Trudy's All Things Books Blog: Q & A with the talented JH Glaze

Anne Nelson's Interview of the amazing JH Glaze.

What an honor it was for me when Shanna (Admin) asked if I would be interested in doing a Q and A interview with JH Glaze!! Being a huge fan of JH Glaze, I’ve read each of his novels: The Spirit Box, NorthWest, The Horror Challenge Vol. I, The Horror Challenge Vol. II, The Horror Challenge Volume III, The Life We Dream, and Forced Intelligence.

Now I’m waiting eagerly for Send No Angel, which is book 3 in the John Hazard series and the new series called RUNE.

I immediately said, heck yes, I’d love to! Then the shock-panic set in. What the blazes was I thinking?? I’ve never done anything like this before. dang I don’t even have a blog page!

But the big scare factor here for me was and still is, interviewing this phenomenal mastermind, genius of a brain, and in my opinion the king of horror/thriller/paranormal himself… Author JH Glaze (takes DEEP breath).

Without fail, whenever I finish reading anything written by JH Glaze, and I mean ANYTHING, I sit there shaking my head afterwards, wondering to myself (as I’m sure a lot of us do) “Where does he come up with this? How does he do it?”

Now the next question is, where do I begin with my Q & A’s for the mastermind JH Glaze? Then I thought it best I do an introduction, not that it’s needed of course... We all know of JH Glaze (and if you don’t yet, start with The Spirit Box).

Here is some information that I actually took from his Goodreads profile and his biography from Amazon:

JH Glaze, the emerging horror/thriller/paranormal author, was born in Niles, OH, in the heart of the Rust Belt. He currently resides in Atlanta, GA with his family. His wife Susan Grimm is his editor and works diligently to keep the stories coming.

The incredibly entertaining stories he writes are drawn from experiences he survived during his travels across the US on multiple road trips. A life lived to the fullest each day, and an imagination that refuses to be silenced.

His writing style has been called clever and unique by many of his readers. He goes all out in his efforts to please, thrill, and shock the reader. A few chapters into his books and you will understand why he is rapidly moving up in the ranks to be a top a author in his genre.

JH Glaze draws from all genres to weave together stories that will at once entertain you. His writing style draws you into the story to the extent that you feel that you are living the action as it unfolds.

Spirit Box is the beginning of a series that will take you into the mind of John Hazard, a former Marine, a detective, and a real man who is persistent, but never perfect.

NorthWest (Book 2) takes John Hazard to the Pacific Northwest for a paranormal exercise in survival. It’s an over the top adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat for more than the last 150 pages, in fact maybe for the whole book, in my opinion.

Send No Angel is book #3 (to be released).

Readers who enjoyed the first two novels will also love the short stories ‘Forced Intelligence’ and 'The Life We Dream'.

And the story collections of The Horror Challenge Vol. 1, The Horror Challenge Vol. 2 and The Horror Challenge Vol 3 by this talented author.

Now on to my questions:

1. I know that this question has been asked about in your street team, and we had or gave our pick . . . but as the author yourself, which book of yours would you like to see made into a motion picture, and why?

I would like to start with The Spirit Box. Since the story is one of human frailty and weakness, I believe a lot of people could be drawn into a series that they can relate to, and one that is not afraid to take some chances.

The Spirit Box is a source of power and temptation that is hard to resist. To think that you could have literally anything you want and all you have to do is “introduce” people to this ancient box. It is a very compelling story at its core. It is like watching a bug flying near a spider’s web and knowing what may happen, what will happen, but being helpless to stop it from happening. You can yell at my characters, but you can’t stop The Spirit Box.

I also injected humor and irony into this story, so while you may be repelled by some of the action, I dare you not to laugh at the same time. Because of the use of various emotional jolts in the story, I think this would be a good place to start.

2. How do you wrap your brain around an object or a topic that then spurs you to develop your spectacular stories, whether a full novel or a short story?

Everything in this world has a dual personality. I like to look at things and evaluate what they are made for or meant for and then imagine what happens if they go wrong or rogue. For example, a hair dryer is a wonderful tool we use to style our hair. Yet if we are careless just for a moment, that same hair dryer falling into a sink full of water, combined with a quick reflex to grab it out of the water can result in fatal consequences.

But then sometimes I take it a step further. What if there is someone in the house who has planned for such an accident to occur, maybe even applied something slick to the handle of the dryer. At the moment when the dryer goes into the water, that person is leaning against the fuse box in the garage. Instead of the intended victim grabbing for the dryer, the circuit disperses through the metal of the fuse box and the plotting individual is electrocuted instead.

Even more, what if the bastard’s girlfriend who was involved in the plot, just happened to grab her lover’s arm as the dryer went into the sink? You can see how the variations can build a wild tale.

3. Your fan base and number of followers is growing, can you give us a hint as to what’s developing in that brain of yours? Can we expect a lot more stories in the future?

I have been blessed so far with endless ideas. I have a list of topics to write about that I may never finish all of the stories. I already have book 4 of the John Hazard series developed in my head, so with the new RUNE series, more Hazard books and the side shorts and Horror Challenges, there is a lot of work to do!

4. I have to ask you this: I think I can “see” you in a character sometimes. Often it makes me wonder if this or that person could be you. Have you written a character into one of your books that resembles your personality? If so, which one?

I have to admit. The character who most resembles me is Jack in The Life We Dream. That story is written with pieces of my own life, mixed with fiction. Though you may not be able to tell what is factual and what is fiction, the story itself is based on a theme that is taken from my own life.

In all of my other stories, I take a little bit of this or that person I’ve known, and piece them together to be what my character needs in order to drive the story forward. Sometimes they have a bit of me (John Hazard for example), but other people influence them as well.

5. Do you feel or believe that what you write or writings change lives/ or the way people may look at events?

I just want people to read the stories and be entertained, to be able to escape into something fantastical for a while and forget about everything else for a while. On the other hand, if they see a bit of themselves in my situations, maybe they will be more cautious in their own lives.

Believe me, I am mostly trying to write fun, freaky stories that make people say “WTF? That was the shit!” or something like that. The closest I have come to trying to be philosophical was the Horror Challenge story about the Kazoo. You know which one I’m talking about.

6. If you could collaborate with another author to create the ultimate novel of thriller/horror/paranormal that would blend with your John Hazard series, who would you join forces with?

I would like to write with Whitley Strieber. I have read several of his books where I was amazed at the depth of his imagination. At the same time, one of his books was supposed to be based on his own true story of alien abduction. It was called Communion.

He might have some strange ideas, you can see them on his website Unknowncountry.com, but imagine what a powerhouse partner you might have in someone who has a scientific mind, an interest in conspiracies, and an experience with aliens! That would be the ultimate co-author.

My head is sore just trying to think of questions for you JH Glaze!!

I’d like to thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life and being a part of this Q & A blog for our page.

Thank you for asking me to be a guest!

Oh wait . . . one more thing before I leave you alone. I have never submitted an object/word for your horror challenge stories, so I would like to offer you one: Possessed cowgirl hat

I will add that one to my list!

Thanks so much, Anne and Jeff! If you want to know more about JH Glaze's writing; here is where you can stalk him.:)