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New series, first episode. The Jovial Library concerts, with the supremely talented Bill Stutzman () and two of his children singing Library Magic from one of my favorite bands Theheadandtheheart

I’ve very excited about my new novella, available at Amazon.

Check out my newest book , available now.

Welcome to The Westminster Confession of Funk

Thanks for the invitation. You had me at "Westminster."Ìý

Aaron Ventura - From the Ville to the Scow

How did you get into rap? Did you enter through the production/beats side, or the poetry/performance side?

My Uncle Davis was the coolest person in the world to me growing up.ÌýI wanted to be just like him. He put me on to the four elements of hip-hop: Graffiti, Break Dancing, Rapping, and DJ’ing. I used to have a break dancing crew in Junior High and it was around that time that I started making my own beats to dance to. I fell in love with the process of beat-making and it wasn’t long before I started looking for someone to rap over the beats I was producing. I hated all the local rappers I knew of so I decided to just write my own. That was the beginning of my “rap career.â€� Beat-making was my first love, the lyrics came later.

What do you see as the particular strength that rap brings to the communication of truth, beauty, and goodness?

I would guess that the average rap song has twice as many words in it compared to the average pop song. Rap typically requires two to three 16-measure verses per song. This means you can say a lot in 3 minutes of music. You can develop lengthy logical argumentation, expound Scripture, tell stories, and express emotion in a way that other genres of music cannot. This is the strength of Christian Hip Hop and--if an artist is steeped in the Scriptures--truth, beauty, and goodness will come out in the final record. We cannot give what we do not have and I so work hard at filling my life with influences that cultivate a sense of all three qualities.Ìý

Is there a specific mission that you see yourself on?

The mission I am on is the pastorate. Preaching the Word, making disciples, bringing people together around Christ, those are the things I love to do. If music can assist me in those tasks, that’s a bonus. I used to make music so that people would think I was cool or so that I would be famous. Once I realized the vanity of those pursuits, I started approaching music differently. At this point, I try to make music that I would want to listen to. I want my records to encourage people in their walk with Jesus. My personal motto is “encourage the saints, don’t entertain pagans."Ìý

Do you write your own beats? If yes, what is your set up?

Yes, I write and produce everything from start to finish. I use Logic 9 as my workstation and my main instruments are Omnisphere (a digital VST) and Exhale. I recently sold my Roland Fantom X-6 because I just never used the sound bank on it. I use an Akai MPD and Battery for programming drums and a PreSonus Firestudio Mobile to record vocals. I am obsessed with drum sounds (I used to be a drummer) and so I will do all kinds of sampling and mixing to get the kind of boom and bap I want on each record. I am playing around with loops for an upcoming project but typically I play everything through the MPD. The real magic happens in the mixing process with the plugins. I use Waves plugins and have spent countless hours building my own presets to get the sound where I want them. It’s meticulous and intense, but very rewarding when it comes out right.

You have a favorite beat writer or producer that you go back to regularly?

My favorite producers are Aaron Marsh (Copeland) and Jeremy Larson (Sucre/Violents). Sonically, they are at the top of the game along with the greats like Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and Pharrell. My friend and frequent collaborator, Danny Cary, puts me on to a lot of music outside of the hip-hop world and that has been a huge blessing. I have come to love a lot of music that I would never have found on my own. I also love movie soundtracks with an epic scale. I like Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer’s work. Music is visual for me. Movies bring together the best of those worlds. In another life I would have been a filmmaker.Ìý

What poets and rappers do you find consistently inspiring?Ìý

This might sound like a “Jesus-Juke,� but King David and the Psalms are my forever inspiration. I sit down with the Psalms everyday and am always trying to learn how to chant or sing new versions of them. (I love David Erb’s through-composed Psalms). Because Hebrew poetry does not rely on rhyme scheme the way that English poetry does, it has expanded my own vision for what a rap song can be.

Outside of the stuff that God wrote, I try to keep an ear to what the “secular tastemakers� are cooking up. This means I will take a day and listen to Kendrick Lamar, Drake, or even Taylor Swift. It helps me keep a pulse on what the world is doing. If there is something worth taking, I take it.

