Deal Sharing Aunt: The Freeing of Jonathan Mark by Nathan Gross Guest Post

Publisher: Paperback: Nathan Gross. Ebook: 7write (Dec 8, 2013)
ISBN-13: 979-1093074016
Category: Thriller, Paranoid Fiction
Tour Dates: March, 2014
Available in: Print & ebook, 324 pages

Jonathon is a Taker, some type of modern day psych in the growing industry of modern grief. Takers treat people for all that ails them just by listening. In session, a Taker doesn’t speak. A Taker doesn’t move. A Taker doesn’t even blink. They take till their patients have got no more negativity to give.

A chance meeting throws a new patient into Jonathon’s life. A girl whose carefree lightness of being is in complete contrast to the average patient. She makes Jonathon realise he can no longer refuse to deal with how his job makes him sick, nor his own destructive vice.

Murder is his only way out, an action that leads him towards his own death and beyond. It is a path he hopes will lead him to his freedom.

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Praise for The Freeing of Jonathan Mark:

“Small book but great story! It’s more and more rare to find a book like this one.”- dvdchrono, Amazon Reviewer

“Loved this book, can’t wait for the next one! I had not heard of this author but I do not think it will be long before the world has heard of him. Do yourself a favour and buy this book, you will not be disappointed. I judge a book on its ‘cannot put down factor’. I found myself quickly intrigued and fully immersed in the book and could not put it down. It is really well written and does not follow other writers safe templates. Hurry up and release your second book ! I am glad I jumped on the Nathan Gross bandwagon from the beginning. I suggest others follow suit.”- Ben Mitchell, Amazon Reviewer

“With the publication of his first novel, The Freeing of Jonathon Mark, Nathan Gross has announced to the literary world that he has arrived and demands attention. This book is a psychological thriller that compels the reader to keep reading. The almost dystopian world it portrays is both disturbing and fascinating, and displays Gross’ novel viewpoint of where society is headed. We become partners in Jonathon Mark’s nightmarish journey into the depths of despair and hope for some form of redemption for him, although that seems unlikely. The book is a little too long, but it is a wonderful achievement for a first-time novelist. I look forward to his next book to see where his fertile imagination has led him, and to follow his further maturation as a writer.”- Morry Frenkel, Amazon Reviewer

About Nathan Gross:

Nathan is passionately obsessed with scratching the itch that is his absolute need to write. Whether it be in the form of novels or short stories, film / video scenarios, scripts or songs: writing keeps the demons at bay.

Nathan draws on and interprets the events that transpire around him, transforming minute observations and a distant, large view of the world into prose. He expresses at once his hopes and despairs, and equally his surprise and complete comprehension of events before, or as they unfold, if not always as everyone else sees them.

If his book ‘The Freeing of Jonathon Mark’ is part of his journey as a writer, then perhaps it traces his experiences chasing the plastic happiness of consumerist dreams. Perhaps it is also a study of how he opted out of these pursuits for a fresh start, in order to forge a new life where he can be free from empty conformity; to discover and further himself in the journey that is his life. New beginnings bring new ideas to draw upon and it goes without saying that we will find these thinkings in his subsequent writings.

His other published works include Ginger the Carrot, the first in a series of picture books for adults entitled Rotten Veggies, and the song and music video Tais Toi for the musician Monsieur Grandin. He is also the director and scenarist for a number of award winning short films. A collection of his works both written and visual are to be discovered atzamsteepa.com.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Nathan now resides in the south of France.

His short story ‘Grampy Joe’ won third prize in the Odyssey House Victoria 2012 short story competition. You can read ‘Grampy Joe’ here.

Nathan Gross Website: http://zamsteepa.com/
The Freeing of Jonathan Mark Website: http://thefreeingofjonathonmark.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/zamsteepa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nath.gross

#musictowriteto

I once heard that when Quentin Tarantino has a new idea for a movie, he heads over to his record collection and listens through it until he finds the soundtrack to the film, that he hasn’t even written yet.

