An Interview With...Jon Merz!!

Yes I was being a bit tongue and cheeky there ;)  I am so very happy and excited to have the author of  The Kensei here at my blog today!  He will be answering some questions for me and I hope you take the time to stop and get to know him a bit!

I read his book and really enjoyed it.  You can find my review *HERE*.  


On with the interview!




1. When you start writing do you go cold or is there some idea for a story already taking root?

I always have an idea - usually a "what if?" that I'm playing with.  With the Lawson Vampire series, it's usually a matter of figuring out what I want to do with him next, and then figuring out whereabouts (generally) in his timeline the adventure is going to take place.  With other projects, I usually have the barest trace of an idea that quickly grows into something more.

 2. Was there anyone who was the inspiration for Lawson?
 
Not really.  Lawson at first blush was very much a lot of my personal characteristics and personality.  I'm sarcastic and have a very black sense of humor.  I've been told I'm quick on the one-liners.  Lawson is very much that.  I have a very deep ingrained sense of honor and so does Lawson.  But as the years have gone by, Lawson has become very much his own personality.  And while we share some similar traits, I like to think he stands on his own quite well.

 3. There is nothing like a great bad guy, but which is harder to craft, the good or the bad?
I think as long as the writer has truly developed a great hero (or anti-hero as the case may be) and made them imperfect, you're always going to be able to create a great villain.  If your hero has faults or vices, then the villain needs to be able to exploit those, even if that exploitation takes place without the villain knowing it.  Perhaps one of his personality traits is just the thing to set the hero off in a certain way.  That interplay can only happen if the hero has flaws.  A lot of would-be writers try to create a superman on the page and that's simply not genuine.  Lawson, for example, is duty-bound but simultaneously breaks the very laws he is sworn to uphold.  So from the get-go, he's got serious issues.  A great villain is all about making sure those faults are exposed in the course of their interaction.

 4. Do you find that you get attached to your characters?
Oh yeah, definitely.  It's tough living with these creations for the span of an entire book and then knowing you have to end the story somewhere.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes, the books are simply one novel and that's it - the story is told.  I think that's why I happen to like writing series.  I can hang out with the characters for a long time.

 5. Will we see more of Lawson?
Absolutely!  Lawson's entire backlist of adventures is now available on the Kindle and Nook and this summer, I'll be making them all available in print as well.  Additionally, we're producing a TV series based on his adventures called THE FIXER.  Fans can watch our progress out on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/thefixertv and we'll be launching an all-new website for all things Lawson at http://www.thefixer.tv in the next few weeks.  I hope everyone comes along on the ride because Lawson's adventures are only just beginning!


Thank you so much Jon!  It sounds like you have some exciting times coming up with Lawson.  I'm looking forward to it.