Writers and Readers discussion
This topic is about
Jeff W. Horton
Writer Q & A (Archived)
>
Q and A with author Jeff W. Horton
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
1) Why did you choose to write about the end of civilization for your novels?
2) What are your favourite comic books? (As a comic book geek I had to ask).
Good Morning A.F. Thank you for having me this morning!
I'd like to say that writing three apocalyptic/dystopian novels was something that I had planned out, but it wasn't, it just happened. I wanted to write around subject matter that I either knew something about, or that I found interesting. Given how many ice storms we have in the Carolinas, losing power during the winter months is an annual event. On one occasion power was out for nearly a week, and I started asking myself how events might unfold if the world suddenly had to live without electricity, something we take so for granted, permanently.
On a more positive note, human beings can sometimes be at their best when things are at their worst. During The Great Collapse, humanity doesn't just surrender when civilization collapses; people find ways to adapt, to overcome, and to continue. One of the main characters in The Great Collapse even finds love and marries, before founding a movement that will continue for five hundred years, even into The Dark Age.
The Last Prophet came about because of my longtime appreciation for the rich imagery and epic story told in the book of Revelation in the Bible. While some other very successful novels had already been written on the subject, such as the Left Behind series, I thought it would be interesting to tell the story in the first person from one of the character's perspective, in this case, a character based on one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. This enabled me to explore how an ordinary person might react to suddenly being thrust upon the world stage and face the Antichrist in such a dramatic fashion.
In regards to comics, I'd just like to point out how many blockbuster movies have come out in recent years based on comic book characters. I think more than anything else it's a nod to comic writers, many of whom in my opinion, can writer better stories than many Hollywood script writers.
I suppose some of my favorites were the Avengers, Justice League, etc. I also went through a stage where I enjoyed reading some of the old Conan stories as well. At one point, I had well over a thousand comic books!
Mod
Thank you for having me this morning!
I'd like to say that writing three apocalyptic/dystopian novels was something that I had planned out, but it wasn't, it just happened. I ..."
I can relate to the ice storms inspiration. We've lost power many times from winter storms.
And you don't have to sell me on the brilliance of comic writers; people like Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller are some of favourites.
I'm always telling my children that it's all about the story. So many movies are coming out of Hollywood that lack a good story. It seems to me that all that many movies have going for them is the action, which in and of itself is not bad, as long as it has a substantive story to go along with it.I thought Sum of All Fears and Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy had a good blend of action and story.
I thought I would include some information about my novels. I'd be happy to include some excerpts if you would like to see them...About My Novels
The Great Collapse-Description
The Great Collapse is an apocalyptic novel set in the not-too-distant future. When a powerful electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and a massive solar flare bathe the Earth in energy, the result is the permanent loss of modern technology across the planet. Survivors learn how to survive and then to thrive in their new reality.
As I did research for my first novel, The Great Collapse, and my second novel, The Dark Age, I was astonished to learn how vulnerable our national infrastructure and our civilization itself are to powerful electromagnetic pulses and solar flares. In 2008 a report requested by Congress and was completed by the EMP Commission. It confirmed that the threat of a single nuclear warhead detonated high in the atmosphere somewhere around Kansas was real, and that it could potentially take out the United States' national power grid.
The Great Collapse received a five-star rating from Midwest Book Review.
Find The Great Collapse on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97...
Find The Great Collapse on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Collapse-...
Find The Great Collapse book trailer on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2aenY...
The Dark Age-Description
In the year 2025, the greatest civilizations to ever exist on Planet Earth were wiped out in a moment by the unlikely combination of a powerful electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and massive solar flare, which permanently renders advanced technology across the planet useless.
Now fast forward five-hundred years and you'll find yourself in The Dark Age, which is set in a world where humanity survives by the sword, the bow, and the arrow, while secretly hoping that a legend about the Great Oracle is true, and that civilization will one day return to the Earth. The Dark Age is a story about good versus evil, about self-discovery, perseverance, and self-sacrifice, all in an effort to save the world from a fate worse than death.
"As the world falls to pieces, evil will flourish and only the bold will dare stand in its way. "The Dark Age: Survivors of the Pulse" is set on a post apocalyptic Earth... "The Dark Age" is a riveting blend of science fiction and fantasy, recommended reading." Midwest Book Review
Find The Dark Age on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
Find The Dark Age on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Age-Surviv...
Find The Dark Age on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeG5qT...
The Last Prophet-Description
Imagine learning that you had been ordained by God to become one of the last two witnesses mentioned in the book of Revelation at the end of days. Suppose it was you that would stand face to face with the antichrist, call down plagues, and warn humanity to turn from following the beast, and to announce the approaching return of Jesus Christ.
