The thing that you have to understand about Jack is that he is a construct. Not like an AI, because he is a human being. He has a brain and a heart and the nerve. He is more like a mask or a puppet or a projection, green and impressive, but ultimately controlled by a flawed man behind the curtain.
As for his bio, he is the author of numerous short stories which have appeared in Dark Worlds Magazine, Encounters Magazine, Neo-Opsis Magazine, Raygun Revival, Mythaxis Online Magazine, and in the anthologies Magistria: The Realm of the Sorcerer from Ricasso Press, Sails and Sorcery from Fantasist Enterprises, and Swords of Fire from Rage Machine Books. He has also written a handful of novels which are published by Rage Machine Books.
He lives on his own in the wild country of British Columbia, Canada.
#
If you were to create a superhero that had a weakness for something totally unexpected, like pickles or bubble wrap, what would it be and why?
It’s funny you should ask that. I am planning to write a superhero book about a man who is mistakenly given super powers. The Black Spot, as he comes to be known, is a very old man who has retired and has resigned himself to winding down his involvement with the world. The world has gotten too complicated for him. He has these powers but no real idea of how to use them effectively. His weakness, I suppose, is his lack of understanding about the society that he has been tasked to protect. Perhaps along the way he will make that his strength. I’ll know when I write the book.
If you had to live on a spaceship with one fictional character for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?
I could easily live on a spaceship, I’m sure. At times, traveling around on a spaceship has been my one true desire. As a young man it would have been the Enterprise, serving under Captain Kirk. As an older man, though, one who is somewhat sedentary and bookish, I think perhaps a less populated spaceship would be more desirable. Also, the prospect of Red Alerts and running to battle stations has less appeal. Comfortable chairs and plenty of food sounds like a much better deal to me now. Ideally some sort of luxury space liner would fit the bill. One whose passage avoids galactic hazards, pirates, marauding aliens and all that. Perhaps with a robot for company and to do all the labor that I do not want to do. Someone like Robby the Robot or C-3P0, but less annoying. Perhaps a more attractive robot like Maria from Metropolis, except not programmed to tear down the fabric of society. I’m a boring old man. What can I say?
If you had to choose one of your books to be turned into a cheesy made-for-TV movie, which one would it be and who would you want to play the lead roles?
My “pulp adventure” homage Wild Incorporated: The Shattered Men would have the most potential as a cheezy TV movie. You could easily dumb down an already fairly straightforward plot, plus there’s plenty of action sequences. There is a young, up-and-coming Canadian actor named Sanjay Pavone who would be great as the main character, Harry Calhoun. As for the leader of Wild Incorporated, Morrigan Wild, she could be played by someone like Kate Beckinsale or Charlize Theron or Michelle Rodriguez. It could be a cast of complete unknowns. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s cheezy. The cheezier the better, I say.
If you had to choose between being a mermaid or a dragon, which would you pick and why?
I would definitely choose to be a dragon. Mermaids are sleek and are swimming ALL the time. That’s too much work. Dragons are big, scaly and spend most of their time sitting around on top of a pile of their stuff, so it wouldn’t be much different from my life now. Also breathing fire would be cool. To actually expel flames from your gullet (as opposed to just feeling like that’s what you are doing after eating too much spicy food) would be sweet! I wrote a story about that idea called “Here There Be Dragons…” which was published in the July 2007 issue of Neo-Opsis Magazine.
If you were secretly an alien visitor to the Earth, why are you here?
Okay… who have you been talking to? Because they’re a total liar. I am completely human just like you, fellow Earthling. Like you, I enjoy sodas and potato chips and breathing air and not methane. My skin is wrinkly because I am old and not because my human suit fits me badly. How about them sports teams, huh?
Hey! Keep an eye out for my next “Wild Incorporated” adventure: The Deadly Mister Punch, which is a follow-up to The Shattered Men. (https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/wild-incorporated) Also watch for my exciting Time Travel/Space Opera book The Gear Crew which takes place in the same universe and features some of the characters from my story The Bother With Bowbles which you can read at this very website! (https://amazingstories.com/2023/04/the-bother-with-bowbies-by-jack-mckenzie-free-story/) You can peruse my books at: (https://darkworldsquarterly.gwthomas.org/book-store/) or check out my author page at Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00LZFVIK0) or my website! (https://jackmackenziewriter.wordpress.com/)
