Welcome to the blog Javan thanks for coming today
Thank you for having me
1 Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Javan Bonds, I’m thirty years old, and live in
North Alabama. I have a form of muscular dystrophy called Friedrichs Ataxia. It
rendered me wheelchair-bound by the age of thirteen, functionally deaf for most
of my life, diabetic by eighteen, and something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, a
slow and painful road to complete blindness starting at twenty-two.
Optic nerve atrophy is just one of the many issues this progressively
degenerative disorder causes. My computer monitor is a 42 inch plasma screen TV
set to ridiculously low resolution, high contrast, and most programs are zoomed
to 400%. I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to write every word in my books. It can
be tedious trying to understand my southern accent, but it eventually works.
2 Tell us about your books
My first novel, Free
State of Dodge, is a prepper book in the style of Glen Tate and Boyd
Craven. I have taken a hiatus from that genre to write a zombie apocalypse
series, but I hope to go back to Dodge soon.
Still Alive is my
zompoc series. This series starts with Zombie
Lake and follows a reluctant hero from Alabama, Mo Collins. He runs into
plenty of inevitable characters that you see in every zombie story. It’s dark
comedy, so I like to keep the humor in my books, but it also gets pretty gory
as the series progresses.
I am the archetype for Mo and most of the characters are
based on people I know. If you’ve ever met me, you’ve met Mo, at least in personality.
3 When you sit down to write do you have any rituals you
follow
My ritual is mainly having a big cup of steaming dark coffee
to get my mind working. I know some people listen to music, but I have to have
complete silence. Some people have told me they don’t read anything in the
zombie genre when they write. I usually don’t have time to read anything, but I
get inspiration from other zombie apocalypse books.
4 Who was your biggest influence in writing?
Mark Tufo. He is the original inspiration for my series.
Without Zombie Fallout, there would
be no Still Alive. When I read ZF2, I
knew I had to write a book in the style of a personal journal after the zombie
apocalypse.
5 When you write do you add small things or characteristics
that only a few people will get when they read your stories?
Yes. I’m a secret geek and nearly everything about the
character Gene “The Tech” is extremely nerdy. Unless you know fantasy from Star Trek to Star Wars, Metroid Prime to
Warhammer 40,000, if you never owned
a Sega Genesis or watched Mystery Science Theater, you might miss some of the
jokes especially around The Tech.
6 What would you tell your younger self to help you with
your writing today?
“Do something, dumbass!” Having been a freeloading bum the
majority of my life, if I had started writing back when I was doing absolutely
nothing, I would be a lot further along.
7 What is the best and the worst part of the publishing
aspect?
For me, the worst part is waiting. I can write my book, have
it edited, and have the cover ready, it just seems like it takes years the
closer you get to releasing a book. Now, I don’t know much about the formatting
and all that. I’m blind and can’t do it myself. You have to ask my dad how much
of a pain in the ass that is.
8 Do you believe in writers block?
I’m afraid to answer that. There’s not enough wood for me to
knock on! I wouldn’t say I don’t believe in it, but I’ve never had it. I might
stumble or temporarily get stuck, but I don’t consider it a block.
Now for some rapid fire questions
COFFEE TEA OR OTHER
Coffee. Tall, dark, black. Just like I like my men. Yeah,
I’ve heard that joke before. I drink black coffee because I’m a real man, it’ll
put hair on your chest! Wait. I don’t have a hairy chest. Damn.
If you had a super power what would it be?
Superpower? I’d rather have the Force. Imagine how much fun
it would be to force choke random passersby on the street!
Favorite junk food
Being diabetic, I tend to watch what I eat and typically
stay away from junk food. But if you were to make me eat some junk, put a gun
to my head and force it down my throat, I have to go with nachos and salsa. If
I go to a Mexican restaurant, I’m not happy until they tell me to leave.
Favorite book growing up
I actually didn’t read much growing up. For a while, I
collected comic books, but I spent most of my time outside as a kid. Riding my
bike, building forts, or the usual pointless stuff boys do.
And last but not least
What would you tell
any up and coming writers?
If you are going to publish independently, get a
professional editor and a professional cover designer. I’ve read some books
that had to have been proofread by a kindergartner and seen some covers thrown
together by a drunk infant. Writing is an investment; if you are going to spend
the time and money to put your work out there, spend a little more to make sure
it is received well.
WHERE TO FIND JAVAN BONDS
Javan Bonds Amazon
Author Page: goo.gl/mbCFWW
Links to Javan
Bonds books on Amazon:
Zombie Lake: goo.gl/aBDNeh
Zombie Island: goo.gl/m74nwX
Zombie
Oasis: goo.gl/uTS8Sp
Free State of Dodge: goo.gl/oVuSfW
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