I had grown tired of hearing about “God’s Will” and “Holy Wars” and so on.  So I came up with an alternate explanation for crazy coincidences.

What is your writing routine like?

I schedule a 4-hour block where nothing is allowed to interrupt me.  I do this every day until the first draft is done, with one day off per week.

What is the most rewarding thing about having finished this latest book?    

Being able to start another one.

What’s next in the writing queue?

I gave some serious thought to writing another in the series of Lives, and I may do that someday.  But I’ve tabled that idea until I finish a screenplay I’ve been putting off.

BOOK BLURB

A prom queen turned lot lizard.  A floundering jock.  A devil-worshipping rock star.  An assassin and the FBI agent tracking him.  A jilted girlfriend and a telepathic psychopath.  Coincidence is bringing them all together, but for what purpose?  Hailed as "Stand by Me" for the new millennium, "Lives" will leave you questioning your own coincidences for a long time to come.

AUTHOR BIO

JJ McMoon lives in Richmond, VA with his wife and two sons.

How can we buy your book?  

Signed copies are always available at www.jjmcmoon.com.  New, unsigned copies are available through Barnes & Noble booksellers, or electronically on Kindle, Nook, and iPad (iBooks)

And now, some fun questions:

1)      Favorite author?  David Mamet for screenwriting, early Stephen King for novels...  I also like Tom Wolfe a great deal.  Sorry, but it’s hard to pick just one.

2)      Favorite character in a book you’ve read? The Trashcan Man (Stephen King’s “The Stand”)

3)      Favorite vacation?   Somewhere I’ve never been

4)      Coffee or tea?  Coffee, unless we’re talking about sweet ice tea in summer ;-)

5)      Favorite color?  Blue

6)      Favorite dessert?  Amish Donuts (custard filled)