Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: I am John Paul.
I started writing short stories in college, writing endless articles for my school newspaper. Years later, with the birth of the Internet I started publishing my own blog. I always found a reason to write until I let life get in the way. My vault of unfinished novels grew over the years while I let corporate America keep me busy, then the stories sat in a corner collecting dust.
Finally, after putting off a passion for long enough, I started setting aside time each week for my writing, once again. I am excited to be sharing my stories with you. While my topics are varied, and sometimes a little taboo, I write from the heart, and create adventure with every book. I retired from corporate America and live in central Maine giving me the freedom to write much more.
Pick up one of my books, sit back, and let the journey of my characters engulf your surroundings. From the drama, to the romance, to the murder and even the sex, every chapter promises to spark an emotion.
Thanks so much, John, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: When did you know you wanted to write, and when did you discover that you were good at it?
John Paul: I stumbled upon my love for writing back in college. I switched from a business major to an English major with a focus on creative writing. Of course, that didnāt exactly pay the bills, so I ended up in the corporate world. While in college, I started jotting down a bunch of storiesābasically, the beginnings of books. I had a dozen or more ideas for books, and over the years, Iād revisit those files and work on them, but I never really focused on the writing itself. I treated it like a hobbyāsomething to keep me occupied during my otherwise super busy life. It wasnāt until my 50s that I realized if I ever wanted to take my writing seriously, I needed to commit to it like I did with other parts of my life. So, I decided to write a certain number of words each week, and within three months, I finished my first book. The words just flowed out of my fingers. I had these ideasāthese characters in my head for so longāthat they just jumped onto the page, and the dialogue and plot rolled into place. When I handed the finished work to a few people, including my wife, and they all gave positive feedback and wanted more, I knew I was a good story teller and I needed to stay focused and finally follow my passion.
JSC: What was your first published work? Tell me a little about it.
JP: The Garden of Death was my very first self-published book! The idea for it started almost 30 years ago when I was living in London. I was strolling through Brompton Cemetery and stumbled upon something I never thought Iād see there. I wonāt go into the details because theyāre crucial to the story, but that moment sparked a tale that grew into a series of books. At its heart, The Garden of Death is a story about love, friendship, and death. Nicholas and Oliver, the main characters, engage in a long game of cat and mouse as they uncover each otherās pasts on their journey to shape their futures. Thereās quite a bit more sex and blood than some readers might be comfortable with, but hey, itās a story about a gay serial killer, after all!
JSC: What do you do when you get writerās block?
JP: When writerās block hits me, which is something Iāve only recently experienced, I usually take a break from the story and do something for myself. Sometimes, that means going for a walk or watching a movie Iāve seen before just to give my brain a little rest. My writerās block usually comes from having so much going on at once that I canāt quite get everything out clearly enough. My favorite way to clear my head is to enjoy a nice glass of bourbon by the fire pit and watch the stars on a clear, Maine night. Luckily though, I donāt remain blocked for very long. I can quickly get myself back on track and bring more life to my characters and the plot.
JSC: Do you use a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, why not?
JP: I do, sort of. Instead of my first and last name I use my first and middle name. I do this just to keep my writing passion and my corporate world a little separated, but anyone who knows me knows that I write and knows my pen name.
JSC: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
JP: āHey, letās try to get our writing on the priority list!ā I used to procrastinate a lot and not really focus on writing. Once I finally got the idea out of my head and onto paper, Iād just go off on a tangent, or dive into work, or spend time with family. I didnāt give my writing the attention it deserved when I was younger. If I had, I think Iād be an even better writer today and maybe even have more books publishedāmaybe even some professionally published, not just self-published.
JSC: Do you ever base your characters on real people? If so, what are the pitfalls youāve run into doing so?
JP: Every day! My characters and places are like a fun mix of real life and make-believe. I usually sprinkle in real spots from my own adventuresāplaces Iāve been and can picture vividly when Iām telling the story. As for the characters, well, theyāre usually a blend of traits from a few different people Iāve met, with a sprinkle of fiction. I find that when my characters have qualities that I know, have met, or even just seen but never spoken to, they come alive in my mind, and I want to write about them even more. I mix things because I donāt want any one person reading my book to think Iāve written about them in a negative or positive way. But if readers see a quality in the characters that they can relate to, they tend to connect with them moreāfind a real connection! But that is the same with TV and movie characters, too. They are so well created that you can often relate with them, or part of them and that pulls you in to watch more. I do the same thing with my characters, and it is fun when a friend asks me if a certain character is based on them after they finish the book.
JSC: How did you deal with rejection letters?
