Question: I was fascinated (and scared) by the mental powers the villian Willie had in your book 'I Am Maker'. Do you really believe in anything like that?

J/W: As far as my belief that someone could have mental powers akin to those shown by the protagonist of that story. I think it's possible and here's why.

I’ve always been a firm believer that a latent ability resides within most of us. As was the case in that story, I think that being able to use it is a matter of focus. It’s the same kind of singular focus you sense at a crowded party when the beautiful girl standing on the other side of the room turns and matches your stare. For that brief moment when you’re lost in each other’s eyes – no one else in the room even exists. Metabolic changes start to occur almost immediately. Your pupils dilate as your desire to share yourself builds. All thoughts and feelings except for those you feel for her are vanquished by the power of the connection. And for that brief second a relaxed calm falls over you as your respiration slows and deepens. That’s the precise moment when you’d swear that your hearts were beating as one. And it’s then that something happens. Something that tells you beyond any shadow of a doubt what will happen once the moment passes. Not because she has said anything or gestured in any way, but because for that moment your minds ignored all distractions and shared a single thought.

Focus can be as subtle, yet as intense as that. Or it can be less intense but more graphic like the co-worker who is so buried in his job that he doesn’t hear your questions and works right through lunch. I think it’s a trait that we’re all capable of, but that most of us rarely experience.

Yes, I think there are those who possess the capability of doing many of the things that the protagonist was able to do in ‘I Am Maker’. But the question of will they – can only be answered by them.

Question: Why did you pick St. Josephs, MO as the location for your novel ‘Touches’?

J/W: My wife and I were actually looking into the possibility of moving there (much like the characters in the story). While we were visiting, we came across the Nunning House and I found out about the tunnel underneath. At that point I was hooked on the idea of a story featuring a tunnel as a key element. That coupled with size and friendliness of the town sealed the deal for me – St. Joe’s was the perfect sitting. Thanks for the question.

Question: What made you decide to write horror?

J/W: I grew up with horror movies – all the old good ones (Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Dracula…). What I liked most about them (as compared to most of the newer movies) is that they depended less on gore and shock, and more on mood, setting and character development to get the viewer involved. Then when I started reading, I naturally took to books like King, B. Little and one of my favorite authors Simon Clark. My style of writing (if indeed I have one) is a conglomeration of the authors I’ve read and respected over my life.

Question: In ‘I Am Maker’ you made the hero of the story actually more monstrous than his brother Willie when they were young. What was the reason for that?

J/W: Really good question! First, I wanted to show that there’s good and evil in all of us. If you remember, toward the end of the book I even tried to show a more vulnerable side to Willie. Second, I thought that it made Tom Franken (notice the subtle tribute to the original monster of my childhood) more three-dimensional. Here’s a character with unlimited power, who can do anything he wants, except for the one thing he values most – lead a normal life. Third, it helps explain the caution to which Willie exercises when he approaches Tom.

Question: You describe the setting in ‘I Am Maker’ with such detail. Was the town modeled after a real town?

J/W: Kind of, sort of… but in the end any similarities to a real town are purely coincidental. My wife and I love the New England coastline, especially the Down East coastline and have visited there several times. The town described in ‘I Am Maker’ is fabricated from my own “ideal” images of a typical Atlantic coast town. Before I started the story, I drew out maps of the town. I included street names, where the stoplights were, the names of the local stores… Once I had the town, I drew the layout of the Second Empire style house in the story. I felt that knowing exactly where everything lay in relation to the house was paramount to making the story believable. There was just too much movement of the characters to take a chance on giving inconsistent directions.

Question: What kind of stories do you like to write most?

J/W: I like to write stories about people. True, these stories are set in horrific environments. But the real meat of the story isn’t that which makes the story scary or thrilling – it’s how the characters respond and grow in response to those situations. In ‘I Am Maker’, Tom responds in a physical manner. He manifests a physical representation of the good in him while shunning the evil that remains. In ‘Touches’, Julie overcomes her well-warranted childhood fear of the dark to save the life of her husband. If the reader empathizes with the plight of these characters, then I feel that I’ve accomplished one of the primary goals that I set for myself as a writer.

Question: When did you start writing?

J/W: I’ve toyed with the idea of writing most of my life, but to my regret I didn’t really take it up in earnest until a few years ago. Writing is like anything else in life – the longer you do it the better you get. My skills as a writer would be so much further advanced if I had only given in to my dream much earlier. For those of you thinking about writing – I urge you to follow your passion.