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Interview with Jim Beck, author of “Patient Zero”


About Jim Beck

Jim Beck is a freelance writer and produced screenwriter who resides in Burbank, California with his loving wife, rambunctious son, and cute little dog named Monster. He has written for Cartoon Network’s Pink Panther & Pals, produced a short zombie film and independent feature film that was recently selected for Sundance, and is currently awaiting the release of his first direct-to-dvd creature feature.

Jim’s screenplays have placed very high (and in some cases, won) in contests conducted by Cinescape Magazine, Project Greenlight, Acclaim TV, Acclaim Film, and Writer’s Boot Camp, among several others. In the case of Writer’s Boot Camp, he was awarded a one year writer’s fellowship to develop future projects.

Jim runs his own website (www.blackroostercreations.com) and has self-published two full novels,Patient Zero and Virgil: A Superhero Tale. He is currently prepping his third and fourth, a supernatural story called Beneath and his own unique take on the classic Jekyll & Hyde tale. He is also the creator of two ongoing TV In Prose series, Alter Ego and Pest Control, which are books given the television treatment, split into seasons and episodes.

In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies, having open-heart surgery (though it was not his choice), playing video games, and searching the universe hoping to find more spare time.

You can find out more about him and his work at http://www.blackroostercreations.com

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Patient Zero is about a single father who submits to a nanotechnology procedure in order to help treat a brain tumor. After the procedure, he finds himself slowly turning into a zombie, and must protect his son from a quickly developing outbreak.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

I had been watching a bunch of zombie movies and realized that most of them stuck to a similar formula: either the zombie outbreak had already occurred before the start of the movie or it happened very quickly after a few minutes, and then a group of survivors would band together to help fight the infected. I wanted to do something different, a story that’s more personal in nature.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My wife, family, and friends. My wife reads everything I write and gives me honest feedback, even when my writing is a bit subpar. My family and friends are there for me in pretty much any way I need.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

This is the first full novel I’ve written, and I come from the screenwriting world, so I guess the answer would be writing prose. It’s an interesting change, to say the least.

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

Once I finish a first draft, I eat a cat. If a cat is not available, my family goes out to dinner somewhere for BBQ or mexican or whatever.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

The entire world and everyone in it.

What are you currently working on?

I am finishing a superhero novel called Virgil: A Superhero Tale, which will be released in either February or March. After that, I’ll be working on a supernatural thriller called Beneath, my own take on Jekyll & Hyde, and new episodes of my TV in Prose series, Alter Ego and Pest Control. I also have a serial killer story called Victim 34 and a superheroish story called Indestructible, but those are only in the planning stages.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

For writers, I’d say make sure you’re writing each day and create a website that looks professional to help draw in fans. For readers, take a chance on self-published books (hint hint).

What are some of your long term goals?

The only goal I have right now is to keep writing. The most important thing for me is to see my creations published, because I have a lot of stories to tell.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

So far, finishing my first full novel and actually being told that it reads like a “real” book. I was concerned with that, since screenplays have stricter rules and that’s what I’m used to.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

Being prolific, both with the writing itself and the number of ideas I have at any given time.

Biggest weakness?

Procrastination, which prevents me from writing about all my ideas as quickly as I would like. Plus, I don’t think I will ever be the kind of writer who can crank out a 100,000 word book. I get bored too easily and want to finish so that I can go to the next story. Another holdover from my background in screenwriting.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

As far as I know, this is the first zombie book told from the POV of the virus itself. I also tried to create a different experience for readers by featuring a single father and his son as the main characters, a slow transformation into a zombie, and the evolution of an outbreak as it occurs.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Only one? That’s too harsh. How about just one Kindle?

If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

Must I benefit from it? Because there’s this one day in September, about ten years ago…

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

In the past five years, I’ve gotten divorced and remarried, dealt with a meth addict, had a feature film made, written for a kid’s cartoon, and switched from writing screenplays to novels … so yes, I’d say I’m pretty different, but for the better.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

Never give up. Never surrender. And something about Grabthar’s hammer…

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

I should have moved to Hollywood to try my hand at screenwriting when I was much younger, before I had a bunch of responsibilities. Though, to be fair, my best ideas have come from the past five years or so.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Nothing right now, but if you want to e-mail me, I’ll be sure to answer. :-)

About Patient Zero

Patient Zero
Bob has a brain tumor.

