Jack Heath – Interview with CKT

Q. What five words best describe you?

Fearful, daring, dishonest, open, contradictory.

Q. What is a typical writing day for you?

I do many public events, bookstore visits and research trips. But if I don’t have to leave the house, a typical writing day involves dropping my son off at preschool, drinking too much coffee, writing until I get burned out – which usually takes 1,500 to 3,000 words – and then filling the rest of the day by checking emails and cleaning the house.

Q. Is there any part of the writing process you don’t like?

I love pretty much everything about my job, although the public appearances can sometimes be nerve-racking – or repetitive.

Q. Are you a plotter or a panster? (Plotter =Plotting out your manuscript before you write it. / Panster = Putting pen to paper and plotting as you go along)

I’m definitely a plotter, although I never refuse a complication. If an idea occurs to me when I’m already halfway through, I’ll use it. The ending usually changes a few times.

Q. What prompted you to sit down and write your first story?

I started writing my first book because I was bored by the books I was being given to read in school. I thought, “I could do better than this.” I suspect many careers in many fields start the same way.

Q. Do you road test your ideas before you start your story?

I usually run my ideas past a couple of knowledgeable people to be sure they make sense and to find improvements.

Q. What’s the funniest thing a child has ever said to you during a read aloud session?

‘Were you dropped on your head as a baby?’

Q. What’s next from Jack Heath?

A sequel to my YA espionage thriller The Cut Out  will come out in August/September 2016 – it’s called The Fail Safe.  I also have three more books in my real-time reading “Danger”  series coming out, two of which are written in you-choose-the-path style. In addition to that I’m doing some ghostwriting which I’m probably not supposed to talk about.

Jack’s website: jackheathwriter.com