I pray I never become so accomplished at writing I don’t improve and grow as an author. Each new story is an opportunity for me to explore topics that fascinate me, ones I love to research and read about.
Michael Jack Webb – 4 December 2020
The Back Flap
Best-selling, award-winning author and master storyteller Michael Jack Webb weaves a Supernatural Serial Killer tale like none you’ve ever read.
Enter a world where nothing is what it appears to be, and every clue leads an extraordinary young woman deep into the heart of darkness and beyond.
Kate Justice, FBI’s youngest Profiler, is assigned to find a serial killer with supernatural abilities.
The killer is elusive, cunning, and seemingly invincible.
Kate races against time to discover who or what is behind the gruesome murders and prevent another brutal killing.
She soon fears she’s in over her head as stunning revelations about her mysterious ancestry surface.
Hunter becomes the prey as the Ghost in the Darkness killer plays a vicious cat and mouse game, drawing Kate into a deadly confrontation.
Uncovering the truth will challenge her beliefs about the world around her and her understanding of what is real, what is a myth, and what is something in between.
Book 1 of The Justice Chronicles will leave you breathless, wanting more…
About the Book
What is the book about?
Kate Justice is the FBI’s youngest most brilliant Profiler assigned to track and capture a serial killer like none she’s ever faced before. Kate is brilliant and quirky. Think Hercule Poirot meets Sherlock Holmes meets Supernatural. Her investigative partner, Detective Chris Shindler, has ten years of homicide experience on the Ft. Collins, CO police force. Together they’re racing against time to catch a killer who seems to have supernatural abilities before he or she can commit another brutal murder. Conflicting clues point to a mythological predator known among Indigenous People as the Thunderbird, and an ancient demonic entity with the power to assume human form. They face seemingly insurmountable odds as they work together to piece together a life-and-death puzzle unlike any either of them has worked on in law enforcement. The closer Kate gets to the truth, the more her life is in danger as the killer draws her into a vicious cat and mouse game. Unusual and mysterious revelations about her surprising ancestry cause her to question everything she thought she knew about herself and the world around her.
When did you start writing the book?
December 2019.
How long did it take you to write it?
Five months.
Where did you get the idea from?
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to his son Christopher in 1945 saying “A story must be told or there’ll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving.” Kate Justice’s story cried out for the telling. The deeper I got into her story, the more I realized one book was insufficient and decided her life had to become a series. How long it continues is up to her. 😊
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Fastest novel I’ve ever written. The story came gushing out of me. I became a scribe furiously chronicling events changing Kate’s life, and the lives of those around her, forever.
What came easily?
Everything. This is my 7th Supernatural Suspense Mystery Thriller, and I drew upon years of research and writing. I strive to improve my craft with each novel. My beta readers tell me this is my best work yet. I hope to do even better with the next one, and the one after that and so on. I pray I never become so accomplished at writing I don’t improve and grow as an author. Each new story is an opportunity for me to explore topics that fascinate me, ones I love to research and read about.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Both. In all my thrillers I interweave fictional and nonfictional characters, drawing upon a variety of historical figures, both ancient and modern. I also draw from things I’ve experienced, especially as it pertains to the supernatural. Often those experiences mirror, and many times eclipse, what is happening in the world most of us call reality. In almost all of my stories, I write a scene or explore an idea that later manifests in the natural realm. Never ceases to amaze me how life imitates art.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
How much time do you have? LOL. I read eclectically. I’ve read everything James Michener, Michael Crichton, and Daniel Silva have written. James Rubart, Robert Whitlow, and Dan Brown are favorites. Favorite genres are Political Thrillers set in the Middle East and fast-paced, well-written Supernatural Thrillers with interesting and quirky characters. I also read extensively about archeology, paleontology, astrophysics, ancient history, mythology, physics, forbidden history, and Egyptology. My main inspirations are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, and James Byron Huggins.
Do you have a target reader?
Anyone who loves suspense, mysteries, thrillers, the supernatural and is willing to take a chance on entering worlds where nothing is as it seems to be, and everything is possible. I want people who love to read and want to learn more about things they might not normally encounter in their daily lives. People who want to feel like they’ve eaten a ten-course meal when they finish my story but are hungry for more a hour later. And, of course, people who love to read to escape and relish stepping through the Looking Glass like Alice.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I see all my novels as movies. In every case, I either see a scene scrolling in my head, or hear a character’s dialogue, or both. I write it down, then ponder the implications. Typically, I have a beginning and end in mind. I’m a “pantser” writing by the seat of my pants. In every novel, without fail, there comes a moment when my characters take control and carry me along with them. I become merely a scribe doing my best to tell their story as it unfolds. Absolutely fascinating to me.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Never. See above response.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I’m a perfectionist. I edit as I go, then edit some more, and edit again. By the time I’m finished, I’m so over editing I just want to be done and move on to the next story. Editing overload.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I use ProWriter in addition to my Word editor, then send it out to a woman who professionally edits it again. Then I edit one final time. Told you, I’m a perfectionist.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I don’t. When I’m writing, I become so consumed in the process, I enter a different realm. Almost an out-of-body experience. Everything around me disappears as I become immersed in my “movie.” Irritates the heck out of my wife sometimes when she wants to get my attention. But she’s my biggest advocate and forgives my “time away” regularly.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes. Had one of the best agents on the planet for 5 years, Don Maas. Learned a great deal from him. Especially his books on writing.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I like having total control over my work and keeping all my royalties. Discovered that as tedious and time-consuming as marketing is, publishers wanted me to do the heavy lifting anyway and really couldn’t offer me anything I’m not already doing for myself. I was originally traditionally published and would consider working with a publisher again, most likely a small Indie, if the deal is good for both of us and the opportunity presented itself. Not looking for it at this point, though.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
My graphic artist, Lisa Vento, is one of the most talented and visionary professionals I’ve ever worked with. Can’t recommend her highly enough and have referred her to my entire author network.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
A little bit of both, lol.
About You
Where do you live now?
My wife and I live physically in North Carolina with our Amazon Sun Conure, but our hearts and minds are always in Jackson Hole, WY.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I love soft chocolate chip cookies and eat way too many of them, especially when I’m writing. I love the smell of coffee but rarely drink it, preferring pure, strong Black Tea without any foo foo flavorings. For over four decades I’ve travelled the world looking for adventure. I’ve taken tour groups to Israel over a dozen times and gone there myself doing research another three times. Favorite place to vacation is a toss up between St. John, USVI for snorkeling and diving and Jackson Hole, WY for hiking, mountain climbing, and immersing myself in God’s incredible creation. The stars there at night are unmatchable, especially on top of a mountain. On my bucket list is Iceland, New Zealand, and Croatia.
What are you working on now?
Writing Jackal, The Justice Chronicles Book 2 (Spring/Summer 2021). Researching Light Bringer, The War of Men and Angels Book 3 (Fall 2021/Winter 2002).
End of Interview:
For more from Michael Jack Webb, visit his website, like his Facebook page, and follow him on Twitter.
