Author Spotlight: John S. Hardin

Combat Zone


By John S. Hardin

Lulu.com
List Price: $15.00 Print

Amazon.com
List Price: $19.08 Paperback














New author John S. Hardin took some time to share his thoughts about his new book, "Combat Zone", with American Chronicle readers.

Micheline de Foxx: Can you tell us what your book is all about?

John S. Hardin: It's an action thriller set in the "Combat Zone", Boston's adult entertainment district. The novel is about a hired gun contracted by a New York Mafioso to rescue his niece from a petty crime boss in Boston who runs part of the "Combat Zone". There's a twist in the story that forces the hired gun to decide if he should continue the job.

MdeF: So there really is an actual Combat Zone?

JSH: There's not much of one there now. It used to be several city blocks long, but of what's there now, from what I've been told, that are from the old days are a couple of strip clubs and porno shops. I've heard that the place has really been cleaned up and re-developed. The Combat Zone I remember was smaller than what it was in the 1970's.

MdeF: Sounds like a winner; in what time period does this story take place?

JSH: It takes place in the present day, though the Combat Zone in the story is the one I remember when I lived in Boston in 1981.

MdeF: Do you consider this book a gangster novel? If not, why?

JSH: I would consider it a gangster novel. I did some research on the mob, and used some of what I read about in the novel.

MdeF: Can you describe what work you put into becoming an author?

JSH: I get story ideas and research things about them, such as locations, time frames, etc. I tend to write scenes for my stories individually, and then put them in the appropriate chapters as I get to them.

MdeF: How much time, effort and risk are involved?

JSH: A lot of late nights. I also spent hours on the weekends getting the novel finished. Not a lot of risk that I can think of.

MdeF: What response did you get from your family and friends when you told them you were going to write a book?

JSH: Very supportive, actually. I had some hesitation about letting other people outside my immediate family know what the story was about, but felt like if they wanted to base their opinion about me on what I wrote, then that was their problem. Everyone I've spoken to and heard from has liked the idea that I wrote a book.

MdeF: Who are your literary heroes?

JSH: James Webb, Mario Puzo, Matt Braun, John Toland, Cornelius Ryan, Dale Dye, and Mickey Spillane, among others. I'm more a fan of particular genres than certain authors. I have become a fan of the crime fiction written by Dan Simmons in the last couple of years. I became a big admirer of Alex Haley after I saw an interview with him and he told about his being a former military journalist. I had started out trying to be a journalist in the Navy, but fate dealt me a different hand and I became a personnel clerk, instead.

MdeF: Can you tell us how one becomes an author?

JSH: Just sitting down and writing; I think everyone has a book in them, and it's all a matter of putting it down.

MdeF: How did your passion for writing begin?

JSH: I used to read a lot when I was younger (still do!) and I wondered if I could write stories, too. A lot of my earlier works were based on movies I saw or the characters in them.

MdeF: How old were you and what were the circumstances?

JSH: I was about 13 or 14. I was a shy kid and didn't have much of a social life to speak of. There were a lot of family problems at the time, so I kept to myself a lot and did a lot of reading and writing. Since I wasn't getting the girl, so to speak, I started letting my characters do it for me. They became my alter egos.

MdeF: What were some of your favorite movies as you were growing up? Did their performances inspire you to write?

JSH: I liked Clint Eastwood's movies, mostly. "Taxi Driver" actually planted the seed for "Combat Zone." I also liked "The Godfather," all of Bruce Lee's movies, "Apocalypse Now," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," those kinds of movies. I liked the characters in the movies I enjoyed, and wanted to base my own characters on them.

MdeF: Do you have a writing schedule that you adhere to? What is a typical workday for you?

JSH: If I have an idea for a story, I try to write them down that day. I have a day job, so after I get home and get settled, I usually start working on my stories around mid-evening or so. I don't have a schedule, per se, depending on how much I have to put in the story, but it's usually an hour or so at night and a couple of hours on the weekend.

MdeF: As an author, do you set any day, week, or yearly goals?

JSH: I try to set my goals as far in the future as possible. Right now, I'm working on the first draft of my second novel, and I've set many deadlines for it, and have missed every one.

MdeF: Can you give us a glimpse into what the second novel might be about?

JSH: It's about The Vietnam War. In a nutshell, it's about a soldier who returns to Vietnam after his best friend is killed there, and he and his friend's widow find themselves falling in love when he's on R-n-R. It's the most emotional story I've ever written, and it has lots of combat action, as well. Sort of like "Platoon," "We Were Soldiers," and "Hamburger Hill" with "The Bridges of Madison County" thrown in the middle.

MdeF: How did you come up with the idea for "Combat Zone"?

