Ask the Author: John Isaac Jones
Answered Questions (6)
John Isaac Jones
Many years ago when I was growing up in Alabama, I was in the Boy Scouts with my friend Don Tidwell. During summer camp one year, our troop did a three-night camping trip into Cahutta Wilderness near Anniston, Ala. On the morning of the third day, we all packed up and started hiking the three miles back to the base camp. When we arrived, Don was not among the group. Scout leaders, alarmed that Don was missing, call the local rescue squad, civil authorities and other such entities and they launched an all out search, but he was never found. That story, properly developed, would be the makings of a good mystery as to what happened to Don.
John Isaac Jones
I've lived in South Florida off and on for a total of probably 15 years. I first lived at Lantana, then at Boca Raton, when I worked for the tabloids. The first time I read about the Chillingworth murders, which occurred in nearby West Palm Beach in 1955, I was totally immersed in the story. Although I first heard the story in 1975, the gory details and the drama of the incident stuck in the back of my mind until last year, 2016. That's when I decided to write a novel based on it This is the story of powerful state Judge Curtis Chillingworth and his wife Marjorie, a prominent socialite in Palm Beach, who were abducted one night from their beach home, then taken out to sea and drowned in the most horrible way imaginable. I should have review copies available in about a week, if anyone is interested.
John Isaac Jones
I've wanted to be a writer ever since I can remember. I can remember being nine years old and sitting on the front porch of my childhood home and trying to write poetry about spring time. When I was in college, I wrote an epic poem about the human love of money. Then, I spent a million years travelling the world and writing stories about everything from Hollywood scandal to household tips with the tabloid magazines. When I left the tabloids, I started writing fiction. After five novels, a short story collection and probably sixty or seventy short stories, I think you could say that all I ever wanted to do in this world was write! If I had had to spend my life selling lawn mowers at Sears all those years, rest assured I would have put an end to it long, long ago.
John Isaac Jones
At the moment, I am waiting to hear back from my editor about the rewrites on The Hand of God, my soon-to-be-released true crime novel. This a novel is based on the famous Chillingworth murders in 1955 in Palm Beach County, Florida. In the murders, a state judge and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Chillingworth, were abducted from their beach home in Manalapan, then taken out to sea where they were drowned. This story is based on the life of one of the murder's participants. His name was Bobby Lincoln. The murders have been called Florida's Crime of the Century!
John Isaac Jones
Read and write! Before you start a novel, master the short story. Nothing quite prepares you for building a large house like building a smaller one first. Learn to love the beauty of words as they lilt and sway across the printed page. Get as firm grasp of story structure early on; understand that beginnings and endings are related and all the middle does is connect the beginning and the ending in some sort of logical progression; know how to understand and explore the depths of your protagonist; be equally adept at creating monster bad guys too. The best summary of a good novel I ever heard was this: "Well-built!! Well-thought!! Well-written!!
John Isaac Jones
I've never had writer's block. I've had days when the words would come slower than on some really good days, but I've never had the experience of being totally incapable of producing any words. Maybe, I'm lucky, but I can't remember the time, even as a reporter, when I couldn't produce some words.
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