Author Q&A

JJAX KEARNEY grew in the small town of Portland, Connecticut. Writing stories ever since the first grade, Jax had the gift of storytelling. As a freshman in high school, he was one of only 25 kids in the state to be selected to participate in Wesleyan University’s prestigious “Center for Creative Youth” for creative writing. It was here that Jax learned that he could make a living off his creativity. He was one of the youngest students accepted that year, and learned to hone his writing craft and interact with 125 other artistic students in other artistic disciplines, in what he credits to this day as the most important influence on his creativity and budding style as a writer. Following his graduation from high school, Jax joined the military becoming a Sonar Technician for the U.S. Coast Guard, furthering his experiences as he traveled extensively in the U.S., Caribbean, and Europe giving him valuable life experiences most will never encounter, that he would draw upon in his later writing. After the Coast Guard, Jax turned to standup comedy. He toured the country for years earning a living as a professional comedian writing and performing his own act. But, eventually life on the road alone took its toll, and Jax decided to stop touring and concentrate solely on writing.

Settling in the Atlanta, GA area, Jax began to focus solely on writing again, adding script-writing and film-making to his arsenal of talents. He quickly began to garner good reviews for his screenplays, and made the decision to start making short films. In the summer of 2008, he shot his first short film “Indian Hill”, an autobiographical coming of age tale about growing up in Portland, CT, which he premiered in February 2009. Several other short films have followed since. Now Jax is writing and producing the web-series; www.NoirTheSeries.com!

Jax is increasingly finding himself in demand as a script doctor and consultant to other writers. Jax’s feature length scripts continue to garner great reviews, including “Neptune’s Prison” which won “Best New Writer” at the 2015 Action on Film Festival’s screenplay competition. It’s only a matter of time before Jax’s talent is recognized by the powers that be in the industry, and avid film goers will know and revere the name Jax Kearney.

The pandemic shut down most of smaller film work, and Jax returned to work on his first novel “Whistler’s Mother” and focused on a final edit of the book. He is proud to announce the release of his first novel, now available in paperback and eBook, as well as a planned audio-book version that will be coming in the near future.

Recently Jax released his first children’s book (as Jack Kearney) as well, inspired by his three young nieces called “The Adventures of Impy Wimpy”. It’s an early reader books for kids between five and ten years old, with an emphasis on family.

Jax was worn a myriad of hats during his lifetime; A comic book kid, military veteran, computer geek, and comedian, he brings all his varied experiences to his characters and stories. He remains to this day, a creator and lover of all forms of written and live entertainment.

CL: How did the idea for “Whistler’s

Mother” come about?

JK: There’s a great back story to the creation of this novel. When I started it I had a roommate named Vicki who was an avid reader, and had read the first three or four chapters I had finished at the time. She loved the early story and was pushing me to finish it. But when she was in a catastrophic car accident that nearly killed her, she ended up in the hospital for over a month. I wanted her to have something to read and keep busy with, so I kept working on the novel’s first draft at a pretty furious rate. I would bring each chapter to her in the hospital on loose pages, so she only had to hold one piece of paper at the time. (One of her arms was broken in the accident.) It was a great motivator for both of us, as it let her escape her situation, and I wrote a great novel to help my friend get better.

QAAND MEET THE AUTHOR By J.K. Murphy

CL: What separates this book from other

pieces you’ve written? What connects it?

JK: I have mainly focused on screenplays the past ten years or so, with a few award wins on the festival circuit, and a hired re-write job, but I’ve yet to sell one of my own scripts yet. This is the first full novel I have released. The original idea for this goes back to 2005, with the first draft finished in 2008, but then it languished on a shelf while I honed my screenwriting.

During the pandemic I had a hard time starting new projects for some reason, so I decided to edit and release this novel finally. I wanted to write this as a novel to get deeper into the mindset and motivations for each character. With screenplays you can show motivations, but with a novel you can really get into the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters better.

CL: What can readers expect from

“Whistler’s Mother”?

JK: It is a somewhat dark, fast moving crime thriller with three main characters the story centers around: The main detective Frank Carmine, the gay psychologist who runs the shelter for abused women Jim Whistler, and the killer of course. They all end up tied together in the story-line along with support characters of importance, most obviously, Jim’s mother. It is a fairly dark novel as it concerns a serial killer, albeit one who’s killing abusers of women. So if crime dramas interest you, you’ll love this novel.

CL: How does inspiration strike you? JK: As a holdover from my years of being a standup comedian, I always carry a small pocket recorder. Thanks to this practice, I can make notes on story ideas, plot twists, or even just good ideas for a line of dialogue any place, anytime, anywhere! So many things trigger ideas for me. Fortunately I’m not one of those writers who’s stuck for ideas. My idea file is over 400 story ideas, and whichever one takes up the most space in my head and thoughts, is the next one that hits the paper.

CL: Do you have any rituals/best

practices for writing?

JK: I think all writers have a time of day they like to write, and write best, for me that’s between midnight and 3 to 4 a.m. I’m a night owl. But I can write almost anywhere if I’m really motivated to finish a story. (I’ve knocked out pages in loud bars and restaurants. I’m from a big family of five, so it all becomes white noise when you’re really focused on the story) especially when you get into the third act or final chapters when you want to get to the end yourself. It’s always a good sign when you want to write the ending, not just to finish the story, but that the story is motivating me, and it’s a good sign that it will interest others. CL: What advice can you

share with other local aspiring authors?