In the world of Christian Hip-Hop, I like the folks over at , especially . I am sucker for hype-music and trap-beats so I bump just about anything that Reach Records puts out (even if I don’t fully agree with their theological trajectory). Trip Lee, KB, Andy Mineo, and Lecrae are all in a playlist somewhere on my iPhone.

I am also a sucker for singer-songwriters with a warm aesthetic. This inspires me more than anything in the rap world. I like Billie Marten, The Oh Hello’s, Purity Ring, Holly Ann, Sucre, The Staves, and many others. Few things excite me more than discovering a new artist who “gets it."

What do you love about Rap and Hip Hop as art forms?Ìý

I like dope beats. No other genre can compete. I also like the polemical and aggressive nature of rap. There is something masculine and competitive about hip-hop that appeals to the athlete and fighter inside me. Evangelicalism is effeminate through and through. Prophets are few and far between. Historically,Ìýhip-hop has been a prophetic and political form of speech. The church needs to regain that prophetic voice in its pulpits. I used to go open-air preach at the University of Idaho and I would listen to Christian hip-hop to get me in the right frame of mind. There is a holy violence that we need to recover.ÌýRap, as an art form, is one way we can cultivate that courage.Ìý

Have church folks been supportive of your pursuit of Rap?Ìý

Yes, overwhelmingly so. When I was an undergrad at the University of Washington in Seattle, I was part of a large campus ministry (The City Church/Generation Church). I did concerts and performed at our conferences and it was all kinds of crazy and fun. This was also before I knew anything about the regulative principle of worship (but that’s another story). I then moved to Jacksonville, Florida to help plant a church (with Acts 29) and at least half of our church was either black or embracing hip-hop culture. Our worship pastor was a gifted singer and rapper named Big Fil. We created some amazing things together at the church there. It was in Florida that I did some of my best artistic work in poetry, writing, and performance. Then I moved to Moscow, Idaho which is one of the whitest places on the planet. I love it here but there isn’t any hip-hop scene. Despite some people’s reservations about hip-hop and the cultural baggage of rap music, and even though rap isn't really their thing, I have felt very loved and supported by the community. I love them for that.Ìý

More than half of the tracks of your newest album Ìýare collaborations. What is different about the creative process when you are working in collaboration?

The creative process is exactly the same when I am working with other rappers (, ). I make the beat, I record my vocals and then send them the song in it’s near-complete form. All they have to do is record their verse and it’s done.

When I work with singers like on the other hand, it is usually more involved. We will send files back and forth and fight over what we like and what we don’t like. Danny and I lived together in Florida, so we both know each other’s taste really well. Working together can be exasperating and frustrating for both of us, but in the end, we almost always make something that we are both proud of. My music would not be what it is without his divergent tastes and opinions. When you find someone that makes you a better artist and that you actually enjoy hanging out with, hold onto them. I have been blessed to collaborate with some incredible people over the years and I am always looking for new artists to connect with. In the future I would love to simply produce for singer-songwriters and handle the behind the scenes work. That excites me.

The name of of the album made my eyebrows crawl up my forehead. It is unexpected for a rap album. What is it about, and where did you get the idea?

The name of the album is Euphoria and it is all about chasing joy. The thesis of the album can be found in the first and last songs: Bouquet and Magic. My parents divorced when I was 18 and I have spent the last ten years all over the place emotionally and geographically. The story of my life has often felt like one disappointment after another. But, when I read the Scriptures, I see that the story is actually one of God’s mercy on my life in endless perpetuity. Despite all the horrible things that have happened, my life has still been grace upon grace. Euphoria is about this journey from mourning to dancing. From sowing in tears to reaping in joy.Ìý

Music is such a human endeavor, what has your experience been sharing your music with people?Ìý

Sharing your art with the world can often feel like getting naked in front of a bunch of strangers. Depending on how much of yourself you put into the music, all of your imperfections and insufficiencies and sins are right there for everyone to see. Self-awareness can help a little bit, but narcissism is deceptive. When people tell me that the music has encouraged them, it is very satisfying. At the same time, I am still learning to get over myself and that means learning to receive feedback, good or bad, without building an identity around it. One day I hope to be mature enough to not care and truly make music simply for God’s glory and the good of my listeners. That’s the target I am aiming for.Ìý

You are up in Idaho these days, right? Maybe it doesn’t have a burgeoning Hip Hop scene, but what is the best thing about living in a small town?Ìý

Yes, I live in the shire, also known as Moscow, Idaho. The best thing about living in a small town is that I have an extra 2 hours of freedom every day because I don’t spent any time sitting in big city traffic! Now I can spend those two hours reading books instead. =D

Where can people find your work?