Not to worry, though. He’s the prime subject for a new procedure involving nanotechnology. Microscopic robots are introduced into his body and effectively destroy the tumor. Job well done.

But there’s a catch. A virus lying dormant for years inside him is manipulated by the tiny machines and causes Bob to die and then be brought back to life as a zombie.

His transformation into one of the living dead is slow, first appearing as a skin rash and advanced arthritis. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the virus has mutated and Bob is slowly losing control. Now, no one is safe — not the neighborhood pets, his co-workers, even his son.

Told from the point of view of the zombie virus itself, this story of a single father, his son, and a zombie outbreak is a cautionary tale of advanced medical science and where it might lead us.

Interview with Alicia Singleton, author of “Dark Side of Valor”


About Alicia Singleton

Alicia SingletonBorn and raised in Philadelphia, the Howard University graduate embraced the written word at an early age. She credits this to her loving, older sister whom, while they were youngsters, made the author eat lotion on a regular basis. Realizing the need to sound-out the ingredients on the lotion label, Alicia stopped the lotion-eating practice, but continued to read the labels of the concoctions her sister brought for her to try. This early necessity to read flowered to a passion; hence, a writer was born.

The award winning author resides in Maryland with her wonderful husband and son.  Still an avid reader, label or otherwise, Alicia is hard at work completing her next suspense novel.  Her latest book is the suspense novel, Dark Side of Valor.  Visit Alicia’s website atwww.aliciasingleton.com.

Dark Side of ValorWebsite Twitter | Facebook | Library Thing |Goodreads | Amazon | YouTube LinkedIn | Powell’s Books | Simon & Schuster | BooksAMillion Official Tour Page

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Dark Side of Valor is about a former teen aged runaway, turned child advocate, Lelia Freeman. When she is summoned to Washington to serve on a subcommittee that aids children of a war-torn African nation, she stumbles onto sinister political secrets. She’s kidnapped oversees and must depend on a tall, dark handsome stranger to save her life. But he has secrets of his own.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Dark Side of Valor started off being a totally different novel. Initially, I did not choose to write about teen runaways and teen homelessness. The novel was originally about a woman held captive in a foreign country and she needed to escape back to the United States. So, I began to research runaways from foreign lands. Every time I’d type in the search parameters, books, reports and articles popped up about teen runaways and homeless teens. After several hours, I gave up and read one of the articles, then another, then a report, then a life account. After about an hour, I was sitting in front of the library computer blubbering. As I finished reading, I had to write their stories and out of their stories, Lelia Freeman was born.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

The 1.3 million homeless teen and youth on the streets of the United States each day and the 1.6 to 2.8 youth and teens that runaway from home each year. Before I began to do research for Dark Side of Valor, I had no idea theses statistics existed.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Spending time with family, not being stressed with drama and finding fulfillment and joy in life.

What are you currently working on?

The working title of my next novel is Returned to Bondage. Research for that suspense has taken me to a South Carolina swamp, a rice plantation where one of Mel Gibson’s movies was filmed, on a Civil War naval battle ship, and a graveyard. It was phenomenal! I hope to take readers on a thrill ride they won’t soon forget.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

Stick-to-itiveness and faith. After 18 years, I never gave up on my dream of contracting with a major publisher. Dreams become difficult to hold on to if they don’t come to fruition in a given time. My dream may have gotten waylaid over the years, but faith and never letting it die brought it to reality.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe. He’s was a brilliant genius. Although his life was tragic, the gift of his prose is priceless.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

Actually, I’ve learned several. Each is just as important as the other.
• If something is not a life crisis, then it’s not a life crisis.
• Being free from drama and toxicity is the best life anyone can live.
• Dreams are placed in your spirit to pursue and achieve.

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

Yes, not buying stock in Google and Microsoft when I was younger.

 

Click here to enter The Dark Side of Valor Contest for chance to win $125 in Visa Gift Cards!

 

Want to read a page-turning thrill ride?  Pick up a copy of Alicia’s award winning suspense novel, Dark Side of Valor.