JK: Finish the first draft NO MATTER WHAT! It doesn’t have to be good, that’s what re-writing is for, but get the story down on paper. This alone is a major accomplishment. You should always have a good idea or even better a written outline of your story’s beginning, middle and ending. I can’t start a story I don’t know how I want it to end. I personally like to write a page or two on what each characters life has been up until my story begins. It lets me know the character better so they can be consistent in my story, or see the reasons for them changing over the course of my script or novel.

CL: How has your environment

influenced your work?

JK: I’ve lived through a lot of turmoil in my life. My father was an alcoholic, and although I grew up in a great small town in CT, there was a lot of family strife around me. I think that’s shaped my storytelling in a way that I lean towards troubled characters, unrequited love, and usually some form of redemption that a lot of us never got to experience. But one of the biggest influences on me as a writer happened when I was a freshman in High School. I was accepted to a prestigious six week summer school at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, called “The Center for Creative Youth.” They accepted 25 high school kids in five art disciplines each year; creative writing, acting, music, dance and visual arts, and out of the entire state of Connecticut, I was accepted for creative writing! Not only did a grow up so much that summer as a person, it taught me that you could possibly make a living from your art.

CL: What’s your favorite part about

writing? Your least favorite?

JK: My favorite part is that excitement of the spark of creation and starting a new project. I love when an idea is new and you’re finally putting it down on paper to share with others. That’s a big part of it for me, as it was being a standup

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM JAX KEARNEY’S BOOK

“Whistler’s Mother”

Smiling and shaking her head, she knelt down to evaluate the abuser. Jim staggered to the stairs and sat down on the first step. Looking over his shoulder with a faint smile, he addressed the women on the porch.

“I’m sorry about the disturbance ladies, but it’s over now. You can go back to your rooms, except for Stacy. I think you’ll need to identify him for the police.”

“Yeah, especially since you knocked his punk a-- out” added one of the girls, to which they all murmured in agreement and approval.

Jim turned to face them. “Please, let’s not glorify the violence. Not here. Not after what each of you have been through to end up as our guests. I did what I did because I had to, and I’d do it again in a second, but don’t think I enjoyed having to do that,” pointing to the motionless body in the grass.

“Sorry Doctor Jim,” the woman repented. “You’re right.”

Turning back to the prone body on the ground, he allowed himself a short smile for his conquest over the abusive husband. Deep inside, in that place where you try not to admit to yourself the things you don’t want others to know about you, came an overwhelming wave of approval for a just and righteous victory. And as he looked at the unconscious man laid out in front of him, with his back to all the women, his smile widened a little more.

Stacy pulled one of the girls back into the hallway for some privacy.

Whispering to the other woman, “Who’s that guy? How come he was inside the shelter?”

“That’s Doctor Jim.” The other replied. “He’s one of the psychiatrists that run this place. Besides, you of all people should be glad he was here.”

“Oh, I am. Trust me.” She explained earnestly. “I just thought they don’t allow men in here at all, you know, to make us feel safe.”

“It doesn’t get much safer than having Doctor Jim here. He’s a black belt.” The other woman continued. “And, besides that, he’s gay.”

comedian, I love to entertain people. I know life is hard for a lot of us, so if I can entertain you for a while and take you away from your troubles, so that when you face them again you are refreshed and ready to take them on again, then I’ve done a good thing.

My least favorite part is the business of writing. SO many great stories and scripts are never seen because of the mechanics of the writing industry, and especially the screenwriting business. Production companies will not even read your work unless it’s presented through an agent or actor they respect. There are good legal reasons for some of it, but it’s disheartening to have script or story everyone including peers love (not just friends and family) and you still can’t get it into the right hands due to lack of representation. That’s why the self publishing movement has become a thing, and it’s a good thing.

CL: Why did you start writing? What

made you take the plunge?

JK: In my memory, I do not EVER remember a time when I wasn’t writing. My mother has a book I wrote and bound for her when I was six-years-old! It was a few pages long, and a folded a piece of oak tag around some blank sheets of paper, and sewed them together in the crease, because that how books are made right? I think she still has it somewhere. When I was around 10, I wrote my own comic books. I had my own comic book label “Kid Comics” and about five or six different superheroes who I wrote multiple issue for. I still have a bunch of those in my files. CL: What makes your work stand out from

other authors in the same genre?

JK: Because of my cross training, so to speak in screenwriting, I have a very lean style in my novels. I hate when an author spends two pages describing something that isn’t even relevant to the story. I like to tell the story, so I keep the detail to a level of painting the picture, but letting the story flow.

CL: What/who is your favorite book/

author of all time? Why?

JK: This is a very tough question. Different books stand out if different ways. I just re-read George Orwell’s “1984” during the pandemic which made it even more terrifying. I discovered a love for the writings of James Baldwin and recommend “The Fire Next Time” as my favorite of the four or five books of his I’ve read. I’m of mixed heritage, but didn’t meet my African American father until I was 30, so his books speak to me on discovering that side of my heritage. LOCAL SCRIBES

In addition to our Q&A with a local author, be sure to check out these new releases written by local authors in Cobb. Marietta author Roni Robbins has published “Hands of Gold,” a work of fiction loosely based on an inspiring true story. Acworth author Roger Graham has published “Fly By Knights,” that details personal recollections of 37 pilots, navigators, maintenance and armament personnel and family members in the Vietnam War.