Featured Interview With T. K. Jones
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am currently a professional archaeologist living in Yuma, Arizona, but I was born in Whittier, California and lived most of my young life along the Snake River in Southern Idaho. In my twenties, I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and worked on the Las Vegas Strip in an Italian clothing shop selling fur coats and accessories to celebrities like Johnny Depp, Celine Dion, James Brown, and B. B. King. While working in that shop, I caught the travel bug and visited Central America extensively. It was during these trips that I fell in love with archaeology and decided to go back to school and get my degree. I’ve been digging up cool stuff since then.
I now live in Yuma with my wife of nearly 15 years and my kids. They keep me busy.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I came to writing in my thirties, but my fascination with books began in high school when I started to read the short stories of Hemingway and de Maupassant. The turn towards writing really began when my brother signed me up for a Yahoo account and used the author Wilkie Collins as a username. I bought in to the name and fancied myself a writer.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As I’ve aged, I’ve been drawn to the great mystery writers. My first real loves were Wilkie Collins, Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens, but then I found Robert Ludlum, Stephen Hunter, and Lee Child and liked the action. I am still a big mystery reader, but I also like nonfiction that focuses on survival. I recently read Skeletons on the Zahara by Dean King and found it to be totally engaging.
While I love the books of the authors I mentioned above, the inspiration for my books comes from my experiences as an archaeologist all over the West. I have met so many interesting, quirky, delightful people in my wanderings, and I find that they are the best inspiration.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book, Down the Mine Shaft: A Quartzsite Mystery, follows Officer Jim (Mac) MacDonald, a small-time cop in a dusty Arizona town called Quartzsite, as he discovers a faceless body in the bottom of a mine shaft just outside of the town. Without any clues, Mac turns to the quirky townspeople of Quartzsite to help him. In particular, he singles out a crusty old miner named Clifton Orb who doesn’t exactly like the idea of wearing any pants. Together, they set out to solve the crime and stay out of harm’s way.
The feedback I’ve received on the book has focused on Clifton. Apparently people like old men with no clothes. I knew that Clifton would be a fun character, but I had no idea he would be so beloved by the readers. When I started to write this book about five years ago, Clifton was the only character that I knew just had to be in the book. I’m so glad I made that decision early on.
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