Q: In one sentence, tell me something that describes you as a person?
A: I have a passion for the game.
Q: How many books have you written? How many of those are published?
A: I’ve just finished my third book for the Phuk~N~Shanks series. The first book, Cluster Phuk, was published January 20, 2017.
Q: Do you have an upcoming release? If yes, tell me the title and impending release date.
A: The other two books in the series are Super Sport and Taker. I hope to have Super Sport published by late summer and Taker by the end of the year.
Q: Tell me about how you come up with your titles for your stories. Do you create the title before or after you write the book, and does it ever change from the initial title?
A: I try to title my books with something eye-catching, but how I came up with the title changed with each book I wrote. For the first book, I heard someone say, “Cluster F#@k” and it hit me that I could create a story about an Asian-American detective named Phuk. It just struck me that there are so many fun things I could do with this.
I chose Super Sport because car and boat enthusiast equate the Super Sport brand with luxury, power, and speed, all themes of the book. An Ocean Yacht 50 Super Sport plays a prominent role in the story.
Taker is just that. It is about a predator who kidnaps women. The police profile name is “Taker.” I realize the name is similar to the movie Taken. The story is different, but both play on our worst fears. This is the darkest book I’ve written, but in the spirit of Noir, the story is in the journey. I make no secret that the good guys win in the end.
Q: Out of all your characters in all of your books, who/what (sometimes a setting can also be an important “character”) do you think is the most interesting and why?
A: Gill Phuk. He is the first character I created. Gill is a reliable, tough-ass cop who gets the job done. He’s the flawed, self-destructive protagonist who, in the end, cares more about right and wrong than saving his job.
Q: If you could “create” your own genre of what you write, what would you call your books?
A: “All hell breaks loose” chaos noir. I enjoy writing about the human psyche in challenging, chaotic situations, particularly when dealing with immoral lowlifes, and the path this ultimately takes the characters.
Q: Without quoting your back cover synopsis, tell me about the last book you published.
A: Cluster Phuk is a crime fiction novel about a kid, Bobby, who takes a toy from his dad’s office. Bobby did not know that his dad had hidden a military grade chip in the toy. Some very bad criminals want the chip and come looking for the toy.
Phuk and Shanks are good detectives with problems of their own. But something has gone haywire in this quiet little town. First, they receive a case about a missing chip in Port Charlotte, then a double homicide in Punta Gorda, only to find the crimes are connected.
When the trouble starts, Bobby’s father must rely on old friends, as well as Phuk and Shanks to save his family, and things go crazy from there.
Q: Tell me something about yourself that is separate from writing.
A: When I have a job to do, I finish it. I’m willing to take risks to get the job done. And, I have an affinity for guitars and muscle cars.
Q: Who is your favorite Author?
A: Clive Cussler. I find his books hard to put down.
Q: What is the last book that you read? (Not counting anything you wrote)
A: Lee Child’s Echo Burning
Q: When writing, do you have a system or something you plan, or do you just write?
A: I let the story write itself. At least, the first draft. I don’t want to think about anything but getting the story down on paper. I did learn quickly from my first novel that I need to keep notes and plot every chapter, almost like a screenplay.
I was about 12 chapters in on Cluster Phuk when I realized I was having trouble remembering what happened when and with whom. Keeping notes jogs my memory, and if necessary, I can easily find the chapter for more details.
Then, round 2. Go back and rewrite. Remove the imperfections, fill out the scenes, enhance the characters, start the first editing phase, and most important, scrutinize my writing as viewed in the eyes of my readers.
Round 3: reflect and repeat.
Q: Why do you write?
A: I write because I’m having fun. It started with the first story. That work led to two more novels with the fourth one in progress.
I enjoy the noir genre in a contemporary setting. I want to produce fast-paced, psychological thrillers that paint of picture of our society today and delve into our emotions and behaviors when confronted with disturbing, catastrophic situations and sexual motivations.
Q: Do you read your own work a lot? If so, what does it do for you?
A: I do read my work. My writing system leads me to the rewrite and then the next rewrite. Next, my wife (and editor) takes over. She conducts line, organizational, and developmental editing. Then it’s back to me to continue in the story’s development based on her comments and suggestions, and read once more. We’ll go through three rounds of editing, rewriting, and re-reading. I've read my work in full five times before it goes to publishing, and once more after publishing.
Q: What is your favorite type of music? Is there one genre (or song, band etc...) that brings out your creativeness more than others?
A: My favorite music is late 70s and early 80s hair metal bands. I love the screaming guitars and ballads from bands like Black Label Society, Disturbed, and Godsmack.
Q: As an author, I find that the hardest thing to write (for me) is the synopsis that will be on the back cover or book’s description. When you write, what is the hardest line to write, the first line, the last line or the synopsis for the book?
A: The synopsis. I wrote what I believed was a good synopsis for Cluster Phuk. But when I read the synopsis Archway Publishing created, I was floored. So much better than mine.
Q: Any final thoughts that you want to give to your fans or even future authors?
A: To my fans, thank you for your support through this journey. I would love to hear from you. You can email me at jpwolfeauthor@gmail.com. I look forward to getting to know you.
Authors: Don’t be afraid to say what you feel.