It is with great pleasure that I welcome Jadi Campbell onto the website today. Jadi has written three novels and an anthology. And much of this work has been recognised by such bodies as the American Book Fest and international awards. Tsunami Cowboys was longlisted for the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award. The Trail Back Out was a 2020 Best Book Award finalist for Fiction Anthologies for the American Book Fest, and was selected as a finalist for the IAN Book of the Year by the Independent Author Network. The title story The Trail Back Out was also longlisted for the 2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Award. And Broken In: A Novel in Stories was a semifinalist for the 2020 Hawk Mountain Short Story Collection Award from Hidden River Arts, and a finalist in Greece's International 2021 Eyelands Book of the Year Awards for Short Stories.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Jadi.
Jadi: I was raised in New England and upstate NY. My dad was a research entomologist, and my mom was a teacher. We spent every summer in the woods. Heaven. My sisters and I would make a teepee out of tall branches and blankets (those bright cotton patterns from India that were all the rage in the 60s!). We hunted crawdaddies on the shore for fishing and spent the days in the lake or on the dock. My interest in books and writing probably began from our summers there. We were regular visitors at the little local library because my parents refused to bring our tv to the lake.
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Jadi: Contemporary literature, today’s reality and tomorrow’s possibilities. I love exploring the insides of characters’ heads and situations. I write joy and conflict. My theme is how connected -and alike- we actually are. You may not be a stunt man in my book Grounded whose son is badly burned in a fireworks accident… But when Glen cringes in the hospital hallway and fights with his wife, you will know his heart and recognize it as your own.
Alex: Tell us a bit about yourself, Jadi.
Jadi: I was raised in New England and upstate NY. My dad was a research entomologist, and my mom was a teacher. We spent every summer in the woods. Heaven. My sisters and I would make a teepee out of tall branches and blankets (those bright cotton patterns from India that were all the rage in the 60s!). We hunted crawdaddies on the shore for fishing and spent the days in the lake or on the dock. My interest in books and writing probably began from our summers there. We were regular visitors at the little local library because my parents refused to bring our tv to the lake.
Alex: How would you describe your writing, and are there particular themes that you like to explore?
Jadi: Contemporary literature, today’s reality and tomorrow’s possibilities. I love exploring the insides of characters’ heads and situations. I write joy and conflict. My theme is how connected -and alike- we actually are. You may not be a stunt man in my book Grounded whose son is badly burned in a fireworks accident… But when Glen cringes in the hospital hallway and fights with his wife, you will know his heart and recognize it as your own.
Alex: Are you a writer that plans a detailed synopsis or do you set out with a vague idea and let the story unfold as you write?
Jadi: Some stories spring fully formed, like Athena from Zeus’s brow. Other stories (most of the others) begin with a story I want to tell, and I fumble my way forward. I approach a story as if it’s sculpture. I chip away to find the polished form inside all the words.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Jadi: My fourth book The Trail Back Out came out in August 2020. I wrote a collection of stories during the coronavirus lockdown. My characters include Eddie, high on LSD and trapped by What Died in the Fridge; a compulsive gambler named Sheila hiding during a Category Five storm in Better Weather; and two strangers meeting by chance in the backwoods during a pandemic. In Rules to Live By I wrote what I hope is both a funny and deeply thoughtful story about what we choose to teach our children. A hunter is shot and left for dead in The Green Under the Snow. In Do Dreams Float? a wife considers a hit-man’s offer. And the eternal search for happiness is carried out by a gloomy little girl nicknamed Princess Rain Clouds. Whether during the upheaval of the last century or the present COVID-19 crisis, The Trail Back Out guides the reader through a labyrinth of questions about how to live and love.
The book was named a 2020 Best Book Award Finalist for Fiction Anthologies by the American Book Fest, and the title story was shortlisted for the 2021 Screen Craft Cinematic Short Story Award. I’m thrilled my newest book is receiving such high honors.
Jadi: Some stories spring fully formed, like Athena from Zeus’s brow. Other stories (most of the others) begin with a story I want to tell, and I fumble my way forward. I approach a story as if it’s sculpture. I chip away to find the polished form inside all the words.
Alex: Tell us about your latest novel.
Jadi: My fourth book The Trail Back Out came out in August 2020. I wrote a collection of stories during the coronavirus lockdown. My characters include Eddie, high on LSD and trapped by What Died in the Fridge; a compulsive gambler named Sheila hiding during a Category Five storm in Better Weather; and two strangers meeting by chance in the backwoods during a pandemic. In Rules to Live By I wrote what I hope is both a funny and deeply thoughtful story about what we choose to teach our children. A hunter is shot and left for dead in The Green Under the Snow. In Do Dreams Float? a wife considers a hit-man’s offer. And the eternal search for happiness is carried out by a gloomy little girl nicknamed Princess Rain Clouds. Whether during the upheaval of the last century or the present COVID-19 crisis, The Trail Back Out guides the reader through a labyrinth of questions about how to live and love.
