Guest Blog Post: Jeremy Robinson Talks What’s Scary (And win a free Kindle!)

Welcome to Jeremy Robinson’s Great Kindle Giveaway and Blog Tour.

“Hurray for free Kindles!” you say, but who the hell is Jeremy Robinson? Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the author of eleven mixed genre novels, published in ten languages, including the popular fantasy YA series, THE LAST HUNTER, and the fast-paced Jack Sigler series (also known as Chess Team – not nearly as nerdy as it sounds), PULSE, INSTINCT and THRESHOLD from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. I’m the co-author of an expanding series novellas deemed the Chesspocalypse, which take place in the Chess Team universe. If that doesn’t wet your whistle, I’m also known as Jeremy Bishop, the #1 Amazon.com horror author of THE SENTINEL and the controversial novel, TORMENT. For more about me, or my books, visit www.jeremyrobinsononline.com.

I have watched for years as my fellow authors held online events called blog tours. Some would visit ten blogs. Others, as many as ninety. And every day they would bring something different, waxing eloquent about a multitude of topics. When I finally decided to have a blog tour of my own, and settled on doing each and every weekday in October, my first thought was, “This will be cool,” which was immediately followed up by, “Holy crap, I can’t think of something interesting to say twenty times in one month!” I can barely think of something worthwhile for my own blog just once a month. The solution is what follows; each blog participating in the tour could ask me ANY three questions. That means, if the subject matter bores you, I’m not to blame! Huzzah!

But fear not. There are other rewards for sloughing through the questions and answers. I’ll be giving away two Kindles to two randomly selected readers who sign up for my newsletter. Details on the giveaway can be found below. On to the Q&A!

Tell me about horror. What scares you, and what scares your readers?

What scares me is quite simple. Death. My death. For two reasons that have nothing to do with the physical pain of that eventual event. The first is that I’m really close to my kids. I work at home and not only see them, but I think enjoy them, more than a lot of dads. My kids adore me. And when I picture my own death, the first and most horrible image that comes to mind is how such an event would affect my children (if it happened now, when they’re little-7, 5 and 2). The second reason I fear death is much more selfish and is also the basis of my first Jeremy Bishop novel, TORMENT, which asks the question, “Are you ready to die?” Sometimes, my answer to that question is, “I’m not sure. Holy crap, I’m not sure!” And that answer frightens me. I’ve come to find out that it frightens a lot of people. So, for TORMENT, I took my greatest fear and wrote it in a way that makes the reader answer the question, “Are you ready.” Some of the reviews reveal that not everyone likes the answer they discover, but as a writer, I’m pleased that the book triggers a strong emotional response in everyone who reads it. Sometimes it’s anger, sometimes it’s “cool!” but most often it’s fear, which is what horror is all about.

How do current events reflect what scares people?

Wow, that’s a tough one. A lot of current events (outside of natural disasters) are created, exaggerated and carried through because of fear. I don’t watch news on TV anymore because the majority of it is fear mongering. In fact, I’d gone years without watching news and then happened to see Fox News one day. I was shocked by how hard they were working to make the audience feel afraid, of everything: the flu, ants, democrats, terrorists, etc. They were all presented with equal drama. What scares people has become the new control, which is actually scary. What would the world be like without fear, or, at least, if no one told us to be afraid? Would there be terrorists? Would there be wars? Sure, there are other emotions that lead to awful things, but things like hate and vengeance usually start as fear. So I suppose I think most current events are created by, or allowed to happen, because of what scares people. It’s very conspiracy theorist of me, but if news, and politicians, and corporations, weren’t constantly reminding us of what horrible things would happen if we don’t agree with them, people might spend more time thinking, and less time being afraid. Did I even answer the question?

When it comes to writing, what is your daily schedule, and how do you keep going if you hit a wall or the dreaded writer’s block?

I picture writer’s block as having no idea what to write. In that sense, I never get writer’s block. What I do get is burnout. I sometimes work so intensely on a variety of projects that I won’t leave the house (I work at home) for two weeks. I know exactly what to write next, but I feel like if I don’t get out and away from it, I’ll explode. For example, right now I’m writing THE LAST HUNTER – ASCENT, the third book in my Antarktos Saga. But I’m also editing my next hard cover, SECONDWORLD, with my editor for Thomas Dunne, I’m editing/re-writing CALLSIGN: KING – UNDERWORLD, CALLSIGN: BISHOP and CALLSIGN: KNIGHT (at night), I’m working on a pitch for a 30 minute animated series (on weekends), there’s a few other projects in the mix, but I don’t even want to think about them right now. There is rarely a moment when I’m not surrounded by this stuff and my brain eventually reaches critical mass.

To keep up with everything, I break my days into two halves. Mornings are spent doing non-writing tasks like marketing, interviews, edits, book formatting, cover creation, etc. Afternoons are for writing, and I can generally pump out two chapters a day. At night, I bust out the red pen and edit whatever current project needs it. Keeping everything on that schedule helps my mind compartmentalize everything and keeps me from getting confused about what I should be doing at a certain time. It also helps keep burnout at bay because I’m not doing too much of any one thing in a given day. Of course, even with the most optimal schedule, not getting out of the house for two weeks will do me in every time.

Hope that was as good for you as it was for me. Now how about that kindle giveaway?

Here’s the deal: to be entered to win one of two free kindles all you have to do is visit my website-www.jeremyrobinsononline.com-and sign up for the newsletter. That’s it. The first kindle will go to a randomly chosen newsletter signup on October 31. For the second kindle, there’s a catch. The second giveaway will only be triggered if one of my kindle books hits the Amazon.com bestseller list (top 100). So pick up some books (most are just $2.99 a pop) and spread the word! If one of the books squeaks up to #100 for just a single hour, the second kindle will be given away to another randomly chosen newsletter sign up on October 31.

*When you sign up for the newsletter, be sure to include the name of the blog that referred you in the field provided. I’ll be giving away two $50 Amazon.com gift certificates to the blog that refers the most sign-ups and another to the blog who referred the first kindle winner.

** I will announce winners via Twitter, Facebook, my blog, and newsletter (which you will be signed up for!) but I’ll also e-mail the winners directly-I’ll need to know where to ship those kindles!

Thanks for spending some time with me today. Hope you enjoyed the Q&A, and good luck with the kindle giveaway!

– Jeremy Robinson