Jasyn T. Turley was born in Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas;
and lives in Independence, Missouri. He is an independent author and
full-time custodian. He holds an Associates in Arts degree from MCC KC
Community College. He started WEEKS Book One back in the summer of 2009
and has been continuously working on it, and its sequels, since then. He
has more science fiction and fantasy books in the works that he plans
on releasing in the future. You can learn more about Jasyn, WEEKS Book
One, and future projects at https://turleybookinn.com/.WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: http://turleybookinn.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/JayFiction
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19608376.Jasyn_T_Turley
As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write your book?
How WEEKS came to be was an oddity, least as far as I am concerned. You see growing up me, my brother and a friend of ours, we would get together a play a zombie survival game. Gosh, we’d play it just about every day or whenever we got the chance. But in the summer of 2009, I couldn’t contain the storyline the three of us had played out. My head was just thriving off of everything we’ve done, so on our vacation trip to Colorado Springs, I sat down in the backseat of the car with a spiral notebook paper and a special pen given to me by my grandmother. Over a nine-hour car ride later the roughest-rough draft of WEEKS was finished; spanning about thirty-five pages back to back.
Can you tell us a little about the main
characters of your book?
So the main characters of WEEKS are three people: Phil, Tim, and Dakota. From the previous answer, I can say I was Phil, my brother was Tim, and our friend Katie was Dakota. Just a fun fact. So Phil is a retired US Army Special Force’s (Green Beret), Tim is a US Marine and Dakota is a US Army Ranger. All three of them are strongly bonded by their found faith in Christ; it’s what’s carried them through the ten years of a nuclear-zombie apocalypse. Without giving away too much, I’ll just add that they all have some level of a hard past; Phil’s past was a bit darker.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what
would that be?
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
I’m not sure I even have an interesting writing quirk. But I do try to write on a schedule, or when the Muse beckons. It’s hard for me to write after getting off of work, so I try to write in the morning before I go in. Optimizing my morning time by going to bed around 1 am and waking up around 8 or 9 am (I work third shift). But I do love to have a pot of coffee with me when I do. Oh, and depending on what I’m writing, I do have different behaviors. So I have a fantasy series I’m working on as well, for the future, and well I like to dress up in my cosplay of the main character and write. When I do this, I also enjoy having coffee and muffins while doing so (long story).
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
I have heard back from some of my readers, and mostly I hear positive feedback with constructive criticism. So that helps to balance out what they liked and what they didn’t like. It’s always good to have a fresh set of eyes outside the box looking in ya know?
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
The toughest criticism I’ve received as an author? Well, I haven’t heard anything back too harsh or cruel which is good. But what was hard to hear was when a friend of mine expressed how much he disliked one of my main characters. But there is a dynamic at play here which I don’t blame him. We’re both introverts, me and my friend, but this main character is highly extroverted. That contrast alone can be overwhelming in the real world, so I know where he’s coming from. But in the end, this main character grew on my friend who eventually found him likable. That’s not a bad thing though if anything I feel it’s reflective of what I was aiming for with writing an extroverted character.
What has been your best accomplishment?
My best accomplishment by far is just becoming a published writer! For so long that was all I wanted and know I have it. It’s surreal to think a ten-year journey has come to its close for me. WEEKS Book One has a special place in my heart among all my other manuscripts and future projects. There comes a sense of relief as well, knowing that rewrites and critiques and all are over with my debut novel; assuming I don’t do a second edition to fix some issues.
Do you Google yourself?
Have I googled myself? Admittedly so. The first time I was trying to see if my book would show, but being newly published it was hard to find. Now I can google my book title or my name and find it easily enough. But sometimes I do just to see what all pops up, curiosity killed the cat, right?
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
How many unpublished works do I have? Oh geez, that’s a heavy question. Let's see, WEEKS, I’m hoping will stretch to seven novels, but the story will write itself so it doesn’t go that far it wasn’t supposed to. But with WEEKS Book Two coming out in December and finished, I can say without a doubt there will be a Book Three and Four with what all the storyline has to wrap up. Then I have a couple of other in-universe books with different characters I’d like to include, they’ll probably be standalone novels. Then I have another apocalyptic novel, completely unrelated to WEEKS, and the story for that would make it a standalone. There are a couple of books I wrote when in high school, but given our current political turmoil, they won’t see the light of day for a good long while. Then, by far, the most arduous books I’ve been working on, my High Fantasy Series I will release after WEEKS. I can say without a doubt, I will have a trilogy surrounding the main character, then an anthology book for people who are lore junkies or just like to read up on history and culture of fictitious worlds. So right on the top of my head, I have eleven books for sure; but ninety percent sure that’s tentative.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince,
what’s one thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
If I were a prince, to make my kingdom a better place, assuming I’m allowed to retain my knowledge of history as I have been taught. There is one thing I would do to make whichever kingdom a better place. I’d establish a balance of power for the monarchy, maybe a parliament and some kind of judicial body. It’s not the greatest, but it’s better than unchecked power. I would also include a mandate for parliament, upon their formation, to reform and create public education for the kingdom’s lower classes.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to
your readers?
To you, the readers, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this. Be safe and God bless!
Phil, Tim, and Dakota are three survivors taking refuge in Atlanta,
Georgia. The year is 2027, ten years after a nuclear fallout decimated
the known world and left it in shambles. With hordes of the undead
flooding their once safe home and a city now depleted of all resources
and supplies the three must make a daring gamble. To trek across the
States and Canada, looking for a new place to call home; safe from the
monsters that plague the lands.
In their daring gamble this trio encounters more than just zombies. They are relentlessly pursued and hunted by both an old and new nemesis’. Trying to survive and stick together, no matter the odds, they must rely on their faith, bond, and past experiences to live through their tribulations. In this world, a fool’s chance is usually their only chance.
In their daring gamble this trio encounters more than just zombies. They are relentlessly pursued and hunted by both an old and new nemesis’. Trying to survive and stick together, no matter the odds, they must rely on their faith, bond, and past experiences to live through their tribulations. In this world, a fool’s chance is usually their only chance.
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