Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I served as an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force for 20 years and subsequently worked as a university lecturer and Human Resources consultant. I am deeply interested in the human condition – and has a keen interest in physics, biology, consciousness and sociology. He has lived in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. This is his first book.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Ambisexuality: the anatomy of transerotic desire’ started out as the subject of a PhD. My interest emerged from my thesis supervisor, Frank Lewins, had a trans daughter, and this experience led him to research and write a book ‘Transsexualism in society’. But my research took a very different direction. My PhD focused on trans women sex workers and my post doc studies focused on the men who were attracted to non-operative trans women.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write in cafes so I’m not distracted by domestics. I like to get up early and go to a cafe where I can study texts and write. I return for breakfast and then leave for another cafe. I repeat this process two or three times a day. I hardly ever write at home.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Honestly, there are so many. Some influence my writing style, others influence my thinking about the subject matter at hand. I have a significant library of texts that contain notes, have passages underlined and have pages tabbed. How do I choose just one or two?
What are you working on now?
I am working on a documentary version of ‘Ambisexuality’ with Genevieve Cooper, a film editor in Perth based on filmed material that was shot at the time I did my post doc field work with Erica Addis and Pat Fisk.
I am also working on a book called ‘Ethereality’, an ambitious project which aims to give my take on a new interpretation of quantum mechanics. Like ‘Ambisexuality’, I am also working on a documentary version of this manuscript with Conway Lau, a film animator in Auckland.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My website, at: https://ambisexuality.jameskwatson.science/
Do you have any advice for new authors?
People use the word ‘passionate’ very loosely these days. People say they are passionate about apple pie when all they really mean is they like to eat them. I still use the word in the old fashioned sense of the word. If you are passionate about someone, you marry them and stay married for the rest of your life. Your success is only guaranteed if you are passionate about your subject matter and persistent beyond what most people would feel is ‘reasonable’.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up.
What are you reading now?
A science fiction called ‘Red Mars’.
What’s next for you as a writer?
My work on ‘Ethereality’ will carry me through for a few years. After that, I want to write a book on life and consciousness which its analytical basis from my current work.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
What is Real? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics
by Adam Becker
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Author Websites and Profiles
James Watson Website
James Watson Amazon Profile
James Watson’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile