Interview with R.K. Jackson, Author of Kiss of the Sun

What can you tell us about your new release, Kiss of the Sun?

This book continues the saga of Martha Covington, the journalist afflicted with schizophrenia whose story began with The Girl in the Maze. I had imagined the first book as a standalone, but after I finished, the main characters just wouldn’t go away. They kept tugging at my shirt-tails and whispering in my ear: “Hey, dude, we aren’t done with our story yet.” So I started listening, and a lot of the second book wrote itself.

It’s a faster-paced story line this time around, with the action moving from coastal Georgia to Atlanta and other parts of the state. Martha’s romantic interest from book one, Jarrell Humphries, takes center stage as the pair delve deep into the heart of a dangerous conspiracy.

Who is your favorite fictional character from literature?

This is a tough question. Is it Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird? Randle McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Ebenezer Scrooge? Well, I think I’m going to cross my fingers and go with Count Dracula, because I love villains.

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson.

What is a typical day like for you?

Here’s what life was like when I was working on KISS, under deadline: Get up at 4:30 a.m. and ask myself, why am I putting myself through this? Why, why, why? Then: Tea, just drink some Earl Gray, and then maybe … I get to the computer. Just move things forward a little bit. Just start typing what happens next… No, don’t look at Facebook. Just write the scene.

Then, about an hour-and-a-half later, if I’m very lucky: Wait, wha? Where am I? What just happened? What am I supposed to be doing? Oh, I’m not in Georgia. I’m in Pasadena and I have a job and I need to go to work. Now. Then, I’ll go into the office and start my day job, the thing that pays the bills.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be writer, or a director, or an actor. For a while, I aspired to be the next Rod Serling.

What scene in Kiss of the Sun was your favorite to write?

The first part of the book, when I got to reunite with our protagonist, Martha Covington, and find out what she’s been up to since the last book. It was so great to see her again. She’s like a real person to me; the sister I never had.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

First the golden rule; then: Don’t forget to have fun.

R.K. Jackson is the author of the new book Kiss of the Sun.

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