Jaime Buckley asked Brent Jones:

What is it about contemporary fiction that attracts you to write in this genre?

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

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