Stuart Jaffe is the madman behind The Max Porter Paranormal Mysteries, the Ridnight Mysteries, Nathan K thrillers, The Parallel Society, The Malja Chronicles, The Bluesman, Founders, Real Magic, and so much more.
His unique brand of old pulp adventure mixed with a contemporary sensibility brings out the best in a variety of SF/F sub-genres. He trained in martial arts for over a decade until a knee injury ended that practice. Now, he plays lead guitar in a local blues band, The Bootleggers, and enjoys life on a small farm in rural North Carolina.
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?
Lexington BBQ. I love the stuff. Can’t get enough. So, as a character weakness, I see a superhero that must stop all he’s doing when he smells delicious pulled pork. Also, as an author, I might be required to do research — a lot of research. Side note: this is the reason my character, Max Porter, loves Lexington BBQ. Every book in the series, I get to try a new restaurant. I’ve got to make sure the character is being authentic, after all.
If you were transported into one of your books as a character, what kind of character would you be and what kind of adventures would you have?
None. No way. Never. I make a living by creating characters you want to care about, and they a torture them. Send them off on “adventures” — which is a nice way to say that I put them in precarious situations that often threaten death. Why would I want that for myself?
If you had to choose between being a mermaid or a dragon, which would you pick and why?
Part of me wants to answer dragon, but when I was kid, I had a recurring dream that I lived underwater and was part of the merfolk. It was an exact translation of mermaids and mermen, but it always seemed cool, peaceful, and fun. Weird, too, because at that age, I hated to eat fish.
If you could have any fictional pet as a companion, what would it be and why?
Falkor, from The Neverending Story. Who doesn’t want a giant, furry, dog-like luck dragon to help defeat one’s enemies?
If you could have dinner with any fictional character from any sci-fi book or movie, who would it be, what would you talk about, and where what restaurant would you choose?
Neo from The Matrix. Mostly because I want to try that noodle restaurant he likes so much.
If you were secretly an alien visitor to the Earth, why are you here?
Wait, how did you know?
How have you used the phrase “I’m a writer” to avoid an unpleasant situation? What was it?
All Max Porter books take real history of the North Carolina triad and mix it with ghosts, witches, and magic. For the 5th Max Porter book, Southern Haunts, I learned of a scandal in the 1930s concerning a brothel that had government officials (like the mayor and the chief of police) as clients. The house still stands, and I was parked across the street taking notes on what the area looked like when the owner approached me. She clearly thought I was “casing the joint.” I said I was an author and did she know about the notorious history of her house. “Oh, you mean the brothel?” she said, and then invited me, a total stranger, inside to take more notes and pictures, too. Ended up making that book soooooo much better.
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Stuart often has a latest book coming out. The best place to get started is by checking out his extensive catalogue on his website. It has the incredibly creative web address www.stuartjaffe.com. There you can also sign up for his monthly newsletter which will get you a full novel for free as well as some short stories. Stuart can be found online at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorStuartJaffe and has this fan group there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jaffemadhouse.
