AFTER RESONANCE with AUTHOR J.D. MADER

 

Author Bio:  J.D. MADER (@jd_mader) hangs his laptop in San Francisco Bay Area.  He is primarily a fiction writer, but also writes nonfiction and music.  He began his professional writing career at age 15 as a sportswriter in San Diego.

1.  If you were to choose 1 character from "Joe Cafe" to spin-off into their own book, which one might have that appealing intrigue for you, and why?

J.D.:  Oh, that’s easy.  Chet, for sure.  He’s the most fascinating character.  I love ‘Lolita’ by Nabokov because I am simply astounded that he can make the reader empathize with a predator like Humbert Humbert.  Lots of people feel this way.  Not trying to claim it’s my unique idea.  But I love Chet for the same reason.  Logically, he is a terrible, terrible person.  He starts out terrible.  But then you get inside his head and by the end of the book you want to give him a hug.  And then beat his ass.  It’s a weird dichotomy.  He’s an interesting character because we are so quick in our society to write off “bad” people without considering their circumstances. 

J.D.:  I used to work with at-risk youth.  Most of the kids were great.  And I was always astounded.  People get all upset about gangs and shit, but you put a kid into a home where no one cares, maybe they are on drugs, they watch TV and see some pop moron driving a gold Hummer – hmmm – that kid is exposed to the American Dream, but his chances of achieving it are slim.  If you have no guidance and the people you look up to (because money is status in America) are the rich guys in your neighborhood, you emulate them.  You don’t feel any alliance to the system because the system let you down. 
Tons of people overcome that.  Some don’t.  But when people get all shocked about gang violence, I’m appalled.  Given the division of wealth and power in this country, given the idols we are presented (money, power, sex), and given the fact that some people get born into shittier situations than we can imagine, I’m surprised things aren’t worse.

So, yeah, Chet fascinated me because he reacted to his life in a logical way, but it seems illogical because it is wrong.  But you can only kick a dog so many times before it bites back.  That’s human nature.  That’s nature nature.

2.  What was a challenge you were forced to over-come in the process of manifestation, in order to complete the book?

J.D.: Well, back to Chet.  He was a challenge for me because some of the things he does are so off the charts horrible.  I don’t think it is gratuitous.  There are people who do terrible things.  But, as a writer, you need to do what’s right for the story.  Still, there is part of you that thinks, ‘Jesus, people are going to think I’m psychotic’.  But you have to fight that because if you start censoring yourself, you are not being true to the character and the narrative.

The other hard part was, as you aptly explained in your review, it is not a typical noir, crime, whatever novel.  It is about the characters' psychology.  So, I got really deep inside these characters.  And I’m a pacifist.  I don’t like horror movies.  I like dark fiction, but it was hard for me to imagine Frankie beating someone to death.  Or the things Chet did.  I don’t even kill spiders.

3.  Was there a story-line or character, without spoilers on plot-points, whose arc was difficult to decide, on how it/he/she progressed?

J.D.:  I wrote this book with no plan.  Consciously.  I wanted the characters to write the book.  So, I created an event…the murder at Joe Café…and then the characters did what they did.  I made some conscious decisions, but they were guided by the narrative.  One of the criticisms of this novel is that Michael is too weak.  And I knew as I was writing it that people would say that, but it was organic.  And I think it makes perfect sense.  Michael is a small town cop who doesn’t have to deal with serious things.  His life has been a cakewalk.  He cannot accept the murder or his failure to deal with it. 

So, it was difficult in that sense…difficult to write, no.  It was clear from the second chapter that the characters knew what they were supposed to do.

The only other issue (which is the other criticism I get sometimes) is that the ending is too abrupt.  That was a conscious decision, too.  I wanted the book to be real.  In real life, things don’t get wrapped up neatly all the time.  The cop doesn’t always save the day.  Bad guys aren’t cardboard cutouts.  I really wanted to make these people real.  I think it is a hard book for some people to read because it doesn’t follow the formulas they are used to.  But that’s why I like it so much. 

4.  Would you name a couple of your writing peers/authors, who may or may not write in similar Genres as you, and tell us what you admire about what they do as writers?

J.D.:  Richard Godwin is a good friend of mine.  I haven’t read his new book Mr. Glamour yet, but I will.  Apostle Rising is an amazing book.  And like Joe Café, it doesn’t follow traditional expectations people have for a ‘noir/crime/cop’ book.  Sure there are bad guys and cops, but it is so intricate and deep.  Godwin writes a “cop novel’ like Shakespeare would.  His command of language is incredible, so the story is good, but the words are pure poetry.

I just wrote a novel with my friends Stephen Hise and K.S. Brooks.  It’s called Bad Book.  The idea was to write a terrible book.  And we used it as a way to unwind.  The funny thing is, it turned out great.  It’s a weird novel, every chapter is a different genre.  But it was fun and challenging and it is amazing to see what those two writers can churn out when they are just riffing for fun.  Brilliant, funny stuff.

I’m friends with Rosanne Dingli and David Antrobus.  I have read David’s book (Dissolute Kinship) and a book of Rosanne’s short stories (Making a Name).  They are truly beautiful writers.  The flow and rhythm of their words are astounding.

The first indie book I read was Digging Deep by Boyd Lemon.  It is an amazing memoir and I was astounded by its honesty.  I think honesty is the most important thing for good writing, fiction or not.

I don’t have much time (really any time) to read anymore.  I wish I could give you more examples, but my ‘to be read’ list just keeps growing.  And I’m not checking any off, unfortunately.  But, no complaints..

5.  What is one thing completing "Joe Cafe" taught you about your own process of writing?

J.D.:  Everything I write is very character based and close to the characters.  I took a risk with Joe Café because I am more comfortable with short stories.  I didn’t know if my style – short vignettes – would carry a novel.  But it did.  It’s been a lot more successful than I imagined and hoped for, so I learned to have faith in readers.  Some people don’t get it, but most people do.  You did.  Which is why we’re doing this interview.  My new novel, The Biker, is much more linear and traditional.  Joe Café is not your typical novel, and I was happy to see that readers are willing to embrace something outside their comfort zone.  I don’t know if I’ll ever write another novel like it, but I’m glad I took the chance.

http://www.amazon.com/JD-Mader/e/B005C22VJY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

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Obtain your copy of JD Mader's newly released, second novel, "The Biker":

http://www.amazon.com/Biker-Matt-Stark-Novel-ebook/dp/B0076FZLLU