Gladiator's Pen Welcomes Author Jason Beymer to the Arena

 Gladiator's Pen welcomes Jason Beymer to the arena today as his latest work Nether hits the shelves. Pour a tall glass and prop up your feet as we chat with Jason in the arena. 

Author Jason Beymer

Who is Jason Beymer? 

 A permanent fixture at his local coffeehouse, Jason Beymer hunches over his laptop in a caffeine-induced frenzy, jowls slick with muse. He injects comedy into the urban and traditional fantasy genres like a squeeze of lemon into ice water: tart, yet refreshing. When not pounding on his keyboard, Jason worships at the feet of Ray Bradbury, and engages in an unhealthy obsession with Grace Park and Tricia Helfer.

Tell us three things not many people know about Jason Beymer:

1) I secretly love Star Trek 5 and The Last Action Hero. And I think Woody Allen was the best James Bond ever.

 2) I think the older Michele Forbes gets, the hotter she looks.

 3) I was once drunk enough to mistake a tall glass of Jagermeister for Pepsi.

You have a book releasing today, Nether. Where did you get the idea for this story?

I wanted to write a comedy incorporating all sorts of themes: shapeshifters, talking dogs, zombies, teenage demons...even a jaunt through the afterlife. My dog inspired Nether. I have a 12-year old miniature dachshund named Poe. In Nether, her name is Pearl. The only difference between them is that Pearl can talk. Oh, and she eats people.

Do you have a favorite scene you can share?  

I had lots of favorite scenes in my first novel, Rogue's Curse, but even more in Nether. At one point, the main character, Burklin, bathes a zombie. This was a fun scene to write. Here's a snippet:

Burklin turned on the faucet, careful not to make the water too hot. It roared as it slammed against the porcelain, filling the tub around her. He sat on the toilet and watched the woman contort and spasm, her eyes fixed on his. Burklin took several deep breaths. The psychiatrist had told him to do this. Breathe. Breathing good. Relax. He had everything under control.

"Please," she said. Her mouth disappeared under the water. The word bubbled to the surface. The water blackened in florets around her neck and the gashes in her back.

"Shh." Burklin grabbed a bottle of economy-sized shampoo and emptied it into the tub. He swirled it and produced thousands of bubbles. "See? Clean."

If you could spend a day inside your book would you?

Oh, hells no. I torture my characters. They'd kill me if I stepped foot into their books.

When did you first know you were a writer?

I used to write and rewrite the Tale of Peter Rabbit before I even knew how to construct a letter. Then I moved onto my own Choose your own Adventure knock-offs. I remember being inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark after seeing it in the theater. I wanted to trump Spielberg, and write a book with way more action than his movie. At 8-years old, my masterpiece was a "book" called Doctor Death. All my stories ended with the good dude trying to escape before the bad dude's lair blew up.

What do you do to research for a book like Nether or Rogue's Curse?

Research is for suckers and...er...I mean, I did lots of research for both books. For Rogue's Curse I spent considerable time with the Bible. The focal point of Rogue's Curse is a book called the Holy Biblum, which is an extremely loose translation of the Bible. Ever since the Rapture, 2000 years ago, the Bible has changed. As the author, I got to make those edits (Yay!). Also I researched the fantasy genre, in order to satirize it right. Rogue's Curse isn't high fantasy at all--it's a parody of it.

For Nether, I researched politics, zombies, different theories on the afterlife, demons, and religion. A lot of time went into ensuring accuracy.

What’s your favorite word?

Cortexiphan

The eternal debate… Coke or Pepsi?

RC Cola.

Do you have a writing ritual?

I wake up at 5:00 am every morning, shower, dress (that's the important part), then drive to Starbucks by 5:30 am when it opens. I sit in the comfy red chair, put on my headphones and write until about 7:30 am. You'd be surprised how much writing fodder walks through those doors. Do you need help with a character? How about a selfish, belligerent mommy with three disrespectful sugared-up children? Just look up from your laptop. Then I go home and wake my six-year old, dress her (that's the important part), feed her, and take her to school. I'm at my most creative in the morning. By noon, my creativity is shot.

Where can we find Nether and Rogue's Curse?

Rogue's Curse (http://www.beerandtv.com/rogues-curse) is available just about everywhere--Amazon, B&N, Fictionwise, Lyrical Press, and many more.

Nether (http://www.beerandtv.com/nether) is available through Amazon, Omnilit and the Lyrical Press store. It will be available everywhere in the coming months.

Where can we find Jason Beymer on the web or upcoming events?

The best place to keep up with me is on my blog and Twitter:

Nether: http://www.beerandtv.com/nether

Rogue's Curse: http://www.beerandtv.com/rogues-curse

Website: http://www.beerandtv.com

Twitter: @beerandtv

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jasonbeymer

Email: jason@beerandtv.com

Do you have anything you would like to add for your readers or fellow writers?

Please check out the blurbs and excerpts for my books. I'd love it if you read them, then sent me an email to let me know what you thought.

Here's a little more about Rogue's Curse:

Rogue's Curse is a dark comedy set 2000 years after the Rapture. A rogue named Doban discovers the talisman responsible for the Rapture and it embeds itself to his skin. Now the entire kingdom is after him. Doban must turn to the only woman who ever loved him—a woman he once left to die in a tomb—for help. Rogue's Curse has tons of sex, monsters, palace politics, romance, humor and adventure. 

But mainly the focus is on the relationship between Mona and Doban. What has happened in the two years since he left her to die in the tomb? How did she survive and escape? And most importantly, can they set aside their differences long enough to stop a second Rapture? At its heart, Rogue's Curse is about second chances, and whether or not we repeat past mistakes when presented the opportunity. 

2000 years after the Rapture, the world still sucks.

Here's a little more about Nether.

One suburban night. One stubborn corpse. One golden opportunity.

Burklin had it all: a spacious two-story house, a shapeshifting wife, a wide open future. That is, until his father ripped out his soul and trapped it inside an opinionated dachshund. Now he's lost everything, leaving him a slave on mop-up duty for a homicidal teenage demon. His father is sleeping with his ex, the possessed dachshund won't stop talking, and the cleanup jobs keep getting messier. Burklin would give anything to have his life back--even if it means turning against his manipulative father and destroying their chance of winning the Nether's Demon Lord Sweepstakes.

Opportunity knocks with a dead woman's hand. When the demon's latest victim won't stay dead, the rules of life and death change. Freedom lies within Burklin's reach, but to get it he'll have to defy his father, the ex-wife he still loves, and the Nether itself.

Just how far is he willing to go?

Thank you Jason for visiting the Gladiator's Pen arena. We hope you'll join us again. Alright Readers you've been given a taste of the goodness these books offer so what are you waiting for grab one of those links and get reading!