INTERVIEW: Jonathan Maberry

Famed for his work within the Martial Art field, Jonathan is breaking out in more ways than one with his current offering, Patient Zero.

Martial Arts meets Zombie as his principle protagonist not only kicks the zombie ass, but its head, its arms and its legs into next week.

Here we chat to him about his work for everything from Marvel to Disney and get to see his ecclectic record selection for the pure enjoyment of Patient Zero....

FALCATA TIMES: Writing is said to be something that people are afflicted with rather than gifted and that it's something you have to do rather than want. What is your opinion of this statement and how true is it to you?

JONATHAN MABERRY: I don’t agree at all. Writing is a gift. If someone considers it a burden, then they should buzz off, stop writing and get out of the way of those of us who are having a lot of fun with it. I get tired of the ‘tortured artist’ mentality. It’s a bit self-indulgent.

Being able to articulate thoughts and feelings is liberating, cathartic, and uplifting. It’s also a great to connect with people who may have had similar life experiences but can’t necessarily articulate them. Great friendships are forged that way, and some of my closest friends started off as fans.



FT: When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?

JM: Just about the time I was able to form my first thought. Before I could write I was telling stories with toys and drawings. I’ve never wanted to be anything else, though like most writers I did a lot of other jobs along the way to pay the bills, until I was able to become a full-time writer. I’ve been a bodyguard in the entertainment industry, a college teacher at Temple University, a jujutsu instructor, a police/SWAT trainer, an Expert Witness, a medical information specialist and a graphic artist.


FT: It is often said that if you can write a short story you can write anything. How true do you think this is and what have you written that either proves or disproves this POV?

JM: Not sure if any statement like that will be true across the board. I know a lot of short story writers who find writing a novel incredibly difficult; and I found making the transition from novels to short stories a challenge. I’m a big believer, however, that if a writer studies the form he/she should be able to take a reasonable swing at writing just about anything.


FT: If someone were to enter a bookshop, how would you persuade them to try your novel over someone else's and how would you define it?

JM: That’s a marketing thing. If I’m there doing a signing, I chat with folks about the book and how it came to be written, and about how much fun I had writing it. Fun is infectious. Often I talk to potential customers about the genre and about books in general.

If I’m not there, it all comes down to the book design and jacket copy, and authors have very little to do with that.

Often, however, I can entice them there by buzzing the book online. I maintain a pretty strong social networking presence and I love talking books. Not just mine, either. I’m as much a dedicated reader as I am a writer, so I like talking books in general. Sometimes that alone –that enthusiasm—draws people to my writing.

I’m not a big fan of the hard sell, though.


FT: How would you "sell" your book in 20 words or less?

JM: PATIENT ZERO is a mainstream thriller with fun, action, romance, really bad guys, action, and a lot of heart.


FT: Who is a must have on your bookshelf and whose latest release will find you on the bookshops doorstep waiting for it to open?

JM: My must-have list is long. But I’ll beat down the door to get the new James Lee Burke book. He’s always been my favorite.


FT: When you sit down and write do you know how the story will end or do you just let the pen take you? ie Do you develop character profiles and outlines for your novels before writing them or do you let your idea's develop as you write?

JM: Yeah, I usually know the ending and the core story right from the beginning, but I almost always start with characters first. Even though I write thrillers, my books are character driven. Characters have to be real people and I have to know them inside and out. Once I know who my story is about, I set about building a story that will challenge then, hurt them, warp them, damage them…and I discover how the characters manage to cope with the stress I put them through.

But even when you plot a book out, the story is organic. My outlines seldom match my finished product. Sometimes the story changes because of the characters, sometimes the logic you had at the outset was skewed and as you learn more about the subject it demands a change in plot. Sometimes you just come up with a better idea. And sometimes –very often—there’s a point in the writing where you realize that you’ve laid down enough of a trail of breadcrumbs that the reader should be caught up, and that’s when you need to cook up a few twists that they won’t see coming but which are logical and sensible.


FT: What do you do to relax and what have you read recently?

JM: I unwind with theater, music (lots of music), books, and spending real quality time with my wife, Sara Jo.

My recent reading list includes a lot of comics. I just started writing for Marvel and I’m having fun catching up on all the characters and storylines. And I’m reading several novels for possible cover quotes.


FT: What is your guiltiest pleasure that few know about?

JM: I dig the music of Laura Branigan. Corny, cheesy post-disco stuff, but I love it.


