Recent Posts

Why Am I Not Working for Game Company?

August 2nd, 2018
Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Fear of the Dark | Comments Off on Why Am I Not Working for Game Company?

So, here I am, working on a Star Wars version of D&D 5th edition rules, and wondering to myself, “Why am I not working for a game company? I could be getting paid for this!”

But it’s a labor of love.


Fighting the Darkness

October 16th, 2016
Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Fear of the Dark | Comments Off on Fighting the Darkness

holdontothelight-fb-banner

 

Growing up, I always felt a little different. Even though I was smart and athletic and had a lot of friends, I could never shake the thought that I was inferior. That I didn’t matter. That if I just disappeared, no one would miss me.

It wasn’t until years later I realized I was suffering from depression. I started having suicidal thoughts in my early teens. Nothing that I acted on, but it was always there in the back of my mind. Preying upon my fears.

But perhaps I should back up a little.

My mother shot and killed herself when I was eight years old. I remember that day. My brother and I were playing in the basement of our home. To this day I can’t decide if I heard the shot, or if that’s just my memories playing tricks on me. In any case, my father found the body and rushed us out of the house. My brother and I waited at a neighbor’s home for a couple hours until the emergency vehicles had left. Then our father came and told us the news.

I remember my father crying as he told us. I remember feeling bad about it, but not being able to summon up any authentic sorrow. It wasn’t until many years later that I really cried about her death. As I got older, I questioned whether my depression stemmed from her suicide, or whether it had always been there, deep inside me like an evil seed.

As time went on, I learned to cope with these feelings. But as writer, I am obsessed with finding the reasons behind things, of shedding the rationales to glimpse the heart of a matter. So it’s no wonder that many of my stories include or touch upon personal loss.

In my first published novel, the main character lost his parents when he was young. And that loss remained tied to the core of his personality well into adulthood. In the sequels, the character tracks down what happened all those years ago and tries to make sense of what his life has become. In another series, the main character has lost his wife and young child in a terrible accident. Guilt and loss haunt him throughout the story.

It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in Psychology to understand that I was seeking catharsis in these stories. Writing can be a source of healing. Although I’ll never know all the reasons why my mother ended her life, I can explore those feelings in my stories, and I suppose it gives some measure of comfort. But what really helps is the aspect of sharing these experiences, even in fictional form. Depression feeds on isolation and loneliness, making us feel abandoned in the middle of a crowd. Sharing counteracts that isolation. Every time I reveal this pain, its hold on me diminishes.

Also, writing about these flawed characters teaches me that I don’t need to be perfect to have value. Even heroes suffer loss and loneliness. There is strength to be found in the struggle.

I want to thank you for reading this. Exploring these feelings isn’t easy or particularly pleasant, but it’s necessary. We aren’t alone. We aren’t invisible. And people do care about us, even when we have a hard time seeing it. By standing together, we push back the darkness and hold onto the light.

— Jon

 

About the campaign:

#HoldOnToTheLight is a blog campaign encompassing blog posts by fantasy and science fiction authors around the world in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.

Please consider donating to or volunteering for organizations dedicated to treatment and prevention such as: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Hope for the Warriors (PTSD), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Canadian Mental Health Association, MIND (UK), SANE (UK), BeyondBlue (Australia), To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.

 

To find out more about #HoldOnToTheLight, find a list of participating authors and blog posts, or reach a media contact, go to http://www.HoldOnToTheLight.com and join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WeHoldOnToTheLight

 

 


Why I Write

August 9th, 2016

Hey Fantasy Fans,

When I was launching my Patreon page last week, it occurred to me that it’s been a long time since I explained why I do this writing thing. Why do I spend thousand of hours, year after year, pecking away at this keyboard, inventing stories and characters and places out of my imagination? And why do I have the gall to let the results be published for all the world to see?

Maybe I’m ill.

I’m only half kidding. I’ve long said that all writers — all those compelled to write — must be schizophrenic. It’s a strange thing to invent with words, to wrap ideas and philosophies inside a narrative, to create conversations between imaginary characters as if they were real people. Yet I love it.

For my money, there are few pleasures in this world that compare with the bliss of getting lost in a good book. And the idea that I could contribute to the realm of literature, that I could give that experience to other people, blows my mind. It’s with equal parts hubris and humility that I set fingers to keys and try to create something that speaks to you. Because we all have shared experiences, shared emotions, shared dreams. Fiction is about exploring those samenessess to dive down into the heart of what it means to be human. That’s my playground.

So, for me, writing is not a hobby, or even a profession. It’s a calling. Even back when the only people reading my stories were myself and my wife, it was a compulsion. A drive to keep inventing, to keep improving, to become a better person with every word written.

And I’ll keep doing it for as long as I live. I may never be a “popular” author. I may never win any awards or be able to live off my sales. But I am and forever will be a writer.





  • Recent Comments

  • Archives

  • Categories