Spotify, iTunes, and every other digital music outlet. You can also watch music videos and download everything for free at

You have any other projects that you are working on?

Yes, I am halfway done with a Five Points of Calvinism EP and hope to have that out sometime in the Spring of 2018.

Thanks so much for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.

Thanks for having me!

Louis Hayes, in the newest ,Ìýtalking about being 19 and suddenly thrown into in the 50's.

Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.Ìý

It's my pleasure. Sassiest blog name ever.

So your collection of poetry Well Met: Poems of CompanionshipÌýis going to be released in soon. What has the writing, collecting, and refining process been like?

Hodge-podgy on all three counts. Some of these poems are nearly fifteen years old. I usually write the poems in one quick burst, even the long rhythmic ones. Then they sit in a journal or a folder online and over the months and years suffer iterations and endure tweakings when I encounter them again. Sometimes a conversation or a story on social media will remind me of something I scribbled, and I'll go back and mess with it. I have an entire bookshelf of journals, the majority of them handmade by my wife. The journals are mostly full of notes for my blog or Bible studies and whatnot, but much of it is verse. Some verse just rises to the surface enough times to stand out and really be worked over.

What have you been up to while you have been writing these poems?

Buying a house. Making babies and raising babies. Squeezing the wife. Opening and closing a bookstore. Coaching basketball. Teaching English. Vlogging. Going to Brazil as a missionary. Currently trying to decide whether to retire from rugby.

How did you begin writing poetry? And is there any advice that you would give to your new poet self now that you are a middle aged poet? (You are middle aged, right?)

My mother was always throwing books at me. I was immersed in the Lord of the Rings from a tender age. I was always struck by Aragorn's love for and facility with verse. I started writing poetry when I was eleven or twelve. I'm not sure what started it, but I know I was a language-loving kid who led an isolated life. Even today C. S. Lewis' descriptions of alone time and books in Surprised By Joy enters the iron in my soul. Many kids in such circumstances begin to write prose in such circumstances. I wrote bad and youthful poetry. When I was eighteen I wrote a poem I am still fond of, playing off of the title of La Belle Dame Sans Merci, playing off of merci and mercy. All my mother had to say was that merci didn't mean mercy in French. I know, mom. I know.

Now that I am nearly forty, I would advise the new poet self to dedicate himself a little more to verse, since he enjoys it so much. But really, that's the advice I'd give my younger self about everything I like; it wouldn't be just about poetry. I'm afraid one of my worse vices is to be casual about the things I love. I am so deeply a dabbler it embarrasses me.

Besides being a poet, you also have a youtube channel and a video blog. How do the two creative processes differ and how are they the same?

They are similar in that I conceive of an idea and often spend much of the creative process away from paper, usually because of work. So I turn them over a few times in my head and organize them off-paper. I often arrive at camera or paper knowing exactly how I want it to go. Anyone who has sat down in front of a camera or attempted to write a poem knows it usually doesn't turn out as planned, but I've become accustomed enough to this process that the end result is usually pretty faithful to that first day's or week's mullings.Ìý

I often rant in my videos. I haven't ranted in verse for at least ten years.

Both my YouTube channels are very interactive, with lots of audience participation. That only happens with my poetry if I perform it at public events, which is only once every year or two. I'd like to write more poetry for performance, because that immediate interaction is energizing and inspiring. We no longer associate show and showmanship with poetry, but I think we ought to. Bring it back. It's salutary, y'all. Most salutary.

When you are looking for inspiration, where do you look? Do you begin with words, ideas, or things?

