Ask the Author: Gary F. Jones
Answered Questions (11)
Gary F. Jones
I collected my mail and returned to my kitchen, where I stood by the waste basket and tossed the advertising junk mail until I'd disposed of all but one letter. it was from the IRSA.
Gary F. Jones
Now that I'm retired and no longer worried about a distant future or supporting a family, I'd go to the land of cheap dreams (a land in which booze is subsidized) and go at it
Gary F. Jones
Behave: the biology of humans at our best and our worst.
It is not light reading, but you will find hints to answers of many current events. For instance, the amygdaloid, which handles responses of the fight or flight variety, is sending messages to the rest of the body before the prefrontal lobe, which handles rational thought, logic, and self control, has had a chance to process the information. Repetition of the same stimulus under the same conditions can give the prefrontal lobe the upper hand, thus training is critical and may be the answer to the horrific problems created when an officer sees a man hold something in his hand. Is it a cell phone, a wallet, or a gun? Without sufficient training and in an area or position that increases anxiety or fear, the officer could shoot before he is even aware he has pulled his gun.
It is not light reading, but you will find hints to answers of many current events. For instance, the amygdaloid, which handles responses of the fight or flight variety, is sending messages to the rest of the body before the prefrontal lobe, which handles rational thought, logic, and self control, has had a chance to process the information. Repetition of the same stimulus under the same conditions can give the prefrontal lobe the upper hand, thus training is critical and may be the answer to the horrific problems created when an officer sees a man hold something in his hand. Is it a cell phone, a wallet, or a gun? Without sufficient training and in an area or position that increases anxiety or fear, the officer could shoot before he is even aware he has pulled his gun.
Gary F. Jones
When I was about 35 and living in another city, a bank in the town I grew up in sent me a letter about my old account. I hadn't used the bank since I was in high school, yet the bank requested immediate action on a large discrepancy between their records and mine.
Given the news stories about banks over the last 30 years, that might be the kernel of an intriguing story.
Given the news stories about banks over the last 30 years, that might be the kernel of an intriguing story.
Gary F. Jones
I'd go with Shrek and Fiona because it was funny and looks weren't important to them. Hepburn and Tracy in Adam's Rib is, for me, a close second, probably because it was believable. The couple had a problem they had to work their way around.
Gary F. Jones
On the last book, I took advice given at a workshop: when in doubt, throw nasty problems at your protagonist and antagonist and see what they do. Keep doing that until you come up with a story line and plot that appeals to you.
Gary F. Jones
You do what you love to do.
Gary F. Jones
Read widely, write frequently, and take advantage of extension writing workshops run by universities and other groups. Be patient. My first book took over 8 years, the second about 4.
Gary F. Jones
I'm working with my editor to put the finishing touches on a book (A Jerk, A Jihad, And A Virus). It's about a veterinarian and graduate student who becomes involved in an attempt to retrieve stolen samples of a hybrid-virus. It was meant to be a thriller, but everything seems to turn to comedy in my hands.
Gary F. Jones
Inspired may be the wrong word. I sent out a Christmas letter detailing all of the stupid things I and the family had managed to do over the previous year. I'd thought that there might be the basis for a book in some of the letters. My inspiration to finally try to write a novel was a series of mergers and downsizing in the animal health industry, and I foolishly thought that writing might be another source of income should I get the axe.
Gary F. Jones
The ideas came from my family and clients in Wisconsin. The plot was the result of frustration over how science and ideas are handled by the media.
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