Heres my latest interview I completed this morning: Name: TJ Weeks Age: 31 until March 18th. Where are you from: I’m originally from East Texas around Tyler/Longview area, but now I reside in San Angelo, Texas. A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc: Well I started out writing children books when I was 12 years old & my school published 1 out for me. I don’t remember what the name of it was; I only remember it was about a school field trip & a rocket ship. I started getting into music & joined a band as a vocalist. So after a while of writing lyrics I started publishing books of poetry. I was in the military for 8 years, spent 18 months in Iraq. I was an Infantry soldier. Outside of deployments I ran the qualification ranges & was a combative instructor. As far as education, I graduated from Harmony in East Texas. On my family life, I’m married & we have 6 beautiful children. 5 girls & 1 boy that range from 4 years old to 17 years old. My wife is 3.5 years older than I. On my novels within the last 5 or 6 years I’d have to say they’re horror/psychological suspense/mystery/crime. I’ve been lucky enough to have several fans/followers on all my work. Fiona: Tell us your latest news? TJ: I signed with Bar Publishing & got to re-release all my novels & short stories. Allison’s REVENGE is my latest release that released out yesterday (02/01/2014), which is a sequel to one of my big hits “Deadly Mountain”. Fiona: When and why did you begin writing? TJ: I started writing when I was 12 years old & I’d have to say it’s always been one of my passions. Especially when writing horror. It’s always great seeing all the different reactions you get from all the readers. Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer? TJ: In my opinion anyone that can pick up pen & paper is a writer. What they write may not be everyone’s cup of tea & it may not make it passed a few sentences, but there was still an idea behind it. I considered myself an author the day I sold over 100 of my novels that didn’t consist of just family & friends. Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book? TJ: My first book I think was more of a school project, but my first actual novel was inspired by a lot of things I’ve been through & a lot of things I witnessed when I was overseas. Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? TJ: I’d say my writing style would consist of a shock factor. I’m all about shocking people with the craziness that goes through my head. Fiona: How did you come up with the title? TJ: Well with “Deadly Mountain” I chose the title because it’s where the horror worked itself into the story. “Devil Days” was because it consisted of both the devil & a matter of days they town people had to try & figure things out. Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? TJ: I’d have to say I want people in general to understand the concept that the world today is crazy & even though in my writing I tend to take things to extreme measures, its still things that happen all the time. Everyone always thinks it can’t happen to me, which is why I place most of my characters as that person you wouldn’t think it would happen to. Fiona: How much of the book is realistic? TJ: Quite a lot actually. All of my novels I’ll always do a lot of research behind them. I’ve even sat down with a lot of people doing interviews with them on situations that I’ve never been through, but wanted it to be as close to realization as possible when I brought it into the story. Which goes back to that “it’ll never happen to me” statement you hear a lot from people. Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? TJ: It’s based on both & I’ve also wrote on a simple dream that I’ve had. Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most? TJ: That’s kind of hard to narrow down, but I’d have to say that Steven King, Dan Brown, James Patterson & Iris Johansen are my biggest influences. Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? TJ: It would be a debate between Steven King & Dan Brown, but I’d probably have to go with Steven King just because he always tells it how it is. Fiona: What book are you reading now? TJ: Actually I’m reading on an anthology “Holiday Horror 2014” that I was also a part of along with 12 other authors from around the globe. Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? TJ: KD Jones is an author that has sent me her novel “Family Tales” & even though the subject of the book isn’t something that really intrigues me, I couldn’t put it down. It’s one of the first real page flippers I’ve got a hold of in a while. Fiona: What are your current projects? TJ: I’ve got several that I’m working on at the moment to include “Silent Screams, Monster Diaries, The Uproot & Soul Feeders”. Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members. TJ: Andrew Liebling. I’ve never met him, but I do believe he owns every novel & short story I’ve ever put out. He mails me all the paperbacks for me to sign them. He also sends people to my facebook author page constantly (facebook/tjweeksofficial) to show them my work. He shares every update, book cover, release date, book signing, etc. To me fans like that are what make you. It’s amazing to me that there are people out there like that & never expect anything in return. Fiona: Do you see writing as a career? TJ: I’d like to think it’s the best career. Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? TJ: Not really, I had several idea’s behind “Allison’s REVENGE”, but I used them all in alternate endings. Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? TJ: I guess writing is like my crack or as I like to refer to it as word crack. You can use words to paint pictures or you can make it seem like a movie that you’re in going through everything along side of each character. Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us? TJ: “Silent Screams” is based on a serial killer that taunts a cop that has been on the force for many years. I’m also working on one “Hell’s Carnival” & it’s based on a young man that dies & sentenced to work for Hell’s Carnival. The devil tortures all the people sentenced to serve Hell’s Carnival by giving them certain urges. Each urge they can’t resist turns them a little more into a monster. Which in the main characters case, it’s a vampire clown named “Alistair Shadows”. Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? TJ: I’d have to say staying on track is my biggest challenge only because when I’m writing any story I have a ton of ideas behind where I want it to end & I want to use all of them, but don’t want to cluster or overdue it. Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? TJ: Steven King is my favorite author. He’s very detailed behind his writing style & you can always paint a perfect picture of not only the character, but even the surroundings where the character is placed. Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)? TJ: I do travel quite often doing book signings. I haven’t been able to make my way around to all the places I’d like to go, but all in time. Fiona: Who designed the covers? TJ: I’ve designed just about all of my book covers, minus a few that Bar Publishing designed for me. Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book? TJ: Not having enough time in the day. Seriously I don’t think writing the books are difficult, it’s always ending the book & having to leave the characters & move on to the next. After spending so much time building each character, sometimes you don’t want to leave them behind. Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? TJ: I learned the more situations you can write about, the more alert you are in real life. I’ve also learned that I have a lot of fans/followers that support me & want to be updated daily on progress made on each project. Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers? TJ: I’d have to say for anyone that wants to be a writer/author to look more for the constructive criticism & don’t take it to heart. Always use it to build your skills. Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? TJ: Thanks for all the support, you all have been wonderful & can’t wait to meet everyone at future book signings. Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read? TJ: I think the first book I ever read was from the Goosebumps series. Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ? TJ: I love playing pool, camping, fishing & hiking. Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching? TJ: Walking Dead is about the only TV show I really watch. Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music TJ: I love Mexican food & when I say Mexican food, I mean ANY kind of Mexican food. My favorite colors are black & red. As far as music, I listen to a little bit of everything except rap, but I mainly listen to metal & country. Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done? TJ: I would want to be a psychologist. Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it? TJ: tjweeksofficial.wordpress & my websites are facebook/tjweeksofficial , queloquepasa/Tj Here are some links to some of my novels: amazon/Allisons-Revenge-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00I64NTB4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-1&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Holiday-Horror-2014-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00HI3RD4I/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-2&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Deadly-Mountain-TJ-WEEKS-ebook/dp/B00HP94TD8/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-3&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Devil-Days-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00HX6X5AG/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-8&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Satan-Claus-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00HX8NFQ8/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-4&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Silent-As-Night-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00HX70AE4/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-5&keywords=TJ+Weeks amazon/Horror-Lust-TJ-Weeks-ebook/dp/B00HX8NGWG/ref=sr_1_9?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391358261&sr=1-9&keywords=TJ+Weeks
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:45:25 +0000