A Goodreads user
asked
Jason Pargin:
Salutations! I'd like to ask where you got your idea for Will Blackwater? (He's my favorite out of all your books!) Ps, I'm glad your books exist, thank you for creating them for people to enjoy!
Jason Pargin
Well the idea for Zoey came first, and the character of Will needed to be the perfect foil for Zoey. Not someone who is her exact opposite or her perfect enemy, but someone who is aligned with her but different in ways that create the most volatile mix. She would love to categorize him in some simple way (evil, privileged, whatever) but he tends to defy categorization at every turn, which drives her crazy. He is everything she is not and yet somehow she keeps seeing shades of herself in Will and shades of Will in her. And in that sense he represents the system as a whole, she would love to hate it and dismiss it and root for its downfall but she is frustrated by every effort to truly separate herself from it.
More Answered Questions
Taylor Lenius
asked
Jason Pargin:
Where you "the funny kid" back in school? I feel like your personality I see expressed in your writer would say "YES!" but maybe its all just learned humor or trauma, and what was your favorite style of writing growing up? I feel like the bridge of horror - comedy is so contrasting yet SO ingenious when placed together
Erica Ellis
asked
Jason Pargin:
I feel as though you, like me, have had rabbits and dogs but no cats. Is this accurate? But mostly, thank you sincerely for the character of Amy. She resonates so hard with me. I saw the same whale documentary where the orcas don't even eat the calf that they kill, and I couldn't sleep after it. It was horrible. Anyway, I made my pastor read JDATE and she also fell in love with Amy.
Charlie Rose
asked
Jason Pargin:
Hey Jason! I wanna first to say I am so amazed by your work and you are honestly my favorite author! I have read all JDATE and both Zoey books first in paperback then bought them again as audiobooks. I wish to thank you as these books have helped me through some tough times. and you make me wanna be a better creator myself. Oh yeah, it's supposed to be a question... so Jason, how are you doing?
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