Movin' on over...to the Real Jason Hunt

Hi all my faithful blog readers!

The time has come to make the transition to a better-named blog:

• TheRealJasonHunt.blogspot.com

Why, you ask? Well, I did an internet search for Jason Hunt the other day, and the world is apparently teeming with Jason Hunts! When a friend emailed me to ask which one was my site, I said, "You know, the REAL Jason Hunt site."

So I made my Facebook page www.facebook.com/TheRealJasonHunt. That made me think I should change the name of this blog, but so many people have the link to this (and it's on my cards), so I figured I just start a second and directed people to it.

Please check out the new blog. Leave a comment. Share a post. Tell a friend.

See you over there!

The Ghost of Shakespeare...New Mexico

For places like Shakespeare, New Mexico, the past lives on in three separate, but parallel universes: history, legend and literature. I think that is what makes the term “ghost town” so appropriate. When a person dies, he or she becomes a corpse. A pathologist performs an autopsy, an undertaker performs the embalming, and the funeral director oversees the handling of the remains. The historian is like a little like the pathologist, using knowledge and science to determine all there is to determine from the body.

In some cases, however, this is not the end of it. If family, friends or strangers encounter the person’s ghost, there is more to be told, things to resolve. The pathologist may have determined one cause of death, yet the ghost may assert another. The obituary may be written and published, yet the ghost may know and reveal things not in the “official” record.

In the case of a ghost town, there is something of importance that transcends what can be researched and confirmed. There is something about the past, something about the human condition that is still there to be discovered and learned.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE history. I marvel at and admire the almost surgical precision with which historians examine primary documents, like an archaeologist exhuming a dinosaur skeleton with bare hands and a small paint brush. What they are able to discover and rescue is priceless. For this reason, I am eagerly awaiting Erica Parson’s history of Shakespeare.

By the same token, I own, have poured over and continue to treasure the various articles and books I have by Emma Muir and by Rita and Janaloo Hill. I have not had the pleasure of touring Shakespeare yet, but when I do, I am eagerly awaiting all the facts, tales and details I will learn as I finally get to see and touch the place I have dreamed so much about.

And, of course, I will continue to write about Shakespeare. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S GUNFIGHT takes place in Shakespeare, and Shakespeare will figure prominently in the sequel, MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING. A very respected writer of Westerns, Robert J. Randisi, once advised me, “You have to choose: either you can write about the factual West, or you can write about the mythical West.” To me, they are like yin and yang. Neither one would be as magical were it not for the other. And at some points they are the same.

Like Shakespeare, all significant people, places and periods live on in the triangle of history, legend and literature. Take Troy for example. I have read and reread the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer many times. I have also read several books about the excavation of the ancient city of Troy and what this suggests about the actual Trojan War. The result is that I love the story of Troy all the more.

Herodotus is the ancient Greek historian from whom we have the first and best telling of the Spartans holding off the gigantic Persian army at Thermopylae. It is perhaps fitting that he is considered “the father of history” and yet has also been called “the father of lies.” His work is history, legend and literature all rolled up into one.

* For some light-hearted commentary and retouched photos, check out my Facebook page.

Meet and Greet at the Bellingham Library

Although this photo of the sign sort of makes you feel like the signing took place at a campground in an 80s slasher flick -- or at the Bates Motel -- the event was actually quite nice, with friends, family and a couple of fellow writers in attendance. Plus, I found some great paperbacks on the book sale shelves!

Book Signing at Barnes & Nobel this Thursday

Come on by the Barnes & Noble in Bellingham, MA, this Thursday, October 18, at 7:00 p.m. to pick up an autographed copy of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT. There will be other local authors on hand, as well, so it should be a good time.

Here's the store. See you there!

Kings River Life Reviews A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT

Check out Marilyn Meridith's review of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT.  :-)

Hot off the (cyber) press

There are currently some cool articles/stories online. Check out the links below:

• Quick fix: Jason Hunt in Pulp Pusher
• Former Nashville Resident Debuts First Novel, Returns to Music City in 2nd and Church
• Hopedale writer takes his novel West in Milford Daily News
• Hopedale writer finds success in Shakespeare, NM in Milford Daily News

Coming up:

• Barnes and Noble, Bellingham, MA, 18 October, 7:00-9:00 p.m. EDT
• Bellingham Library, Bellingham, MA, 25 October, 6:30-8:00 p.m. EDT

And, as always, you can pick up the book or e-book on Amazon:

• A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT

A Midsummer Night's Marketing Plan

Now that it has finally sunk in that I am indeed a published novelist, it's time to crank up the volume on my marketing campaign.

