      
      
      
An Interview
With
J. B. Jones
eBR!-In my
endeavor to suck the brilliance out of EPICs EPPIE
Finalists I have bribed yet another finalist into an
eBooks Rock! interview. I have been
stalking...er...FOLLOWING Ms. Jones for some time now and
am very pleased to announce that she was not under duress
during this interview (as can be proved in the statement
signed prior<g>). So let's get on with it! Get your
coffee, tea or soda and prepare to step into the mind of
J.B. Jones.
Thanks so
much for taking the time to answer a few of eBooks
Rock!'s questions. Finaling in the EPPIES is not a first
for Cousin Feely. Your novel was also nominated in the
Independent eBook Awards and the Ohioana Book Awards.
Cousin Feely has captured rave reviews from both readers
and writers alike. Can you please share with us what this
story is about?
JBJ-This is the story of two
boys, cousins, growing up in the small town of
Grunion Glade, Ohio in the 50s, where social
standing depends mostly on ancestry. The townspeople
are proud of two things: their descent from identical
twin canal boat captains and their undefeated high
school football team. William is born with a rare
form of dwarfism. He is too small and delicate to
ever play football, which is every father's dream for
his son in Grunion Glade. William, feeling that
football has cost him his father's love hates the
game and is likely at any time to spew out an
anti-football tirade that makes anyone within earshot
mad enough to kill him. William's cousin, Bob Junior,
is as rugged and football-crazy as they come. He is
not happy when he is assigned by his family to
be William's bodyguard. Their love-hate relationship
ends up costing Bob Junior his dream of winning a
football scholarship and marrying his high school
sweetheart. When William digs up secrets from
the town's canal days that could upset and change the
lives of everyone in town, he plans to reveal them
during the town's centennial play, Bob Junior has to
choose to stop him or help him.
eBR!-What/who
was the inspiration for Bob Junior and William?
JBJ-I grew up feeling
different, and so wanted to write about prejudice and
bullying--how when faced with these, one can somehow
find and draw on courage deep within. And so I
created William. I was also reading Rabbi Harold
Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good
People." The book was dedicated to his son who
had died of progeria, a rare form of dwarfism.
And that moved me to give William progeria. Bob
Junior is modeled on a boy I once knew--one who was
brave and strong, and giving.
eBR!-For
those who haven't had a chance to visit your site (and
should!) tell us about what inspired the legend of
Crybaby Bridge?
JBJ-The fictional Grunion
Glade was founded as a canal town and the town's
history is important to the story. I was fortunate to
have a guided tour of the St. Marys,
Ohio countryside by Ray Zunk, past president of
the Ohio Canal Society. He showed me Bloody Bridge
and told me the story of the tragic love affair and
ax murder that happened there, and that some people
believed the bridge to be haunted. It seemed perfect
for the book--a haunted bridge that people were
afraid of, so I incorporated it into the town's
history and in the book the action culminates on
that bridge.
eBR!-In
case readers are curious, photos of Bloody Bridge are
available at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cousinfeely/
Definitely, check
them out!
Do you have a favorite scene in Cousin Feely?
JBJ-When the town whore (who
turns out to be William and Bob Junior's aunt)
rescues William from a gang and sneaks him home in a
perambulator with a pacifier in his mouth. When
William's mother, who is frantic because her son
has been missing, answers the door and sees her
estranged sister there with a baby carriage she
assumes she has come to show off the "wages of
her sins" and asks if one can tell by looking
who the father is. As she leans over the pram to see
the baby, William spits out his pacifier and says,
"It's me, Mommy!" His mother uses a cuss
word for the first time in her life.
eBR-Of all
the character's you've written about, who would you say
is most like you? And why?
JBJ-There are bits of me
sprinkled throughout several of the characters.
I am like William in that I grew up in a small town
and I was in many ways, "different,"
and like Roylette in that I was not allowed to
date boys who weren't going on to college. I am like
her, too, in that I am adopted and there were secrets
there to be uncovered.
eBR!-What
would you say has been your biggest writing challenge?
