Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve lost count of how many books I’ve written now. I started reading seriously at about 13. My mother had all the science fiction books. All of them. Golden Age stuff appealed to me, so I binged on Clarke and Asimov. Then I got into Stephen King – I was probably too young for King – and Dean Koontz. later, I discovered Donaldson and Frank Herbert.
I learned about people through reading. Being an autistic kid, I didn’t understand people by meeting them. Fiction gave me the in-depth studies I needed to learn about humanity, and the stories I needed to aspire to be more human myself.
Eventually, I started writing. My first novel was completed when I was 15. It went in a desk drawer (it belongs there). Now I publish a book or two a year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Finding Life on Mars is like my 12th title, but the second novel I wrote as an adult. I’d just come out of graduate school and taken a year off from writing, then finished The Girlfriend Project. I liked the catharsis of that book but wanted to do something more complicated. Finding Life on Mars went through a couple of iterations, and I grew as a writer through each. I feel like I also grew as a person.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can put out 10000 words a day when I’m really into a project. I guess my unusual habit would be autistic obsession with a story. It gives me a certain stick-to-it-iveness that my colleagues at times envy.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King
Isaac Asimov
Robert Heinlein
Arthur C. Clark
Dean Koontz
Lee Child
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a post-apocalyptic adventure about isolation, loneliness and Ubuntu.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea, actually. I don’t write for sales; I write to clarify a thought or feeling that I can’t explicate in a short format. This is the first book I’ve ever really wanted to succeed.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write! Limit the amount of advice you take from older writers; the markets now are 100% different than even 15 years ago. Old advice no longer holds.
And, don’t write for markets. Write for yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.
What are you reading now?
Sean Russel, The One Kingdom
What’s next for you as a writer?
More books.
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?
Dune. One Jack Reacher novel (if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all). The Stand. And, follow me on this one, Crime and Punishment.
I’ll read the first three then probably get bored with isolation, then use Crime and Punishment to build a papier mache raft and float home.
Author Websites and Profiles
Jason Dias Amazon Profile
Jason Dias’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
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