The Last Prophet, written in the first person from the point of view of John March, tells the story of an ordinary man who discovers that he is about to lead an extraordinary life. He will face supernatural enemies and his own inherent fears and weaknesses on his journey to becoming, The Last Prophet.
"This book reminded me a bit of the Left Behind Series. I was quickly caught up in the tale... The plot is well developed and interesting. The characters are believable. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others."
Reviewed by Lynn F. for Readers Favorite
"..."The Last Prophet" tells the story of John March as he discovers his duty as one of the prophets of the book of Revelation, to stand against the Anti-Christ...he must stand for faith in a time where people will have none. "The Last Prophet" is a riveting religious thriller, highly recommended." Midwest Book Review
Find The Last Prophet on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...
Find The Last Prophet on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Prophet-Je...
Find The Last Prophet on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIXH_-...
Mod
My favourite Clancy novel is Debt of Honour. I love the complexity of that book.
Hey Jeff, nice to meet you and thanks for so much for all this info. My sister lives in North Carolina and has done so for over 20 years (and is married to a lovely man from NC state!) She talks a lot about "Southern Writers", do you consider yourself to be a "Southern Writer" in that literary sense? At first glance your novels certainly seem to share some of the themes I understand Southern Writing to include, themes to do with the significance of family, a sense of community and one’s role within it, a sense of justice, the region's dominant religion (Christianity) and the burdens/rewards religion often brings, issues of racial tension, land and the promise it brings, a sense of social class and place?
Thanks:)
I haven't read any Clancy novels since Rainbow Six. I'll have to take a look at Debt of Honor. On a related subject, I'm also looking forward to that new movie, Act of Valor, starring active duty Navy Seals.
Marianne wrote: "Hey Jeff, nice to meet you and thanks for so much for all this info. My sister lives in North Carolina and has done so for over 20 years (and is married to a lovely man from NC state!) She talks a..."
Hi Marianne!
It's nice to meet you as well! NC is certainly a great place to live. I imagine your brother-in-law was excited to see Duke pull out a win over UNC the other day (ACC basketball is huge here...)
I suppose that I share many traits of a Southern Writer, though I'm not sure I would necessarily classify my style as 100% Southern Writing. Certainly elements of faith & family are prevalent in my writing, as is how both can shape and influence people and events.
I enjoy exploring what drives and motivates people, and how they react in the face of catastrophe and danger. In The Great Collapse, humanity must adapt to a new reality as it faces the end of civilization as it had been for centuries. In The Dark Age, individuals risk everything for the chance to restore civilization and peace to the world. In The Last Prophet, an ordinary man must come to grips that he has been chosen to become a great prophet. He has to risk suffering and death doing battle with the Antichrist, while also dealing with an internal struggle with self-doubt and his feelings of inadequacy about his new role.
Hello, Jeff! Hopefully, I'm not cutting in line or anything...Well, unfortunately, I haven't read your stories so I can't ask any specific questions. "The Last Prophet" does sound fascinating, though. I've never read the Left Behind series but I did read Revelations as a teenager, entirely by my own choice. I was quite fascinated by it.
Anyways. My question is more about your genre, at least for the first two.
Do you find it difficult to... separate yourself from end of the world drama? Myself, I overly empathize with those kinds of stories sometimes. I've had to stop books or movies that told of great catastrophes and characters who lost loved ones, and what not, because I could put myself in that position too easily and would get disconcerted.
As I haven't read your books, I don't know if you delve into that feeling as much as some books, but in general, do you find it difficult to distance yourself from end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it topics?
Hi Mia!Thanks for stopping by!
Well, when I started writing The Great Collapse, the prequel to The Dark Age, I readily saw that it could become a bit depressing, and that was certainly not my objective! While there certainly is a great deal of death and suffering suggested throughout the novel, I try and not dwell on it any more than necessary. Instead, I chose to accentuate some of the more positive qualities in human nature such as compassion, friendhsip, and self-sacrifice.
I haven't read any of your books either but the discussion here is very interesting. I noticed you've had 3 books published in about a year (according to the dates). You couldn't possibly have written them all in that short time span, or maybe you did. If you did, how many hours a day do you spend writing.
Hello, Jeff. As an older writer, it seems to me that reading audiences have never before been so hungry for dark dystopian stories. Have you any thoughts on why readers crave this type of material?
Hi Erma and welcome!The order in which the books were published is actually not the same order in which they were written. I had the idea for The Dark Age back around 2008/2009 so I actually wrote it first. A friend of mine expressed an interest about The Great Collapse, mentioned in The Dark Age, after he read an early draft of TDA. As a result, I began The Great Collapse, which I completed within six months or so. It took nearly a year after The Great Collapse was finished before it was actually published.
Believe it or not I'm in pre-submission editing now on my latest book, Tales of Eden, an adventure/fantasy novel which I think will appeal to teens and young adults. I also have a great concept for a fifth novel, a techno-thriller about cyber warfare, which I plan to begin once Tales of Eden has been published.
