Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Tours virtual book tour for A.R. Witham’s YA Fantasy novel The Legend of Black Jack! Today, I am excited to kick off the tour by sharing an interview with the author, A.R. Witham, along with a bunch of extra goodies!
You can find our Q&A below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, links to purchase a copy or a giveaway opportunity where you could win a copy of The Legend of Black Jack in either ebook or paperback format, as well as a couple of extra cool surprises. Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule at the bottom of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
The Legend of Black Jack by A.R. Witham
Series: None
Genre: YA Fantasy
Intended Age Group: 12+
Pages: 458
Published: May 17, 2022
Publisher: Nepenthe House (Self Published)
Thrilling fantasy adventure debut from Emmy-winner A. R. Witham.
Jack Swift can tell you every element on the periodic table, recite Treasure Island verbatim, and would remember in perfect detail every word you’d ever say to him. He has been alone for a long time, so he has buried himself in books, using them to plan his escape.
But no textbook could ever prepare him for the land of Keymark.
At 3:33 a.m. on his fourteenth birthday, Jack is kidnapped by a hideous monster to another sphere of existence. Now there are two moons in the sky, and he is surrounded by grotesque creatures and magical warriors training for battle. They want the impossible: Jack must use his abilities to save a life or be trapped in this bizarre world with no chance of rescue.
Jack doesn’t have secret magic, a great destiny, or any experience.
So why do they all expect him to become a legend?
See Also:
Doogie Howser, MD • Nonendangered Rhinos • Legen…Wait for it…Dary
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QJ24S76
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60159900-the-legend-of-black-jack
Author Q&A
I want to start things off by asking: what is a great book that you’ve read recently and why should we give it a go?
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, an account of Churchill’s first year in office. Larson is a master of making the past come alive and breathe real air.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of reading/writing? Do you care to elaborate?
I like adventuring. I’ve done 2-3 month stretches of the Appalachian Trail twice and canoed to the Arctic Circle. I’m an outdoor boy. The next big adventure is the week after The Legend of Black Jack launch. You are actually one of the last people I’m talking with before I disappear into the wilds of Washington. Virgin territory for me.
Tell us about your road to writing. What made you want to become an author?
My mom has a picture of me at seven years old in the bathtub. There’s a plank of wood across the tub. On it sits an old Royal typewriter. I’m just clacking away on the typewriter, typing stories of swords, buck naked. I always liked the sound of keystrokes. Writing seemed to be the way to make that music most often.
Writing is a hard and lonely affair in the best of circumstances. How do you achieve a good work/life/writing balance?
I like to do nothing as much as possible. Doing nothing is a great way to start the day. I work with clients, I tell some stories, I hang out with Gloria and Will. They’re both asleep by ten pm. I’ve got four more hours left in me so I write then. Next morning, I wake up late and do nothing as long as possible. That’s some quality work/life balance.
Is this your first book? If so, what lessons have you learned from writing it? If not, what lessons did you learn from writing earlier books that you brought into this one?
We’re all formed by the stories we’ve read or watched or heard. Stories like The Mandalorian and The Avengers created permanent feelings in me about heroism and nobility. Kvothe has made me recognize that fantasy stories told in poetic layers can be doubly marvelous. Abercrombie and King have taken me dark places I never want to be again, and C.S. Lewis created a complete universe from whole cloth in thirty-eight thousand words. Every story we come in contact with touches us, some only in passing and some to the end of the line. I’m just a product of the tales that stuck with me, same as you. That’s what I learned. Stories stick with you.
Do you usually write to background noise, music, etc. or do you prefer silence?
When I’m in the groove you could run a freight car by me and I wouldn’t mind.
What made you want to write in the fantasy genre? Do you write (or plan to write) in any other genres?
Fantasy is the best genre for writers. Here’s proof: Part of Normal Fiction Writer’s story takes place in Baltimore so she does research, reads some articles to get the feel of the place, looks for neighborhoods that match the feel she wants…and suddenly she’s spent 10 hours researching Baltimore.
Fantasy writers don’t care about Baltimore.
If we need a city to have a steep incline, be next to an ocean, under threat from an advancing army with a system of escape tunnels, we can just tell the reader that’s what it is. We don’t have to even follow the laws of physics: your characters can survive any fall if you’re creative enough. Impossible for your characters to travel a vast distance in the time you need? Giant birds.
Fantasy is best because it allows the writer to focus on the things that matter: the characters, the story, the feeling. All the rest we can just make up.
What is one thing that you love about the current state of SFF and what is one thing that you wish you saw more of?
More Books + More Options = More Better. There’s a lot of dreck out there but people don’t talk about the dreck, they talk about the stuff that grabs them. When I was a kid it was Tolkien or Brooks or Jordan, that was it. Now there are hundreds of fantasy writers feeding the wheel, and some of them are fantastic. If it’s a good story you’ll hear about it, and there are plenty of them. I guess I wish I saw more positivity, it’s an amazing time.
Who are your favorite current writers and who are your greatest influences?
Pat Rothfuss’ Kvothe is what brought me back to fantasy. Stephen King is the cream of the crop for me, I like the way he talks in my head. Terry Brooks will always be the author-as-a-person influence for me. He stayed at my house when I was in middle school and I kept him up late asking him a million questions. He took it all in stride with the patience of a kind sensei. By the time I was done I was convinced I could write anything. And I could.
