James ‘Remo’ Jackson is a former US Navy Chief Petty Officer with almost two decades of military experience. During his time in the Navy, most of it spent as a tactical instructor, he took part in fielding teams, Mobile Training Teams, and operated with other branches of the US Military.
As a contributing author to a few non-fiction works, short manuals and procedural text books, Up From the Depths was his first venture into fiction but certainly not his last.
And he was my advisor on all things military for the Doomsday’s Child books. I couldn’t have written them without James’s stellar input.
- James, when you release a book, what kind of experience are you looking to provide to your readers?
Mostly, entertainment. After reading one of my books, or more than one, they feel they were entertained and didn’t waste their time.
2. What do you hope they’ll feel and think when they’re reading one of your books?
Hopefully, they feel they’ve been immersed or transported into that world and have a vested interest in what happens to the characters.
3. Out of all your titles, can you pick a favorite? Do you have a favorite “child?”
I’d say Cascadia Gust Front.
If you mean “child” as in related to a work in progress? I do, and it’s a work in progress. lol
4. If you could pick one of your characters to bring to the big screen, who would it be and who would you choose to play them?
Dalton Stride. He’s more down to earth, yet still very capable of meeting the threats. Not sure who could portray him in a film or television series. It would have to be someone who could convey who Stride is and make it believable.
5. We all bring personal and professional experiences to our art. Apart from the obvious (hardware and tactical knowledge, understanding the language and acronyms) what is it that your military experience brings into your writing and into your stories and characters?
Realism. Far too many authors write a military character or series of military characters and they’re caricatures, cartoonish, or filled with all the same clichés we’ve all seen, heard or read thousands of times.
6. What is guaranteed to make you cringe (or swear with disgust) in a book/show/movie?
The obvious inaccuracies depicted in the work. I’ve stopped reading books and/or watching movies or television shows that were filled with so many issues I wasn’t sure if it was intentional in a weak attempt to inject humor or the author, director, screenwriter was what some call a ‘Google boy’ a person who gets all their info from the internet and not some other source that will point out and address the inaccuracies. I have heard that in some cases, the director wants to change how it would be in the real world because they want some kind of splash, a big explosion or some other inane Hollyweird action scene.
7. What is your kryptonite as a writer?
The lack of free time.
8. If you had the power to cure a disease of your choosing, what would it be?
Cancer and all its forms. Far too many people suffer from some form of cancer and the treatments, for some, are almost as bad as the actual disease.
A wilderness/outdoor survival instructor and disaster mitigation educator, he can normally be found outdoors teaching clueless people the fine art of survival in less than pristine conditions.
He is currently a a roving reviewer for Buyzombie.com and for several published authors.
Check out his work at https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00EV3L2JK and I highly recommend those two Dalton Stride novels on there, which I was lucky enough to play beta reader for.
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