Ask the Author: Brent Jones
Answered Questions (12)
Brent Jones
So glad to hear you're enjoying Go Home, Afton. There will be plenty more twists and turns and lots more action before this series is through.
Oh, I don't know if Afton is crazy. I wouldn't use that word. I prefer to think of her as ambitious and disturbed, with a moral compass pointed in a direction slightly different from the rest of us.
I can't say for certain at this point if book two, See You Soon, Afton, will be available via Net Galley. It's possible, but if not, you could always contact me directly and ask really nicely for a review copy. ;-)
To answer your main question here, I allude to some what led me to create Afton in the Acknowledgments. There will be more detail in the Afterword at the end of book four, Time's Up, Afton.
After binge-watching true crime, I wanted to create a character just arrogant enough to think he (or she) could get away with committing a series of perfect murders. The question became, who would be the last person anyone would suspect of such a thing, and what would his or her motivations be for committing such violent acts? I settled on a small-town children's librarian, who uses her thirst for murder as (in her mind) a means to do good in the world.
—Brent
Oh, I don't know if Afton is crazy. I wouldn't use that word. I prefer to think of her as ambitious and disturbed, with a moral compass pointed in a direction slightly different from the rest of us.
I can't say for certain at this point if book two, See You Soon, Afton, will be available via Net Galley. It's possible, but if not, you could always contact me directly and ask really nicely for a review copy. ;-)
To answer your main question here, I allude to some what led me to create Afton in the Acknowledgments. There will be more detail in the Afterword at the end of book four, Time's Up, Afton.
After binge-watching true crime, I wanted to create a character just arrogant enough to think he (or she) could get away with committing a series of perfect murders. The question became, who would be the last person anyone would suspect of such a thing, and what would his or her motivations be for committing such violent acts? I settled on a small-town children's librarian, who uses her thirst for murder as (in her mind) a means to do good in the world.
—Brent
Brent Jones
Hi Debi,
Thanks for checking out Go Home, Afton. I hope you enjoy it.
Great question.
All four parts in The Afton Morrison Series will be released this year. In fact, they're all available for pre-order right now in most places eBooks are sold.
Go Home, Afton (June 25, 2018)
See You Soon, Afton (August 7, 2018)
Nice Try, Afton (September 17, 2018)
Time’s Up, Afton (October 29, 2018)
This release schedule is also available on my website, at the back of each book, in my social media cover photos, and here on Goodreads, too.
I hope that helps, and I look forward to your review.
—Brent
Thanks for checking out Go Home, Afton. I hope you enjoy it.
Great question.
All four parts in The Afton Morrison Series will be released this year. In fact, they're all available for pre-order right now in most places eBooks are sold.
Go Home, Afton (June 25, 2018)
See You Soon, Afton (August 7, 2018)
Nice Try, Afton (September 17, 2018)
Time’s Up, Afton (October 29, 2018)
This release schedule is also available on my website, at the back of each book, in my social media cover photos, and here on Goodreads, too.
I hope that helps, and I look forward to your review.
—Brent
Brent Jones
I find this a difficult question to answer, as I don't read a whole lot of fantasy books. Most of what I read takes place in the same world where I already live.
The go-to answer for many, I assume, is Hogwarts, but I have a funny feeling that butterbeer is a bit of an acquired taste, and after one too many, my quidditch game would go to shit.
Hanging out with killer clowns and finding portals back to 1958 would be kinda neat, so the fictional Maine (including Derry) by Stephen King might be kinda fun.
The apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead might be fun, too, if only because I find myself constantly thinking I'm smarter than Rick and his crew. Seems like they make a whole bunch of bad choices and spend most of their waking hours wandering aimlessly.
Sounds like Gatsby put on one hell of a party. Might be fun to travel to his mansion for a little bit.
The short answer is I just don't know. Boring as it may be, I kinda like traveling around the world I'm already in.
