Today’s special guest is fantasy author Jon Smith to chat about his new humorous fantasy, The Fifth Horseman.
Jon is doing a virtual book tour with RABT – check out the tour stops and details listed below!
Bio:
Jon Smith is the bestselling author of 14 books for children, teens, and adults. His books have sold more than 500,000 copies and are published in seven languages.
In addition to writing books, Jon is an award-winning screenwriter and musical theatre lyricist and librettist with productions at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Belfast Waterfront and London’s Park & Waterloo East theatres.
Jon enjoyed a happy childhood—making daisy chains, holidays in the sun and an obsessive interest in all things fantasy. No brace, few spots and only one broken bone and one broken heart (not his). It all went swimmingly.
Father of four, he lives near Liverpool with his wife, Mrs. Smith, and their two school-age children. When he grows up he’d like to be a librarian.
Welcome, Jon. Please tell us about your current release.
The Fifth Horseman is a darkly comic tale of two thirty-somethings caught between our world and the afterlife, who must embrace their role as reapers to prevent the End Times. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets Father Ted, perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman.
Death is just a day job you can’t quit…
Emma and Mark had a bad day. The worst part of it was dying. But, according to Death, the Rider on the Pale Horse and first horseman of the apocalypse, things aren’t that simple. Turns out the sand in their hourglass is stuck in place. Somewhere between life and death, they’re put to work as Death’s assistants, reaping the souls of the living until it’s time for their final clock out…
To compound matters, despite their omnipotence, the four horsemen are facing an existential threat – one they’re ill-equipped and ill-prepared to combat.
Emma and Mark must reap like their afterlives depend on it, to help prevent the End Times – even if it means scuppering the one opportunity they have at being granted a second chance at life.
What inspired you to write this book?
This novel, in a way, has been simmering on the back burner for many years. Someone at sixth form college (High School) introduced me to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. I had never read books like them. I didn’t know it was possible to read (and therefore write) stories like this. They were so different, so thought-provoking and just so crazy in comparison to the much more classic British literature and genre fiction I had been reading. I promptly decided that this was what I wanted to study, and possibly emulate in the future, and I changed my University application from Journalism to American Studies, specializing in Literature which also gave me the opportunity to study in the States for a year of my degree course.
Although tonally the books mentioned above are very different from The Fifth Horseman, I think that they gave me the ‘permission’ I needed to have fun with storytelling. Even if the subject matter is dark, you can have fun with it. The very first iteration of the book was written maybe ten years ago and it started life as a TV screenplay for a sitcom set in the afterlife. I had some good gags and scenes, but it didn’t quite work as a show. The funniest aspect was the idea of Death having to take on two human assistants due to old age and that was the genesis of what became The Fifth Horseman.
Excerpt from The Fifth Horseman:
(From Chapter One)
Emma reached out to steady herself on the copper base of Bella, the magnificent Liver Bird that stands sentinel atop a white dome, looking out over the River Mersey and across to the Wirral and North Wales.
Her legs shaking from both effort and fear, she stopped for a moment to try and catch her breath. She ran a hand through her long auburn hair, gulping in oxygen and regretting cancelling her gym membership earlier in the year. A strong and sudden gust of wind hurtled in from the Irish Sea, its elemental tendrils clawing at the exposed skin of her hands as the cold sting brought tears to her eyes. Whilst she rued her choice of the landmark building, realising that not for the first time she’d let form take precedence over function, she paused to appreciate the stunning waterfront vista forged in blood, sweat, and tears by the city’s maritime and cultural history, both old and new, good and bad.
Why the clowns at UNESCO had stripped the city of its World Heritage Site status would forever remain a mystery.
However, with typical scouse nonchalance, she parked that train of thought and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Everyone was out and about – on Pier Head, on the Strand, on their phones – busy with their day. Busy with their lives. Not many people looking up, which suited Emma just !ne. She was used to being ignored. Used to just blending in. It was a learned behaviour that had started when she was a child, living under the strict rules of her parents, who firmly believed that children should be seen and not heard. She had trained herself to remain quiet, remain small, and remain in the background. It made for a lonely childhood but a peaceful one.
What exciting project are you working on next?
My next book is a YA gothic paranormal entitled The Arb. It’s a dark coming-of-age tale that follows two neurodiverse teens who struggle to be accepted by a society that has little time, or empathy, for anyone who’s different. The book blends the primal nature of gothic horror with the tension of paranormal suspense. The unique supernatural force that lies within the mysterious mansion house will engage anyone who geeks out about YA horror, folklore, or Arthurian legend. It will be published later this year.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I received my author copies of my first book – The Bloke’s Guide To Pregnancy. That was a very special moment. Although I’d seen drafts of the front cover artwork and I’d edited the galley proofs, seeing it all put together for the first time and holding an actual book in my hand was wonderful.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
The goal is to be a full-time writer! By day I work in marketing for a technology company. It’s high-pressure, fast-paced, full of responsibility and accountability. By night I like to write. It’s a left brain, right brain thing. It’s relaxing, it requires a completely different skillset and I have something tangible at the end of it. I tend to write in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed. I also get up early at the weekends to get a few hours in before the rest of the house wakes up.
I have a very understanding wife!
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My editor would say it’s my disregard for the rules of grammar!
I think it must be having at least two works in progress at any one time. Most writers would advise that you concentrate on one and get it done. I’m a planner, so I will write a very detailed outline for a book before I start, so I know exactly what’s going to happen in every scene. Because of this planning, I find it easier work on one story and then if I get stuck nailing a moment, or find I’m re-writing sections, I jump into another book.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I genuinely wanted to be a writer from the age of about eight or nine.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Keep reading!
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