I don’t often do these interviews, so when I do I make sure the author’s a good guy/gal and the subject matter are up my alley*. I can easily attest to both in the case of Jason Andrew Bond.
* Can’t you just imagine that in a white-lettered meme on a Most Interesting Man In The World photo, passed around Facebook incessantly? Yeah, me too…which is probably why I gave up on Facebook.
I’m proud to call Jason a friend, one that I probably wouldn’t have ever “met” had I not enjoyed his science fiction debut Hammerhead so much. He’s been hard at work on a new novel, this one outside of the scifi genre, and as of last week, MORTAL REMAINS is now available. He’s been a heckuva busy guy the past few weeks getting the launch ready, as evidenced by this typical tweet from him:
I’m glad he was able to take some time to share about the novel and future works. Sit back, take a sip of coffee (or tea, or something stronger, whatever’s up your alley), and enjoy.
UPDATE: Jason has VERY GENEROUSLY (implied by all caps, see?) donated a SIGNED COPY of Mortal Remains to one lucky, totally random commenter. All you need to do is read the interview and make a quick comment, but in that comment you must do one thing to qualify: name the main character in Mortal Remains. Easy, peasy.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: Giveaway closed, congrats to Terri Rykard, the random winner of the signed copy!
SU: Pretend this is Twitter. Sell me (and the readers) on Mortal Remains in 140 characters or less.
JAB:When given the choice to live or die, Erica Morgan would rather fight back and die trying, but what’s at stake is far more than only her life.
SU: What genre (or genres) would Mortal Remains fall under? Any genre crossover that may appeal to more than just the core fans?
JAB: This would fit into the thriller/horror with a touch of adventure. So far folks who enjoyed Hammerhead (even those who are military and sci-fi fans) are giving it very good reports. The connection point is good people who are willing and able to fight who get caught up in horrible situations.
SU: I really enjoyed Hammerhead, a very unique story with excellent science fiction settings and technologies. What made you jump into a different genre like thriller/horror?
JAB: First-thank you for that. I sincerely appreciate it. In answer to your question, all advice would tell me to write the sequel to Hammerhead as closely to the first as possible, but I sincerely don’t choose what comes next. While laying the groundwork for Hammerhead Resurrection the entire plot of Mortal Remains poured itself into my head one night. I had to jump out of bed and take notes for two hours to record it all. It took me a year and a half of writing and editing to complete it.
SU: The protagonist of Hammerhead was a male starship breaker, set in the future. Erica Morgan is quite different from that. Was it difficult to shift into a different mindset to write her?
JAB: Writing this book made me think of William Faulkner’s comment on writing. I paraphrase very loosely as it’s been some time since I read it… He said that all he does is imagine interesting people in tough situations an then chase them with a pencil and paper as fast as he can. It feels like Erica Morgan came to me, sat down, and told me how to write her. Writing about a woman in an abusive relationship made me very uncomfortable at first. I didn’t want to sensationalize it at all because these things happen to women EVERY DAY and to go overboard would, in my mind, disrespect that reality. However, as I worked it just seemed that I was recording the story that she wanted to be told. I know that might come across as a bit crazed sounding, but it’s the truth.
SU: Are there any plans for a follow up to Mortal Remains? And a more personal question from me, any plans for a Hammerhead sequel, or another story set in that universe?
JAB: There’s a quote at the very end of Mortal Remains that says it all. I’ll let you all see it for yourself. 🙂 As far as Hammerhead… Absolutely! I can’t wait to get back to Stacy and Leif and Jeffrey. I have the first scene and the general plot outline for Hammerhead Resurrection and am going to start full-time work on it now that Mortal Remains is done. The basic concept is that it is ten years later and the alien invaders return. There will be a lot of action, but I’m still going to focus the main development of the plot around a small group of key characters.
SU: What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
JAB: What do you mean? African or European swallow?!?!
SU: Huh? I… I don’t know that. Aaaaaghhh!
Again, big thanks to Jason for his time in stopping by. MORTAL REMAINS is available for KINDLE (link); paperback coming soon. Still waiting to hear on other platforms – I’ll update this page when they become available. Unless he’s gone and signed up for KDP Select, in which case I TOTALLY disown him as a friend and rescind everything I said above.
Take a peek at Mortal Remains and Hammerhead, folks – Mr. Bond is a talented writer.
Comment below for a chance to win an autographed copy (after the paperback hits on October 4th). Don’t forget the qualifying requirement. Giveaway closes Saturday September 29th, good luck!