Author Q&A: Jim Stovall

Today we’re interviewing author Jim Stovall, who writes mystery, thriller, and espionage fiction, plus nonfiction about history, the Civil War, and baseball.

Stovall is a retired journalism professor and author of more than two dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction. His best-selling textbook, Writing for the Mass Media, was used by more than 500 colleges and universities around the world.

He now lives and writes from a small farm in East Tennessee.

SADYE: Which of your characters would you most like to trade places with?

JIM: My current favorite character is Commander Nathan Tower, the spymaster in the Nathan Tower series.

SADYE: Which of your characters would you most like to become romantically involved with?

JIM: Since I have been married for more than 45 years, my romantic thoughts are extraneous.

My favorite female character is currently Sophie Baumann, the major protagonist of my two most recent novels, The Frederick Alliance (just published) and The Deptford Confession (coming in November).

SADYE: What have been the most surprising, rewarding, and challenging parts of your writing career?

JIM: When I first drafted the textbook Writing for the Mass Media, I had no idea what I was doing.

I was teaching a course at the University of Alabama for which there was no appropriate text, so I decided to write one.

More than thirty years later, that book was in its ninth edition and still being used in colleges and universities around the country.

SADYE: What period of history would you most like to travel back to, and what historical figure would you most like to meet?

JIM: The late nineteenth century was a period of extraordinary growth and change for the United States. That period fascinates me. I would like to spend a long evening with Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain.

SADYE: What advice, as relates to your writing career, would you give your younger self?

JIM: As a writer of fiction, I would say, "Believe in your story."

And I always remind myself of Kurt Vonnegut's writing advice: "Start as close to the end of your story as possible."

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Learn more about Jim Stovall on his website, where his books can also be purchased, and like his page on Facebook. 

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