Interview

Jack Allen

Interview by Lisa Pinckard

	Booksigning: Waldenbooks in Southgate, MI.  With Jack Allen is Jenny Hess, the cover model for the book. Jack Allen's childhood passion for comic books evolved into an appreciation of the selfless hero who fights against evil, the hero who fights for those who can't fight for themselves. Josh McGowan, the hero of Change of Heart, is an amalgamation of characters from fiction and from real life that Jack has admired for years. However, Josh is mainly an adaptation of the Peter Parker/Spiderman character Jack Allen so easily identified with as a kid. For Jack, writing is a compulsion. The process and the accomplishment are satisfaction enough, but the need to produce material can be overwhelming. The characters, scenes and dialogue of a hundred stories churn in his mind day and night until he can put them on paper and rid himself of their burden. Writer's block is not an option. The problem is to assuage the pain in his cramped fingers from writing everything by hand, and to quell the torture to get the next page written until the book is complete so he can move on to the next project, and then the next. Part of the satisfaction comes from the revelation of the story that unfolds as the words flow from the end of his pen, the joy of discovering what happens in the story just as the reader who reads it for the first time. The ghost of a thought that lingers at the back of Jack's mind is what will happen to him  when he has written the last sentence of the last book in his list of  projects. It is a feeling like he is struggling toward his own oblivion. Jack lives in Michigan with his puppy, Peanut.

LP: First of all, Change of Heart made for intense reading: a good thriller. I hesitate to call it a spy novel as at one point, the main character, Josh McGowan, states he is not a spy despite the fact that his every move would give that impression. Do you yourself classify it as a spy novel, and if not, what genre do you place it under?

JA: Yes, I consider Change of Heart to be a spy thriller, along the lines of some of my favorite books by Ken Follett, including Lie Down With Lions and Triple. In the story, Josh might try to deny that he is a spy, but that is what he is. A lot of spy work is legwork and mundane paperwork, like you might find in any bureaucracy. Josh started his career in the Special Forces and even though most of his work is simply investigation, he still finds himself in situations where he needs his knowledge as a soldier in the field. And for Josh, killing a man in cold blood can come easily, too easily even for his own conscience.

LP: I was impressed by the detail that went not only into the characters, but the entire military and intelligence agencies of the different countries involved: Russia, Turkey, Tokyo. Do you have a military background yourself? How much research did you have to do before you felt you had enough to get it all to come together in a way that would not only make the story believable, but engrossing as well?

JA: Research can be important for writer, to give his stories an element of reality, which helps to bring the reader into the story. However, I think a lot of people get the wrong impression about research. A story is not about research. It's about what people say and do, and no amount of research is going to rescue a bad story. On the other hand, a story can be poorly researched and terribly inaccurate and still be a great story. I don't have a military background, but I have an interest in intelligence organizations and their histories and how they function, which leads me to read and watch programs about the subject. I like to use the information I have learned, but I don't like to make the story reliant upon the research, because that will just make it a house of cards that will collapse too easily.

LP: Change of Heart was published by your own publishing company, Burping Frog Publishing. What made you decide to start your own company, and did you have a background in publishing?

JA: I decided to start my own publishing company to market my product just as if I was selling any other product, like I was a baker selling bread. I had absolutely no experience in publishing, but I have some knowledge of marketing and advertising, so I just put that to work for me like I've done in the past for other clients. In the past six months I have learned a ton about the publishing industry, and I've had a great time doing interviews on-line and on the radio, and doing book signings around Michigan. I've had the good fortune to find a few literary agents who are interested in Change of Heart, and hopefully my experience makes me attractive to a big publisher.

LP: What are some interesting things you've learned/encountered since becoming a publisher that surprise you?

JA: One of the most interesting things I've learned is how important independent bookstores can be to a writer and publisher. We are progressing more and more toward the age of superstores, and the small store owner is finding it harder to compete against the chains. However, the independent bookstore can be a writer's best friend because the store owner has an interest in how the book sells. An independent store owner might go to great lengths to promote a book signing and direct customers to your table to talk or buy a book. A chain store is usually run by employees who may not care that you're even in their store. The best thing that happened to me was to send a book to a store in a small town in northern Michigan. The store owner loved the book and invited me to do a signing, and it has built from there.

