Jim launched Happy Together Wedding Ceremonies in 2017. As Humanist
Officiant, he is authorized by the Ontario Government to solemnize marriages.
In 2016 Jim and his son Dylan produced a movie, the comedy Fun With Math.
Married with four adult children, he enjoys playing baseball and
running, and is pretty good at his local bar’s Golden-Tee Golf game.
Currently he is searching for a publisher for Counterculture Revolution. Set in 1970 this historical thriller
follows the guerilla actions of Weather Underground, the terror group that
bombed draft boards, courts of law, and even the Pentagon.
Please get in touch with Jim via his website www.jimmcdonald.ca.
What would you
say are your strengths as an author?
Like the long
distance runner, I keep plugging away until I get to the finish line. Grit and
determination are a couple of my strengths.
I think my
research skills are a strength. I read every day, taking copious notes about my
subject. To help me visualize the person, location, or décor I am writing
about, I often find photographs of the subject, and then write to that image.
For example, I used Google maps to browse the seedy mean streets of Detroit
until I found a house sinister enough for my drug dealers.
I have worked
hard to make each sentence the best it can be. Sometimes I’ll spend a long time
searching for le mot juste, but end
up with the first word or phrase chosen.
At live
gatherings, I enjoy telling stories. I get a kick out of entertaining people. No
wonder I became a novelist. I have a vivid imagination. Usually, I envision a
scene as part of a movie.
Dialogue and
accents. I appreciate the unusual words and phraseology spoken by the person on
the street, and I incorporate them into the story to bring characters alive for
the reader. I have a list of sayings and words used by people in 1970, and I
sprinkle these words into dialogue to reflect the era.
A pet peeve: I
get upset with anachronisms. If a character from a story set in 1945 says, “I’m
good,” or “I’m all about revenge,” I flip. The writer should fit the language
to the times. This is lazy writing.
I tend to delve
into the dark side of life. My readers will meet characters they never would in
real life – thieves, killers, revolutionaries, fascists, grifters, pedophiles,
and druggies. What makes them tick? Why do they do the weird things they do?
How does the protagonist wend his way through this dangerous maze?
How often do you
write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I have other work
that I need to do to make a living, and sometimes that work overwhelms the time
available to write. Since I am a nighthawk, much of my writing is done after
midnight when others are asleep. Sometimes I am able to write most days of the
week. But even if I am not in front of the keyboard – say, I’m driving – I think
of the scene I am working on, to figure out what happens next, or who says what
to whom.
Five years from
now, where do you see yourself as a writer?
My present novel Counterculture Revolution will be for
sale around the world. I’ll have one more completed book, and I’ll be working
on another. My first published book Smash
Palace contains thirty-two short stories. I may write a number of crime
short stories, but with the same main character, the private detective Jack
Barrhead. Perhaps the end product will be like the Sherlock Holmes stories – a
crime, criminal pursuit, and resolution. And then on to the next case.
If you could
offer once piece of advice to a novice writer, what would it be?
Start with short
stories. Maybe a page or two at first. Get a finished product you are proud of.
It may take only a few weeks. Get that feeling of accomplishment. Show your
stories to others. Get their honest feedback. Make your next story better than
the last one.
What would you
consider to be the best compliment a reader could give your book?
“I really enjoyed
that book. I was lost in the story. It was exciting. And what strange
characters.”
What are you
working on now?
Now that Counterculture Revolution is complete, I
am revising it one more time to check on spelling, typos, grammar, logic, and
continuity.
I have gone over
my research notes about a real life murder in Toronto that touched my life. I
was a witness in the trial of two street hustlers who killed a man, and then
dropped into the bar I was working at as DJ. I have the trial transcripts and
articles about the murder. This could be a real life crime story, or I could
expand on it using fictional characters.
SMASH PALACE
* Follow Mickey Kelly's life of
adventure from rebellious child to the aftermath of World War III.
* Get a FREE First Edition celebratory
bookmark with each copy of Smash Palace.
* The first 50 books sold will be signed
by the author.
“Bed Time Story” - A hitman discovers three bullets to
the heart did not kill his victim.
“The Trekotron” - A dissolute scientist travels back in
time to change the fate of a friend who deserves a better life. This story
explores the butterfly effect.
“Need Anything?” - An enterprising college kid plans to
make a killing by scoring a quantity of hash in Detroit.
“Joy Ride” - Car thieves take a wild ride to
calamity city.
“Who Is Your Wife?” - The West has lost WWIII, and
survivors are on the run. The only TV show left on the planet is the sexy game
show Who Is Your Wife?
“Fight Night” - A punchdrunk boxer recalls his bad
old days as a mob enforcer.
“Seven Lives”- The cat that wouldn't die.
“Wild Justice” - Revenge is a dish best served cold.
“Please, Nurse” - A Kafkaesque trip through
hallucinatory hallways.
