Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Salted With Sat and The Altar of Silence: Two Novellas

Today, Norm Goldman, Editor& Publisher of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Jason Akley author of Salted With Salt And The Altar Of Silence.

Good day Jason and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer? I notice from reading your bio that you graduated from Tulane University in physics and mathematical economics.

Jason:

I wrote my first story when I was in third grade.  A girl wanted me to write a story about a horse.  So I wrote a story about a horse.  She gave me five dollars, and I blew it on candy…  My father was in the air force.  I received an ROTC scholarship to attend Tulane.  My scholarship was in physics.  I already had to do the math so I decided to take my electives in economics and double major.  But once I got to Tulane it wasn’t really the classroom that was my learning ground.  The experiences I shared with my friends in New Orleans mattered more, and the books I read in the library during that time inspired me to be a writer.

Norm:

Why have you been drawn to the novella? As a follow up, are there aesthetic advantages and disadvantages peculiar to the novella? Does it even have a form?

Jason:

The novella form allows for simplicity.  The length strictures of the short story form aren’t there, and at the same time you don’t have to draw out the story more than you want to.  A short story captures a slice of life.  A novel is like the whole cake.  The novella form allows you to indulge a bit in the layering of a good story without feeling too full in the end.

Norm:

How did you come up with the ideas for Salted With Salt And The Altar Of Silence?  What methods do you use to flesh out your ideas? What obstacles did you have in trying to tell your stories?

Jason:

Salted with Salt was based on an actual road trip I took during a summer in college.  When I started working on it, I had already written a few short stories and so I incorporated them in the road trip narrative.  Salted with Salt was written by layering the short stories with the road trip narrative.  The Altar of Silence is a complete work of fiction.  Neither of them was easy to write.  The title for Salted with Salt comes from the Bible.  The Altar of Silence is a quote from Jim Morrison’s “American Prayer”—Boys go crazy in the head and suffer…  

Norm:

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing? And as a follow up, is there much “you” in your two novellas?

Jason:

You have to write about what you know.  I wrote both novellas over seven years ago.  They capture my youth.  Both novellas are about coming to terms with growing up by seeking distractions, and losing your innocence when you learn how to love... Golfers will like them too.

Norm:

What are you main concerns as a writer?

Jason:

To understand people and explore the conflicts of the heart and then try to express it.

Norm:

Do you write everyday? As a follow up, do you go to conferences?

Jason:

I try to write at least 400 words a day, or 2000 words a week.  I’ve found that 400 words is a good unit of writing for a day.  Usually you can capture a thought in 400 words, or a scene, or a transition…  No, I haven’t been to a conference.

Norm:

What have been your experiences with self-publishing?

Jason:

I see it as an investment.  I’ll continue writing books and publishing them.  Hopefully, they’ll eventually get noticed.

Norm:

In the writing that you are doing, who would you say has influenced you the most?

Jason:

Since completing the novellas I’ve been working on a trilogy called Lazarus.  After watching several episodes of "Days of Our Lives" with my wife, I realized what I've been working on for the past seven years is actually much like a literary soap opera.  It's non-linear, and in a recurring cycle of vignettes a tragedy is told, a modern version of the Oedipus trilogy of Sophocles…  Lazarus is episodic in story-line, very much like a soap opera, but the biggest literary influence on my writing right now is probably Faulkner.  Perspective is everything.  By showing the same situation from different perspectives sometimes the truth is revealed.  Faulkner was very good at that.  I try to do the same in my writing.  Other than that I’d have to go with the Bible.

Norm: 

What would you like to accomplish in the future with your writing? 

Jason:

It would be nice if it paid the bills.  Lazarus is almost finished.  I’m publishing it in installments on the Amazon Shorts program.  The first two books are complete, and I should finish the third part of Lazarus by early next year.  After Lazarus I plan on working on some short stories, and then I have about four book ideas on the back burner that I might tackle…

Norm:

What part of writing is your favorite and on the other hand, what is your least favorite?

Jason:

Writing makes you vulnerable.  You have to deal with that.  But it’s worth it to be able to express something about being alive.

Norm:

How much marketing do you do with your books? Any advice in this area?
 
Jason:

I’ve actually found my best opportunities with foreign trade expos.  It’s fairly inexpensive to get your books represented in Beijing and Frankfurt.  I’m waiting on some leads received from the recent Beijing expo, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the upcoming Frankfurt trade show…

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered and what is next for Jason Akley?

Jason:

I hope to continue engaging readers with thoughtful stories.

Thanks once again with all of your future endeavors.

To read Norm's Review of  Salted With Salt And The Altar Of Silence CLICK HERE  

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Salted With Sat and The Altar of Silence: Two Novellas