Author Interview: Jack Blaine

This week, we have Jack Blaine!

His books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

Helper12, science fiction, dystopian, adventure

Twitch (soon to be released--perhaps already out!) related story to Helper12, science fiction, dystopian, adventure

You can visit his blog, Goodreads, or Twitter.

Fill in the Blanks: [Your Book] is like [book/movie/TV show] meets [other book/movie/TV show].

Helper12 is like The Handmaid's Tale meets Pride and Prejudice.

Which book of yours did you have the most fun writing? Why?

I have fun with every book I write.  There are, of course, those moments when you get stuck or when the words aren't ringing true, but the experience of fleshing out a whole world and the people in it is a blast!

Which book of yours was the hardest to write? Why?

Twitch, which is a companion novel to Helper12, is almost done (it may be out by the time this interview is posted, in fact), and while I wouldn't describe writing it as hard, it has been very interesting.  Twitch follows a minor character from Helper12, and seeing this character become whole and learning her story has been a wonderful ride!

The world's scientists have just released the first time machine, and you've been chosen to get a free ride (with assurance that you'll be able to come back, of course ;). To when do you go and why?

I go 100 years into the future.  Just to see if we somehow manage to figure out how to reverse course in a way that allows us to achieve our highest possibilities as humans.  Do we finally get a clue?  Or is the world a charred wreck?  

You're stranded on a deserted island, and you can only bring one person with you. It can be someone dead or alive, but it has to be a real person (no fictional characters!). Who is it and why?

Kazuo Ishiguro.  I would love to know him--he writes with such subtlety and beauty about complex human issues.  That sort of perspective is something I find grounding and hopeful.

Okay, now you get to travel to the country of your choice for one week with any fictional character of your choice (not your own). Who do you choose, where do you go, and why?

I choose Rachel from A Gift Upon the Shore and we go to Bora Bora to a fabulous on the water retreat because we both need a break.

How has your writing changed since you first started writing?

I've learned a lot about pacing, and also a lot about having fun while I write.

What's the best piece of writing advice you've ever received?

Don't wallow in your words.  Move it along.  The reader isn't as in love with that sentence as you are--they want a story!

What's your favorite part about the writing process?

I love the first draft.  Just being there as things unfold and watching the story evolve is so much fun.

What do you want readers to come away with after reading your books?

I want readers to have a fun time reading but I also want them to think about how dangerously close our world is to being like the world in Helper12 and in Twitch, and how we might prevent this from happening.

Thanks, Jack! Guys, check out his books! They are definitely on my "To Read" list!