Music plays an important part for me in my writing too. A song or an album might define a certain scene, or even a particular character. In the ‘Freeing of Jonathon Mark’ there’s a scene where Jonathon borrows a stranger’s music player and the song she has him play, has the effect of taking him momentarily back to a time in his life where he was happy. This in some ways defines the stranger’s place in the novel.

The inverse can apply too. A certain scene may demand, or even choose a certain song as it’s musical background. In ‘The Freeing of Jonathon Mark’ the scene where Jonathon is walking through town and into the underground metro, he walks to the tempo of ‘Breaking the Girl’ directly onto the train. Any other song, any other beat, his timing would have been off and he either would have missed the train, or walked onto the tracks!

Music though, plays a more important role for me in my writing than setting scenes and characters. I use music to detach myself from everything around me and to concentrate on the sole task of writing. When I write, I need to have music up loud and close. That means ear-covering headphones. It means the volume pumped to the max. I need every bit of talking, noise and aural distraction to be eradicated. Wiped out. Extinguished. Muted down. Music like that, it’s my barrier to the world around me, no matter where I am. I could be in a café; at home with the family around; at a restaurant; the library (I’m surprised how much noise can be encountered in a library); outside. You could say that my office is my headphones.

This barrier I set up not only blocks out exterior noise and distraction. When the music is loud enough it blocks out, or shuts up all other thoughts jazzing through my head so I can pick up and run with the idea that’s bursting to express itself. Or recapture the voice of the story I’m working on. This is when I do my best writing. Completely aurally detached from everything including my own external-to-the-writing thoughts.

The choice of music is important. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are great! I love listening to them, but I can’t listen to Nick when I’m writing. His lyrics are too thought provoking, too visual, to not listen to. For ‘The Freeing of Jonathon Mark’ my go-to music was ‘Blues for the Red Sun’ by the band Kyuss. Kyuss, and this album in particular have some kind of dulled out stoned-down guitar and drum drone that somehow relaxes my brain the instant I turn it on and up loud. Whenever I was stuck on something in ‘the Freeing of Jonathon Mark’ I’d turn to Kyuss, and this album.

‘Tool’ is another band that works for me, especially their album ‘Lateralus’. They have this knack of finding a beat, a rhythm just enough off center to be intelligently stimulating. Then they build and build and I’m off and writing. These are quite heavy groups and I guess some of my music listening has its roots in hard rock and metal—I once successfully power-napped to a 10-minute Metallica song before an exam—but a variety of music will work. Right now as I’m writing this I’m listening to Stereolab: the album ‘Dots and Loops’ to be exact. Earlier today it was ‘Lady of the Sunshine’. Salmonella Dub works well, but not their album ‘Heal me’. Australian ‘indie’ bands Spiderbait and Regurgitator work. Interpol’s album ‘Our love to admire’ is perfect to write to, but not their other albums. I’ve tried Battles, but the ‘vocals’ (if you can call then that) when they present throw my concentration off. The Beastie Boys album ‘The Mix Up’ works. But not their other albums. I’ve also tried Jazz and classical music but unfortunately and perhaps surprisingly these genres don’t work.

When I do stack up the albums that work for my writing against each other there doesn’t seem to be one common theme, musically, amongst them but the effect is the same. I wonder if I am in effect hypnotizing myself, busying, or scrambling the conscious mind: putting it in the backseat so that the subconscious has a direct line onto the page? Or is the way I use music somehow like the way Einstein or Dali used to take a nap to best access their creativity? They’d hold an object between thumb and forefinger sitting up in a chair. When they fell asleep the object would drop (often after only a few seconds), waking them, and they’d set about working. Scientists call this the “hypnogogic” nap, unlocking the creative and free flowing thoughts of the mind before it reaches Stage two sleep. Am I perhaps somehow accessing this part of my mind by listening to music in this fashion?

Writing this has got me thinking about how else people use music in their lives to enhance the process of getting a job done. What do you listen to when you write, or work? Could you suggest some #musictowriteto?

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