JP: This business can be super competitive! In the corporate world, it feels like who you know really makes a difference. Iāve had so many opportunities because I knew someone who knew someone, you know? I think the book business is kind of the same way. Iāve gotten a ton of rejection letters, and it feels like submitting a book to an agent is like playing the lotteryāunless you know someone you get nothing. Iāve been trying to boost my social media presenceāsomething Iām not really good atāin hopes of making the connections I need to move from self-publishing to getting an agent and a big publishing deal. But, how do I handle all those rejection letters? Well, I just catalog them and keep going. I know that my writing style isnāt for everyone, so Iām expecting rejection letters. I donāt take them personally. I think about all the unsolicited emails I get in the corporate world every day for every kind of service, product, etc., and how I usually ignore or reject them until I donāt. Every now and then, I find an email interesting and reach out, and itās worth it! I feel like thatās how my letters to agents are. Eventually, Iāll find an agent who believes in my work enough to represent me, or Iāll make the right connection to meet that right agent to get a great book deal.
JSC: Where do you like to write?
JP: Besides writing, I run a cozy bed & breakfast in northern Maine, which is the perfect spot for me to write. Whether Iām lounging in the library of our century-old, historic home, surrounded by books as old as the house itself, or soaking up the breeze on the screened porch while watching the sunset, I always find a corner of the house thatās just right for writing. In the colder months, I might curl up by the fire pit or sit at my desk, gazing out over the yard. And sometimes, I even find myself in the waiting room of my doctor, typing away on my phone. Iām always eager to get the story out as soon as it pops into my head, so itās not unusual for me to start dictating or typing on my phone and then fill in the details more fully in one of these lovely spots. Some people can sleep anywhereāwell I am one who can write anywhere.
JSC: How did you choose the topic for The Garden of Death?
JP: Itās a funny thought, isnāt it? That all my novels came from just one afternoon! Back in my 20s, I was living in London, and I spent tons of time wandering around the city and its cemeteries. Brompton Cemetery, which was super close to my flat, was a great shortcut to get around town, so I walked through it a lot. Growing up in America, I was used to those big, flat, and kind of boring cemeteries, but the ones in London were like old, majestic playgrounds. I started studying tombstones, and the more time I spent there, the more I realized how much of a cruising spot these cemeteries were for young peopleāgay and straight. I saw so many people meet up or hook up in that cemetery. I was shocked, but I found myself becoming a bit of a voyeur, wanting to know why someone would choose a cemetery, of all places, as a sexual playground. On one of my walks, I saw the most obvious sexual act Iād ever seen in public, and in that moment, I knew I wanted to write a story about itāthat moment and the activities of the cemetery. It took a few months of āresearchā and trying to create the characters, and before I knew it, I had a story going. I wrote more than 50% of the book before putting it on the back burner to focus on my work. Twenty-five years later, I dusted it off and finished the novel.
JSC: What are you working on now, and whatās coming out next? Tell us about it!
JP: Iām diving into a prequel right now! When I first started writing The Garden of Death, I thought it would be a single novel. But as I got lost in the characters and the story, I ended up with a cliffhanger. My readers were all buzzing with questions about what happened next and why I ended it the way that I did. Turns out, as I got deeper into The Garden of Death, I felt Nicholas and Oliverās story needed to continue, so I wrote two follow-up novels. The third novel has an even bigger cliffhanger, leaving it open for a continuation, but Iāve put it on hold for now. Instead, Iām working on a prequel that focuses on Adam (a character from the first book) whoās actually Nicholasā father. I didnāt give Adam enough space in The Garden of Death, and I felt he deserved his own story, so the prequel is all about his life and the struggles he faces as a serial killer. This latest work, called BROKEN, will seamlessly flow into The Garden of Death because some of the characters from The Garden of Deathwill make appearances in BROKEN. This latest work is darker and more violent than the first three, letting the reader experience/hear firsthand from a serial killer and what makes him tick. Iām super happy with how itās coming along, and Iām hoping to have it published before the end of this year!
And now for John’s new book: The Garden of Death:
Would you kill for love? Nicholas does, over and over. For Nicholas, killing is the only way to Oliver’s heart, so he thinks.The Garden of DeathĀ is a book about self discovery and love, but don’t be fooled – a lot of hearts get broken.
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Excerpt
Nicholas grows up without a mother and eventually learns the truth about his biological father, which helps him understand his struggles with love and his thirst for death. Oliver grows up living a charmed life, clueless about the dysfunction of his own family. Nicholas and Oliverās lives are intertwined, and their paths intersect more and more as Nicholas destroys everything that comes between him and his one true love.
Oliver struggles with his sexual identity and finds himself falling in love with the wrong guys. His rollercoaster of sexual escapades has him questioning everything and everyone as he comes to terms with who he truly loves. The ultimate question he faces is who will be āthe one.ā
The Garden of Death is the story about two boys who grow up wrestling with their identities. While they share a father, they each cope with life differently, and in the end, they both discover that love was right in front of them the entire time.