Featured Interview With Jim McDonald
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in central South Carolina, but moved to the Charlotte NC area about 15 years ago. I spent about 20 years traveling doing technology work, but have settled down a bit. My travels exposed me to a lot of places and people, and I use those experiences as a very loose baseline for my writing.
Other than work and writing, I play some with hot glass, and I am involved with a number of groups involved with Celtic history and culture and work with events around the Southeast.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I do not remember a time when I was not reading. There were always books around, and my mother taught English. We also traveled frequently, so books were a handy way of spending time in the car.
In addition to fiction, I read a lot on history, cultures, and the sciences. I am fairly dangerous in trivia, as long as it is not pop culture.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I bounce between genres depending on my mood. My favorite author is Robert Heinlein. Hos work is challenging, and tended to push boundaries we still haven’t reached today. I am also a big fan of Doug Preston and Lincoln Child’s books. My guilty pleasures as of late have been Rick Gualtieri’s Tome of Bill series.
My motivations in writing have always been to write for myself. I have used it as a way to process life and events in a different way, and work through the scenarios we see. There is nothing like standing in an airport watching thousands of people to get inspiration. I have a story in mind triggered by walking out of the hotel at Dragon Con a few years ago, and seeing a few traumatized ladies there in town for the Baptist convention.
I have really gotten into reading other indie authors of late. Seeing it out there, and my wife catching me doing a little writing, pushed me to clean up and publish some work. I think the indie publishing environment is giving people who would never have any other opportunity to share their stories and views. The slight rough edge on some of the work gives it a more real texture. Of course, sometimes its still just tofu.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My current book is the first in a series about a young wizard stripped of his powers, and banished from his home. He is pushing his way through a slightly twisted version of our world. Using loose interpretations of multiverse theory, I push an idea on how all of the old gods and mythological creatures could still be with us, and sometimes in our space, sometimes in theirs. It’s a bit of dark humor thrown into an urban paranormal mystery.
The title is ‘Bound and Hagged’ and is part of the ‘Home Summonings’ series. All of the titles are bad puns, but they also get to the heart of the narrative.
I’m also starting a series free on my website of ‘Melvin’s Mangled Myths.’ Melvin is a character from the series who is an angel, and a muse. But his versions of history are not always quite right.
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