FT: Lots of writers tend to have pets. What do you have and what are their key traits (and do they appear in your novel in certain character attributes?)

JM: Sadly, my cat passed last year. Cobbler was nineteen. So, I wrote him into PATIENT ZERO. Now he belongs to the hero, Joe Ledger, which means he’ll get to live forever. Cobbler was a marmalade tabby who, as a kitten, had been marked down to $4.95. I couldn’t pass up a bargain counter kitty, so I bought him and he was my good friend for almost twenty years. He was not, however, an agile cat. Only cat I ever saw fall off the arm of the couch –repeatedly.


FT: Which character within your latest book was the most fun to write and why?

JM: Without a doubt ‘Toys’ was the most fun to write. He’s the right-hand man of the main villain, Sebastian Gault. Imagine Jack from Will and Grace, and then give him a high intellect and the cold blooded viciousness of a scorpion. That’s Toys. He’s funny, chic, and complex.


FT: How similar to your principle protagonist are you?

JM: Hmm. Joe Ledger is younger, thinner and better looking, but we do share a lot of qualities. We both went through similar childhood traumas; we’re both advanced practitioners of martial arts. He’s a better shot, I’m less of an emotional basket case.


FT: What hobbies do you have and how do they influence your work?

JM: I’m a pop culture geek, so my hobbies are built around film, music, TV, comics, books. I also teach jujutsu (I hold an 8th degree black belt and have been studying for over 45 years). And I draw. The pop culture stuff informs a lot of my writing and keeps it relevant. The martial arts factors into all of my fiction, and I teach workshops on how to write good fight scenes. And the art gives me a good visual sense that allows me to ‘see’ the scenes I’m writing.


FT: Where do you get your idea's from?

JM: Everyday life. Every writer I know has more ideas that he knows what to do with. Imagination is a muscle that, once used and toned, is constantly functioning.


FT: Do you ever encounter writers block and if so how do you overcome it?

JM: I don’t believe that writer’s block exists. If it did, how come it never hits newspaper reporters and feature writers? Writers block is an excuse people use when they either don’t know (or have yet to learn) the habits of orderliness, process and discipline in writing.


FT: Certain authors are renowned for writing at what many would call uncivilized times. When do you write and how do the others in your household feel about it?

JM: I write every day from eight in the morning until five. On weekends I write a couple of hours, and sometimes I’ll get up and write in the middle of the night if an idea won’t leave me alone.


FT: Sometimes pieces of music seem to influence certain scenes within novels, do you have a soundtrack for your tale or is it a case of writing in silence with perhaps the odd musical break in-between scenes?

JM: I wrote PATIENT ZERO with the following albums in heavy rotation on my CD player: RAINDOGS by Tom Waits; VARIOUS POSITIONS by Leonard Cohen; MURDER BALLADSD by Nick Cave; WISH YOU WERE HERE by Pink Floyd; KING BEE by Muddy Waters; WAITING FOR HERB by the Pogues; LONDON CALLING by the Clash; and CITIZEN STEELY DAN.


FT: What misconceptions, if any, did you have about the writing and publishing field when you were first getting started?

JM: I believed the propaganda that creative people aren’t able to be good at business. I’ve since learned different.


FT: If music be the food of love, what do you think writing is and please explain your answer?

JM: Writing feeds the soul.


FT: What can you tell us about the next novel?

JM: THE DRAGON FACTORY is the second Joe Ledger novel. It deals with scientists using cutting-edge genetic science for ethnic cleansing and to restart the Nazi Eugenics program. It’ll be out in April 2010.


FT: What are the last five internet sites that you've visited?

JM: IMDB, Facebook, Twitter, Marvel and Indiebound.org


FT: Did you ever take any writing classes or specific instructions to learn the craft? If so please let us know which ones.

JM: I studied journalism at Temple. I learned discipline, the value of deadlines and good research skills. I never became a newspaper writer, however. I never took a creative writing class.


FT: How did you get past the initial barriers of criticism and rejection?

JM: Rejection isn’t personal. The agents and editors don’t know me, so why should I take rejection as some kind of personal attack? Ditto for the critics. Sometimes I get annoyed at a reviewer, but that’s rare. I let it pass and look to the future.


FT: In your opinion, what are the best and worst aspects of writing for a living?

JM: It’s the best job in the world. There are frustrations, but that’s true of any field.