Ask the Author: Jonathan P. Thompson
Answered Questions (6)
Jonathan P. Thompson
I was sitting in my home office in Durango, Colorado, working on a story about the Four Corners Methane Hot Spot, which is a Delaware-sized plume of potent greenhouse gases that is hovering over my homeland, and is probably mostly the result of oil and gas development. And I saw this tweet that said that 1 million gallons of wastewater had spilled from a mine near Silverton, where I once lived, and it was headed my way via the Animas River. It turned out to be 3 million gallons. Even so, while it was alarming, I didn't consider it to be extraordinary: Similar spills had happened in the Animas many times in the past. And then there was that methane hotspot... Anyway, the spill turned out to get a huge amount of international attention, but most of it was lacking in context. This "disaster" was just the most visible piece of a massive, region-wide pollution disaster that has been unfolding for over a century, among a rich regional history. I wanted to get that context out there, and a book seemed the best way to go.
Jonathan P. Thompson
I drink coffee, of course. But no, really I just read a lot and also watch a lot of movies. Actually, I find film to be more inspiring than reading, for some reason.
Jonathan P. Thompson
I try to write something else. So if I hit a wall in my journalistic writing, I turn to fiction, or vice versa. If deadlines don't allow for that sort of thing, I just start writing my way through the wall, even if every word is shit. Eventually it will work itself out. Maybe.
Jonathan P. Thompson
I'm working on my first ever novel, which I would describe as a literary environmental mystery thriller for the post-truth Trump-era. I'm toying with different titles: Truth and Lies Behind the Slickrock Curtain, or maybe, When Darkness Calls. Although I imagine that it will be something entirely different if/when it gets published.
Jonathan P. Thompson
Write a lot, read a lot, live a lot, and drink a hell of a lot of coffee.
Jonathan P. Thompson
The constant learning, followed closely by being able to go to work without any pants on. Being able to do my job in a coffee shop, or on a rock precipice with an amazing view, or in my home office where I look out at a variety of birds and squirrels frolicking in the little forest out back.
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