Author Stuart Jaffe pens fantasy, post-apocalyptic tales

1.) Stuart, for those not familiar with your works, can you tell us a little about you as a writer and your writings?

Sure. I've been writing for close to twenty years now. Spent much of that time being published as a short story and non-fiction writer. My novels are now coming out and it's been a blast. I write some science fiction (After The Crash) but mostly fantasy. I have a post-apocalyptic series, The Malja Chronicles, that's best described as 'Xena meets Mad Max.' The first book is called The Way of the Black Beast.  I also have a paranormal-mystery series about a modern man whose office is haunted by a 1940s detective.  The first book in that series is called Southern Bound and it comes out this month. I'm working on another Fantasy series that, in today's market, would be called YA because the protagonist is a 16-yr-old girl, but I'm writing it for a general audience.

2.) You are also a co-host over at The Eclectic Review Podcast. What kind of things do you and your fellow host talk about?

My fellow host is my wife, a biologist, and we talk about, well, everything. Some past topics include GMOs, NASA, the publishing industry, robotics, the history of vampires, how your nose works, and much, much more. It's called Eclectic after all. It's a weekly, half-hour show that spends the first half on a topic and the second half reviewing books, movies, comedians, and everything else. We also have plenty of special episodes, such as our annual Schlockfest, where we break form and do something unique.

3.) Who are some of your favorite authors?

My all-time favorite author is John Steinbeck. His books were the first that taught me literature didn't have to be boring. Other writers I love include Jack Ketchum (horror), Brian Keene (horror), John Jakes (historical fiction). Also Kafka and Philip K. Dick. Plenty of others, too, but those are some that don't always get mentioned.

4.) Does music influence your writing?

Yes and no. I've played blues guitar for about twenty-five years, so I don't listen to music while I write. I can't. If I do, I start really listening and then I don't write. But I do feel my music background helps me in "hearing" the rhythms of a scene. More directly, I've drawn on my knowledge and love of the blues to create the Bluesmen -- a group of assassin-musicians that give Malja plenty of trouble in my post-apocalypse books.

5.) Since you have studied martial arts, how does this impact your writing?

For one, I know what can and cannot physically happen in a fight and therefore I can make a conscious choice to be realistic or not in my fight scenes. Also, I've learned how much thinking and how much trained reaction go into combat, so I can utilize that to create tensions or actions accordingly.  I've also trained in weapons, so in the second Malja book, The Way of the Sword and Gun, I have a scene in which two characters have a sword fight. Both are highly trained, so as a result, there is little flashy combat. Instead, they have to watch each other closely and wait patiently for the right opportunities. It's one of the climactic fights and, judging from reader reactions, one of the most exciting and intense fight scenes, even though there is little actual fighting.

6.) Do you think you could take out Chuck Norris? Come on, he's an old man now!

A few months ago I might've been up to the task. Unfortunately, an old knee injury finally said ENOUGH! I'm in the recovery process from having knee surgery, and my doctor said that other than Tai Chi, my marital arts days are over.  So, I'm giving this one to Chuck.

For more on author Stuart Jaffe, check him out online at:
The Stuart Jaffe Website
Stuart's Amazon page
Stuart's Smashwords page