Most of my writing is late evening/early morning hours...
Germaine wrote: "Hello, Jeff. As an older writer, it seems to me that reading audiences have never before been so hungry for dark dystopian stories. Have you any thoughts on why readers crave this type of material?"Hi Germaine and welcome!
I'm really not sure why there has been so much interest in dark dystopian novels. I suspect the reason for such interest in dystopian fiction may be multi-faceted.
Perhaps many authors, like myself, have attempted to sound alarms about various threats to humanity (i.e. nuclear war, planet-killing asteroids, EMP blasts, solar flares, etc.) in the hope of averting such catastrophes.
Also, with the economic challenges we've experienced, I suspect that the dystopian and paranormal novels that have been so prevalent are proving to be effective distractions from the economy, tensions in the middle east, etc.
I thought I would post a few excerpts, starting with The Great Collapse. Enjoy!Excerpt from THE GREAT COLLAPSE:
“Yes, Habib, what is it?”
“We have been contacted by the American State Department. They are demanding that we return their EMP device to them immediately, or they will consider it an act of war and act accordingly.” Nouri considered the news for a few moments.
“Well then, that is good news isn’t it? It sounds like the Americans suspect that we have something to do with the missing device, but they do not yet have enough evidence to act. What has our response been?”
“The standard denial, sir. The minister of foreign affairs has told the Americans that we have no knowledge of any stolen EMP device. In fact, he asked why the Americans would create such a device to begin with.”
Nouri stroked his moustache, as he was prone to do when pondering weighty matters.
“Good, good. This will not last long, but it should buy us some time. What of any American military movement?”
“They are in the process of moving aircraft carriers into the Persian Gulf. There has been increased chatter among the members of NATO. It sounds like the Americans are moving their military into position to attack us.”
“We must act quickly, Habib. Contact the president and the Supreme Leader. Let me know when you have them on the phone. We must receive authorization to act the moment we are in position.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Excerpt from The Dark Age:“Clansman Julius, may we talk for a few moments?”
The warrior turned to Brother Francis, and sat down on the ground next to him at
the fire.
“Yes, Brother Francis, what can I do for you?”
“I am curious about something, about the Warrior Clan. I know that the Holy Father has a relationship with Lord Sarkoth, but other than the short time I was at the Enclave, and our time together on this trip, I have spent little time with clansmen, so I know next to nothing about you. Don’t get me wrong, you are an impressive group of people; fiercely loyal, dedicated, and as committed to rebuilding civilization as we are.
What I am curious about is your religious beliefs. Do you believe in God? Do you have any religion at all?”
“I suppose we are like any group of people… no two members believe exactly the same thing. There are a number of clansmen that worship the Christian God, and
certainly Lord Sarkoth does nothing to discourage this practice. Some clansmen find peace in the creative arts, learning the ancient art of calligraphy, or writing poetry, while others prefer to simply meditate. Since the time of The Great Collapse and the
founding of the Clan, we have all been focused on perfecting our fighting skills in order to survive, and to help teach others how to survive. As you know, we also value and understand the need for civilization to once again flourish and thrive in our world.
Throughout this Dark Age, we have done what we could to preserve knowledge of the ancient ways.”
“That is incredible. Do you maintain libraries? Are warriors taught to read and write as well?” asked Francis.
“We have books Brother, and everyone learns the basics of how to read and write. Extensive reading however, is a luxury that we can ill-afford during these difficult and trying days. We have collected books when possible and practical to do so, but most were burned during the Great Collapse or since by urbas, who care nothing whatsoever for learning or knowledge. They seek only to prey on others, to take what they want from whomever they want. They are a vicious, unprincipled lot.”
“But they are human beings, Julius. You talk about them as if they are animals, not men.”
“They may have been men once, long ago, Brother, but now, they are nothing but murderers, thieves, and worse. They hold no value for life, no morals.”
“Perhaps that is only because they do not know God, and his great love for them.”
Julius was starting to get agitated with the priest. “Well, I can tell you what would happen to you Brother, if you decided to go and tell them about your God. They would take you, strip your clothes off of you, and kill you for fun!”
Writers and Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The Great Collapse (other topics)The Dark Age (other topics)
The Last Prophet (other topics)
A voracious reader growing up, he enjoyed reading everything from comic books to The Bible, including stories by many popular authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Michael Crichton, Tom Clancy, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Jeff Horton's novel, The Great Collapse-Survivors of the Pulse, a story about the coming of the pulse and the end of civilization, was published in 2010. The Dark Age-Survivors of the Pulse, the sequel to The Great Collapse, was released in July of 2011, his third novel, The Last Prophet, was released in August of 2011.
Jeff is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network.
Jeff's Goodreads Profile:
Jeff W. Horton