Dancing With Myself: JON JORDAN interviews JON JORDAN

A fanfare if you will. Blaze the trumpets, toot those horns. We're about to begin the series 'Dancing With Myself'.

Fitting, I think, that we kick off with a selfless dude, a man who boosted my confidence and raised my profile by taking me on for Crimespree Magazine. And if that helped me, think of how many others who've put their feet in his hands for a bunk-up.

Here's Jon Jordan (aka Crimepspree Jon) interviewing Jon Jordan (aka Crimespree Jon). He starts with a firecracker question - what would you expect?

Who the Hell are you and just what is it you do and why should we care?

I publish Crimespree Magazine with my wife, we cover crime fiction on screen and in print. We've even covered it in music and on stage. So if you dig crime fiction you should probably send me a check so I can send you the magazine. I'm also involved with Bouchercon, helping in the past and this year and running it next year with David Thompson of Busted Flush and McKenna Jordan of Murder by The Book. See also Murder and Mayhem in Muskego.

Why do you do this?

We want to let people know about books and DVDs they might overlook. We love this genre and want to do what we can in our own small way to help it prosper. There is so much out there we want to make sure our favorites don't get passed over.

How much caffeine do you actually take in each day?

3-4 pots of coffee and 3-4 energy drinks is average. And no, I don't sleep much and I prefer it that way. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

What's the best part of running Crimespree?

I love hearing from readers when we turn them on to new authors and they go and get all the books. I also love hearing from authors when they see coverage and it makes them happy. Having people tell us they bought something they might not have normally picked up means what we want to do is actually working.

Ebook or print?

Don't get me started. I prefer print. But I also believe that the future is a combination of the two working together, not one or the other. E books are a PART of the future, but not the whole future of publishing.

Favorite movies? (We know better than to ask about favorite authors)

I love The Godfather 1&2, Buckaroo Banzai, The Great Escape, LA Confidential, lots of noir.

New author to watch for?

Hilary Davidson (http://www.hilarydavidson.com/ ) I predict good things. Her first novel is great. I also really like Stephen Jay Schwartz.

Trends or topics you are sick of?

Lots. I'm tired of every book being labeled a thriller, I don't want any more books with the word Templar, and I am REALLY sick of people writing about the death of print and publishing just to get people to a blog or website.

You read a lot of comics in addition to novels. Why?

I think some of the best crime fiction today is in comics. Scalped, 100 Bullets, the Vertigo Crime Line. I also like a lot of other comics and they are a nice quick read between novels. One of my favorites is Beast of Burden (Now out in hardcover!)


What's coming up in Crimespree?

Denise Mina on the next one, Don Winslow is coming to the cover, JA Konrath and Blake Crouch, after that, we'll see what grabs us.

http://www.crimespreemag.com/