The go-to answer for many, I assume, is Hogwarts, but I have a funny feeling that butterbeer is a bit of an acquired taste, and after one too many, my quidditch game would go to shit.
Hanging out with killer clowns and finding portals back to 1958 would be kinda neat, so the fictional Maine (including Derry) by Stephen King might be kinda fun.
The apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead might be fun, too, if only because I find myself constantly thinking I'm smarter than Rick and his crew. Seems like they make a whole bunch of bad choices and spend most of their waking hours wandering aimlessly.
Sounds like Gatsby put on one hell of a party. Might be fun to travel to his mansion for a little bit.
The short answer is I just don't know. Boring as it may be, I kinda like traveling around the world I'm already in.
Brent Jones
It's very possible that some of my upcoming releases will not so neatly fall into the "contemporary fiction" genre.
While I do like to set my stories in modern times, some of the stories I'm working on will also feature elements of thrillers, horror, and possibly urban fantasy. I'd also make the argument that there are coming of age and literary elements in my current work, "The Fifteenth of June" and "Fender."
What attracts me to setting my stories in modern times is that I tend to write about not only what I know, but things that scare me. (And I don't mean murderous clowns) I'm talking about real life stuff that impacts us all. Things like death, depression, addiction, broken families and relationships... We've all heard that truth is stranger than fiction. So I like to explore some of these darker real world themes in my writing—usually through a flawed protagonist—to not only satiate some of my own curiosity, but to put my own fears to rest and find closure.
I could arguably accomplish the same thing writing in other genres. Surely there are characters in fantasy stories that overcome such tribulations, or historical fiction, or even romance or thrillers or science fiction for that matter.
In the end, I don't want to classify myself as an author who writes only contemporary fiction. But I do think there will always be a tendency in my writing to focus on dialogue and character-driven plots (man versus self), and those concepts lend themselves well to contemporary fiction... less time world-building, and more time developing characters and their internal struggles.
I hope that answers your question. Thanks for asking!
—Brent
While I do like to set my stories in modern times, some of the stories I'm working on will also feature elements of thrillers, horror, and possibly urban fantasy. I'd also make the argument that there are coming of age and literary elements in my current work, "The Fifteenth of June" and "Fender."
What attracts me to setting my stories in modern times is that I tend to write about not only what I know, but things that scare me. (And I don't mean murderous clowns) I'm talking about real life stuff that impacts us all. Things like death, depression, addiction, broken families and relationships... We've all heard that truth is stranger than fiction. So I like to explore some of these darker real world themes in my writing—usually through a flawed protagonist—to not only satiate some of my own curiosity, but to put my own fears to rest and find closure.
I could arguably accomplish the same thing writing in other genres. Surely there are characters in fantasy stories that overcome such tribulations, or historical fiction, or even romance or thrillers or science fiction for that matter.
In the end, I don't want to classify myself as an author who writes only contemporary fiction. But I do think there will always be a tendency in my writing to focus on dialogue and character-driven plots (man versus self), and those concepts lend themselves well to contemporary fiction... less time world-building, and more time developing characters and their internal struggles.
I hope that answers your question. Thanks for asking!
—Brent
Brent Jones
I can't say that I've segmented my reading list into summer-specific titles, but I can give you a sense of what I'm reading right now:
I just finished 11/22/63 (Stephen King) and The Help (Kathryn Stockett).
I'm almost finished with Freak (Jennifer Hillier) and Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray).
And next on my list are Thrilled to Death (LJ Sellers), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson), Boomer's Bucket List (Sue Pethick), The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins), and Choose Awareness (Dana Gore).
I just finished 11/22/63 (Stephen King) and The Help (Kathryn Stockett).
I'm almost finished with Freak (Jennifer Hillier) and Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (John Gray).
And next on my list are Thrilled to Death (LJ Sellers), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson), Boomer's Bucket List (Sue Pethick), The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins), and Choose Awareness (Dana Gore).