In the following order and that most firmly, I begin with words, then ideas, then things. I am almost never inspired to write by a scene or situation, and a notion will occasionally strike me, but an odd word choice or turn of phrase will send me scurrying for my notebook.

Are there poets or artists that you find consistently inspiring?

The poet who most inspires me, to whom I return almost weekly, is Gerard Manley Hopkins. I lack the imagination to picture a Tolkien devotee who wouldn't delight in Hopkins. He's so hugely Anglo-Saxon, and yet so pastorally English. For that reason alone he should resonate with all Christians, since our lives are quiet and modest yet epically significant and cosmic. Next up are Eliot, Milton, and C. S. Lewis. Especially Lewis. I discovered most of my favorite poets as a teen, but Lewis was the one who most influenced me as an adult. His dominion of English seems so complete, but he uses it so modestly, even when the scale of his poems is large.

While you write, do you listen to music for inspiration?Ìý

Not when I write poetry. I reserve music for prose. The motivating factor in my music selection is lyric, which would interfere with poesy.

If you could craft people’s response, would you prefer that people reply, react, or retaliate to Well Met? Why?

I would prefer that they reply. Preferably in verse.

Social media, and especially my YouTube channel, have made me value conversation. Obviously much that is said on social media is more haranguey in nature (I have a rule pro per that I do not read comments of more than a few lines), but I do like a nice chat. Just as my favorite way to do poetry is to perform it, my favorite times on YouTube are with live videos. I would not mind simple reactions, I would be flattered by retaliation, but I would be pleased by replies.

And may I pause here to say that if we all learn to appreciate short forms of poetry we might recover the art of the remark, the mastery of which is necessary to rescue the lost art of simply commenting on something.

What is the most significant lesson that you learned while writing poetry?

That it is easier to be funny than earnest. And that I love and admire earnestness.

I hope readers find my funny poetry funny, since I suppose that to be the easier stuff. If one of the poems tries to amuse you and fails, maybe just close the book and put it aside, preferably in a place of quiet dignity.

Where can we pick up a copy of Well Met?

It will roll out and become available at . You can get it at and on . Or at bookstores where I have friends.

Any other projects forthcoming? Anything else that you are working on?

I co-wrote a little e-book called . That had a good bit of success, and my co-author has been bugging me for a while to work on a second edition. I should probably get around to that.

I'm some ways into anew book, a Christian's practical guide to the enjoyment of things. One of the things to be enjoyed is poetry.

Thanks so much for joining us here at The Westminster Confession of Funk.

Honored.

I recently interviewed Josh Stevenson, proprietor and author or . It is the only blog that I actually read like a subscriber. I am a huge fan,Ìýso I was delighted when Josh agreed to be interviewed.

Hey Josh Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.

Thank you for having me. I’m thrilled to be invited, and already at home, as I’m feeling both dogmatic and enslaved by the rhythm.

Where did the name "A Fruit Salad of Harm" come from?

The answer to this is surprisingly pretentious. Putting this up top should alienate most of your readers. Goodbye, readers.

It came from thinking about about the stance that the community and culture that I’m a part of takes on humor and the comic.ÌýWhere I live there’s an idea that humor ought to be satirical. It ought to have a point, and it ought to tear into something.

That’s certainly one thing that humor does, and a legitimate use. But starting with the stated intention of taking something down a peg doesn’t get me going. Comedy as a category contains both Bill Hicks and Jack Handey. Bill Hicks� thing is that he’s raw and real and just telling the truth, man. Jack Handey creates funny things that have no target, as far as I can tell. They make you laugh yourself dumber. I resonate more with the Jack Handey tone.

Unfortunately, I picked up the fruit salad thing from Nabokov. An interviewer asked him if he wrote satire, and Nabokov pulled an interesting trick by pointing out that “satire� comes from the Greek “satira� which means “fruit salad�. So instead of this ideologically motivated knife, a fruit salad is a thing you pick through—ooh, there’s an orange slice, a nut, ahhh, a cherry—and find little delights. So Nabokov said that he did satire in that sense, aggregating small delights for the reader. That sounds good to me.