JSH: I have always loved action crime thrillers, and I wanted to write one. Every crime story seems to take place in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, and I wanted to write one in a big city I was familiar with. I spent a year in Boston about twenty-five years ago and became familiar with the Combat Zone. It hit me a few years ago to write a story that takes place there, and after I went back and forth about the content of the story, I finally mapped out what I published. Also, a literary agent in New York who was interested in "Combat Zone" gave me pointers on how to make it sellable, and his advice helped shape the story, as well.

MdeF: Are the characters in the book based on real-life people?

JSH: No, but some of the scenes in the book are. None of the major plot points really happened, but a few of the minor scenes were real. For instance, I saw a hooker get her purse stolen when she walked up to a car to make her sales pitch and the driver sped away with it, but the situation ended a little differently in the book.

MdeF: It seems as though life's experiences have shaped your life; do you agree?

JSH: I think so. I think I've seen more than a lot of people, but not as much as some. When I look back on my life, I realize that things happen for a reason, and things did, or did not, happen to me in order to make me the person I am now.

MdeF: What techniques did you utilize to bring life to your characters in "Combat Zone"?

JSH: The main bad guy, Kozmo, was based a little on the gangsters Joe Pesci played in "GoodFellas" and "Casino," and Al Pacino in "Scarface." I also used some of the characters in John Woo's Hong Kong action films as inspiration in creating characters. Sometimes, I'll see someone in a store or walking down the street and they'll remind me of a character, so I'll use their looks, mannerisms, etc., to make the character more real.

MdeF: Can you tell us in what ways does a character make or break the flow of a book?

JSH: If a character starts to stray in a story, I think it upsets the flow. I like my characters to be focused on what their role in the story is. In "Combat Zone," I depicted Kozmo as someone who could go from happy to angry on a dime. The hero, Jerry, even though he works for the mob, has a conscience and even tries to be a Good Samaritan, of sorts, when he can.

MdeF: Did you have any challenges or obstacles while you were writing the book?

JSH: None that I can think of.

MdeF: Tell us how you have used the Internet to boost your writing career.

JSH: It's been a good resource in getting accurate information. For "Combat Zone," I used the Internet to research Boston, prostitution, and other things in the story. I wanted the story to be believable, even though I did take some poetic license to tell parts of it.

MdeF: What separates your book from others?

JSH: I believe "Combat Zone" is like the hard-boiled action thrillers I grew up on. A lot of novels today have subplots that just garble the story and only serve to pad the book. "Combat Zone" is, to me, a cut-and-dried thriller without a lot of fat.

MdeF: Did you experience any "writer's block"? How did you encourage yourself to write when it happened?

JSH: I had writer's block for well over a decade. I just fell out of the habit of writing, even though I had ideas. When I bought an old typewriter from a neighbor, I started putting my ideas down and even wrote a couple of very short stories. The best way to cure writer's block, for me, is to just write stuff down and see what grows from your ideas.

MdeF: In order to avoid rejection, what should writers ask themselves before pitching a book or manuscript to a publisher?

JSH: Is this kind of story marketable? When I tried pitching "Combat Zone" to some 200 literary agents, I found that either this kind of story isn't marketable right now, or the agents already have enough clients writing in that genre. However, one agent told me that the literary world is very fickle, so what's popular now might not be popular six months or a year from now. It's a crap shoot.

MdeF: What is your best advice to achieve success as a writer?

JSH: I believe everyone has a book in them. It's just a matter of sitting down and taking the time to write it down. If one is a fan of a particular type of story, I suggest they try to write that kind of story first. Don't worry about trying to be the next Anne Rice or Dan Brown. Just sit down and write. And don't give up. You never know what might transpire or how things will turn out.

MdeF: If "Combat Zone" was made into a movie, who do you see in the roles and why?

JSH: I had pictured someone like Bruce Willis or Sylvester Stallone as Jerry, but I saw Andy Garcia in a couple of gangster movies and thought he would make a better choice. Kozmo is a little hard to cast, but Eric Stoltz pops in my mind. I pictured Lindsay Lohan as Gina, but I don't think it would be her kind of movie. I'd probably cast an unknown. The role of Connie, who is a porn star, could be played by Jenna Jameson, a real adult film star I've seen on TV interviews. The role of the Mafia don who hires Jerry could be played by an older actor like Tony Curtis or Robert Loggia. I have an actor in mind for Mikey, but I can't think of his name. I'd know him if I saw him.

MdeF: If you could choose only one word to describe yourself, what would it be?

JSH: Loyal.

MdeF: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. Much continued success.

JSH: The pleasure was mine. Thank you for a great interview.

Copyright © 2006 Micheline de Foxx