I actually put together a 10+ page "marketing plan," but I realize that 95% of what's in it is not really actionable. What I need to do is "pick one and get it done." Here is what is underway and upcoming.



(The two biggest breaks I've had I can't really take credit for.)

1) Oak Tree Publisher Billie Johnson's excellent sell sheet and Jeana Thompson's targetted mailings got me an interview in my local paper, The Milford Daily News. 

2) Reporter Jessica Trufant's well-written article caught the eye of the Associated Press, and the story was immediately picked up by the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe.

(This good fortune gave me a chance to apply a little elbow grease....)

3) Since the story is set in New Mexico, I emailed all the Arts and Entertainment editors at all the major (and kind of minor) New Mexico papers with a link to the original story, telling them it was on the wire and that their readers might be interested. So far about 25 papers have run the story.

4) I have a website (www.jasonrhunt.com), a blog (slicd.blogspot.com), a Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/theRealJasonHunt) and a Twitter account (@jasonrhunt), but I really need to invest more time in them. (A Chinese exchange student who lived with us 10 years ago emailed to tell me my site looked like it was from the 1960s! I didn't have the heart to tell him there was no Internet in the 1960s. :-)

(Now here's where my plan gets a little...interesting.)

5) Being a songwriter, I wrote a theme song for the book. The lyrics are on the OTP blog (http://otpblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/midsummer-nights-dream-song.html) and I will soon put up a video of the song on YouTube. (Caveat: I am CONSTANTLY calling the book A Midsummer Night's Dream instead of A Midsummer Night's Gunfight. :-)

6) My son and I play guitar and sing, and we have official "busker's licenses" that let us perform on the streets of Boston and Cambridge, so we are going to literally "take to the streets" to play music (throw in lots of old gunfighter songs) and see if we can drum up some interest in the book. He refuses to wear a teeshirt with a picture of the cover, so maybe I'll do a sandwich board.

7) I am going to try to get more newspaper coverage out of the last item since a dad and his son who are street performers trying to sell the dad's first book has GOT to be interesting to some one! :-)

8) which brings me to "angles." I keep trying to think of angles, things that make my story weird and different enough to be news worthy. I am already trying to milk the old songwriter angle. (It helps that I bought my first pair of cowboy boots from Garth Brooks. That was a lucky purchase despite the fact the boots were always a little tight and didn't stretch the way Garth promised they would.)

9) I wrote a lot of the book while riding the commuter rail back and forth to Boston, so I will try to push the "wrote the book on the train" angle. I am currently negotiating a book signing in South Station.

10) Although it pains me to do so, I am also going to try to exploit the "It took me all these years to finally get a book published" angle. Lots of stories published, but until now no novels.

11) And I have a list of additional possibilities -- many of them from author and acquisitions editor Sunny Frazier and her posse -- that goes on for pages!

Key for me, though, will be getting out of the thinking stage and just plain doing stuff. Gen. George Patton said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." I would go further to say "Even a half-baked, kind of crappy plan will always trump doing nothing."

That's the strategy for now. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. :-)

The Associate Press is talking about me...again :-)

Hopedale writer finds success in Shakespeare, N.M.

Milford Daily News writer Jessica Trufant wrote an excellent article about the upcoming book. It has been picked up by the Associated Press and has been in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, to name just two. The last time the AP did a story about me was 25 years ago:

The tough world of songwriting in Nashville

I guess this means its Round Two. :-)

One Week and Counting....

I still remember writing my first story. I only had a small working vocabulary -- being that I was four or five and my dad had just started teaching me to read and write -- so the story had a distinct Hemingway flavor. The story was called "The Three Little Fishermen," and as I recall two drowned. Again, the Hemingway connection. It was maybe 50 words long (flash fiction) and was generously illustrated (graphic novel), any my dad was so impressed he paid me a quarter for it.

Flash forward four decades.

In a week or so, my first published novel will be available for purchase. I have been included in other people's books and I have published tons of things in newspapers, magazines and on the web, but this is the first time the one name on the cover will be mine. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by Jason Hunt.

