Welcome back, Little Lamb authors.
Where Jason Joyner Gets Story Ideas
Where do I get my story ideas? Maybe it comes from being from the blockbuster generation. I was born in the 70s, so my introduction to movies were the original summer blockbusters – Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, and movies like that. Cinema has continued to embrace the summer model and we see more shows all the time with the sweeping plots, expansive action, and plenty of explosions.
All that to say, I’m a visual plotter.
I get pictures in my head. A scenario flits across my imagination, and I grab a hold of it to test it. The idea gets tugged, kicked around, and scrutinized. I ask questions – who is this? What are they after? Who cares?
For my debut novel Launch, I had thoughts about two different characters. There was an African-American teen who could run super fast. But he had to have a paper route to make enough money to pay for the shoes he burned through. Another one was a blonde girl who wanted to be goth, so she tried to dye her hair black. The dye would burn up quickly. Why was that? Oh, she can manipulate light? That makes sense.
Once I started getting images of Demarcus and Lily, I work out from there. Why do they have their gifts? What if God needs to enable teens right now to fight a growing evil? Nowadays we’d call Samson’s strength superpowers.
Thus a young adult superhero novel was born.
It’s fun to see your kids grow up. In this case, it’s my characters going from my head to the page. But don’t get too comfortable. I’m getting an image right now…
About the book:
Sixteen-year-olds Demarcus Bartlett and Lily Beausoliel are among a select group of youth invited to an exclusive, all-expenses-paid conference at social media giant Alturas’ California headquarters. Led by charismatic founder Simon Mazor, the world’s youngest billionaire, this isn’t the typical honors society. It seems that everyone here has some secret, untapped potential, some power that may not be entirely of this world. An ancient prophecy suggests that if these teens combine their abilities, they could change the course of history. The only question is: Will it be for better or for worse?
Launch is available at Target, Walmart, and online retailers.
About the author:
Jason C. Joyner is a physician assistant, a writer, a Jesus-lover, and a Star Wars geek. He’s traveled from the jungles of Thailand to the cities of Australia and the Bavarian Alps of Germany. He lives in Idaho with his lovely wife, three boys, and daughter managing the chaos of sports and superheroes in his own home. Launch, a YA superhero story, is his first published novel.
Social media links:
You can join my Facebook group, The Heroes’ Hangout
You can find Jason at Twitter Instagram