 

“A well-paced novel of suspense that veers into romance and ends like a thriller.”

Kirkus Reviews

 

Order Dark Side of Valor today at:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indie Bound

or wherever books are sold.

Visit Alicia’s website: www.aliciasingleton.com

Email Alicia at: alicia@aliciasingleton.com

 

About Dark Side of Valor

Child advocate Lelia Freeman saves children for a living. As the director of ChildSafe Shelters, she ventures to abandoned squats and crackhouses to rescue teens from the hellish streets of Los Angeles. When she is summoned to Washington to serve on a committee that aids the children of a war-torn African nation, Lelia is kidnapped and becomes a political pawn in a sinister conspiracy. Oceans away from everything she knows, she must trust a mercenary to save her life, or die in the clutches of a psychopath.

Hunting, combat and staying alive are Elijah Dune’s specialties. Vengeance is his passion. Haunted by past demons, he’s travels to the Motherland to collect a debt. A debt that demands one payment. Death.

Caught in the crosshairs of a madman, Lelia and Elijah must survive the jungles of Zaire and the horrors of their pasts or be forever consumed by the DARK SIDE OF VALOR.

Interview with M.D. Cliatt, author of “The Public Pretender”


About M.D. Cliatt

M. D. Cliatt is a wife and a mother of two teenage boys. She lives in Central Pennsylvania where she is a staff attorney in a law school clinical program, and an adjunct law professor who teaches juvenile justice and legal writing. She used to be a public defender specializing in representing children, and for the most part, loved the work. She thrived in the heat of courtroom battle, but the highs were very high and the lows were very low and she burned out. Now, she spends time grading papers, supervising law students as they represent indigent clients in court and reading with her sister in their long distance book club.

The Interview

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

The story is about a fiery criminal defense attorney, Maeven Dayne, who specializes in representing juvenile defendants. When it comes to her job, she’s driven and passionate. When it comes to her family, she’s devoted, but her job is demanding and distracting. She pleases her husband when she decides to quit her job to spend more time with the family. But, on Maeven’s last day at work in the courtroom, a juvenile probation officer she despises drags a weeping young girl before an irritated judge for an unscheduled hearing while Maeven is packing up her things to leave. She is walking out of the courtroom, fighting her urge to turn around when she hears the probation officer had the girl incarcerated for weeks without notifying her parents or arranging for representation. Maeven can’t resist the girl’s pitiful pleas for help and intervenes.

She discovers people are profiting from imprisoning innocent kids. A whistleblower ends up dead, but he’s left clues. When her oldest son is beaten, arrested and detained on false charges, her husband receives a message proposing an offer: Maeven must quit the girl’s case, or they lose their son. She has to choose who to sacrifice.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

I was mad about the way the juvenile justice system works and how little families knew about it, so I started writing a juvenile justice legal guide for people in my community. A creative spring erupted in my mind while I was writing, and I couldn’t force myself to stay within the rigid lines of legal exposition. It seemed fitting because I spent more time using stories and analogies to explain to kids and their families what was happening to them in court. And, admittedly, I enjoyed the fictional narrative more.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My husband. He has always supported every crazy dream I spring on him. He didn’t laugh when I told him that I wanted to become a writer; he encouraged me and patiently plays the part of sounding board.

Your biggest critic?

When I’m able to pin them down to skim over my writing, my teenage sons lovingly offer a lot of constructive criticism. It’s only fair since I do the same for them when it comes to homework.

What are you currently working on?

I have three projects swirling around in my brain right now. With the help of my sons, I’m putting pen to paper–or fingers to keyboard–on a fantasy novel about a pregnant queen. I’m developing the plot for a sequel to The Public Pretender and flirting with a romance novel about a teenage runaway.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

The best advice I haven’t mastered is to write every day.

Biggest weakness?

Writing every day, even when my muse abandons me, so that I avoid losing the flow of my story and voices of my characters and so that I finish in a timely fashion.

About The Public Pretender

The Public PretenderWhen criminal defense attorney Maeven Dayne decides not to walk away from her job to defend a teenage girl with no family and no money, she not only finds herself fighting a corrupt juvenile justice system, but she winds up in the middle of a murder plot forced to choose between saving her client or her family.