What do you think characterizes your writing style?
I don’t really know how I seem to an audience, I just broadcast the signal. I’m hyperverbal, I’m boisterous…I’m like Tigger after a Snickers bar and a Diet Coke: enthusiastic, but lacking self-awareness. Reviewers do a better job of summing me up. They say I’m descriptive. Fast-paced. Empathetic. I can tell you I like action scenes. I like the idea of innocence being protected. I like being personal with the characters. If you can’t see yourself in Jack, I’m not doing my job right. My job is to take you out of your life right now, encourage you to invest your hopes and fears into someone else and fly away with me to this impossible place you love. Love is important. Actually, that’s my answer: love.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m a croquet player. I lay out the wickets at the beginning with a goal in mind and then I play the course as well as I can. Sometimes you get through the wickets one way, sometimes the other, but you wind your way home.
What are your favorite types of characters?
When I was in fourth grade I made the decision to read Oliver Twist because it had an innocent orphan and a wily thief. A ridiculous read (old British text for a ten year old Yankee was unwise), but I trudged my way through it. My final opinion was the Artful Dodger didn’t get enough story time with Oliver. Short answer: I like pairings. I like locking two different people in a room and seeing what they talk about. Butch & Sundance, Tybalt & Mercutio, Pinocchio & Jiminy. Dialogue is so much fun when you let characters bounce against each other like racquetballs.
How much of yourself do you write into your stories?
It’s all or nothing, right? It’s all the stories that have affected my life, weaving them all together into something new. This is what excites me, this is what keeps me up at night, these are the things that terrify me. I’m the narrator, this is the story, come with me. I have something to show you.
For those who haven’t read The Legend of Black Jack, give us the elevator pitch.
Jack Swift can tell you every element on the periodic table, recite Treasure Island verbatim, and would remember in perfect detail every word you’d ever say to him. He has been alone for a long time, so he has buried himself in books, using them to plan his escape.
But no textbook could ever prepare him for the land of Keymark.
At 3:33 a.m. on his fourteenth birthday, Jack is kidnapped by a hideous monster to another sphere of existence. Now there are two moons in the sky, and he is surrounded by grotesque creatures and magical warriors training for battle. They want the impossible: Jack must use his abilities to save a life or be trapped in this bizarre world with no chance of rescue.
Jack doesn’t have secret magic, a great destiny, or any experience.
So why do they all expect him to become a legend?
Describe your book in 3 adjectives.
Adventurous, Energetic & Unexpected
What do you think is the overarching theme?
It’s the coming-of-age story. It’s our journey into adulthood. Jack is us, lost in the world, all on his own, helpless in the face of forces larger than he can comprehend, powerless to affect anything around him. If you tell me you haven’t ever felt like that, you’d be lying and so would I. Then things change. Jack takes a stand, even without the power to do so. He learns to fight for himself, then for others. This is the story of who we are as children and what we need to face in order to take our place as an adult.
Were there any specific challenges with writing The Legend of Black Jack? Or, did you find anything to be easier?
It took forever. Writing is hard.
If you had to do so in just one or two sentences, how would you describe the plot of The Legend of Black Jack?
It’s the story of this smart kid who gets mistaken for someone else, then mistaken for someone else. Through a series of fantastic adventures, he grows into the shoes of both identities and actually becomes the person he was meant to be.
They say to never judge a book by its cover and maybe that’s true in the philosophical sense, but it certainly happens with books. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of The Legend of Black Jack?
You know when you go into the bookstore and they have those journals with locks on them? I wanted that. I wanted an old leather tome with silvered edges and magic seeping out the top, a sorcerer’s journal. I wanted the idea that you were opening a story so incredible someone had to put a lock on it to keep it from getting out.
One of my favorite things is highlighting quotes that really resonate with me and sharing them in my reviews. Do you have a favorite quote from The Legend of Black Jack that you can share with us?
I’m bad at picking out quotes, so I’ll use one from the latest review:
Rooker put up a pot of coffee, took off his boots, and went to work on his calloused feet, shredding the dead skin off with a cheese grater. “Ahh,” he sighed happily. “Ya want this when I’m done?”
What can you tell us about what’s coming up next for you?
Not yet, it’s a secret.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! I always enjoy this little peek behind the curtain. Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to leave for our readers?
You’re smarter than you know, stranger than we see, and stronger than you think. Now go read the book.
Bonus Artwork!
The Legend of Black Jack has a bunch of really cool full page illustrations in it — the artwork is simply beautiful! The author has given us some amazing animated versions of the artwork, so I just had to share a few of them with you. Check out the videos below and make sure you maximize each one so you can get a good look at the artwork!
About the Author
A.R. Witham is a three-time Emmy-winning writer-producer and a great lover of adventure. He is the world’s foremost expert on the history of Keymark. He loves to talk with young people and adults who remember what young people know. He has written for film and television, canoed to the Arctic Circle, hiked the Appalachian Trail and been inside his house while it burned down. He lives in Indianapolis.
If you would like a sneak peek at his upcoming work or upcoming events, please reach out to him:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/arwitham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARWitham
Website: www.arwitham.com
Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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