Hey there everyone.

It’s Friday again, so it means it’s time to kick back, relax and unwind.

But before we do that, we have some business (and pleasure) to attend to!

Just a quick note/Public Service Announcement before we get under way properly. I link to a lot of other articles in my posts, so WordPress users please check your Spam folders in your Setting Menus and approve any links/pingbacks that you find from me to improve the visibility of your own blog posts, as well as mine, it’s a win win for us both 😉

I’d like to introduce you all to another wonderfully original author in the ongoing Author Interview series, whose novels and concepts will have you jumping out of your seats for sure, as the mayhem continues to unfold right before your very eyes.

Please welcome author Jack Strange and prepare to have your minds blown because after you’ve read his books, things are never going to be the same (but in a good way!)

Thanks for reading, enjoy the show and have a relaxing weekend folks.

 

Hi there Jack, really looking forward to chatting to you about all of your entertaining books, along with your passions and writing experiences.

Thanks Dave. It’s good to be talking to you.

Let’s start with your novels themselves. You have several of them across the genres of dark crime noir thriller, horror, satire/parody and comedy. Please give us a brief description about each of your works and their themes, their story arcs and the overall premises of the madcap adventures sitting behind them.

OMG – I’ll try!

My books are:-

Manchester Vice – published October 2017 by Coffin Hop Press

This is my latest novel. a thriller about a newspaper reporter called Brad Sharpe who commits a crime and has to commit more crimes to cover up the first one. His actions drive the stakes ever higher until he finds himself sacrificing everything – including his humanity – to keep things under control.

According to reviewers it’s fast-paced, with a twisted plot and lots of dark humour. Readers are likely to cringe at the action one minute then laugh at Brad’s quips the next as he dispatches yet another victim in a grisly way.

Confessions of an English Psychopath – self-published 17 December 2016

This is a comedy thriller about a young man, Lawrence Odd, who’s recruited into an assassination team in the British Secret Service. He’s a psychopath so he enjoys his work and is rather good at it, but one day he enters a locked room near his office and uncovers a terrible secret which changes his life forever.

Reviewers and readers alike often find this book funny, and wonder why, given the subject matter. (Murder and gore).

The zombie trilogy (comedy horror novels):-

Book 1: Celebrity Chef Zombie Apocalypse

This deals with the origins and rise of the zombies in England. It all starts when a mad professor builds a machine called The Lazarus Engine which he uses to raise celebrity chef Floyd Rampant from the dead. An unforeseen side-effect of the process is that it changes Floyd into a sex-crazed flesh-eating zombie. Being a chef, he likes his meat to be properly cooked before he eats it. Floyd creates an army of undead celebrity chefs, with the aim of ruling the world, and farming humanity as a food product. Mayhem follows- most of it, so I’m reliably informed, hilarious.

Oddly enough, the most popular character in the novel was a zombie cat called Henderson.

Book 2: Zomcats

The zombie menace is largely overcome in the first book, at least in England, and the second chronicles the rise of a plague of zombie cats.

Meanwhile, over in America, President Doughnut builds a wall to keep the Mexicans out of his beloved country. It fails to keep the Mexican zombie chefs out, so he goes to England to get advice from the British Prime Minister, who appears to have successfully dealt with the UK zombie problem.

Tragically, neither Doughnut nor the British Prime Minister know about the plague of zombie cats in England until it’s too late, and they find themselves surrounded by undead felines and fighting for their lives. Will either of them survive? Read the book to find out!

Book 3: Thatchenstein

The zombies and zombie cats appear to have been wiped out, and peace settles on England – but not for long. A young man who is a member of a far-right group makes a creature from body parts which looks like Margaret Thatcher. He uses the Lazarus Engine to bring his creature to life, trains it to be like Margaret Thatcher, and the former great leader is reborn – but with a passion for eating human flesh and an insatiable sexual appetite.

Things can only end badly – but for who? And what will the body count be?

If any of your novels were to be made into films (or even a TV series), who would you cast in the lead roles?

Brad Sharpe (the protagonist in Manchester Vice) would be played by Alfred Molina. I reckon Alfred would do him justice, and he looks right for the part, physically.

What would you choose as your own personal mascot or spirit animal when it comes to you and your style of writing?

A cat; you might have guessed I’m a cat fan. Cats have a great sense of fun. They love giving people the run-around.

What do you think most characterizes or defines your writing? Do you have any writing quirks or themes that constantly crop up in your stories?

First off, I see myself as a pulp fiction writer with literary aspirations. But my work is more pulp than literary!

Cellars and basements crop up rather often in my stories and bad things happen in them. That’s probably because the first house I remember living in as a child had a dark cellar and it terrified me for some irrational reason.

Anger and hate are pet themes of mine, probably because they’re entertaining traits in a character.

What do you find the most difficult thing about writing? And what do you find the easiest?

The most difficult thing in writing is committing yourself to a novel. I’d compare it to climbing a mountain. It’s daunting when you look up at how far you have to go, even when you’ve done half or two-thirds of it.