Brent Jones
Seeing people engage with and discuss something that popped into my head one day and found its way onto paper.
Brent Jones
Probably the mystery of the disappearing daylight hours. I'm finding it much more difficult to write my second novel, as I'm now balancing my writing time against author appearances and other marketing initiatives, not to mention it's warm enough to start cycling again. But I feel like the-author-who-never-finishes-his-work is a cliché as old as time, so perhaps I'll go with, "The mystery of why I'm so short and have such a huge head." There's got to be some kind of plot or conspiracy at work there...
Brent Jones
Lots of alone time. I need to let my mind wander without structure—often on a long car or bike ride—then come back and jot down whatever I've thought of. Plotting to death, writing prompts, and sitting in front of a screen never seem to help.
Brent Jones
Thanks for the question, Dana!
My wife went to a music festival in Orlando last November, and this was right at the time I was thinking of shutting down my online business.
I had thought for a while about writing fiction, and with the house to myself, I let my mind wander.
At the time, I was listening to a song from the Dexter soundtrack called "Astor's Birthday Party" by a composer named Daniel Licht. The song made me think (over and over again) of a guy around my age—a little younger, maybe—looking out his apartment window into the night sky. His laptop was nearby, and he was about to record a video of his drunken thoughts for some reason. The apartment was sparely furnished and rundown. He wasn't exactly miserable, though—he had grown accustomed to isolation.
I began to wonder why he was that way. What happened in his life that made him crave loneliness? To prefer his own company? Did he have a drinking problem perhaps?
I began to write down my ideas, and before long I had the basis for "The Fifteenth of June."
That guy I had envisioned became Drew Thomson, and a lot of his struggles in the book revolve around a central theme that you often talk about—finding his truth.
Since writing the first novel, I have a notepad with about a dozen ideas for subsequent releases. It's kind of like the more time I spend allowing my mind to wander from one fictional world to the next, the more times I say to myself, "Hmm . . . that might make an interesting story."
My wife went to a music festival in Orlando last November, and this was right at the time I was thinking of shutting down my online business.
I had thought for a while about writing fiction, and with the house to myself, I let my mind wander.
At the time, I was listening to a song from the Dexter soundtrack called "Astor's Birthday Party" by a composer named Daniel Licht. The song made me think (over and over again) of a guy around my age—a little younger, maybe—looking out his apartment window into the night sky. His laptop was nearby, and he was about to record a video of his drunken thoughts for some reason. The apartment was sparely furnished and rundown. He wasn't exactly miserable, though—he had grown accustomed to isolation.
I began to wonder why he was that way. What happened in his life that made him crave loneliness? To prefer his own company? Did he have a drinking problem perhaps?
I began to write down my ideas, and before long I had the basis for "The Fifteenth of June."
That guy I had envisioned became Drew Thomson, and a lot of his struggles in the book revolve around a central theme that you often talk about—finding his truth.
Since writing the first novel, I have a notepad with about a dozen ideas for subsequent releases. It's kind of like the more time I spend allowing my mind to wander from one fictional world to the next, the more times I say to myself, "Hmm . . . that might make an interesting story."
Brent Jones
I'm currently balancing the last minute details of publishing my debut novel while crafting the manuscript for my sophomore release. I hope to have my second novel published by the end of June.
Brent Jones
I don't. When I get stuck, I walk away for a bit. Writing is a bit like a fart—if you have to force it, it's probably shit.
Brent Jones
The only difference between a writer and an aspiring writer is that a writer writes . . . an aspiring writer thinks about writing.
If you want to write, do it. Don't let anyone or anything stop you, and don't do it for fame or money—write because you want to write. Make it a habit, do it consistently, and see what you come up with. The more you write, the better you'll get.
If you want to write, do it. Don't let anyone or anything stop you, and don't do it for fame or money—write because you want to write. Make it a habit, do it consistently, and see what you come up with. The more you write, the better you'll get.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more