Maw Books Blog

I’d like to welcome James Dashner, author of The 13th Reality, A Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner to the Maw Books Blog!  I feel like James and I are old buddies although we’ve just met a couple of times.  Read my book review of The 13th Reality and then come back here for a great author interview!

Maw Books:  Welcome James!  Can you tell us a bit about the back story of The 13th Reality and how it came to be?

James Dashner:  It came about as a quick proposal after another book was rejected by the publisher, but they liked my writing. It basically combined 2 ideas I’d always loved: alternate realities and riddles being used as a recruiting tool.

Maw Books:  I remember when Taylor (my husband) told me how cool he thought it was to be commissioned to write a book based upon your writing style.  The 13th Reality is packed full of funny jokes and one-liners.  My husband said he laughed so hard at one point that he had tears.  In high school were you voted the class clown?

James Dashner:  I did win Most Witty in Middle School. Does that count?

Maw Books:  It counts in my book.  Who knew that it would pay off for you one day?  What’s the process like for you as you write?  Are you a free writer or a meticulous planner?

James Dasher:  I do basic plot outlines, maybe one or two pages. Then I just write the story from beginning to end without much editing. I save that for later. I do usually know how the book ends before I begin it.

Maw Books:  Okay, you seriously need to talk to Taylor.  He’s been outlining for like a year and I keep saying, just start already!  So awesome that you quit your day job (CPA) and are now working full time as an author.  How hard of a decision was that for you make?  And are you just loving it?  What’s the scariest thing about it?

James Dashner:  The decision was easy once we knew we’d be okay financially. No rational human being would choose accounting over writing books. I really, really love my new job as an author, and it often seems too good to be true. The scariest part is the lack of job security and weekly paychecks. But as long as my fingers don’t fall off, I think we’ll be okay.

Maw Books:  Well, we don’t want any fingers rolling around!  What’s on your nightstand right now?  And in addition what are the books that have influenced you most as a writer?

James Dashner:  I’m reading the last book in theThe Dark Tower series by Stephen King. He just happens to be one of the writers I most revere. I also love Dean Koontz. As a kid, books like A Wrinkle in Time and authors like Judy Blumemade me want to be an author someday.

Maw Books:  I’m reading A Wrinkle in Time this week.  Looking forward to it.  If you could meet any author dead or alive, who would it be and why?

James Dashner:  Stephen King. I would LOVE to have dinner with Stephen King. He’s kind of dark and scary, but he is the most brilliant writer on the planet.

Maw Books:  One of my favorite features on my blog is to have authors share a recipe with us.  Do you like to cook?  Will you share a yummy family favorite?

James Dasher:  I’m not much of a cook. Luckily, I have a wife who considers cooking her hobby - she loves it. My favorite dish of hers is Chicken Parmesan. All I could tell you is that it definitely has chicken, and parmesan, and some kind of red saucy stuff.

Maw Books:  Ha!  I see you making yourself useful around the kitchen!  You live literally just down the street from us (give or take a couple of miles).  If we invited you to dinner would you think that’s really weird or stalk-ish?  Taylor could teach you how to make some serious Thai food.

James Dashner:  Not weird at all. My dad taught me a very important lesson: never say no to free food.

Maw Books:  I’d love to extend the invitation after you’ve recovered from your current tour.  What’s the best thing about doing what you love?

James Dashner:  The reward of hearing from readers, especially younger ones. Especially when they say you’ve inspired them to read more or write.

Maw Books:  You are currently finishing up a book called The Maze Runner which will be published Fall of 2009.  Can you tell us a bit about that?

James Dashner:  It’s coming from a different publisher than The 13th Reality - Delacorte Press/Random House. It’s more for a teen audience, a kind of dark story about kids put into a malicious experiment in the future. I’m really, really excited about it.

Maw Books:  Awesome!  When can we expect to see more from the 13th Reality series?

James Dashner:  Book 2, The Hunt for Dark Infinity, comes out in March of 2009. I’m very happy that my publisher is partnering with Simon & Schuster on the paperback versions, so the series should get even more publicity and marketing. Can’t wait!

Maw Books:  Awesome!  I can’t wait for both of them. Thanks James!  I loved having you today!

James Dashner’s website and blog.

Would you like to win a signed copy of  The 13th Reality, A Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner?  James Dashner has graciously donated two signed copies to be given away in conjunction with my Darfur awareness campaign.  Click here for details and I’ll be putting up the giveaway post at the end of the week.