Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I have three books in print: In the Service of the Boyar (Strange Fictions Press, 2016) which looks at the story of Dracula from the perspective of the workers who have been hired to excavate the earth from beneath his castle, Stray Our Pieces (Waldorf Publishing, 2019) about a woman struggling against the bonds of motherhood and heckler (Unsolicited Press, 2020), which was nominated for the 2021 Pen Faulkner Award and focuses on lives intersecting at a failing hotel. I live in Richardson, TX with my wife and son.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
heckler was inspired by many things but most profoundly by the desire to explore different kinds of love and how they inspire people to seek out what they think they need from the world.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. Then again, I have no idea if there is a norm for this. I assume all writers have their quirks.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Too many to list here. I can say heckler was hugely influenced at crucial points by The Thief’s Journal by Jean Genet and The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. I happened to be at the point of making some choices about heckler while reading these books and they’ve remained dear to me for this reason. I can usually point to a couple of pieces of writing be they novels, short stories or poems as major influences on anything I’ve written. The good stuff gets into So much depends on having the right piece in your hands at the right time.
What are you working on now?
I’ve finished a novel about a romancing con man (love a tooic again….I should get out more), which I’m shopping. I’m also halfway through a draft of a new one about fatherhood and the pamdemic.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I tweet from @JasonGraff1
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read more.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
See above.
What are you reading now?
Diary of a Bad Year by JM Coetzee
What’s next for you as a writer?
Finishing my pandemic book
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?
Paradise by AL Kennedy
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
The Sea by John Banville
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Author Websites and Profiles
Jason Graff Website
Jason Graff’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account