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Joe Hunt

Goodreads Author

Born

Klamath Falls, OR, The United States

Website

http://www.joehunt.org

Twitter

joexhunt

Genre

Fantasy, Poetry, Children's

Influences

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Richard Brautigan, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Auster ...more

Member Since

January 2009

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Joe Hunt has an MFA in Poetry from UMass Amherst and a BA from Brigham Young. He teaches English at the University of Nevada in Reno, where he lives with his wife and three monkeys.

In his spare time, he plays pool and collects Simpsons Action Figures--if you're wondering what to get him for Christmas. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Joe Hunt Regarding "The Home for Magical H.O.B.O.E. Orphans": there's two answers--that blend together.

A. When I was a kid, in high school, my friends and I ha…moreRegarding "The Home for Magical H.O.B.O.E. Orphans": there's two answers--that blend together.

A. When I was a kid, in high school, my friends and I had a underground newspaper (or literary magazine).

Sometime during its heyday, I thought of the phrase "Scarecrow to the Aliens." Or--I had a little poem: "God put me on earth, to be a scarecrow-to-the-aliens."

That, somehow... That's why we don't have a ton of evidence about UFO's. Something's keeping them away.

So, sitting around, thinking "What would that entail?"--if you had that job. What would you actually do? Like an anti-lighthouse.

p.s. The original title of Hoboe Orphan book was "Scarecrow-to-the-Aliens." But, then: it took too long to explain ! -- so I changed it.

B. One time, I was sitting around, a little frustrated. (That my first book, Jaws of the Vortex wasn't selling well.) You know: the frustrated artist, penniless genius--like van Gogh.

So, I said to myself--thinking of Harry Potter and / or Series of Unfortunate Events. "They're always a bunch of stupid orphans." (Plus magical.) "I should just write a book called Magical...Hobo...Orphans."

It started off as a joke.

p.s. Could add a disclaimer--just like on Nacho Libre, where they say "I thought you hated orphans." I don't really. Just jealous of other writer's success. Like: the formula's so easy.

(And I also do think it's suspicious. I know why books contain orphans--so the adults are away, and kids have to empower themselves, to save the day. But I think: kind of a dumb trope.

If you wrote stuff more like real life: most people aren't orphans. So, in my books--even Jaws of the Vortex: Maybe the mother is dead. But...then, maybe father ineffectual, gone a lot. Have to do something, so he's not there to help. Anyhow !)

So, it started off as a joke. "The Home for Magical Hoboe Orphans." And I always have had a fondness for Hobos. I think they're funny. But some pretty good history, there, too--riding the rails, working during the Depression.

So, when I actually wrote the book: I made sure to put in a little real history. (Not making fun of homeless people, for example. I have met a number of them--and that's not a laughing matter. Tragic.)

So [again]: it started off as a joke, but then, I thought: "Okay. What if I actually was gonna write it. What would it look like? What would happen?"

C. I had another idea, around the same time--that blended in.

A little love story between two kids (orphans). One of them, the girl, sat around dreaming magical stuff. That her mother was an angel.

The boy: he was good at drawing. All he wanted to do was sit around drawing her, all day long.

So, then: she wanted to escape from the orphanage, go find her mother. He followed her (like a puppy-dog). Her mother happened to work in the museum. Then, created a Rudolph-like character. Guy works at orphanage (a little secret agent / spy-like), has to bring her back.

Conclusion: So, then, the whole book almost wrote itself !

Love story between girl and boy--going to find mother in museum.
A scarecrow-to-the-aliens.
Magical orphans.
Hoboes--who doesn't like? But they're not regular. Magical, secret agents.

It writes itself.(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Joe Hunt The best answer I've heard to this... (Sorry, forgot the guy's name.) Someone kinda famous said: "If I'm experiencing writer's block, I lower my stand…moreThe best answer I've heard to this... (Sorry, forgot the guy's name.) Someone kinda famous said: "If I'm experiencing writer's block, I lower my standards for a moment, and go on."

I kind of write in waves. I'll write rough sketches--inc. some good / solid (theoretically finished) stuff along with bullet points for stuff I need to fix later...Then go back later. Make a few passes through.

I actually write in different colors. So, when it's finished: that's black. If I'm not satisfied with it, I leave it in blue. I put notes to myself--stuff I really need to figure out--in red (or green highlights).

Plus, you know... Sometimes best to walk away--if you're getting tired of stuff--and come back later.

I like to work on a few different projects at a time--whatever I'm excited about. But, then...sometimes stuff doesn't get finished that way.(less)

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Joe Hunt’s books

Average rating: 4.42 · 19 ratings · 5 reviews · 8 distinct works

	The Home for Magical H.O.B.O.E. Orphan Secret Agents it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Men's Tales 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Jaws of the Vortex (Tales of the Kings of the Underworld, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The King of Snow 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Toy Santa Claus Could Not Make it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The House of the Midnight Sun 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The King of Snow vs. the Snowman Horde 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Project X: The King of Neverland 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Joe Hunt…

8 posts
Joe Hunt's Blog

How I half-suspect Brandon Mull plagiarized from me a little.

I'll tell you a funny story.

I started reading Brandon Mull's Sky Raiders (Five Kingdoms), just standing in Wal-Mart. And I was like "What the hey? I think he might've plagiarized from me."

It's not entirely impossible.

You know, his first publisher was Shadow Mountain.

I submitted my book "The Jaws of the Vortex" to them, once or twice. Series title: Tales of the [Six] Kings of the Underworld.

His boo Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 12, 2015 11:31 • Tags: brandon-mull, five-kingdoms, jaws-of-the-vortex, plagiarism, sky-raiders, vortex

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Series by Joe Hunt

Tales of the Kings of the Underworld (1 book)
by

Joe Hunt (Goodreads Author)

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings

Joe is Currently Reading

Joe Hunt is currently reading

The Wonderling

by Mira Bartok (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Oct 11, 2017 12:36PM

Joe Hunt is currently reading

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

by George R.R. Martin

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Joe Hunt said: " Somehow... in the beginning, I didn't love this one as much as the first three.

Maybe because... I think I know the reason why:

It starts off -- not with our favorite characters, but people we haven't heard anything about. So, a little off-putting.

The ...more "

Dec 22, 2015 04:41PM · see review

Joe Hunt is currently reading

The Lost Country of Sight

by Neil Aitken (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 12, 2015 11:34AM

Joe’s Quotes

“The science of government it is my duty to study, more than all other sciences; the arts of legislation and administration and negotiation ought to take the place of, indeed exclude, in a manner, all other arts. I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.”
― John Adams, Letters of John Adams, Addressed to His Wife

tags: books, first-amendment, politics, presidents, scholarship, science, studty

697 likes

“She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn't fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school's graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn't scare her. It made her feel alive.”
― Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil

tags: death, villains

417 likes

“What's the one thing Evil can never have... and the one thing Good can never do without?”
― Soman Chainani, The School for Good and Evil

tags: good-vs-evill

198 likes

“Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river, each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged”
― Jalal ad-Din Rumi

tags: diversity, religious-freedom, tolerance

730 likes