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| Stephen Jared, Author THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI |
Author and
actor Stephen Jared writes 1930s/1940s
adventures and crime thrillers and also acts in many TV shows and movies, such
as "He's Just Not That Into You." His latest novel, THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI,
set in 1942, features Jack Hunter who uses his skills as a former actor to
track down spies. A reviewer says,
“Great writing, intriguing characters, solid historical background, snappy
dialogues”
In his spare time, Stephen Jared
likes to discover artists he never knew before, especially those from the first
half of the 20th century. He has just finished his next novel, a crime
fiction book set in 1930s Hollywood. At the same time, he maintains his acting
career. His next acting gig is his appearance on a new ABC sitcom called “The
Goldbergs,” which is scheduled to premier in a few weeks.
Be sure to check out the excerpt following his interview.
Be sure to check out the excerpt following his interview.
Q: What makes
THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI “pulp action?”
Stephen Jared: That’s simply
an effort to categorize the work. To me it serves no purpose aside from
marketing. I don’t really think of my work as pulpy, don’t try to generate any
kind of pulpy quality to my writing. What I write is, however, hugely
influenced by the romantic adventures and noir movies of the 30s and 40s. A lot
of those films originated from writers who got their start in the pulps –
Dashiell Hammett and Rafael Sabatini, as example. The reason “pulp” gets thrown
around is because it’s a particular style of literature, whereas “old
Hollywood” doesn’t exist as a style of literature. Where I draw the line
between pulp writing and old Hollywood writing is that I don’t write superhero
stories.
Q: Your
reviewers praise the action in THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI: “The
flip-flops of the action are dizzying.” How do you create such “dizzying”
action?
Stephen Jared: I had a lot of visual ideas I wanted
to throw into this story – Chicago gangsters, a Chinese Warlord, a bombed and
occupied Shanghai, a flying tiger, a sexy nightclub singer (I even managed to
sneak Jimmy Stewart in there). You just can’t write a roughly
forty-thousand-word story incorporating all of that without it taking a lot of
fast twists and turns. The hard part is to keep it sensible and cohesive.
Q: A reviewer
described your protagonist, Jack Hunter, “as a well developed
character, imaginative and at the pencils edge of fiction and legend.” (I love
that description!) How did you create Jack as a real person in a pulp action
novel? How do you make readers care about him and what happens to him?
Stephen Jared: When Jack is first introduced he’s
hung-over from drinking too much; the sunshine hurts, and when his butler mocks
his acting – the work Jack is beloved for all over the world – Jack’s response
is good-humored. So, we learn that he’s a guy with problems, and we learn that
despite living like a king, he’s down-to-earth. That’s on page one. I just
tried to create a character that had tremendous vulnerabilities, weaknesses,
and then drop that character into an impossibly difficult situation where he
had to become strong. In a sense, he had to grow up. I think that’s
relatable.
Q: THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI is set
in the 1940s. A reviewer was impressed with your “solid historical background.”
What research did you conduct to assure accuracy? How important is this
accuracy to create credibility and reader engagement?
Stephen Jared: I seek specificity more than
accuracy. Specific detail provides believability; it grounds a story with a
perceived reality. I write in settings and time periods I love, so research is
fun for me. I did a lot of research on Shanghai – the hard part was deciding
what to leave out.
Q: How relevant is the concept of
“villain” versus “hero” to your story? What makes a great villain? An
interesting hero? Could Jack be a hero without a villain?
Stephen Jared: These are, again, labels – heroes and
villains – which don’t serve a hugely significant purpose to me. Look at Bogart
in Casablanca; he was presented as a
hero. They photographed him as a hero throughout. He was introduced as a hero;
in his introductory shot we see him, and then a moment later we see his face.
Heroes have been introduced this way for decades in film. Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark was introduced
this way. It’s dramatic trick. A brief second of a ‘man of mystery’ and then
the big reveal. The whole bit where Bogart intercepts on behalf of the young
couple, helping them get visas – Renault calls Bogart a sentimentalist, but the
effect is really to tell the audience he’s a hero. It’s foreshadowing, but
hardly a literary device without purpose; it lets the audience know this is a
guy who may wallow in self-pity, but when he’s backed into a corner he does the
right thing. He’s a hero. So, if he’s the hero, who’s the villain? He doesn’t
beat the Nazis in the end. So, the villain could be the cynicism caused by
heartbreak.
In
other words, the villain of a story can be anything. What matters is conflict,
and you can label the two sides of your conflict anything you want.
Q: Did you write THE ELEPHANTS OFSHANGHAI to entertain your readers? Or did you want to deliver a message to
your readers? Both?
Stephen Jared: Entertainment is the goal, but not
just gags; I build my stories around ideas that hopefully register with readers
in some emotional way. THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI revolves around the
difficulties associated with feelings of insignificance in life.
Q: In addition to being an author,
you are also an accomplished and busy actor. Why did you decide to write novels? And why pulp action?
Stephen Jared: I wish I was busier as an actor –
it’s tough out there. Over time, writing has become something I just get up and
do. If I stopped – and I’ve wished to stop a few times – I wouldn’t know what
to do with myself. I’m confident constructing stories. I’m momentarily released
from all my worries and confusion about life. Maybe it’s a feeling of having
control over something. I don’t know. Why pulp action? These 1930s/1940s
adventures and crime thrillers are the type of stories where I feel I can offer
something worthwhile. Other styles of literature, like vampire stories or
Vatican conspiracy thrillers, are the type of stories I just wouldn’t be able
to pull off.
