Interview with Author Jarrett Rush

I recently read Jarrett Rush's novella, Chasing Filthy Lucre, and was impressed with the quality of writing and how the story pulled me in (check out my review of it here). I'd tweeted occasionally with Jarrett, and after I read his book, I decided to ask him if he'd be up for a brief interview. Jarrett was kind enough to agree, and I'm happy to share that interview with you today. If you haven't purchased his novella, you can get it for the Kindle or Nook.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Jarrett Rush?

I can give you my standard answer that appears on my blog and at the end of all of my online fiction. It goes like this: "Jarrett Rush is a writer who lives in the Dallas area with his wife, Gina, and their overly energetic lab, Molly." If you want more than that, here goes. I'm a guy in my late 30s who has wanted to be a writer nearly all my life. Until this writing thing can pay the bills -- and the hope is that one day it can -- I work for The Dallas Morning News. Baseball and writing have been my two loves since I was a kid, and before I wanted to be a writer I wanted to be a baseball player. I play a little softball to indulge that dream. Not being able to hit a curveball kept me from taking my baseball career past junior high so I had to settle for being a fan. I spent far too much money cheering the Rangers through the playoffs last season. But it was all worth it to be able to be there when the team clinched its first American League pennant.

2. What's your creative process like? Do you have a routine, or do you just wing it?

My process depends on the project. For short stories I wing it. I know the beginning and maybe the ending, but, usually, not much of the middle. With longer pieces, like Chasing Filthy Lucre, I use an outline. It's loose. Not moment-by-moment, but just hitting the action's high points. There are four parts to Chasing Filthy Lucre. In the outline each of those sections was broken into four parts. I knew where the action was supposed to start and I just wrote from one part of the outline to the next part of the outline. It was the first time I'd used something like that and I loved it. I didn't feel like my creativity was stifled, and that was always my worry with using an outline.

As far as the actual writing goes, I try to get behind the keyboard on a daily basis, but I'm not always successful. When I'd I shoot for between 750 and 1,000 words. Not as much as some, but it works for me.

3. Who are some of the influences on writing?

The most important is my wife. She's the person who pushed me to try and make a real go of this, to make my dream come true. That's probably not what you meant though. There's one writer who showed me the power of a good book. It was Matt Christoper and the book was The Kid Who Could Only Hit Homers. That was the first book I read all the way through in one day. I was a kid -- third or fourth grade, I think -- and I remember laying on the couch in our living room just buried in those pages. I couldn't tell you now what the book was about, but the title seems like it gives things away. But I think it says something that the title and the author have stayed with me all these years later. It's that kind of book that I want to write. Something that pulls a reader in and just won't let go.

4. What inspired you to write Chasing Filthy Lucre?

I just loved the story. It was something that came out of a few other ideas I'd been playing with. The idea of data addiction first appeared in something that's still sitting on my hard drive. I fleshed the concept out in a short story. It was there that I created the beginnings of the world where Chasing Filthy Lucre takes place. The opening scene is actually a response to a writing prompt I put together for a writers group I'm part of. I took all of those pieces and let them marinate for a while then started writing. And once I started I didn't want to stop. Even though I knew how it was going to end, I still wanted to see how we got there.

5. Are there any projects that you're currently working on that you can tell us about?

Chasing Filthy Lucre is part of a planned series, so I'm working on Book Two right now. We pick up the story a few months after the end of Book One. Berger and Rexall, our heroes, are in the middle of investigating a kidnapping, looking for missing girl and also trying to stay a few steps ahead of Roma Corp security forces. I've also got a few ideas cooking on the back burner that I'm excited about. I'll keep those to myself, though, because I don't even know when they'll see the light of day. But, trust me, they're cool.

6. How can readers connect with you? Website, Twitter, etc.?

I have all the social networking tools you can think of. You can follow me on Twitter at @JarrettRush. I try to keep the book promotion to a minimum. I also don't Tweet every thought that pops into my head. If you are on Facebook and are in the mood to like an author then head over to http://www.facebook.com/jarrettrushauthor. I can always use more Facebook fans. Like Twitter, I try to keep the book promotion to a minimum. Most of the time I'm sharing links to blogs, mine and others. And, yes, I have a blog. It's a http://jarrettwrites.blogspot.com/. I update it semi-regularly. And if all of that's not enough, readers are always welcome to email me at jarrettrush@yahoo.com.

Review Schedule

My review for Jarrett Rush's Chasing Filthy Lucre will be posted next Tuesday over at Jenna Anderson's novella-review site. I should also have a treat for you here at Bookhound's Den the same day. And finally, I'll have a review of the newest Spectral Press title posted here sometime next week.

I hope you have a great weekend and you come across some great reads!

Update

I can't believe it's already August! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. Or maybe I'm just having a difficulty keeping up with time because we're not talking about whether or not Brett Favre will stay retired this year. So, will he or won't he?

Things are quite busy right now. In case you've missed it, I went off the deep end and decided to work full-time for myself. So I've been fairly busy with editing projects and working on pages for my business site, Hock's Editing Services. I do have a couple of things that I'll post here in the next week or so. While on vacation this past week, I read a great novella by Jarrett Rush, Chasing Filthy Lucre. I should have a review of it up by this Friday. I should also have a review of the new Spectral Press novella up in the next week or so.

Things should become a little more lively around here soon. I'll probably be reviewing many more novellas, just because it takes me a while to get through a full-length novel right now. Heck, I may even pull out my soapbox and stand on it a day or two. Who knows? I'll probably fall off of it, though. But at least you'll get a good laugh.

