Jon F. Merz

This week: Jon F. Merz!

Sometimes I head out to a local Writer's Conference - when I can find the time. One of the last times I attended such an event (they are great and I highly recommend!), I connected with this author - Jon F. Merz. He's got some great stuff out there, so take a look at what he has to say!

Name: Jon F. Merz

Website: jonfmerz.net

Social Media: Facebook: facebook.com/jonfmerzfans
Instagram: @jonfmerzofficial
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Thrillers

Where do you find inspiration?
I have an innate curiosity about tons of topics and subjects and I ask a lot of questions when I meet new and interesting people. That is usually enough to send me down the rabbit hole, so to speak, and once I start researching something, my brain starts adding pieces of ideas gleaned elsewhere until I come up with something I'd like to write about.  But curiosity is vital for any writer; you have to be curious about this world if you hope to write about it in any sense.

Which character in literature do you associate yourself with the most? 

I find more associations with real people than I do characters in literature. Anyone who risks bucking the societal norms in the quest of some exploration or quest for greatness is usually someone I find a great deal in common with.  I've never lived what society would call a "normal" life and I prefer it that way.  I probably grate on a lot of people's nerves because I'm honest and rather blunt at times, but I'd always rather be sincere than engage in fakery just because it's what you're "supposed to do." I don't have time for insincerity or BS; there are too many things I want to accomplish before I move on to the next phase of my existence.  That said, if I had to pick one character from literature, I'd probably choose Nicholas Linnear from The Ninja by Lustbader.  Other times, I'd probably find common ground with Spenser by Robert Parker.

Which piece of your writing was the most entertaining/enjoyable to write? Why?
I really enjoyed writing PARALLAX because it was supposed to be my breakout bestseller. I refined it over and over again and every editor we sent it to really enjoyed it, but no one picked it up because it's a weird mix of genres.  Part-thriller, part-psychic cat-and-mouse, part-something else entirely. No one knew how to sell it.  So I put it out myself and it sold tens of thousands of copies. What I like about the book is how it pairs two men who are ostensibly not good people and in the end, you don't know who to cheer for, if at all.  I enjoy writing things that challenge preconceptions and make people question themselves.

Was the first novel you published the first you ever wrote? What was? 
Oh god no, lol.  The first novel I wrote was called Terminal Objectives and it was an espionage thriller. When I started, it was a complete mess.  Fortunately, I got in contact with an agent who was in the midst of opening her own shop (I don't even recall how I made the connection now since it was over 20 years ago) and she agreed to read the manuscript. It came back to me dripping with red ink. She was fantastic and tore it to shreds. I mean, there wasn't a single page that she hadn't marked up with questions and statements. "What are this character's motivations?" "What made you think this was good dialogue?" "This is ridiculous!" "No, no, too much exposition." I mean, she absolutely delivered the total gut check critique that I credit to this day with making me a far better writer. I happen to groove on harsh critiques, so I just took it all in, went back to the drawing board and rewrote it several times. And when I was convinced I'd gone as far as I could with that novel, I wrote a second one called Shadow Chaser. And I applied everything I'd learned from that agent to that novel and it turned out better. But it was my third novel, The Fixer, that began as a short story called Past Imperfect, that would eventually become my first published novel in 2002.

When I’m not writing I’m usually…
Spending time with my wife and two sons. My boys are 17 and 14 now and they've become amazing young men. I love hanging out with them. My wife and I have been together for nearly thirty and I love her more now than I ever have. She's been through everything with me, and we are absolute partners on this crazy voyage through life. She runs her own food blog, The Tasty Page, so when she's trying out new recipes, I get to taste everything, so we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Otherwise, I also act & model these days (fell into that about four years ago) and have starred in the mini-series The Cars That Made America on History Channel as Alfred P. Sloan.  I've also been in over a dozen television commercials and some other projects I can't talk about just yet.