The easiest thing is short stories and flash fiction. You can rattle something off within a couple of hours and have done with it. Psychologically, it’s not that demanding.

Who are some of the authors, musicians, poets and/or historical figures that inspire you?

Oh, there are so many. Where to start?

Authors:-
Russell H Greenan for his great prose, plotting and freaky characters.
Jim Thompson for the same things.
Gillian Flynn for the same things.
There seems to be a pattern here! I could go on but I’ll leave it at that.

Musicians:-
I love Cream, The Doors, Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall, and lots of others.

Historical figures:-
I read history books but I can’t say any historical figures really inspire me.

What sort of research do you do to write your books?

Very little. My books are mainly about people and there are seldom technical matters I need to delve into. If I wrote a lot of Sci-Fi it might be different.

Why do you write? What inspired you to become a writer?

My story is probably the same as that of a lot of other writers: I read a lot from an early age. That made me want to write myself.

What keeps you motivated during creative slumps? How do you deal with Writers Block?

I don’t have creative slumps and I don’t get writers block. My attitude is that you should bloody well get on with it. Write whenever you have time. It’s about perspiration, not inspiration. If you doubt that, look at the output of any pulp fiction author – or Stephen King for that matter. Those guys (and women) don’t know what writer’s block is.

You have access to a time machine. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Try not to fuck up so much.

How do you spend your free time when you are not writing?

Hanging out with my friends and making mental notes about what they say that I can use in my stories; reading; hiking; meditating; keeping myself fit; and getting drunk now and again.

Tell us more about your upcoming projects. Are you working on anything specific or have plans in the pipeline?

Yes. I have another noir crime novella – tentatively called ‘Love Object’ – that I’m touting round publishers at present. Plus I’m half way through a novel called ‘Terrible Things.’ TT is what you’d call ‘Domestic Noir’. It’s a psychological thriller in a domestic setting involving two middle-class families who live in an affluent area.

Finally, are there any nuggets of wisdom that you can impart to other aspiring writers?

There is only one worth piece of advice worth giving and it’s been given by many writers before me, maybe not in the exact same words: get fucking writing.

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for giving us an entertaining insight into your novels Jack, we can’t wait to check them all out 🙂

Bio:-

The mysterious Jack Strange hails from the town of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England. He’s a man with a checkered past, having worked in a morgue, been a labourer, and a salesman. He’s dug holes…professionally (to what end, he refuses to say – Sales? Corpses? Possibly both?) and even more terrifying – he’s a former Lawyer.

He enjoys parties and keeps himself fit (the kind of fit that makes you think he may engage in fisticuffs with Vinnie Jones on a semi-regular basis, or possibly drink stout with both hands while also throwing  a perfect game of darts).

He is allegedly married with two adult daughters. They have yet to be located for comment.

You can connect with Jack via the following Social Media channels:-

Facebook:- Jack Strange – Author (FB)
Goodreads:- Jack Strange (Goodreads Author)
Twitter:- @jackstrange11 (Twitter)
Website:- JACK STRANGE NEWS AND VIEWS – The official website of author Jack Strange

You can buy his books here:-

Buy Jack Strange’s books in the UK/Europe

Buy Jack Strange’s books in the US/Rest of the World

If you too would like to be interviewed on my blog at TooFullToWrite and you have a book or a series of books that you would like us to chat about then fill out the Contact Me form here with your details and we can arrange a future interview slot.

Still want more? Well, Jack’s novels certainly do have some wit, charm and in the case of the zombie ones some bite in them! For more articles on the theme of ‘Bite’ then check out the links below:-

