Interview with JAKe Hatmacher

Published 2017-02-20.
How do you approach cover design?
I like my covers to reveal to some degree what the story is about, but at the same time not explicitly. I do want it to pique interest. I would not want to try to mislead by showing something on the cover that has nothing to do with the story.
I don't think there is any way that a cover for the stories that I like to write can fully portray what is inside, but I want it to reveal something that I'm trying to convey in the story. And I obviously want to draw attention to the book.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I don't believe where I grew up had any major influence on my writing. I believe what I do and have done professionally has had a major influence.
I grew up in the Midwest U.S., some miles south of Chicago.
Describe your desk
My desk is generally a mess. Even though I research things on the internet, I am constantly writing down little snippets, and sometimes bigger snippets. They are often times my thoughts for scenes and dialogue or how the story will play out. It's not always easy to find a particular thing later, but I generally know what pile it's in.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
No, I really don't. I mean, we all probably had to read stories in the very early years of our education and before that probably had them read to us. I can't say any of those truly impacted me.
When I think of impact I think of something either changing my way of thought or just enjoying the style of an author's writing. And if I respond to those qualities of impact, then I would have to say "On Walden Pond" by Henry David Thoreau may have been the first that impacted me. In terms of writing style I enjoy and the types of books written, I would have to go with author Tom Robbins who wrote such works as "Another Roadside Attraction", Skinny Legs and All", "Jitterbug Perfume" and many others. Another author would be Frederick Forsythe and his works, "The Day of The Jackel", "The Odessa File", etc.
Tom Robbins' style was whimsical but within the whimsy you could tell he was saying something to the reader-the reading was fun. With Forsythe, I loved his research into his novels of espionage and intrigue, giving readers a vivid portrayal of not only weapons and a plotter's plans but also insight into the characters. I think my writing has been influenced, at least to some degree, by them, although the topics of our stories are nowhere near the same.
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