‘Tis me Jason B
Hi there and welcome to the blog and website of Jason Blacker. I’m an author, writer, poet, artist and renaissance man. I was born in Cape Town but now call Canada home.
First let me talk about the writing. On this blog I’ll discuss my novels and other written works including poetry. I write a haiku blog where each day there is a newly and freshly minted haiku for you to enjoy. The haiku blog can be found at haiku.
I also write a couple of other blogs in case you’re interested. I write a vegan blog that explores the reasons to be vegan… it’s ethics, as well as offering advice on becoming and staying a healthy vegan.
I’ve been writing almost as long as I’ve been drawing, but the drawing came first. You’ll probably notice that most of my works are imbued with images, metaphors and similes. I think this is thanks to my artistic background. As far as writing is concerned I started off with poetry and then moved on to novels and short stories.
I wrote under a couple of other pen names too, one of which you can check out is Sylynt Storme. I write sci-fi and horror/vampire stories under that name.
My first novel is called Dust on His Soul and it was my attempt to make sense of the madness that was apartheid South Africa. It was inspired by the life of Stephen Biko. You can read more about my individual books under the Books page in the navigation bar above. So I started off writing what are considered literary novels and most recently have turned to the hard boiled detective fiction.
I just love Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Dashiel Hammett amongst the other mystery writers and I wish Dash and Ray had written more novels. They haven’t so I wanted to keep that tradition going by writing my own hard boiled detective novels featuring my guy Anthony Carrick, a rough around the edges, charming, funny investigator with a clear sense of justice and a strong moral compass.
The first Anthony Carrick novel is First Feature and you can read more about it under Books in the navigation bar up top. In the near future, which will be 2012, I am planning an adventure series. I don’t want to let too much out of the bag until I have the first one published, but imagine the A Team meets Jason Bourne and you’ll likely have a pretty good idea.
When I’m not writing I spend time with my family, my son and wife and 4 furry felines. You’ll understand if I say that cats don’t come when called, they take a message and get back to you. They’re more independently minded than my son!
I also enjoy working out, especially running and calisthenics. As Henry David Thoreau said, “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.” I like to keep my life pretty simple and that includes exercising. Though I have a weakness for the game of squash. I love it. I’m constantly working towards a more frugal and minimal lifestyle. A work in progress.
I paint too, primarily in acrylics (less poisonous) and I might add pictures of them to this blog too as I get a chance. And they’ll likely be for sale too if anyone is interested. Something else that is important to me is my vegan ethic. I’ve been vegan over 20 years and never felt better.
If you have any questions please use the contact form on the Contact page above to get in touch with me. I love hearing from readers, friends and fellow scribes and artists. I try to answer each one as well.
Keep reading… I’ve got mouths to feed 