Since the Oct. 3 release of TREASURE HUNTER: CACHES, CURSES, AND DEADLY CONFRONTATIONS, a number of media outlets have requested interviews. Normally reclusive and not inclined to answer such requests, noted treasure hunter and author W.C. Jameson has agreed to use this space to respond to selected questions.
BOOKGASM: TREASURE HUNTER is an adventure memoir of some of your most memorable expeditions. Why did you write it?
JAMESON: At first, I did not want to write TREASURE HUNTER. The principal reason is related to the fact that one of the best advantages a professional treasure hunter can have is anonymity. The truth is, most of what I do as a professional treasure hunter is illegal; therefore, the less that is known about me and what I am involved with, the better.
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In his book, GLUED TO GAMES: HOW VIDEO GAMES DRAW US IN AND HOLD US SPELLBOUND, psychology consultant Scott Rigby and clinical psychologist Richard M. Ryan offer a balanced research-based analysis of games and gamers, addressing both the positive and negative aspects of habitual playing, by drawing on significant recent studies and established motivational theory.
BOOKGASM: In your book, you say that modern games pull users in more than we were by the arcade games of decades past. How is that?
RIGBY: As gaming has evolved, both game developers and gamers themselves have gotten more sophisticated. Of course technology has allowed for much more “fantastic” graphics and complexity, but more importantly this technological capacity has enabled games — when well designed — to satisfy multiple needs simultaneously, thus creating even greater value for the player and motivational pull.
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Luke Williams’ debut novel, THE ECHO CHAMBER, streets Aug. 8.
BOOKGASM: I understand you started writing THE ECHO CHAMBER while you were attending University of East Anglia. How helpful was the creative writing course?
WILLIAMS: The course was hugely helpful. It gave me confidence — the right kind, in the end; I think I began with entirely the wrong kind and soon had this knocked out of me — as well as the space and time in which to think and research and write intensively. All invaluable to a novice writer and one reason to recommend that aspiring novelists consider developing their projects on such a course.
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Author Joshua Jabcuga delves into horror, where every Friday is Friday the 13th!
Bob Fingerman’s novel PARIAH was given the prestigious honor of being named “Zombie Book of the Year” in the 2010 ’Cuga’s Cuts year-end awards. I have no doubt that that was the highlight of his year. PARIAH also received quite a bit of buzz from other places as diverse as ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (an A- review), to FANGORIA (“Book of the Month”), as well as blurbs from Robert Kirkman, Brian Keene, Jonathan Lethem, Trey Parker and Augusten Burroughs.
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With the film version of Michael Connelly’s THE LINCOLN LAWYER hitting theaters today, we asked the best-selling author how he feels about the finished product. Oh, and we asked him about his novels, too.
BOOKGASM: How does the film adaptation of THE LINCOLN LAWYER compare to the one Clint Eastwood did for BLOOD WORK? Is one truer to your vision than the other?
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