I hope you run out (or log in) and buy one as soon as they are available. I know I am going to!

So close I can taste it...

I am too excited to sleep -- literally. It is 3:00 a.m. EDT, and I am sitting up, looking at the amazing cover design by Kurt Bredt for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT. Billie Johnson, the publisher of Oak Tree Press and its imprints, sent over the galleys, and as soon as I am through looking them over, we are on the last leg of the journey.

Well, the last leg of the first part of the journey...or maybe the first part of the final leg...or the third leg of the second part....

At any rate...the first "thing" was writing the book. The second was publishing it. And the third, of equal importance to the first and second, is selling it. I have to get the book in front of as many people as possible. I have a detailed plan for how I intend to do that -- which includes my son Josh and me strapping on the acoustic guitars and taking to the streets of Cambridge and Boston. We have always loved "busking" (street performing), but now we will be focusing on the second half of "Country and Western," and we'll be carting around a big old sandwich board with the a blow-up of the book cover on it.

Also, I will soon be posting a link to YouTube, where you can see the world premier of the first movie theme song written before the movie is optioned -- or even before the book is available to the public.

Yes, I have written "A Midsummer Night's Gunfight -- The Song." :-) Once it is ready, I'll let y'all know.

Stay tuned!

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT coming out in May

The day is drawing near. Kyle William Lees will be riding into Shakespeare, New Mexico, this May. Okay, the story takes place in the 1880s. Those of you who are fans of my crime stuff -- especially the stories about Deke Rivers, Nashville songwriter turned detective -- will like this shift back a century or so. One editor said Kyle is Deke's ancestor -- Deke on a horse with a cowboy hat and a revolver (as opposed to his two semi-automatics). I'll provide a link as song as its available. More soon.

Anyone scalping Crimebake tickets? :-)

I went to Crimebake last year and LOVED it. Not only were the talks, panels and events amazingly useful and informative, but I met a bunch of great writers and had a blast.

Unfortunately, when Crimebake announced open registration, I was a little light in the wallet. The unbearable lightness of being poor. Two kids in college, etc., etc. And then, due to the well-deserved popularity of the conference, it sold out. Quick.

So now I am like a Red Sox fan wandering around outside Fenway the night of a Yankee game, desperately seeking tickets...

If you and someone you know registered for Crimebake but is no longer able to attend -- send me a comment and will gladly pay you for your spot!

I have to stop typing now so I can cross my fingers! :-)

"Three for a quarter, a black and white portrait..."

So I guess I'm supposed to find an author photo that makes me look more like a gunslinger and less like a jaded, urban detective. To be honest, though, I don't think I ever quite nailed the jaded, urban detective photo, either. One author photo I used a lot made me look like a disoriented, northeastern derelict. Another made me look like an over-the-hill, country music songwriter. Yet another made me look like a plain, old fool.

So this one, I think, takes the best of all those previous pictures and adds to it just a touch of Photoshopped sepia. :-)

Anyway, please comment and let me know if you would buy a used car...I mean, a new Western from this man. :-)

A Midsummer Night's Gunfight comes out in 2011

Howdy, friends. Yes, it's true. Kyle William Lees is riding into Shakespeare, New Mexico, and A Midsummer Night's Gunfight is being published by Wild Oaks Press, the newest imprint of Oak Tree Press.

My dad would have been tickled. He and I spent many a late night in front of the TV as gunfighters shot it out and scores were settled. He was a Western afficianado. Me, I was just a fan.

The new book is about a man who comes to town with the intention of getting revenge. What he doesn't count on is a single woman trying to raise a son and a retired gunfighter trying to leave his past behind. And he doesn't count on them changing his life.

I'll keep you posted on when it is coming out. Then I'll harass you to buy a copy...and another...and another. They will make great gifts.

Thanks again to all the people out there who have supported me from the beginning and who have never lost faith. I have a feeling we just might be about to win this gunfight....

So Lonesome I Could Die

This is the cover for my as yet unpublished second novel, SO LONESOME I COULD DIE. Which is not to say it is about to be released or anything. I just decided I'd better design the cover just in case.

The first novel is called COLD, COLD HEART and like the second book, it features Deke Rivers, my Nashville songwriter turned detective.

