1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
I’m a husband and dad first, that’s where much of my attention goes. For work, I am an advertising executive at an architectural technology company. I really love my job and I’m extremely passionate about what I do. In addition, I have several side hustles, including real estate investing, card playing, distance running, guitar playing and yes, I’m a proud novelist. I’ve always been into writing and almost by happenstance, I was always placed in advanced reading and writing courses as a kid. I really learned to hone my writing craft as an advertising and marketing professional, writing PR content, newsletter articles, case studies and advertorials. My most influential writing mentor, Steve Unger, taught me to write conversationally and that is absolutley my style. I write like I talk.
2) What inspired you to write your book?
I actually came up with the idea for The Shattered Violin as a unique concept for a movie. I began to start to write a screenplay and I learned very quickly that I didn’t know the first thing about script writing. After deciding to start with a book first, I came to the painful realization that I knew even less about writing a novel 🙂
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
That life is full of twists and turns, and that you never know how far your life can unravel after you experience a truly traumatic event.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
That was actually an accident. I came up with the original plot and it was rattling around in my head, begging to be put down on paper. As I began to flesh out the story, I really fell into the crime thriller genre, which was a perfect fit for the story.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I’d sit down with Julia. She’s not the flawless, perfect character. She’s passionate, fiery and confident. And she is very assertive when she knows what she wants. I’d love to just learn about her background. Why did she go into the music field after pursuing a career in medicine? Has she always been so intuitive when reading people or did she have to develop that skill? Why would she be walking around with a priceless antique under her arm?
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
Definitely Facebook. It’s a medium that combines visuals with prose so I can preview content, share visuals and get immediate feedback.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Find a unique take or twist on something. I see many books out their in the sci fi or fantasy genres in particular and they seem to follow the same formula. I say flip that formula on its head and present something that’s truly unique. That’s what I tried to accomplish with The Shattered Violin, present a novel new story with some very intriguing and thought-provoking twists.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
Yes! I just finished an outline for a new psychological thriller about a PhD student who wants to develop a worldwide, free Internet network but inadvertently gives birth to an AI who is able to replicate and self-program at a tremendous rate. It’s a really interesting study of what can happen as robots replace humans and a different way that Artificial Intelligence can have signifiant drawbacks.
About the Author
Jared Bodnar is an advertising professional by day, dedicated dad by night and novelist after Midnight.
He graduated from Arizona State University with a Journalism and Psychology double major, a perfect combination for writing psychological thrillers.
A lifelong writer, Jared is passionate about dialogue and is obsessed with converging, twisty storylines. Jared lives in Gilbert, Arizona with his wife Shannon, daughter Harlow, and sons Easton and Kai.
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