What
inspired you to become an author?
I’ve always enjoyed the process of writing and
creating something from nothing. But, in the early 1990’s, I finished a book by
a New York Times bestselling author who will remain nameless and the first
thought that went through my head was “What a piece of shit book that was! That
was a New York Times bestseller?”. My
second thought was “If you think you can do better, then shut up and do it”.
The process turned out to be a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be.
Do
you write in different genres?
I write whatever floats my boat at the time. That
original first book that started me down the writing road was a cop/serial
killer novel that remains unagented and unpublished (for a reason – it needs a
lot of work). I self-published a boy meets girl coming of age story called Jack
& Diane three years ago. I love that book as have those who have read it
according to the ratings. I had a short story series called “The Nuts”
published about a poker player and, most recently, another short story
published in the Words with Hearts anthology about a writer. Poor Boy Road is
something different entirely. I think I’ve found my genre now, but won’t rule
out delving into other realms.
If
yes which is your favorite genre to write?
I love to read stand-alone books in a series with
the same characters that you can grow with. Poor Boy Road is the first of what
I hope will be a long running series featuring the adventures of Jake Caldwell
and his friends.
How
did you come up with the title for your latest book?
I have to admit I really struggled with the title
for this one. I had about three-fourths of the book completed and took another
trip to Warsaw, Missouri for a little inspirational research. In one of the
first few chapters, Jake travels down a country road to the very real Turkey
Creek Cemetery where a number of his, and not coincidentally, my family members
are buried. As I walked amongst the tombstones, the name of the road struck me
as a great title for the book – Poor Boy Road.
Is
the book, characters, or any scenes based on a true life experience, someone
you know, or events in your own life?
Thank God, no! That said, Warsaw is a real place, a
great little town in the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. I originally crafted the
story with a fake town name of Cranston, but figured that plenty of novels take
place in real cities. Why not Warsaw? Though scenic, drugs, especially meth,
are a very real problem its citizens must deal with. Jake’s father, Stony, is
an abusive alcoholic who is nothing like my father, but is an exaggeration of
stories I’ve heard about my grandfather who I never met. So, I’ve never been a
leg breaker for the mob or had to endure any of the things Jake did, but there
are smatterings of some real life in there that were exaggerated for the
purposes of the book.
What
books/authors have influenced your life?
The first “adult” book I remember reading was
Watership Down by Richard Adams – a big undertaking for a 12 year old kid as it
was a monster with tiny print and a glossary of rabbit lingo in the back. But,
I remember being absolutely blown away that someone could create such an
amazing world about rabbits…freaking rabbits! Can you imagine that pitch? A
ragtag band of rabbits, who rely on the visions of a psychic one of their own,
seek to find a new home and must battle an evil rabbit dictator if they hope to
survive. It just goes to show even the seemingly craziest of ideas can be
pulled off with talent. It is a brilliant book and sunk that love of reading
hook in as deep as it could go.
There’s a handful of authors that, when a new book is
released, that I immediately buy and devour. Stephen King is such a masterful
storyteller and can set a scene like nobody else. I read his work and then mine
and feel like a kid with a crayon and a Big Chief tablet. Lee Child and his
Jack Reacher novels are such page turners, fast paced and great
characterization. Gillian Flynn is a fantastic writer with some seriously
twisted tales that I love. John Sandford and his Prey books with his main
character Lucas Davenport are another instant buy. So, two of my four favorites
involve series with the same character so I think you can see where I’m
planning to go.
If
you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Easy answer – Stephen King. I’ve read everything
he’s written including his fantastic book On Writing which should be required
reading of anyone following the craft. That said, I think we can all learn
something from all kinds of writers – what to do and what not to do.
What
book are you reading now?
I just finished a fabulous book called All the Light
We Cannot See. I was totally blown away by how Anthony Doerr sets a scene –
short sentences, but very powerful descriptors. He also time jumped between
three different characters before and during World War II without causing the
reader to miss a beat. Incredibly done from a structure standpoint. I just
started the advanced reader copy of my fellow Lakewater Press authors Sue
Featherstone and Susan Pape. Their book A Falling Friend is set for an April
release. I’m only a few chapters in, but liking it so far.
What
books are in your to read pile?
Oh, you’re going to make me pull up my Goodreads
app! If anyone reading this is not on Goodreads, I highly recommend it – friend
me when you get on there. I read R.L. Martinez’s In the Blood (another Lakewater
author) and loved it, though I’m admittedly not a big fantasy reader. When I
plugged her book on Goodreads and Facebook, a number of people suggested I
check out Red Rising by Pierce Brown so I added it to my list. I also have
Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham, the Memory Man by David Baldacci and The Pardon
by James Grippando on the list among others.
What
is your current “work in progress” or upcoming projects?
I’m currently editing the stand-alone sequel to Poor
Boy Road titled Ares Road. I’m afraid that Jake and his friends are going to
find themselves in a bit of trouble in Kansas City with some very large stakes
hanging in the balance. This one is a bit faster paced than Poor Boy Road and I
think the readers are going to enjoy it. We’re set for a 2017 publication date,
but would love to get it out by Christmas so everyone can stuff their stockings
with multiple copies. We’ll see.
Who
designed the cover of your latest book?
E.L. Wicker with Lakewater Press. It was amazing
because when she asked my thoughts for the cover, I described two scenes that
had occurred to me. I don’t even remember the first one because when I
described the second, she immediately jumped in because that was the exact
scene she had in her head after reading the book. After that, there was no
point in exploring any other options. She sent me the first mock-up and it
required very little change. She nailed 95% of my vision in the first try and
100% of it after the second. I love the cover and what she did with it.
