Ask the Author: Jonathan Macpherson
Answered Questions (18)
Jonathan Macpherson
Hi Martha, thanks for the question. The thrillers came first. As my children began to read chapter books, they asked if I could write something for them. A trip to Rottnest Island provided the inspiration - seeing the children interacting with quokkas (adorable marsupials), I was struck with the idea of a young girl’s adventures with the quokkas, and the first book in the children’s series came soon after.
Jonathan Macpherson
I'll have a shot. Here goes:
Unable to resist his smile, she leaned forward and as they kissed, she felt his warm tongue slowly going cold. She pulled back to see small, widening holes in his cheeks, worms squirming inside, and as she ran, her cheeks began to tingle all over.
Unable to resist his smile, she leaned forward and as they kissed, she felt his warm tongue slowly going cold. She pulled back to see small, widening holes in his cheeks, worms squirming inside, and as she ran, her cheeks began to tingle all over.
Jonathan Macpherson
Most of the book worlds that come to mind are not places I would want to visit! If I stepped back to my childhood, perhaps I'd visit Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. What would I do? Eat, of course!
Jonathan Macpherson
Sometimes, but purely for research.
Jonathan Macpherson
I don't have a favourite. I love strong, smart characters in extraordinary situations, characters who, even despite themselves, have an irresistible attraction to each other. But if I were pushed to name a few, I'd say Karen Sisco/Jack Foley, Noah & Allie Calhoun, and for kicks, Jack and Wendy Torrence ;)
Jonathan Macpherson
Hi Jenny, thanks! There wasn't a single inspiration, rather the exploration of different characters. Concepts came while exploring the key characters. As they grew, aspects of the story emerged that I began to focus on, that demanded focus. And a lot of the time, that exploration starts with simply asking "what if...?"
Jonathan Macpherson
It's unlikely, though I wouldn't completely rule it out.
Jonathan Macpherson
Possibly. I'll keep you posted.
Jonathan Macpherson
It's incidental, really. It comes from researching the character. Cakes was in a situation that triggered that kind of a response from him. Some of the other humorous stuff, like the way Betts attempts to free himself, was also out of the situation. The devices he used were the only ones I could think of that would have been at his disposal that he enable him to attempt to escape.
Jonathan Macpherson
All up it was about a year and a half, with breaks in between. I first wrote it as a short, 10 page screenplay. Then I rewrote that as a short story, which grew into the first draft of a novel. I write 3 drafts of the novel.
Jonathan Macpherson
Thanks! I am a very visual person and when i write, it's often like I'm watching a movie. So yes, I would like to see it as a movie. Not sure whom I would like cast as key characters. If I was pushed, maybe Tom Hardy or Matt Damon as Betts, Aaron Paul or Jonah Hill as Mitch, Jeff Bridges Mel Gibson as Doc, and Kathy Bates would be great as Canella.
Jonathan Macpherson
I was exploring/developing Doc's backstory and wanted him to be involved in drug smuggling. I thought he should use his surgical/medical "skills", and was trying to think of something horrifying that had never been done before. I then imagined the implant (having the entire scalp removed, then replaced on top of the implant), then did extensive research and discovered (to the best of my knowledge) THAT hadn't been done before.
So it was actually formed out of character development/backstory, as was MItch, who was the unlucky drug mule. It became so intriguing to me that Mitch developed into a key character. I wanted him to have a very good and plausible reason for importing drugs, rather than the usual ie money.
So it was actually formed out of character development/backstory, as was MItch, who was the unlucky drug mule. It became so intriguing to me that Mitch developed into a key character. I wanted him to have a very good and plausible reason for importing drugs, rather than the usual ie money.
Jonathan Macpherson
It's a fictional device based on a combination of existing technologies. As far as I know, no-one has created this device yet.
Jonathan Macpherson
Research and experimentation. When you research something deeply enough, you find you have more ideas than you can actually use and you have to cull some of them, "kill your darlings," as Faulkner said.
And if I have done the research and I'm still stuck, I might need to experiment, combine ideas, incorporate ideas that might seem totally unrelated, look at ideas from different angles, that sort of thing.
And if I have done the research and I'm still stuck, I might need to experiment, combine ideas, incorporate ideas that might seem totally unrelated, look at ideas from different angles, that sort of thing.
Jonathan Macpherson
It's the whole process. Losing yourself in a story that seems to be telling itself. Then fleshing it out, rewriting it over and over until it flows smoothly. Then actually getting it out there to readers and receiving positive feedback, knowing that the story got to them too.
Jonathan Macpherson
I'm working on another thriller about a lawyer who begins to unravel a conspiracy that seems to have been orchestrated by a powerful client, but goes far beyond that.
Jonathan Macpherson
The ideas come from daydreaming, from sitting down with paper and pen and asking questions: what would it take to make somebody do this? What if this thing happened? How could a person get out of this situation? What about this dilemma? What if I combine these ideas? That sort of thing.
Jonathan Macpherson
It was a collision of two ideas. First, I had the idea of a cop who is implanted with a bugging device and is forced to spy on his colleagues. That device evolved into a high tech camera/taser/microphone that provided live feed to the bad guys, who could kill him instantly if he made a wrong move.
I had also recently read a lot of news stories about drug mules who'd been arrested. Not one of them had a really good reason for taking such a risk, especially in countries that carry the death penalty for that crime. I asked myself what would be a good reason for doing something like that? The only thing I could think of was to save someone else's life, a child's life.
So I had a cop, a drug mule, and then the crime syndicate behind the drug mule came and the story came from there. So it was the intersection of a couple of ideas.
I had also recently read a lot of news stories about drug mules who'd been arrested. Not one of them had a really good reason for taking such a risk, especially in countries that carry the death penalty for that crime. I asked myself what would be a good reason for doing something like that? The only thing I could think of was to save someone else's life, a child's life.
So I had a cop, a drug mule, and then the crime syndicate behind the drug mule came and the story came from there. So it was the intersection of a couple of ideas.
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