Jake incarnated on Earth in the year 1980, shortly after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens warned the planet of his impending arrival. He grew up in the eighties and nineties and so was shaped and molded by comic books, Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, Pee Wee Herman, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to name just a few things.
He enjoyed skiing and basketball during those early and innocent days. He always loved writing papers in High School, especially ones about movies. He didn’t take up fiction writing until he was a senior at the University of Washington about to finish his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. During the following period, a trial by multiple, repeated failures, he struggled to put anything noteworthy down on a page. It was a long and torturous journey to mastering his craft, which seasoned writers say takes one million words or ten years to develop.
Next, he embarked on four years of creative writing courses through the University of Washington Extension program, studying at the feet of the likes of Pam Binder and James Thayer, just to name a few of the Jedi Masters he has crossed paths with on his journey.
Jake worked at Lowe’s and Home Depot during this time and then went back to school to study Diagnostic Ultrasound imaging, all the while nurturing his book into maturity. When it was finally ready, he assembled his team, a new website, a knowledgeable publisher in Jera Publishing, and the assembled wisdom of his loyal beta readers and book Dr. to birth The Song of Jonas out into the unsuspecting world. A world utterly unready and unprepared for the planet-sized slap they were about to receive to the cerebral cortex, and like it.
If you are further interested in what books, movies, and current events or topics Jake likes discussing, or just want to see what he has to say about the world in up-to-date postings for your enjoyment, then consider reading his blog found on this website. You never know, it might enlighten you to a new book or movie that you haven’t heard of that you might enjoy.
His writing influences range from Harry Potter to The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test and The Right Stuff, both by author Tom Wolfe, as well as Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. He’s researched Shamanism, UFO encounters, conspiracy theories, and facts, past life regression studies, and mystical knowledge from many cultures including Hindu, Buddhist, Native American, and many others, all of which has been woven into the DNA of The Song of Jonas. For there is a maxim for writers that the more truth you can put into your fiction the better it will be. And anyway, we all know that truth is stranger than fiction.
The style he developed on accident consists of the eternal Heroes Journey, mixed with the satire of whatever types of characters and topics that he is satirizing at the moment. This unique style is named inspired ridiculousness, and he hopes you’ll find it an appropriate name.