“Fruit Saladâ€� needed some teeth, lest it sound only wacky. I like macabre stuff, and I thought that might have a place on my site. So the “harmâ€� is fair warning that I might post creepy things about scary stuff.Ìý

Boom: “�

See? Surprisingly pretentious for a site that has, not one, but two stories about a crazy family that dresses one of their kittens up in tin-foil armor.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that my wife, Abby, is funnier than I am. I am one of the people who acknowledge this. In fact, I agree that most people I know are funnier than I am. But I’m the one with a congenital defect that makes me want to sit down, alone, and write things. So it’s honestly the case that sometimes my much funnier wife will have an idea, or say something that gives me an idea, and then I will go and write it. Then I’ll bring it back to her and she’ll read it and try to hide a disappointed expression.

I have two ways of “getting ideas� that don’t involve stealing them from my wife:

1 - Remember something that happened to me, and then twist it into something interesting.

2 - Think, say, or overhear something funny or interesting and then write it down within about two minutes.

We remember the things we remember for a reason, so even banal memories tend to link up with bigger concerns. But they might not be great stories. So sometimes I have to distort actual events to attempt to get something interesting. They still don’t end up being great stories, but my blog is free, and no one is making you read it. It would be nice if someone were making people read it—like with threats and guns.

Another thing that helped:Ìý

I listen to comedy podcasts, and a lot of them are improv-based. I’m not an improviser, but I’ve familiarized myself with the rules of improv, and use them when I write. If someone can riff for fifteen minutes, or an hour—on a nothing idea—and end up with something entertaining, I figure it’s got to be possible to write for an hour or two and come away with something. That didn’t happen the first time I did it, or most of the times I do it now. But with a few years of practice, I think it’s possible to become more consistent.

Related to overhearing funny things, I once heard someone in a coffee-shop say, “I’m trying to be more naive this holiday season�. That's a shiny new quarter in the have-a-penny-leave-a-penny-need-a-penny-take-a-penny tray that you used to see more often in convenience stores.

What made you think that you should do a blog full of goofy short fiction?

In response to “goofyâ€� I have to say, “Ow.â€� I never thought about it that way. Joke.Ìý

Earlier I mentioned a compulsion to write things. I don’t mean to glorify that. It’s not like, “I have things inside me that the world must hear about.� It’s more like, “I have this thing inside me, and if I don't make it to a computer quick, I’m going to ruin the carpet.� I feel the need to write things, and it helps keep floor coverings undefiled.

I also need validation from other people. I was kicked out of a Montessori school at the age of five because I kept making other children come look at what I was doing. Once I did a love-languages test with some relatives and it turned out that the other men in the group did not ever need to hear “words of affirmation�. It was the lowest category for them in terms of importance. You will not be surprised when I tell you that it was the absolute most important category for me.

I come from a stable, loving family. Even so, I’m horribly damaged in this way and need people to tell me that they like a thing I made. I’m not sure why.

Have you immortalized your friends, family, or enemies in any of your stories?

I have five brothers and two sisters, and I frequently mash them together into a single sibling, picking traits from each like Igor in the graveyard. However, I’m frequently making them dumber or meaner than they actually are, so I wouldn't want anyone to imagine that the siblings in my stories are faithful to reality.

As for enemies, I have a story. Our cat had kittens and we advertised that they were free to a good home. This couple showed up to help a third person choose a kitten. The couple was alleged to “know cats�. They were supposed to have some mystical connection to them. I’m sure they’re wonderful folks in civilian life, but they examined our kittens and, for reasons obscure to us, found them wanting. I believe that they said that they didn’t like the vibe of our cats. Say what you will about our cats, but their vibe is unimpeachable. This was such a traumatic experience for me that I wrote two stories about it.

Somewhat masochistically, in both stories I made the couple seem sane, and the people giving the kittens away seem crazy. That’s partly out of a conviction that I ought to take the log out of my own eye. But the fact that I’m telling the story this way here might be proof that the log is still lodged firmly in socket.

What do you hope people get out of reading your stories?