The book was named a 2020 Best Book Award Finalist for Fiction Anthologies by the American Book Fest, and the title story was shortlisted for the 2021 Screen Craft Cinematic Short Story Award. I’m thrilled my newest book is receiving such high honors.
Alex: What was the first book you read?
Jadi: Probably Babar the Elephant. When the elephant king died of poisoned mushrooms, that did it. I refused to eat mushrooms until I was in high school.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Jadi: I take about two years to write a book. I love research! My writer friends and I call it the deep dive down a rabbit hole of on-line searches. I also refer to old journals, especially my travel journals and send emails to experts in areas I want to know more about.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Jadi: Yes! There is always some characteristic or bit of history of people I’ve met. I combine events and quirks in new ways, but my characters are all deeply human.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Jadi: The Overstory by Richard Powers. I didn’t want the book to end.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Jadi: Ah, we’ve come to my Achilles’ heel…. I blog at jadicampbell.com about arts and the world. I try to keep my author information on the blog and my Amazon author page up-to-date and interesting. I’m a member of the Writers in Stuttgart, and we do public readings on a regular basis. I sometimes work with NEAT, Stuttgart’s New English American Theater. Two of my plays were accepted for their 2019 One Page Play Festival, and Baby You Were Great actually tied for Best Comedy runner-up! The latest commission for NEAT was Hard Times in Sugar Town, which premiered in July 2021. I wrote a story about the Depression that was accompanied by songs from the ‘30s. And I love doing interviews, like this one with your fine self. Blog interviews are always fun and definitely help the cause. PS: I want to give a shout out to Seattle artist Walter Share at waltercolors.com – I’m lucky Walter creates the artwork for the covers of my books. It’s a real pleasure to get to use his paintings.
Jadi: Probably Babar the Elephant. When the elephant king died of poisoned mushrooms, that did it. I refused to eat mushrooms until I was in high school.
Alex: How much research do you do and what does it usually entail?
Jadi: I take about two years to write a book. I love research! My writer friends and I call it the deep dive down a rabbit hole of on-line searches. I also refer to old journals, especially my travel journals and send emails to experts in areas I want to know more about.
Alex: Do you ever base your characters on people you have encountered in real life?
Jadi: Yes! There is always some characteristic or bit of history of people I’ve met. I combine events and quirks in new ways, but my characters are all deeply human.
Alex: Which was the last book you read that blew you away?
Jadi: The Overstory by Richard Powers. I didn’t want the book to end.
Alex: How do you market your books?
Jadi: Ah, we’ve come to my Achilles’ heel…. I blog at jadicampbell.com about arts and the world. I try to keep my author information on the blog and my Amazon author page up-to-date and interesting. I’m a member of the Writers in Stuttgart, and we do public readings on a regular basis. I sometimes work with NEAT, Stuttgart’s New English American Theater. Two of my plays were accepted for their 2019 One Page Play Festival, and Baby You Were Great actually tied for Best Comedy runner-up! The latest commission for NEAT was Hard Times in Sugar Town, which premiered in July 2021. I wrote a story about the Depression that was accompanied by songs from the ‘30s. And I love doing interviews, like this one with your fine self. Blog interviews are always fun and definitely help the cause. PS: I want to give a shout out to Seattle artist Walter Share at waltercolors.com – I’m lucky Walter creates the artwork for the covers of my books. It’s a real pleasure to get to use his paintings.
Alex: What are your interests aside from writing? And what do you do to unwind?
Jadi: In a word: travel. My husband and I immediately recognized that traveling the world is a shared passion. We plan to hit the road again as soon as it’s safe. Exploring foreign places recharges my batteries and gives me endless inspiration. Bangkok appeared in my first book Broken In: A Novel in Stories. Germany’s Christmas Markets and Yugoslavia are featured in Tsunami Cowboys. The Arctic Circle and Hampi, India show up in Grounded. Northern Italy, Venice, and Croatia are the settings for three of the tales in The Trail Back Out. These are all spots I’ve visited, and I write to impart a sensory feel for each of them. I enjoy reading, and cooking. Once the pandemic ends, we’ll go to plays, concerts and museums again. I’m lucky that we live in a small town with lots of places to walk. Getting out in the orchards helps keep me sane. |