Month: March 2021

A LIFE THROUGH BOOKS INTERVIEW

gregjolley

Greg Jolley, author of 

Thieves

Book One: The Obscurité de Floride Trilogy 

For the full interview and other news, please visit http://authoreverleigh.blogspot.com

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Most every part is enjoyable, but selecting the theme or themes is where I’m slowed up the most and for good reason. While “Thieves” and all the Danser novels are a twisted blend of roller coasters and haunted house rides, I try to give each of these stories a thematic undercurrent, such as the price of a life of crime. I typically spend a month or more researching such questions, which is always interesting and often frightening.

What songs are most played on your Ipod?

During the “Thieves” write, it was Neil Young’s “Arc” and “Weld” albums, which are rich in wild distortion and melody, his guitar tipping at times into madness and close to chaos. Working with Molly and April Danser and their own slippery grasp on reality and purpose, it was a perfect and disturbing soundtrack.

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

The closest I come is my work with my privately hired editor prior to sending the books to my publisher. We’ve done several novels together and it’s always a dance, a back and forth, concerning grammar, punctuation and continuity. She is brilliant at what she does and it’s always a humbling learning experience, one I welcome with open arms because we are both driven to the same goal: making the story the best it can be for the reader.

What book are you reading now?

Except for book club selections, I’m reading and studying every non-fiction book I can find on 1959, focusing on the history of hotels and motels with a notoriety for crime and homicides. This is research for Chas Danser’s second novel, where he’s staring in the movie “Snow Blind” set in that strange era.

How did you start your writing career?

With a dare to myself. I was always an obsessed reader, plowing through everything I could get my hands on, preferring the written world to real life experiences. As a young songwriter, I loved the magic of the brevity of lyrics, the challenge to say so much with so little. One day I asked myself, “Why don’t you move over to prose and stretch your legs by wadding into a novel?”  The decision was as simple as that. Without genre in mind, there were characters and locations I knew I wanted to work with so I began with sketches and research, filling a hundred or more index cards with penciled notes. After months of this, the story spoke up for itself, saying, “Now write me.”

Tell us about your next release.

Following “Thieves” the second book of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy is “The Disposables,” scheduled for publication on June 1st of this year. The third book of the trilogy is “City of the Dead” coming out on October 1st of this year. It’s an aggressive publishing schedule and will continue through 2022, with four works coming out during that year. I’m jazzed by this, loving how my catalogue is getting into the hands of readers so quickly.

Your copy of “Thieves” can be purchased at all fine bookstores and on Amazon at:

http://amzn.to/2o4tIob

All the best,

Greg Jolley

The Danser Novels

www.TheDansers.com

MY READING ADDICTION INTERVIEW

gregjolley

March 16th, 2021

Greg Jolley, author of “Thieves: Book One of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy”

(The interview can also be read at: https://bit.ly/3vC4rVV )

Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?

Crime pay and pays well, if you can avoid the deadly risks. For Molly and April Danser, this means not only outwitting the law but also somehow trying to escape the deadly claws of the US Marshal who wants then dead, not captured.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

To best honest, it’s mostly enjoyable, from the original story sketches straight through to the final proofreading with my publisher’s editors. During the writing of “Thieves” I was challenged to keep up with the dangerous twists and turns of minds of all three main characters. Every time I thought I knew what they were going to do next, they surprised me by taking ahold of the steering wheel and turning the story sharply.

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

“Thieves” is my twenty-eighth novel. We have twelve in print, with the others in queue for publication over the next four years. I really don’t have a favorite as each is like a daughter to me, cherished and loved. 

If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?

Eva Green for Molly Danser, in a manic, hard eyed way.

Nicole Kidman for April Danser, at her most flighty and dangerous.

Steve Buscemi for the US Marshall, wild eyed, hearing voices and deadly.

When did you begin writing?

In 1982, with my first novel “Distractions,” which was published in 1984. Yes, a good long time (laughter). That book was also when I joined the Danser family, so to speak, delighting in discovering a generation of wild eccentrics I could cast and enjoy, even at their most frightening.

How long did it take to complete your first book?

That was back in the days of many many drafts, so the write itself took more than year. In those days, research was much slower and either from books or hunting down real experiences to learn from, like visiting gun ranges, climbing into crop dusters and haunting the parts of city’s I would never brave in real life.

Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?

The list was and still is short. While I’m still an avid reader, the voices that inspired me were Richard Brautigan, Peter S. Beagle, Truman Capote, John Cheever and Somerset Maugham. Each one brave and taking literary risks and challenges. 

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What is your favorite part of the writing process?