Another One Falls

Well, in a time period of little less than a year, three of the six brick-and-mortar bookstores in the Raleigh area will have closed. Two are already gone, and the third closing is about to get underway. The recent announcement from Borders sealed the fate of the lone big-box competitor to Barnes & Noble in this area. Now we have three Barnes & Nobles to compete against one another.

I’ll be honest: I haven’t read many articles about the final nail in the Borders coffin. I’m not the least bit surprised by the news because I figured this would happen when they first announced their bankruptcy. If you went into a Borders after that initial bankruptcy announcement, you wouldn’t be surprised either. I was practically tackled by employees and forced to buy a Borders Rewards membership the one time I went to the remaining store in Raleigh. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not blaming the employees. If we have to blame someone, let’s blame the bobbleheads calling the shots who ran the company into the ground.

This isn’t a time to mourn the death of a large retailer that seemed more focused on selling trinkets and other useless items rather than staying at the forefront of the bookselling industry. Yes, I do have to hand it to Borders, at least they had a “Horror” section. But I still couldn’t find the books that I really wanted to read. Instead, I found shelves full of the same few titles. If we’re going to mourn, we should mourn for all those employees who are now thrust into unemployment in this difficult economic period.

As readers, let us instead be excited about the time we are currently in the midst of. We can be hopeful that small, independent bookstores will rise from the ashes left from the demise of the big boys. The e-reader “revolution” allows authors at least a chance to find an audience, where a bookselling industry dominated by the big retailers was gatekeeper of what was put in front of people. I, as a reader, am more excited about this time than any other before. Then again, maybe I’m just strange.

DEADLY STRAITS by R.E. McDermott

One of the joys of being a freelancer is having the opportunity to read books that I probably never would have otherwise. I try not to make it a habit to review books I’ve proofed or edited here on my blog, but recently I’ve read a number of well-written books by authors who are sharing them with the world for the first time. One such book is Deadly Straits by R.E. McDermott. When I read this book, I was impressed by the quality of writing and how smoothly the story flowed. When the author told me this was his first book, I was utterly amazed.

Rather than summarizing the book myself, here is the summary from the book’s Amazon page:

Consultant and very part-time spook Tom Dugan is a happy man until his CIA handler comes calling. With a hijacking investigation pointing to his long-time client and best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz, Dugan is guilty by association and forced to go under cover in Alex’s company to clear his own name.

In attempting to prove Alex’s innocence along with his own, Dugan manages to implicate them both more deeply, and when one of Alex’s tankers is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in port, Dugan is framed for the attacks.

When Alex is hospitalized, in critical condition after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan finds himself almost out of options. Convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan follows his last remaining lead to Russia, to be shanghaied as an ‘advisor’ to a Russian Spetsnaz unit and find himself sailing into Deadly Straits.

With his debut novel, McDermott sets the bar high—very high. This ambitious novel will keep you turning the pages to get to the thrilling conclusion. This is a truly impressive first book. I look forward to reading more from him. His writing is polished, and he manages to handle multiple plot lines that cover the world over. If you enjoy action-packed thrillers that make you feel like you’re actually participating in the action, make sure to read Deadly Straits.

Kindle:       Nook:

Am I Here?

The rumors of my demise have not been greatly exaggerated. Okay, okay, maybe demise is a bit too strong. Hibernation, withdrawal, disappearance . . . call it what you will. Bottom line, I haven’t been around much lately. And there’s a good reason. Really, there is. I promise.

I’m at a bit of a crossroads in my life right now. I’m transitioning from the world of “real” work to the world of self-employment. During this transition, I’ve been nonexistent online for the most part. I’ve been working fifty to sixty hours a week with my freelance business while still working at my “real” job. Needless to say, this hasn’t left me with time to do much else.

I’ll be honest: I don’t know how often I’ll add reviews to this blog. I worked hard to build it up, and I love to share my thoughts about the books I read. I’m appreciative that anyone would take the time to read what I have to say about a book. However, I’m simply not reading books for review right now. The last book I read for enjoyment was a couple of months ago, and I don’t foresee any reading for review in the near future.

But never fear. There are a bunch of great sites out there with talented folks reviewing dark fiction. Just a few of them off the top of my head are The Crow’s Caw, Dreadful Tales, The Man Eating Bookworm, and Little Miss Zombie. Make sure to check them out to get your fix for the dark and macabre.

Who knows, maybe once I fully transition to being self-employed I’ll have a little more free time and update this blog a little more regularly. In the meantime, while I’m chasing my dream and working to do something I love, I’ll sporadically post a review here.

So to answer the question asked in the title of this post, yes, I am here. I’m just lurking in the shadows.

AN UNCOMMON FAMILY by Christa Polkinhorn

Today is the official launch of Christa Polkinhorn’s An Uncommon Family, the first book in the Family Portrait series. While it’s not the “normal” type of book featured here at Bookhound’s Den, I’m a fan of quality writing, and this is quality writing. Polkinhorn creates an intriguing story that will have you riding a roller coaster of emotion as you turn the pages.

This was the first of Polkinhorn's work that I have read, and to say that I was blown away would be an understatement. Polkinhorn weaves a moving, emotion-filled story that invites the reader to become invested in the characters, which are believable and remind you of people you may know. This is a story of love, loss, and the pain that is almost inevitable when one person puts their faith in another. However, this is also a story about rediscovering the ability to put one's faith in another, despite previous letdowns.

Polkinhorn’s writing is top-notch, and the story will leave the reader wanting more. If you enjoy stories that tug at your emotions and draw you in, An Uncommon Family is for you. You'll laugh, be angry, cry, and experience joy throughout the reading of this book. It's a beautiful, high-quality work from an amazingly talented author.

Kindle:        Nook: