Friday Feature: @mrjdhyde

It’s only bloody Friday again. Naturally, as we all know, Fridays we get to greedily consume the tidbits and morsels of a Proser’s life. This week is another splendid one, as we find out about a Proser that many of us know and love, but want to know what lurks behind the mask. We’re heading to Montana; as we prepare to meet with @mrjhyde

P: What is your given name and your Proser username?

J: My name is James, I go by mrjdhyde online.

P: Where do you live?

J: Helena Montana. Which as most people don’t know is where you go if you NEVER want to be discovered as a writer. Apparently there’s a literary black hole in the middle of town. I once saw it eat three poets, and a novelist. Sad really, but on the plus side, I consoled their widows.

P: What is your occupation?

J: I’m a writer. I make no money at it yet, and I support my writing with working at a grocery store and doing odd jobs. But I think that how we define ourselves if very important. So, I am a writer.

P: What is your relationship with writing and how has it evolved?

J: I always wanted to be a writer, but never had the sack enough to take pen to paper. I would just make up stories in my head. Then I started sexting, full stories. I joined a fetish site that let you post stories, and that gave me enough confidence to branch out into other genres. Soon, that site wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I wanted to be a real thing writer. Not a popular one, but a good one.

For me, good trumps popular every time. So I study writing and how I can become better with each story, and poem. I’m still the guy who uses the word “grammarize” but at least now I know that I shouldn’t use it.

For me the written word is the ultimate art form, because it is carried in the head after use. Some one can still tell a story even if the book was burned, that story will live on. And stories can change the world, bring down kingdoms.

I often tell people that a king fears the song, not the sword. Only one man can wield a sword, but a song can sweep through the country like a fire. Thousands singing.

P: What value does reading add to both your personal and professional life?

J: It makes me a better person, as a child i didn’t have good strong role models so I found them in books. They helped me decide what kind of man that I would be. Whenever I read a book I put myself in the place of the characters and ask myself what I would do in their situations.

In my professional life there’s three books that have guided me. The Art of War, The Book of Five rings, and The Hagakure. In order these books teach how to be a General, a soldier, and samurai.

P: Can you describe your current literary ventures and what can we look forward to?

J: Dear lord, I’m writing six books right now I think? And short stories galore. Future posts? probably some angry rambling, some ranting, frothing, a few poems, a short story or thirty. And then the day after tomorrow...

P: What do you love about Prose?

J: Brooding poetry chicks… What???

I mean, uh… The stories. And the challenges. Because there are so many great writers on site, I have to work harder trying to be a better writer to compete in the challenges.

P: Is there one book that you would recommend everybody should read before they die?

J: Anything with my name on the cover.

Barring that… Christopher Moore. Anything by him will make you laugh, which will make your day better. Which makes the world better, so read him. You want to make the world a better place don’t you?

P: Do you have an unsung hero who got you into reading and/or writing?

J: S.E. Hinton, I read ‘The Outsiders’ in school and it changed my life. Suddenly I found out that there were people like me out there. That began my reading.

As for writing? Brooding poetry chicks… Blame them.

P: Describe yourself in three words!

J: I’m nobody special.

P: Is there one quote, from a writer or otherwise, that sums you up?

J: No, but if you think of one please send it to me. I would like to know.

P: What is your favourite music, and do you write or read to it?

J: I play a few instruments, so genre of music isn’t as important to me as how well that it’s done. And no, I need quiet to write because Squirrel.

P: You climb out of a time machine into a dystopian future with no books. What do you tell them?

J: “Hi, God sent me. Bring me to the women.”

P: Do you have a favourite place to read and write?

J: My big over stuffed leather chair. I love my chair, and it loves me.

P: Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you/your work/social media?

J: Mark Zuckerberg is the reason for Justin Bieber. Really, Mark created him to try to control the Girl Scout mafia. Unfortunately, Mark lost control of the poor, mad thing. And it ended up eating the real Zuckerberg. Now Facebook is controlled by the CIA, in hopes of getting the secret Keebler recipes.

Well thank you very much, James. How cool was that, and was he? You know what to do now – follow, like, comment, love; do all those things that make us what we are.