JBJ- Just getting a book
finished. It takes a long time for the characters to
evolve and "grow up" in my mind. And a book
has to "age" for months at a time,
just maturing, so I can be sure it is as rich and
full as I can possibly make it.
eBR!-Many
readers wonder what's going on in an author's head, and
here's the part where we find out<g>. Describe
yourself in one line:
JBJ- I have a very fertile
imagination and a zany sense of humor.
eBR!-
(Finish this sentence) On a Saturday night you'll find
me...
JBJ-In bed with a man and a
book.
eBR!-If I
were a cartoon character I'd be...
JBJ -the energizer bunny--I
want to keep going and going and going
eBR!-If I
could have one wish, I would wish...
JBJ-everyone would go over to
Double Dragon and buy Cousin Feely like crazy.
eBR!-What
kind of car do you drive?
JBJ-2001 Honda Odyssey
eBR!-What
kind of car do you *want* to drive?
JBJ-The one I have....I love
that the backseat hides under the floor when you
don't need it which is most of the time! If I could
have a second car just to tool around in, it would be
a Jag.
eBR!-Answer
the following questions as quickly as possible, but
feel free to expand on any of your answers (Hey, it's
not a test):
What's your favorite movie?
JBJ- Back to the Future. It
was so perfect in every respect. Nothing extra, great
suspense, good story, and the 50s.
eBR!-Favorite
song?
JBJ- The day before yesterday
it was "Anything You Want, You've Got It"
by Roy Orbison, yesterday it was "What's Going
On?" by Four Nonblonds, and today it is
"Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds.
eBR!-Favorite
snack?
JBJ- An orange with potato
chips on the side.
eBR!-Favorite
book?
JBJ- Cider House Rules by
John Irving. I have been very influenced by Irving
and by Peter Kraft. I seem to share the same brand of
humor that pops up at the oddest times in my stories.
eBR!-Typewriter
or computer?
JBJ-You've got to be kidding!
Does anyone even own a typewriter these days?
eBR!-Soup
or salad?
JBJ-some of each, please.
eBR!-Turkey
burger or steak?
JBJ-Make it a filet mingon.
eBR!-Slacks
or jeans?
JB-I don't even know anyone
who would answer "slacks." Actually my
answer would be "nightgown." A freelance
writer only needs to get dressed when the
food runs out.
eBR!-Boxers
or briefs?
JBJ-Neither
eBR!-Are
blondes really more fun?
JBJ- They seem to think so
and that's what counts.
eBR!-Have
you ever held anyone hostage?
JBJ-Never in the winter. It's
too damn cold where I live.
eBR!-Do you
believe in love at first sight?
JBJ-depends on who you are
looking at.
eBR!-Are
aliens real?
JBJ-Yes, my daughter-in-law
is one--don't worry she is legal.
eBR!-If you
could vote members off of Gilligan's Island, who would
get the boot first?
JBJ-Gilligan. Viewers would
never miss him.
eBR!-What
is one thing about you that very few know?
JBJ-I have such a big mouth
that everyone who has known me for five
minutes knows it all.
eBR!-What
is your greatest fear?
JBJ-Dying of old age before
Cousin Feely is famous.
eBR!-If you
could be anyone (dead or alive) who would you be? And
why?
JBJ-Myself--twenty years
younger so I could make different mistakes.
eBR!-The
one book I wish I'd written is...
JBJ-Stack to The Moon by
David Breeden. It's an ebook whose original publisher
is gone and I'm not sure where it is now, but if
you run across it, grab it.
eBR!-And
finally (and you can take your time on this one:-)),
what's next for you? Your next book? Writing venture?
Goal?
JBJ-The next book is
underway--another life story set in a small town.
This time it is the life of a woman born in 1913 who
leaves home to become a nurse, meets and marries a
doctor and her life in his home town where he sets up
practice. After that it is my biography to be called
something like "The Three of Me." I may not
be able to play it straight and it may go off into
fiction, but if it does it will be a fictional
biography of a woman who had three names and a life
as each one.
Remember to
visit Jones' Website
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