Ep. 40 - Books, Balance, & Bram Stoker (with J.D. Barker)
Bruce and Kara chat with New York Times and international bestselling author, J.D. Barker, who writes suspense thrillers with dashes of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural. J.D. illuminates us on autistic writing strengths, his process, challenges and benefits of co-writing, and...the suspense is killing us...his connection to Dracula!
GUEST BIO: Barker spent the first 14 years of his life in Crystal Lake, Illinois. A staunch introvert, he was rarely seen without a book in hand, devouring both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series by the age of six before moving on to classics such as the works of Dickens and Twain. The discovery of Shelley, Stoker and Poe fueled a fire and it wasn’t long before he was writing tales of his own which he shared with friends and family. These early stories centered around witches and ghosts thought to inhabit the woods surrounding their home.
While in college, one of his writing assignments found its way into the hands of Paul Gallotta of Circus Magazine. Gallotta reached out to Barker to join the staff of 25th Parallel Magazine. By 1991 was Barker interviewing celebrities for Seventeen, TeenBeat, and other publications. In 1992, Barker syndicated a small newspaper column called Revealed, centered around the investigation of haunted places and supernatural occurrences.
He worked as a book doctor and ghostwriter, helping others finetune manuscripts. He continued until 2012 when he wrote his first novel, Forsaken.
Stephen King read portions of Forsaken prior to publication and granted Barker permission to use the character of Leland Gaunt of King’s Needful Things.
Forsaken ranked #2 on Audible, #44 on Amazon US, #2 on Amazon Canada, and #22 on Amazon UK; was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award - Best Debut Novel; and won a handful of others including a New Apple Medalist Award.
After reading Forsaken, Bram Stoker’s family reached out to Barker and asked him to co-author a prequel to Dracula utilizing Bram’s original notes and journals. The novel, Dracul, has been bought by Paramount and Andy Muschietti (IT, Mama) is attached to direct.
Barker's books have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. He is also a frequent collaborator with James Patterson.
Barker splits his time between Englewood, FL, and New Castle, NH, with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.
J.D.'s Socials:
https://jdbarker.com/
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Autistic Tidbits & Tangents is a biweekly podcast, co-hosted by Kara Dymond, Maja Toudal, and Bruce Petherick. It is centered around topics relevant to autism and the lives of autistic people. We are autistic professionals with a passion for broadening and advancing accessibility for autistic people and understanding of autism and neurodiversity. We approach our work with the combination of our personal and professional experiences.
Episodes can be found on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and with video on YouTube.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Kara: www.karadymond.com / YouTube - Dr. Kara Dymond / Facebook - @drkaradymond / Twitter - @drkaradymond / Instagram - @drkaradymond
Maja: www.majatoudal.com / YouTube - An Autistic Psychologist / Facebook - @majatoudal / Twitter - @majatoudal / Instagram - @majatoudal
Bruce: Facebook - @BrucePetherickMusic / Instagram - @bpetherick
SPECIAL THANKS:
-Theme composed by Bruce Petherick
-Today's guest, J.D. Barker!
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