what is your name?
John A. Karr
how would you describe what you do?
Fiction writer with a day job as an IT Analyst. Fiction writing each day helps keep the demons at bay.
what are you currently working on?
Currently I’m writing the rough draft of a western horror/adventure tale while marketing my recently released heroic fantasy novel, Rhone, and medical thriller Hippocrates Shattered. I am also in the formative stages of a mainstream fiction work based on a Founding Father returning to the current political scene in the United States.
what has had the greatest influence on your work?
Nearly every book read, fiction or non-fiction, contributes to the creativity well. The greatest influence on me are works by writers who create vivid images and palatable impact.
what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
That my work is of one particular genre. I move around from genre to general fiction as the impetus moves me.
what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
Number One Strength: Books are affordable, portable entertainment. Most people can afford at least a used book from time to time or can check one out from the library. You can take books with you and enjoy some period of stimulated imagination — if the writer has succeeded in his or her efforts. Reading engages the mind actively, in ways television and movies do not. Video games are interactive but the images, while often brilliant, are not created in one’s own mind.
The biggest weakness of the book realm is that the majority of people prefer the aformentioned passive visual entertainment. This is why bestsellers, particularly the Young Adult variety, are good for the book industry; they get more people reading.
how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
Digital books are great for the environment, and the reading devices have come a long way to ease eye strain.
what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
Keep writing. Daily if possible. Through all the rejections, all the self-doubt, all the stumbles … keep writing and entering the daily zen intrinsic to the act of writing (or painting, sculpting, making music, performing).
where can we find you online?
www.johnakarr.com and http://wildwolfpublishing.com/JAKarr.aspx
what are you reading at the moment?
The Horror Tales of Robert E. Howard
what are you listening to at the moment?
Soma – FM’s Mission Control http://somafm.com/
anything else we should know?
Family guy. Lucky to have a great wife and kids.