Q: How important is humor to telling
your story?
Stephen Jared: I think it depends on how deep into
the realm of escapism you want to go. With stories like JACK AND THE JUNGLE LION and THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI there needs to be some levity, but with other stories
the need lessons.
Q: What’s next?
Stephen Jared: I finished my next novel. It’s a
return to crime fiction, this one set in Hollywood in the 1930s. It’s dark,
grim, a smaller, more intimate story than anything else I’ve written. I think
that’ll come out next year. As an actor, I shot a part on an episode of a new
sitcom called The Goldbergs. It’ll be on ABC in a few weeks. The scripts are
funny.
Q: Tell us something about Stephen
Jared. What do you like to do when you’re not acting or writing?
Stephen Jared: I’m normally a little restless,
always climbing the walls, looking for something to work on. I like visiting
art museums. I’m a big fan of a lot of the painters of the first half of the
last century. It’s fun to discover artists I never knew before. As example,
over the summer I became acquainted with the works of Emil Kosa Jr. He painted
Los Angeles cityscapes and landscapes back in the 1940s, also worked at 20th
Century Fox’s art department. I spend a lot of time exploring the past.
About Stephen Jared
As an actor, Stephen Jared appeared in feature films such
as He's Just Not That Into You and on television in popular shows such
as iCarly, as well as commercials for both radio and television. His
writings have appeared in various publications. In 2010, his first novel, Jack
and the Jungle Lion, received much critical praise, including an honorable
mention in the 2011 Hollywood Book Festival (it is now a bonus book included in
the purchase of The Elephants of Shanghai).
Solstice Publishing released his second novel, Ten-A-Week Steale, in
2012. He lives in Pasadena, California, where he continues to work as both an
actor and writer.
It’s 1942. With
war raging, and millions of lives hanging in the balance, the world faces an
urgent need for chin-up heroics. Having barely escaped South American
headhunters in his last adventure, Jack Hunter seizes the chance to prove his
courage. He uses “skills” picked up as a former actor so he can pretend to be a
Chicago gangster and pursue spies collaborating with the mob.
A bold plan,
however, is not always a clever plan, and when Jack goes missing hope falls on
Maxine Daniels, the great love of his life, to pick up a trail that leads all
the way to Shanghai, China. Once there, she finds Jack in a race against time
involving priceless jewels, secret weapons, a mysterious Chinese singer, and a
fiendish warlord.
It’s been five years since they survived the Amazon. This time Jack
and Max set out to save more than each other – and end up facing a greater
danger than they ever could have imagined.
Excerpt
Tightening talon-like fingers around his
torch, Kyo Mingshu dragged the firelight closer to his bloodless visage, making
a big show of his bestial grin. “The Elephants of Shanghai have significant
symbolic value. The future belongs to the one who possesses them.” Abruptly
walking off, his golden robe shimmering, he continued, “Come. I have treasures
better suited for you.”
Jack and Johnny aimed frustrated faces at
Summer. She said nothing at all, simply turned and followed the Generalissimo,
past the ancient throne and the clutter of antique punishments, through a door.
A firelit hallway extended along several
makeshift prison chambers. Armed with Tommy guns, Mongolian guards paced. One
was a monster, easily seven feet tall. Corded muscles popped from necks and
biceps; the sweaty bulk of all the guards visibly tightened with the presence
of their leader.
“The new Russians are not the only ones
who honor cruelty,” Kyo Mingshu went on contentedly, his steps slowing with theatrical
deliberation. “Imperial Japan. Nazi Germany.”
Where was this going? Jack wondered. What
had they walked into? Johnny crinkled his brow and licked dry lips, while Jack
mashed the hairs rising on the back of his neck. They had hoped for a fast deal;
now they only wanted to get out.
“The future belongs to the wicked, not
the weak,” Kyo Mingshu predicted. He stopped walking and took a Tommy gun from
one of his henchmen. As if it had not been perfectly clear already, the
devilish gaze he then presented to Jack and Johnny read as from a man who
delighted in evil games. He seemed more creature than man, relishing an ability
to spit poison.
Summer stopped alongside him. Trailing
her, Jack and Johnny soon reached the Generalissimo as well, expecting something
horrible. Jack fixed his eyes upon the gun, wondering about Kyo’s intentions.
A nod from the Generalissimo directed
their attention within one of the prison chambers. Jack had begun to sense that
their diversion to this long-ago abandoned factory, now altered into a macabre
hideout, had less to do with precious stones and more to do with—who knew what?
Unsure and totally unprepared for what they would discover, they each took a
short breath and looked.
About JACK AND THE JUNGLE LION
Battling giant snakes, poison pits and hostile headhunters
after a plane crash in the Amazon, movie star Jack Hunter reveals himself to be
something altogether different from the macho adventurer he plays in Hollywood.
Luckily for him, he's marooned with movie-industry animal trainer Maxine
Daniels and her two kids. The lovely "Max" has more than enough
high-spirited courage and fiery determination to get them all home. But when
terrifying natives capture the feisty heroine, fate calls on the handsome actor
to become the hero he always pretended to be in pictures. With such daring
demands on the two-fisted matinee hero, will Jack embark on a journey to win
the heart of the woman he loves-or perish in the darkest jungles of the Amazon?
Links
Pinterest (Do you like old movie posters?)
Twitter: @Stephen_Jared
Excellent interview, Stephen. Glad Elephants is getting lots of good exposure!
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff, Joyce & Stephen.
ReplyDelete