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FEATURED AUTHOR
STEVEN JONES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Steven Jones and family live in eastern Iowa. His credits include the original comics series Nightlinger and Tatters for Caliber Entertainment, and editor of Malibu Graphic's Herbert West: Re-Animator anthology. He has a B.A. in religion and journalism from the University of Iowa. King of Harlem is his first novel.
PRAISE FOR KING OF HARLEM:
Clive Cussler: (Raise the Titanic!, Atlantis Found):
"A tightly woven enigma around real and interesting characters, King Of Harlem makes for a gripping read. Jones is a bright new light in the mystery genre."
Don Bush (Lady M's Mysteryinternational.com):
"This story is a homerun in the mystery genre and you'll need a good mitt to catch all the clues. Get a beer and a hotdog and sit down and enjoy!"
Mary Welk (MysteryScene Magazine):
"King Of Harlem is an entertaining read, both as a mystery and as a historical novel."
Dale Jones (Cedar Rapids Gazette):
"Jones has a nice flair for storytelling. The plot is nicely constructed and cemented with a welcoming prose style and solid research. The sense of time and place is palpable."
Ariana Overton (author of DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS and TAPESTRY):
"Jones' novel is a very pleasant blend of a classic 1930's style PI novel, along with historical curiosities. Anyone who admires Orson Welles' work will enjoy this glimpse into his earlier days."
David McKinlay (World of Mouth Book Review Newsletter):
"I loved this book. If you enjoy Edgar Wallace, Dorothy Sayers, Sax Rohmer and the American gang led by Dashiell Hammett, then you will feel at home as I did almost from the start."
When did you first start writing?
I was nine. Short stories and plays to begin with. I was 16 before I wrote
my first novel manuscript, and I have been writing comics since I was 18. I've been earning money writing...albeit darn little...since I was 27.
Why do you write?
Have to. Want to. It's a passion with me. I've got my kindergarten report card filed away, and on it my teacher noted that I loved to tell stories to the other kids in my class. So, I guess, telling stories, which to me is the same thing as writing, is an ability and desire I was born with.
What sort of books do you like to read?
Almost anything. I mostly read adventure, horror, mystery, and a variety of non-fiction. I enjoy reading about writers and writing, and have learned quite a bit about the craft doing that. But, gosh, I'll even read books about economics and taxation. I'm not kidding. THE GREEDY HAND by Amity Shlaes and THE NOBLEST TRIUMPH by Tom Bethell are two recent excellent examples of this. In fact I need to check out Thomas Sowell's latest, BASIC ECONOMICS. Sowell is a genius, right up there with George Gilder.
Who is your favourite author or who has influenced your writing?
Favorite author is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. All of his stuff is wonderful. As for who influenced my writing, that list could go on forever, and wouldn't include just authors but musicians, songwriters, artists, professors, athletes, and a variety of other types of people. It might be best if I spare your readers and just leave it at that.
If you could meet any character from a book, who would it be and why?
You mean "fictional"? If not, I'd love to meet Jesus or King David. If you do, it would be kind of neat to meet one of the characters I created. Might be interesting to listen the complaints about me. Otherwise, I'd probably say Dirk Pitt. Why? He isn't my favorite character, though he isn't far behind, but he is the most interesting character I've read about in fiction.
What are you currently working on?
I'm not allowed to say because of confidentiality contracts. Let's just say I'm helping in the attempt to launch a new entertainment corporation. It may happen, it may not, but it's been fun being involved, even though it's only been in a peripheral way.
I did just finish a novella, "Curse of Wrigley Field," that is a prequel to my new novel, KING OF HARLEM. If it isn't already posted on my website, it will be in a day or two. I have an unpublished manuscript finished called MUTIES that I'm going to try to place with a traditional publisher. My first novel, KING OF HARLEM, is print-on-demand, and I'd like to take that next step.
I do have a fantasy novel I've been working on for awhile titled THE PEACOCK PARTY, that was inspired by an album by British folk guitarist Gordon Giltrap. I'd like to finish that and get it published. And, of course, I need to get started on the follow up to KING OF HARLEM soon.
What have you found to be the best way to promote your book(s)?
I'm really not sure. I would recommend you being promoting you book at least two to three months before it is published. I didn't do this, so, even though KING OF HARLEM came out in April and it is now August, I am still playing catch up.
One thing I'm trying that has me excited is called The Olsen Shuffle. This simply involves getting your book listed on as many websites that are amazon.com associates as possible. It is completely free. If authors want to read more about they should go where I read up about it: http://www.wayneperkins.net/ebooks/threetips.html
And finally, what advice would you have for writers starting out?
Learn about promoting your books. Even if you land a contract with a big New York publishing house, chances are you will be counted on to do most of the promoting for your book. You can either hire a publicist, which can cost you depending on how much you want them to do, or you can do it yourself.
A couple of good places where new writers, or any writers, can learn more about book promoting, especially over the internet but certainly not exclusive to online promoting, are these two Yahoo eGroups: Murder Must Advertise and Internet Authors.
For more information on Steven Jones, check out his websites below:
http://www.stevenpjones.com and http://www.authorsden.com/spj