If you could tell or ask any character in literature or film anything, what would it be? (and where is the character from?)
I'd tell Neil McCauley from HEAT to leave Waingro alive and just get the hell out of town.  Heat is one of my favorite movies, and I absolutely love it as it stands. The ending is perfect, but I liked DeNiro's character so much that if I could change it, I'd tell him to find Waingro another time and just leave.

If you had lived a different life, made different choices, what would you be doing now? 
I'd be dead, quite frankly. There have times in my life where I could see lines diverging from the moment in question and I was faced with choices that, if I'd chosen differently, would have absolutely resulted in my death. I realize this is a rather gloomy statement, but it's the truth. I've been close to death numerous times in my past and were it not for the training I've gone through and the choices I made, I would absolutely not be here today.

What are five things you couldn’t do without? 
The sound of my wife laughing, my family, music, good food & drink, books.

What do few people know about you? 
I grew up terrorized by bullies, immobilized by fear, and at 15 decided to do something about it. The result was a lifelong study of martial arts, and a completely different outlook on life. The man I am today - as driven as I am to get things done - is a direct result of finding my personal strength and power through the crucible of challenges and situations that tested me to the utmost.

Are you working on any current projects?
I'm in edits on the second book in my Blood Armageddon series, I'm writing a brand new Lawson adventure, sketching out a TV series, and planning the next book in my Ninja Apprentice series.

What work of fiction made you want to be a writer? 
Probably everything I read growing up made me want to eventually become a writer, even if I didn't realize it at the time.  I devoured every genre when I was growing up. I was the kid who would come back from summer vacation and my English teacher would ask which books from the reading list I'd read. I'd tell them, "None of them, but I read Asimov, Clarke, Tolkien, Hammett, Eddings, and Mickey Spillane." They'd shake their head and say, "Fine, write a report on one of them."  When I decided I wanted to become a writer, I modeled my early efforts after two authors: Stephen King and David Morrell.  I was obsessed with Night Shift by King and I'm still more a fan of his short stories than his novels. I was trying to write short stories like he did and his work became my guide.  I was also thinking about writing novels, so I used The Brotherhood of the Rose as my template for a great novel.

What tools do you use for writing, organization, marketing? 
I do my writing on Scrivener, having long ago tossed MS Word into the ocean where I hope it drowns. I use Photoshop for graphic marketing stuff. That's about it.  I use a spreadsheet on Google for keeping track of projects. Otherwise, I do all my own marketing on social media.

Why do you write?
Too many fun ideas bouncing around in my head that need to be freed. I love adventures and exploration and doing things other people don't do. By writing, I hope to give readers a thrill that they enjoy. I always tell people that my work is (hopefully) like an amusement park ride. You buy a ticket, take the ride, hopefully, have a blast, and come back and see us again soon!

What are some profound experiences from your life you’ve worked into your fiction?
Most of my life is actually in my fiction if you read between the lines. Some of it is obvious: my military and government service is fairly evident. Other things are not so much, but they are in there.  I've worked everything from personal failures to triumphs and everything in between into my writing. It's a good way to stay honest and humble at the same time. Everyone has skeletons; it's just a matter of whether they ever get seen.  Mine do. I'm not perfect and I've never claimed to be.  But that said, if you want to see my skeletons, you'll have to go find them on your own, lol.

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Author Bio: Jon F. Merz is the author of over 40 novels (including the bestselling Lawson Vampire supernatural espionage series) ranging from urban fantasy to espionage and sword & sorcery fantasy. Prior to becoming a full-time writer Jon served in the United States Air Force, worked for the US government, protected a variety of Fortune 500 executives, and taught defensive tactics to government agencies like the State Department, Bureau of Prisons, and others. He is an active CrossFitter, a 5th-degree black belt in Togakure-Ryu Ninjutsu, enjoys doing GORUCK challenges, and in 2014 started modeling and acting, most
recently starring as Alfred P. Sloan in THE CARS THAT MADE AMERICA on the History Channel. He lives each and every day by the motto, "Who Dares Lives."