LP: Since you have obviously been successful in getting your work out there, would you ever go back to submitting your work to one of the major publishing houses?

JA: I have considered going to a major publisher. A few agents are interested in Change of Heart, and one is with a large agency in New York. The possibilities are exciting, but I'll wait to see what happens. I find myself in the position of not being dependent on another publisher. There is so much I can do for myself, and so many things I have not yet done. My biggest question is: What can a big publisher do for me that I'm not already doing for myself? I have also considered that if I am fortunate enough to sell Change of Heart to a big publishing house, it might give me the means to take my own publishing projects to a higher level.

LP: Using your own experience as a guide, would you recommend new writers that are having a hard time getting their foot in the door of literary agencies or publishing houses try self-publishing? If so, what should they look for in this type of publishing company?

JA: Yes, I would definitely recommend self-publishing to anyone who wishes to put their book on the market. They could follow my example and the examples of hundreds of other authors who have done the same, but I would not recommend it unless they had a finished, well-crafted product. I've been told by a bookstore owner that two of the biggest problems with a self-published book are spelling and grammar errors. Some people won't even touch a book if it's been self-published.

LP: You've been doing a book tour in recent days. Now that you've become your own boss, do you still do your own PR work setting up the bookstore signings, etc., or do you hire an outside firm to deal with it?

JA: I am excited to do all of my own promotion work. And no, I have not hired an outside firm to do it for me. I see no reason to pay someone else to do what I can do for myself. Sure, someone else might have experience and contacts, but they had to start somewhere as well, and who says I can't do the same thing? I might need to hire someone in the future when I run out of ideas. For now, though, I'm very excited about the progress I've made.

LP: With all that you currently have on your plate, do you find you have more time for your own writing, or less? And do you think it could ever get so busy that you had to step away from it rather than let your writing suffer?

JA: My writing has definitely suffered. I do not spend nearly enough time on my writing because of the amount of time I spend trying to let people know about Change of Heart. But would I step away from all the promotion work to spend more time writing? Sometimes I would love to do that, just quit on all this stuff so I can let myself become absorbed in those other worlds, where I'm so comfortable. I really appreciate that so many people have been so receptive to such a simple little story that I wrote in my spare time about six years ago. I had to be pushed by my best friend into publishing this book myself. He even offered to pay for it all. I resisted for the very reason that once I got started I would have to sacrifice my writing. However, I do not regret taking things into my own hands, and I owe a great deal to my friends and family. Everyone supported me.

LP: As I stated before, Change of Heart was a great read. Was this your first novel, and if so, do you have another in the works?

JA: I'm glad you enjoyed Change of Heart. Part of my reluctance in finding a publisher was because I feared it was no good. I have been very pleased that it has been received as well as it has, and that a few people have had the chance to have fun with it. This was my first book. I have three more books already finished. An Innocent Among Them and The Widow of Calcutta are the next in the series of Josh McGowan stories. The fourth book, Breathe of the Flesh, is a spy story and murder mystery set in WWII. Right now I am working on my fifth book, the fourth in the series about Josh. I'm about halfway done and hope to have it finished by the time I release An Innocent Among Them later this year.

LP: The Web site for Burping Frog Publishing is currently under construction. Do you have an estimated time as to when it will be up and running? And if someone wants to purchase Change of Heart in the meantime, how would they go about doing this?

JA: Right now the Web site is sort of on the shelf. It has been a useful tool for communication and allowing people to read an excerpt of Change of Heart, but not much more than that. Maybe in the future I will update it, although I really have no interest in pursuing the world of electronic books and on-line publishing. Some people might argue that I'm ignoring a vast potential market, but I'm just not buying it. There's nothing like holding a book, and reading off a computer screen is too hard on the eyes.

Getting a copy of Change of Heart is easy. It's available at any bookstore, although they might have to order it. Just ask for Change of Heart by Jack Allen (ISBN 0-9703053-0-3). Even better, anyone can order it directly from me by e-mail at jallen@burpingfrog.com or by phone at (313) 383-6768. The cost is $14.00, and I will sign it and pay for shipping.

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