Jason Jack Miller, the Author of Hellbender, The Devil and Preston Black, and The Revelations of Preston Black graciously took some time to answer my three silly questions.
Question 1:
First I'd like to say that I love love loved the character of Ben. *Spoiler
Alert thanks for not killing him off. End of Spoiler Alert*. And as I said in
the book review Pap reminded my of my Grandad so I loved him quite a bit as
well. Did you have a favorite character to write/read when you’re
rereading/reviewing HELLBENDER other than Henry? I'm an author myself and
when I reread my own book, I'm drawn to rereading certain characters. Who were
you drawn to the more you wrote it and read it.
Ben really took on a life of his own. In HELLBENDER, Ben was little more
than a supporting character, in there to help move the story along. He ended up
getting so many of the good lines, and that really seemed to resonate with
people. After that reception, I knew I
had to bring him back for REVELATIONS. In fact, I'm not really sure I had a
choice.
I wrote HELLBENDER as my thesis for Seton Hill University's Writing
Popular Fiction program, and at the time, Henry represented the way I felt
about the mountains and Appalachia. Perhaps I had a bit of a chip on my
shoulder about the way I perceived people looking at me and my rural
upbringing. So I wanted to show Henry as a responsible, intellectual person of
Appalachian origin. And as a result, Ben had most of the fun. (And the good
lines.)
Not surprisingly though, I really felt the most drawn to Katy by the time
I finished REVELATIONS, She felt the most honest, the realest, and the least
like a caricature.
Question 1b:
Any chance that some of the other characters from Hellbender might get their
own stories like you've done for the character of Preston. I didn't talk much
about Preston in my book review but you did a fairly good job setting his
character up for his own book which I have not read yet (but I will) Any chance
Ben gets a chance to shine or maybe you'll craft Pap's back story. I loved
Katie and Chloe as well and I'd really love to hear more about the magic they
practice and know.
Well, since you asked…. My next book, ALL SAINTS, is pretty much a Ben
story. It's a weird version of THE WIZARD OF OZ (set in Yucatan, Mexico) that
lets Ben deal with his PTSD once and for all.
Ben is also the star of a short story appearing in Despumation Press's
premiere issue this February. "Rhythm of War" is a snapshot of Ben
and the events surrounding a firefight in Fallujah.
The first two or three books were meant to be read in no particular
order. HELLBENDER was my thesis, and was written first. But THE DEVIL AND
PRESTON BLACK comes first chronologically. The story lines don't merge until
THE REVELATIONS OF PRESTON BLACK. So if I tell you more about ALL SAINTS, I
might give away some of what happens in REVELATIONS. Needless to say, Ben does
what none of us thought was possible (with regards to an antagonist.). And he
does what Preston most certainly couldn't.
You'll see that THE DEVIL AND PRESTON BLACK is almost as much a Katy
story as it is a Preston story (No Ben yet. Sorry.) But it also introduces us
to this other character who becomes very important later.
My wife, Heidi, introduced me to Madeleine L'Engle and the idea of a
linked series, where we follow the events of a family, or group of people, rather
than just one person. And so far it seems to be working out pretty well for me.
Question
2: Let's talk about charities for a second. As everyone who has been to this
site knows, my favorite is George
Mark House. (I'm very tied to the organization and if you want to
know more about why, just hit up the My Son tag on my blog to learn more about
what they did for me and my family and what they continue to do for us and
other families like us) Here's your opportunity to talk about organizations
that make your heart go aflutter and your skin get all goosebumpy with the
happies. If you'd like, take a second to talk about a charity or organization
that you support or you'd like to mention and why its important to you.
The mountains are near and dear to my heart. For so long, the place where
I grew up was more a source of shame than anything else. As a kid, I played in
abandoned coal mines and in old coal tipples. The county I grew up in has the
distinction of being Pennsylvania's second poorest, and it seemed like no
matter where I went, I was reminded of that fact. Add in high unemployment, a
"worse than average" health status score, and a suicide rate that was
higher than the state average, and you can see why I was reluctant to talk
about where I grew up.
But the mountains changed all that. When I started working as a
whitewater raft guide I saw a side of these hills that I never could've
imagined. I met people who were awed and astonished by the mountains and their
beauty. I met business people who saw opportunity where most only saw despair.
So when I had a chance to give something back, I chose Friends of the Cheat, a
group that, "… supports
the preservation of the Cheat Canyon and encourages land use that protects
sensitive wildlife habitat." http://www.cheat.org/
When I was a guide back in the 90s, the Cheat was a dead river. Acid mine
drainage had made it unfishable and undrinkable. But the Friends of the Cheat
have done some amazing work in the last twenty years to change that. And their
Cheat Fest held each May is a heck of a party!
For ALL SAINTS I'm looking at veterans' charities to work with. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America does some amazing work. http://iava.org/
Question 3:
This is important! You will be graded! What is your favorite character in the
movie The Goonies and why? What that character choice says a lot about you as a
person and I WILL judge you accordingly. (For example, if Mouth is your
favorite character, I'm not sure we can be friends.) Please note that if you
have not seen The Goonies and you don't feel you can register an opinion, I may
send you a copy just to remedy this fact. I have done it. You can ask Steven
Luna (@stevenluna) if you don't believe me.
Hey Mikey, gotta go to the Bathroom?
You
thought I was going to say 'Mouth' for a second, didn't you?
It's
weird, because I never really thought of this. But when asked, Mikey was the
first one to pop into my head.
Mikey
had the unenviable responsibility of being in charge. More than Josh even.
Mikey had the plans and the heart, and that's how I see myself—as the one who has
to make sure everybody's going to be okay. The one who stays up at night
worrying. Sometimes it sucks, being the responsible one, but it must come from
being the older brother. (Right now a bunch of people are reading this and
wondering who the heck I'm talking about. And I'd remind them that the Goonies
question is being answered by 'Jason Miller,' not 'Jason Jack Miller.' Big
difference there. Huge, in fact.
Bio:
Jason
Jack Miller knows it’s silly to hold onto the Bohemian ideals of literature,
music, and love above all else. But he doesn’t care.
His
own adventures paddling wild mountain rivers and playing Nirvana covers for
less-than-enthusiastic crowds inspired his Murder Ballads and Whiskey series,
published by Raw Dog Screaming Press. The first three books are currently
available: The Devil and Preston Black, Hellbender, and The Revelations of
Preston Black. The next installment, All
Saints, is due out in 2014.
Hellbender
was Jason's thesis novel for Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction
Graduate Program, where he is now adjunct faculty. The novel won the Arthur J.
Rooney Award for Fiction and is a finalist for the Appalachian Writers
Association Book of the Year Award.
His
career got its start when he co-authored an outdoor travel guide with his wife
in 2006. Since then his work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, literary
journals, online, as part of a travel guide app for mobile phones, and in the
award-winning writing guide Many Genres, One Craft.
When
Jason isn't writing he's on his mountain bike or looking for his next favorite
guitar.
He
is a member of The Authors Guild, Pennwriters, and International Thriller
Writers. He lives just outside of Pittsburgh with his wife, Heidi, and a cat.
His blog is http://jasonjackmiller.blogspot.com. Tweet him @jasonjackmiller.
No comments:
Post a Comment