1. Colder temps do not confine these folks – THE MAIN AISLE – 2018
2. Clean eating rules! – LIFESTYLE DESIGN
3. Tiny Fawns – for you
4. American English – Wind Kisses
5. Transformation – The Chicken Grandma
6. Disrupt my world: Zechariah – The Focused Heart
7. shame – Kiss
8. When ‘Truth’ Knocks, Do You Answer? – Branching Out
9. 15 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain During the Holidays
10. “Procrastinating Pressure.” – Expedition Overlanding Nomadic Adventures
11. Notes to Women – Neighbors
12. Where Hands Fall – Melinda J. Irvine
13. copypower – The Painful Bites
14. Hello Bipolar – Paradise Bitten
15. Bereft – Words in verse
16. Sandmanjazz – Wolfsbane.
17. Bonkers Away! – Bite
18. bite – Litterbox Riot
19. Taking a big bite into the world of blogging isn’t a one-way adventure. – Quaint Revival
20. Bite – PURPLE by G.T. Revelo
21. Bite me… – Mum’s the Word Blog
22. *UPDATED* Wendy Carrillo, From Undocumented To Running For Congress – NADJA
23. Biting off more than you can chew: – Storysite
24. Mainline_Matter – Bite Back
25. The First – Leigha Robbins
26. A Fish Story – A Unique Title For Me
27. Prompt: Bite – justlifeslittlestories
28. The only way is UP. – Musings, Cogitations & Ruminatus
29. bite – a wondering soul’s blog
30. Anton’s Ideas – YOU CAN SEE THE BITE
31. Writer’s block – Dreading The Sunlight
32. Vampire Maman – What the F is wrong with some people (dealing with loud coworkers and others)
33. Writer’s block – Ambrose XI
34. Bite – wordsareallihavesite
35. Musings of a Random Mind – I Was Bitten
36. Smoke House Deli – Food Photography – Curious Cat
37. Dronstad – Lovely woman
38. mazeepuran – Bite
39. Proceed with Caution – Author Flawed to Perfection
40. Gaggle – Musings
41. KO Rural Mad As Hell Blog – teamwork
42. NanoPoblano, day 28 Bite me ⋆ Obsolete Childhood
43. Karen Lynne Beads – Bite
44. New Year Dishes – Journeys of Len
45. Diagnosis – This Girl’s Got Curves
46. Bite – MistryLand
47. The Bite Of Nightmares – Pitch Black Poesy
48. Paul Cox Writer – This Cave Doesn’t Exist Conclusion
49. My Mental Life – Bite
50. Flash Fiction: Man Bites Zombie – Telling Stories Together
51. Children grow up – The Chaos Within
52. lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown – Bite
53. Snack time – The Inkwell
54. Love Bites – Nes Felicio Photography
55. Fantasy – Kaleidoscope of my life
56. The Mind Museum – the thoughts keeper
57. Ups, Downs & Deviations – Transformation
58. What advice would you give your #teenage self? #inspiration or #warning ? – LÄGZZ
59. Starry Shores – The Soulitary Reaper
60. Why Wasn’t I Enough? – The Bonny Cat
61. Rose-fingered Dawn – Beach Books
62. Torn and Confused – Just Listen to Ezimen
63. A Byte of Procrastination – Jacob Writes On – Frost Bite
64. sonja benskin mesher – ~ fashions ~
65. That ‘not so tasty’ Bite – Vj Dogra
66. Savoury kiwi bites – Revolving Around Life
67. The Midnight Bite – The Indigo Pages
68. The Bibliophile’s Journal – Bite and Kind
69. The Home Of DJ Sung Mo Koo – Once Bitten, Twice Dead
70. Daily Prompt://Bite – The Bag Lady
71. loristory – Bite Bite Bite
72. Bite by bite – On a mission
73. Senryu : Bite – Cactus Haiku
74. Unbound – Reality Bites
75. Bite – lifewithjude
76. Paul Cox Writer – This Cave Doesn’t Exist Part 3
77. Cimmerian Sentiment – #1 Rude Awakening (Waking Up Jayla)
78. Knit – Yowza, Here We Go!
79. SAND DOLLAR SEASON – Just a Bite
80. ~331 Of 365~ – ……….365 Days………..
81. It’s All in Finding the Right Words – Spiders of Virginia
82. Poison Apple – The Story Addict
83. Midlife Moments – That First Bite is the Sweetest
84. RAIN DRIED NOTION – The Mark
85. Throw Away Your White Dreams of Parenthood – Unlearning
86. Bite – MyWorldsInWords
87. A Break With Tradition – This, That, and The Other
88. Ashtamisprime – Daily prompt-bite
89. Chinese Cabbage, Japanese Cat, and a “Frenly” Family Store – koolkosherkitchen
90. A Bite of Plow – DIY Teen Hub
91. blood orange – novahswrites
92. The Hockey Mom Fit Life – Giving Tuesday
93. Life – cocoa2
94. A Life Retired Blog – Kitten bite
95. Kiss – I am a paradox.
96. Bite – deep breath, close your eyes
97. Scott Andrew Bailey – The Bite
98. One Bite – Unpredictable Affairs
99. Out for a Quick Bite – My Imperfect Life
100. Hot White Snow – A Sugary Feast
101. Bite – A Sawyer’s Daughter
102. Bite – Run and Travel
103. The Bite – thehouseofbailey
104. Word Play … Work in Progress. – Cherry delight
105. Fluff – Megha’s World
106. Beware of the mega-bite! – Abelia May
107. Self-soothing with the five senses – Bird Flight
108. When you push yourself to do what you don’t want to do – Bird Flight
109. Cage Dunn: Writer, Author, Teller-of-tall-tales – A Stab in the Dark
110. SERENDIPITY – NO BITING
111. Goodbye Night – a moment teller’s
112. The Soulful Writings – Heavenly Bite
113. Gnawing Off My Own Tongue – Armed With A Keyboard
114. The Seminary of Praying Mantis – food again
115. Myammy! Moving in together at 50… – Old #45: Not so popular…
116. Take a Bite but DO NOT Bite: Ways we Confuse Toddlers – Smudges on my Mirror
117. Restaurant Couple – Jajabor, The Nomad