Do
you have any advice for other writers?
First, shut up and write. Don’t talk about the book
you always wanted to write. Write it. When you’re done writing it, put it aside
for at least a month. Then, go back and polish, polish, polish. Rewrite,
rewrite, rewrite.
Second, don’t be afraid to share your work with
other people for feedback. Find someone who will give you very candid feedback.
It does you no good if they read your book and say “It was good” and that’s all
you get. You have to find someone who will tell you that parts of your book
sucks, that a scene is ridiculously contrived, that there’s no way you could
have gone from Point A to point B. Find that person or group of people. I’ve
started doing some editorial work on the side and there’s plenty of good folks out
there who can do that. This is an absolute must before you send out to agents
and publishers. You can polish your own work until the cows come home, but you
won’t spot all your own flaws. You’re simply too close to it.
Third, enter writing contests such as PitchMadness
and Pitch Wars and Writers’ Digest among others. It forces you to really grind
down on your story and you will meet so many people. You never know about the
friendships you will develop or what doors it may open. You may even find a
publisher!
Poor Boy Road
Jake Caldwell
Book One
James L. Weaver
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Lakewater Press
Date of Publication: March 21, 2016
ISBN 978-0-9944511-2-5
ISBN: 978-0-9944511-3-2
ASIN: B019X3WELC
Number of pages: 251
Word Count: approx. 78,000
Cover Artist: E.L Wicker
Book Description:
As a mob enforcer, Jake Caldwell is in the dark business of breaking kneecaps and snapping bones. But each job sends him one step closer to turning into the man he swore he’d never become—his violent and abusive father. Leaving the mob is easier said than done. When his boss offers a bloody way out, Jake has no choice but to take it, even if it means confronting ghosts of old.
Arriving in his Lake of the Ozarks hometown, Jake has two things on his mind: kill ruthless drug lord Shane Langston and bury his dying father. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love all over again and team up with his best friend Bear, the Sheriff of Benton County, to take Langston down. Racing through the countryside searching for Langston, the web of murder, meth and kidnapping widens, all pointing toward a past Jake can’t escape and a place he never wanted to return—Poor Boy Road.
First
Excerpt
“Open the door,
Carlos,” Jake said, pounding the door twice. No answer, but the shadow wavered
as if its owner was uncertain if it should stay or run.
Jake sighed and
stepped back. With his good leg, he exploded forward, driving his heel above
the knob. The lock assembly collapsed against the splintered wood and the door
burst open. Carlos cried out as the door cracked his face, his wiry frame
collapsing to the floor. He landed on his ass, holding his nose. Blood poured
through his fingers and onto his stained, white T-shirt. Jake entered the
apartment to the stench of cigarettes and fried onions, and shut the remains of
the door behind him. Carlos pushed back toward a kitchen stacked with crusted
plates and glasses, his wide eyes fearful.
Jake tucked the
Glock in his waistband and picked up a dented baseball bat leaning against a bookcase
covered with dead plants. He held it with both hands, testing the weight.
Thirty-two ounce aluminum fat barrel. He walked to Carlos and tapped him hard
on the leg with it.
“Where’s your
daughter?” Jake asked. The last thing he wanted was a little girl to run in
screaming. It happened before.
“Hospital.”
“Still?”
Carlos nodded.
“They can’t figure out what’s wrong.”
“Sorry to hear
it,” Jake said. He didn’t wish that kind of heartache on anyone, but Keats
wasn’t paying him as a shoulder to cry on. “The two grand. Where is it?”
“Ain’t got it.
No insurance and the damn hospital’s sucking me dry.”
The bat burned
in Jake’s hands. He didn’t want to, but his orders were to liberally apply a
blunt object to Carlos’ legs if he didn’t have the money. There would be hell
to pay otherwise. He raised the bat, white knuckling the handle.
“Please, Jake,”
Carlos pleaded, tears rolling down his weathered cheeks. “It’s my little girl,
man.”
The brief howl
of air and hollow thunk of metal meeting bone echoed in his head, a ghostly
sound from long ago. The excruciating pain would rip through the man’s body, so
intense he would shred his vocal cords from the screams. He knew because he
dealt this punishment too many times in the past. He could feel it because he
was once on the receiving end. As the bat barrel wavered and Carlos sobbed,
Jake’s cell phone vibrated for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Like the
previous four times, he silenced it.
He glimpsed a
picture on the kitchen counter of Carlos and his daughter. Eight years old,
cute as hell in a white dress with a daisy in her thick, black hair. What would
happen to her if Jake broke her daddy’s legs? What would Keats do to him if he
didn’t? His cell vibrated again.
Jake tossed the
bat on the floor. It clanked toward the busted front door and he yanked the
cell from his pocket, checking the number. 660 area code. Home, if there was
such a place. He needed to think and the call provided as good a distraction as
any. Jake answered with his left hand and pulled the gun out with his right,
training it on Carlos.
“Dad’s dying,”
Janey said. His sister’s first words to him in a year. Like he was supposed to
give a shit.
About the Author:
James L Weaver is the author of the forthcoming Jake Caldwell thrillers Poor Boy Road and Ares Road from Lakewater Press. He makes his home in Olathe, Kansas with his wife of 18 years and two children. His previous publishing credits include a six part story called "The Nuts" and his 5-star rated debut novel Jack & Diane which is available on Amazon.com. Author note: a handful of the raters are actually not related to him.
His limited free time is spent writing into the wee hours of the morning, playing parental taxi cab to his kids' sporting endeavors, and binge watching Netflix.
You can read his blog at weaverwrites.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @WildcatJim2112.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildcatJim2112
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