I hope they enjoy them. Per the whole “satira� thing, I hope they comb through and find a couple of delightful things. I think art is capable of great importance, and I’d like to aspire to transcendent value and beautiful, instructive morality and so on. But as a fella in his mid-to-late-thirties in northern Idaho who’s never been published in print, creating works that speak to the joy and suffering of being human might not be my job. Mostly I just write sentences that I hope add up to something funny or—sometimes—grotesque.

Are you better at dodgeball or snowball fights?Ìý

Speaking of transcendence, I’ve had moments of sublimity engaged in both.Ìý

I think I’m better with ballistics than fastballs, and I think that inclines me towards the snowball fight. Not a lot of slow, arcing shots in dodgeball. Also, I can generally avoid hitting people in the face with a snowball, so I’m a respectful opponent. My son might tell you differently, but he’s a known liar.

Do you ever catch yourself planning to use people you're talking to as characters in one of your stories? What is the best time that something like that happened?Ìý

My dad likes to chat. He likes to talk to strangers. I don’t like to engage much with humans out in the wild, but the vagaries of modern life require me to buy goods at stores from time-to-time. So most of my interactions with non-family members occur with cashiers. But because I’m my father’s son, I will sometimes try to make the exchange memorable for the cashier.

One time a cashier at our local co-op gave me the total amount of my purchase. She said something like, “Seven dollars and fifty-three cents.� Well, that’s the kind of opportunity I can’t turn down. So I brandished my debit card and said, “Perfect—that’s the exact amount in my bank account.�

She didn’t like this response at all. She did not look at me or say anything to me for the rest of the transaction. I don’t know how, but my idiotic attempt at a joke really destroyed her day. As soon as I saw her disappointment in me, I knew that my failure had been generative.Ìý

As with the people demeaning our cats, this event proved so traumatizing for me that I have written multiple pieces about bad interactions with cashiers.

Any Questions I should have asked you that I didn’t?

Looking back over these responses, and thinking about my life in general, I don’t think you should have asked me any questions at all. For shame.

You have any plans for other projects, writing or otherwise?

I don't have anything to plug. My output on my blog has become spotty, but I’m still working on stuff consistently. I only have two hobbies:Ìý

1 - Trying to be creativeÌý

2 - Worrying about being creative

So given that, and the fact that it’s clear that my blog does not have any quality control, it’s weird that I don’t post more. I guess no one has recently insulted any cats that I own, which amounts to a bit of a dry spell.

Thank you for the opportunity to demonstrate to a wider audience that they should should avoid my blog:Ìý.

Josh, thanks for joining us.

Josh tweets as . Follow him to read tweets and to get updates. Or Subscribe on .

Thanks for joining us at The Westminster Confession of Funk.Ìý

And thank you for such a delightfully named blog. It's always been one of my favorite names.

So your novel Strays is available for pre-order. What's it about? What inspired the story?

It's about a boy named Rodney who has to spend the summer at his weird uncle's and gets caught up in a demonic invasion. The major influence is The Screwtape Letters, which is a book that never goes more than a couple of years without being pulled off my shelf. The other point of inspiration is Martin Luther, particularly his dealings with Satan. His legendary abuse of the devil has always tickled me. His hymn A Mighty Fortress is also a touchstone and I use its lyrics as chapter titles.

I love the title. Is it too much of a spoiler to ask what the name is about?

There are several characters to whom the title could apply and that's part of the fun of the novel. Rodney has to determine who is trustworthy and even examine his own loyalties. Strays was an idea I'd had for years, which grew from a fairy tale I'd invented for my sons called Little Lost Demon. When that story was scaled into a full length novel a title change was necessary, especially since I find it very difficult to write without a satisfying title. Plus I was in need of a third act twist and Strays fit that need perfectly.

How long was the whole writing process of Strays? Were there any discouragements that you had to overcome as you were writing the book?

There were innumerable setbacks, the first being that I don't have the ability to drop into a novel an hour here and there and write fruitfully. For me to write, at least in novel form, I need a stretch of days uncluttered by my day job. As a teacher I have a couple of months off, so after holding down a summer job for a number of years I finally decided to use the time to write. I began the first draft in the summer of 2012. Halfway through I realized that I had numerous plot problems so I shelved it until Christmas break. I ruminated on the problems and workshopped my solutions so that over the two week break I was able to rewrite and rework what I'd written. Then during the next summer I "finished" it. Put this way it doesn't sound so bad, but trust me when I reached the end of the first summer and realized that I had half a broken novel it wasn't the happiest of times. I'm also keeping an account of lost wages and holding it against the novel too. It's my tiny act of revenge for all the suffering I went through.

