Interview with Adam Jackson

How do you discover the ebooks you read? The very first book I read as an ebook was "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." It was a PDF scan of the book that I downloaded for my HP iPAQ PDA. This was before smart phones and tablets took over the industry and everyone had a Palm Pilot or other device. At any rate, I read the book and thought it was a wonderful way to read and still do. I realized then that it was the future for readers, it is better for the environment and because it's electronic it will be cheaper and reach a wider audience. These days, it's so easy to find ebooks and I get them from a lot of ebook retailers like Smashwords, iTunes and the Nook store.

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote? Not the first story, no. I remember the first character I ever created. His name was Harold Fox and he was a private investigator. I was about 8 years old when I created him. The adults in my life loved it because even at that age there was a realness and grit to him that was beyond my experience for that age.

How do you approach cover design? When I put a cover together I usually go with a "less is more" philosophy. The cover should reflect elements of the story in a simple and direct way; letting the reader know a bit about what they're in for while not giving away too much of the story.

What author(s) influenced you the most? The earliest author I remember being captivated by was Isaac Asimov. His story "The Last Question" is one of the single best works of Science Fiction ever written. As I began to read more and more, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series taught me to be fearless and bold in my storytelling. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles taught me that eroticism could be tasteful and exist outside the romance genre. Poets like Dorothy Parker, and Charles Bukowski are my favorites and made me fall in love with juxtaposed, allegorical wordplay.

When did you first start writing? I've been writing since the second grade. I started with short narratives in the Star Trek universe (I've always been a Trekkie) and later branched out into my own stories and characters. By the time I was in fourth grade I was interested in novel writing and completed my first novel by the sixth grade. It has never been published but a copy of it does still exist and I often wonder how I would interpret and re-work my old ideas with 25 years more experience adding to my voice.

What's the story behind your latest book? Something Old, Something New is loosely based on my own experiences. I lived in New York from the year 2000 until the year 2002 and I met my ex-wife there. I fell in love with the city, and with her amongst the backdrop of Central Park and the city that never sleeps. London is a place that I've always been in love with and visiting and becoming immersed in the culture and history of the UK is the number one thing on my bucket list, so Amelia being from London just made a lot of sense to me. Their story is timeless and captures that time in everyone's life when waking up next to someone and being a part of something bigger than yourself becomes paramount and you'll fight tooth and nail to make it happen.

What motivated you to become an indie author? I've been an indie author for my entire life. My blog, Musings of the Mad (http://maddeningmuse.blogspot.com), showcases that. Writing is more than what I do. It's who I am. It comes as naturally as breathing and the drive to tell story after story and pen verse after verse is as much a part of me as my blue eyes. I would never change it.

How has Smashwords contributed to your success? Smashwords has given me a platform to market myself professionally and get my stories out there to more people. There's nothing an author wants more than to have his words read.

What is the greatest joy of writing for you? Creating is the joy. Taking a world and the characters that live in it and bringing them to life is intoxicating. Whether my work is read by no one or by thousands, the joy is in the telling. Having said that, there is a whole different sort of joy associated with the concept of people actually reading the work and talking about it. I have readers in Paris and Australia and Chile. It's amazing to me to think that they may be discussing something I wrote from my desk here in Columbus, Ohio.

What do your fans mean to you? My fans, if any, would mean the world to me. An artist, author, painter, singer or poet is nothing without their fans. It is true that I will always write because it's who I am. If there are people reading it and wanting more then I count myself as a success and successful people are nothing without those that helped them get there.

What inspires you to get out of bed each day? My family. My children and my partner push me every day to be more than I was the day before and without them I wouldn't be answering this question.

What are you working on next? Next up will be a poetry collection. I haven't worked out the theme just yet, but the working title is "Every Stitch Tells a Story." I'll be returning to the local spoken word and slam scene here in Columbus to promote it and some of those works may show up on You Tube in a promotional capacity as well. Stay tuned!

Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.