Why Did I Write The List of Five?

People may ask, "Why? Why Jason? Why? Why did you write that book?" and I hope that they do it with a sense of wonderment in their voice and not a sound in their voice that sounds like thinly veiled contempt.

I just thought I would talk to you a little about that. Everything I write has a little piece of me in it. I believe it is that way for all writers. If we can't feel something about what is happening in the story, no one else will either.

So here it goes:

First, I write because it is all I have ever truly wanted to do. For those of you that know me really well, I have known I wanted to be a writer since I was very young, about 4 years old, give or take. In second grade, I used to write book for my parents, staple the lined-paper together and sell to them. It is truly all I have ever wanted to do.

So, why this book.

I wanted to a forum to talk about some things that matter to me, without being preachy, and still write a captivating story that would engage readers. There are so many pieces of me in The List of Five.

For instance, I wanted to go back to a day when I played Dungeons and Dragons. I loved that game. I am a true introvert. This is also something that only a few people know about me. I prefer to be alone, until I don't. My mind does not recharge by being around people. It recharges by being alone. I love people and I do love being around them, but I recharge by being alone. Dungeons and Dragons was the first time that I had true friends that had a common interest in something that I liked. Does it make me a geek? Maybe. I wear that mantle with pride.

I also wanted to explore loss again. I write about it in my short story "Not Even There" and it is a theme I will keep exploring. The loss of youth. The loss of family. The loss of naivete. I am sometimes surprised at how much loss young people experience in their lives, and how resilient they can be when faced with it. I've looked back in my own life and realized that I have lost many times. I know that this is a fictional book and much of what happens in it will never happen to anyone, but fantasy and horror is the medium I paint in, so I will continue to explore.

Betrayal is another theme that I keep going back to again and again. I wanted to explore what it is like to be the betrayer and the betrayed. This novella begins a look at this theme, but the theme will carry on for a couple of more books.

Songs often have a place in my book. For this one, I played "Lose Yourself" by Eminem a lot. I'll let you sort that one out. If you can figure out the one, not very obvious, reason why this song influenced this story, comment in the bottom and the first five people will win the rest of my short stories as a gift.

As always, I welcome your comments! Thanks for being the best readers in the world!