When you are looking for character inspiration, where do you look? Are there people in your life that are secretly also characters in your fiction?

I do find that it's easier to write a character when I have a visual, but I haven't done that yet. I usually just take bits of people, someone's walk, another's laugh, and weave them into who I have in mind. For example, Rodney's uncle is bristly bearded and full of chuckles, something that was helpfully crystallized by a couple of jolly bearded fellows I know. I do the same thing when I read to my boys. I'm much more consistent with the voices if I can tie them to an actor or (more commonly) a Muppet. When reading Harry Potter I used John Malkovich for Snape and a raspy Scooter for Ron Weasley.Ìý

Are there writers or books that Strays is interacting with or inspired by?

As I said above, The Screwtape Letters was the chief inspiration. I love the world CS Lewis created. It's quite a sinister little book, but his depiction of the demons as petty, cruel and more than a little self-defeating is powerfully insightful. And the fun I had creating demon names was the most fun I've had during any project ever. I have a folder full of demon names that I didn't use and more came well after I was finished writing. Here's just a small sample of unused names: Scumwidget, Bilklog, Fog-jibbet, Ooze-rug, I could go on.

While you write, do you listen to music for inspiration?Ìý

During the writing of Strays I sang Luther's A Mighty Fortress at least once a month in our chapel service. Each time was an opportunity to rehearse the story. Outside of that I try to match the music to the mood. Explosions in the Sky is my go to band, I know the catalogue well enough to find something to suit the scene I'm writing.Ìý

How do you hope people will respond to Strays?

If my readers move on to (or return to) The Screwtape Letters I will be a satisfied author.

What is the most significant lesson that you learned while writing your novel?

The first lesson was that I need to finish the outline. Strays was derailed by a pretty basic story point that I hadn't thought through. The other lesson that I'm still learning is to not be overly concerned about the first draft. Finishing something is far harder than rewriting something and no amount of rewriting before it's finished will save you from having to rewrite it later. I've gone through the book no less than seven times since I finished that first draft.

Where can we pick up a copy of Strays?

, , good godfearing booksellers.

Any other projects forthcoming? Anything else that you re working on?

My second novel, Hush-Hush, should come out next year. The short pitch for that one is Invisible Friends Meets Bodysnatchers.

Currently I'm at work on several other projects. So far my imagination has outstripped my ability to put it all down on paper, but I'm excited to work through the idea file. The goal is to be able to write throughout the year. Hopefully I'll be able to write more than one novel every two years.

Thanks so much for joining us here at The Westminster Confession of Funk.

Thanks, Jason.

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ÌýGet yourself a copy of Strays .

Brute power/ Is not superior/ To a flower � May Sarton

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There is very little that can undo a dandelion.

Though you pick it, pluck it, pound it, or poison it

it pops up again when you’re not looking.

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It roars its mockery at all you do,

letting you (and all your neighbors) know that they will live still,

and live long, when you are still long gone.

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When I am dead, buried to fertilize the dirt,

they will grow up smiling around my tombstone.

(Maybe I’ll be buried at sea?)

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Because all I have is the power of brute force.

Because all I give to this flower is death.

It has resurrection.

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From Ìý

Fists of Fluff is a Samurai reframing of the Tortoise and the Hare. It has been years since the Tortoise and Hare raced. And though that experience defined their young lives and they have both since grown and studied to become Samurai warriors. But when Coyotes attack the village, Hare discovers that, though his fists are fast, they are too soft to defeat the coyotes and bring justice to his village. But the tortoise has another lesson for the Hare.Ìý

ÌýAnd the whole story is written in Haiku.

I sincerely hope that you will consider backing my kickstarter campaign.Ìýhttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1348970559/fists-of-fluff-a-samurai-retelling-of-the-tortoise?ref=creator_nav