The daily writes. I’m at it seven days a week, loving the immersion, challenges and frustrations. Most days, I don’t notice that the sun has risen or know or care what day it is, lost in the story. Writing “Thieves” was no exception. The four months of writing after endless research moved at a quick and exciting pace, sweeping me away from the real world out there somewhere.

Describe your latest book in 4 words.

Suspenseful, sexy, frightening, redeeming.

Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?

Gladly. I’m a quarter way through Chas Danser’s second novel, “Chas & Izzy.” This is book two of the “Vivre au Cinéma” series. Chas is seventeen years old and suffering from a neuroglial problem while knee deep in crime. As a budding actor, he has discovered a strange way to fully enter the roles he’s cast in. Outside the camera lights, he’s joined forces with his mother, Izzy, to rid the worst parts of Florida of its snake pits of criminals. Together, they are taking the law in their own hands, doing the dirty work that the legal system fails at time and again.

Your copy of “Thieves” can be purchased at all fine bookstores and on Amazon at:

http://amzn.to/2o4tIob

All the best,

Greg Jolley

The Danser Novels

www.TheDansers.com

Interview with Greg Jolley: March 9, 2021

gregjolley

Many thanks to “The Avid Reader” for this chance to discuss “Thieves.”


Interview with Greg Jolley: March 9, 2021

Thieves

Book One: The Obscurité de Floride Trilogy

  1. For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start? The first stop might be non-fiction books about famous thieves and thankfully, there are many. For “Thieves” I focused my research on the clever and creative styles of the best. Knowing Molly and April Danser well, I had a clear understanding of their different motivations, but had no idea of the complexity to many of the finest schemes ever pulled off.
  1. How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book? I love working with those Dansers living on the dark side of the law and their guilt-free embrace of crime and greed. In real life, similar minds have always been a part of society, the brave and determined few who think laws and rules are for the foolish and cowardly. What I wanted “Thieves” to celebrate was their courage and single-minded dance outside the lines of accepted behavior. 
  1. What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? My goal was show readers how cool it is to live beyond the boundaries most of live within. As with other Danser novels, “Thieves” is a fast-paced romp with the kind of people we rarely meet — and that’s a good thing (laughter). As always, I leave it to readers and reviewers to decide for themselves how effectively I pulled this off.
  • Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans? Absolutely. Write to me and let me know what you think. What you liked or hated? What worked for you and what didn’t? Hearing from you means the world to me. I always learn something new and I’m grateful for the time taken to question or comment.
  • What did you enjoy most about writing this book? The daily writes. I work seven days a week and once the months of research are completed, I get to enter and stay immersed in the story straight through to typing, “The End.” It’s always an adventure, no matter what I’ve planned. With “Thieves” it wasn’t long before Molly and April and the other characters took over the story and it was all I could do to be their lowly typing pool. 
  • Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future? “Thieves” is Book One of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy, the other two coming out later this year. We are nearly finished with the final proofing, which allows me to focus on writing “Chas & Izzy,” which is the second title in a new series.
  • How long have you been writing? A ridiculously long time (laughter). “Distractions” was published in 1984, which says it all. I consider being a novelist as a blessing, a gift, allowing me a delightful second life with constantly new worlds and lives to explore.
  1. Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in (Please insert name of book here)? “Thieves” is Molly and April’s story of crime and the dangers their lifestyles bring on. The sisters are unique to themselves in what motivates them. Their passions often bring them into conflict with one another and are part of their downfall, as they’ve inspired a US Marshal from first desiring their capture to wanting them dead or alive. Preferably dead and in the worst of ways.
  • If you could spend the day with one of the characters from “Thieves” who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do. While I adore Molly, I would spend the day with April. Being a surfer like she is, I’d like to paddle out with her and chat in between waves. There’s this great big hole in her past, a large number years where she disappeared alone. My first question would be, “Hey, April, I know you pretty well after you returned, but what the hell caused you to start acting so bat guano nuts?” 

“Thieves” is now available!

gregjolley

I’m pleased to share the publication of Thieves: Book One of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy.

From Tropea, Italy to Michigan and Florida, the thieves Molly and April Danser are on the run, trying to escape from an enraged ex-US Marshal. He is hell bent on stopping them once and for all, his twisted black heart fired up for revenge and their total destruction. Will the sisters elude his blood-soaked hunt? They have their smarts and resource but have never faced a pursuit like this. 

Can they somehow put an end to his blood lust? 

What will they have to do to save themselves from his powerful and deadly claws? 

The hunt is on…

All the Danser novels are available at fine bookstores and Amazon: http://amzn.to/2o4tIob

All the best,

Greg Jolley

The Danser Novels

www.TheDansers.com

gfjolle@sbcglobal.net