At Gothic Bite Magazine we love welcoming new patients to become part of our asylum. We question them and learn about them. It doesn’t matter what creative field they are part of because they’re our patient now. This week, we welcome Jason O’Hara

Patient Name: Jason O’Hara

My name is Jason O’Hara. I write under the name Jaysen True Blood. I have been writing for over thirty years – closer to forty, if you count the first story I wrote for a third-grade class project. 

I write every genre possible, but I have an affinity for paranormal and horror. I work a day job but spend my days off writing. My adventure began with publishing my first book, The Price Of Lust, in 2007. 

Before that, I worked as a serial fiction writer, a book reviewer, and a journalist for  Keep It Coming Magazine in 2004 and 2005, a webzine that lasted about four months. There, I wrote Breed’s Command, a pseudo-western Civil War tall tale, and  From The Renge, a fantasy story, as well as music-related articles, music reviews, and book reviews.

I still do occasional book and music reviews, though I have to wait until I have the time. My current projects include This Isn’t Going To End Well, The Brotherhood Of The Tomes, Resurrection, Inc.(Vella), The Swords Of Winter’s Peace (mythic supernatural fantasy, Vella), Tales From The Renge (fantasy), An Autumn Of Sorrow (Vella), Ghost In The Ruins (science fiction, Vella), The Sons Of Eden: Out Of Eden (Vella), Babylon Rising (Vella), Alone You Breathe (Vella), The Last Romans (gothic/vampire fiction; Vella), and  Death Is Too Merciful (suspense; Vella) as well as  Ways To Leave Your Lover, Jangalene, Sex On The Run (all erotica; Vella) and  The Price Of Lust (rewrite of the original “novel” that was published in 2007; Vella).

THE QUESTIONING

GOTHIC BITE MAGAZINE (GBM): When did you find out you would want to write novels?

JASON O-HARA: I was inspired to write at an early age, around seven, I think, by authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Allan Poe, Hawthorne, H.G. Welles, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, Louis L’Amour, James Fennimore Cooper, and Terry Brooks, to name a few, to write.

GBM: Which genre would you think you write, and what category best describes your writing?

JASON O-HARA: I started writing fan fiction for  Star Wars, Conan The Barbarian, and Brooks’ Shannara series. I moved on from that to more original projects such as  The Balladeers Of Tulwood Castle, Hall Of Five Rings, Rivers Of Blood, and Fall Of The Giant. These were a mix of historical fantasy, paranormal historical fantasy, and science fiction.

Currently, though, I have been trapped in a suspense, horror, and paranormal/supernatural cycle of writing. 

GBM: You mentioned your work, which is all in paranormal or Gothic settings. Would you tell our readers why you are more attracted to that genre?

JASON O-HARA: I have always been fascinated with the paranormal. When I was a kid, my parents had a couple of books by an author who had collected several real-life paranormal case files and published them as books.

My grandfather also had many paranormal stories he would tell. Things he had experienced as a journeyman carpenter that had remained with him. My dad, too, delighted in telling stories about 

events, people he had known or known of, and even the area around Gravity, Iowa…the town where he grew up. 

GBM: When writing about the paranormal, do you research, and if so, how far do you go with your analysis?

JASON O-HARA: For my first paranormal book, I took Marlowe’s The Tragic Life and Death Of Doctor Faustus, updated it by adding more modern crimes, and even gave it a bit of a Lovecraftian twist at the end.

I used the original play as a template for the plot and theme of the book while changing much of it so that it was uniquely my own by expanding the story to include a political and social undertone and modernity that the original did not have.

GBM: What is most important to you when writing your novels?

JASON O-HARA: The stories remain original and interesting. 

GBM: Which authors influenced your writing and why?

JASON O-HARA: as I mentioned before, I was influenced by quite a few authors. Robert E. Howard. E.A. Poe. Hawthorne. Welles. L’Amour. Cooper. Burroughs. Marlowe. Anthony. Brooks. Clarke. King. Though King came along much later for me. 

GBM: Which of your novels is your favourite, and why is it your favourite?

JASON O-HARA: this is a hard one. I would say  The Faust Syndrome, although  The Door On The Thirteenth Floor runs a close second due to the story idea being much older, and the original beginning was written while I was still in high school…even though I set it aside.

GBM: Do you believe in the paranormal?

JASON O-HARA: Yes. I have seen and witnessed too much not to. 

GBM: What was your reaction when you learned a publisher wanted you as part of their authors? Also, What made you decide to be self-published? 

JASON O-HARA: In 2004-2005, I was surprised by a publisher when they accepted two of my serials for publication. I had sent them both in believing that they would be rejected. Though neither was paranormal.

One was a Civil War tall tale, and the other was the origin of my current fantasy series. They were my first experience being published, even though the webzine I wrote for soon went under. 

I chose to self-publish my current library of work due to both my reticence/mistrust where agents are concerned and the fact that I have not been able to find one yet. I mean, most publishers expect you to submit through an agent anymore. 

GBM: What sets you apart from other paranormal and Gothic authors?

JASON O-HARA: How many authors grow up in a household where their grandparents and parents are oral storytellers?

Exposure to storytelling at an early age, especially paranormal storytelling, tends to set some apart. Other than that, I most likely base some of my stories on stories I was told as a child. 

GBM: What can readers look forward to from Jason O’Hara in 2023?

JASON O-HARA: Well…I intend to continue work on The Brotherhood Of The Tomes, The Ghosts Of Iowa, and other already-started projects. Still, I am also beginning to work on a multi-volume series of episodic horror stories called  This Isn’t Going To End Well.