My third novel is a not a detective novel at all, but rather a Western. It features Kyle William Lees and Tom Brennan, both gunfighters, and is set in Shakespeare, New Mexico, in the 1880s. It's tentatively titled A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S GUNFIGHT.

I have been away from the short story business for a while, so I am planning to roll up my sleeves and get back to the business of writing gritty, hardboiled tales of woe. If I write any Western short stories, I will call them tales of whoa.

Or not. :-)

"Brass Knuckles" published in Yellow Mama

A bartender sees a lady he used to know. Only now she's more like a ghost of who she once was. And the reason for her fall from grace is sitting across from her at a booth in the back.

And somebody really ought to say something....

Check out "Brass Knuckles" in Yellow Mama and see if you don't agree.

Write like the wind, Bullseye!

The true test of a commercial writer is not how consistently he or she writes when things are calm and on an even keel. The true test is how well he or she writes when he's house-hunting and moving in 60 days, or when she is inundated with sprawling, scope-creeping, high-pressure projects at work, or when he is trying to train for a race in two months, or when she is dealing with three teenage children.

As for me, I am struggling to find the hours and the days necessary to meet my budgeted word count on the new book. The manuscript is due September 1, but I keep tossing out chapters, looking for just the right pieces to include and just the right way to include them.

Picture late nights at the kitchen table with microwave popcorn and herb tea. Or early mornings in the rocking chair of the front porch with an Eggbeaters sandwich on double-fiber, double-protein bread with a cup of insanely strong Elvis Presley brand Memphis Mocha coffee.

I have once again reached that delirious state of exhaustion where, without hourly mugs of chai tea, I could easily fall asleep in front of the laptop screen, where sleep lurks just behind the eyes, beckoning like a siren, tugging incessantly at heavy eye lids, slowing and deepening the breathing.

But I am determined to make deadline, so nothing short of dying can steer me from my course. Okay, winning the lottery might steer me from my course. Or an alien invasion. Or an Elvis movie marathon hosted by Quentin Tarrantino with a chance to win the Aloha from Hawaii jumpsuit and cape....

Once upon a time in the West

I remember thinking, a long time ago, that the private eyes of the 30s, 40s and 50s and the Dirty Harrys and Paul Herseys of the 70s - and all the hardboiled characters in the middle and since - all these guys are the descendants of the gunslingers who roamed the Old West. They traded their trusty steeds for muscle cars and their Walker Colts for Smith and Wesson .44 magnums, but deep down, they are the same guys.

So it makes sense I am now writing a Western. Deke Rivers, my country music songwriter turned detective, is taking a hard-earned hiatus (after two novels and a dozen short stories), and my new guy, Kyle Williams Lees, is riding into town with a gun on his hip, a chip on his shoulder and a score to settle.

I've been rewatching all the old films - lots of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood - and rereading all the old books - Grey, L'Amour, Shaeffer, Kelton, Boggs, Randisi - and I am having a blast.

I am interested to see how things turn out. I'll let you know. :-)

What's out there:

• "Are You Lonesome Tonight" at Thrilling Detective (7/31)
• "Publish or Perish" at Thuglit (11/3)
• "Twenty-Ten" at Spinetingler (10/30)
• "Drainpipe," "Shoes," and "Trunks" at Alfred Hitchcock (various)
• "Hate Crime" soon to be at Writer's Digest Short Short Contest
• "Unmarked Grave" at Fear and Trembling (9/30)
• "The Growth" with Birds producer for possible screenplay adaptation

The drawing board is cluttered with stuff, too, but no point listing it.

The new novel, Didn't Hear Nobody Die, is between 15-20,000 words, but a little too rambling. I am going to cut some fat and (for the first time) intersperse some third person chapters, ala Patterson. I really want this to be a lean, fast-paced, laser-focused race to the finish.

Songs? One. "Don't Bury Me," a blues number for my old friend John D'Amato.

That's the contents of the nutshell. For now.

"Bad to the Corps" published in A Twist of Noir

Nick Xenagos is an ex-Marine working as a private detective in Boston. His client, Claire, is a breathtakingly beautiful babe with a troubled past that has come back to haunt her. It's Nick's job to perform the exorcism.

Check out "Bad to the Corps" on the ultra-cool A Twist of Noir.