" My name is John Willems. People call me Jack. I’m originally from Arkansas, but now I live and work in West Virginia with my wife, Rachel, and my two sons, Frankie and Tony. I’ve previously published two novellas: Beer Run and Beer Run II: The Great Reckoning with Solstice Publishing. Now, I’m publishing Christmas in Pandemonium with I Ain’t Your Marionette Press, Scheduled for the end of September 2025." 

Pluck your strings like a harpist in trance and reveal unto us the title of your latest opus—the very quill-scribed creation that skirts the precipice of imagination and madness!  And whence came the  electrician that wired your literary bulb? What whispers of chaos birthed such prose?

(What are you currently working on? What’s your latest story or book, and what inspired it?) 

"Christmas in Pandemonium is about a town founded by Satanists 400 years ago and how it celebrates the Christmas season in the modern day. It was inspired by my high school religion teacher, Br. James Lindsay, who showed us monster movies on Fridays rather than teaching us about religion.  "

Do your wooden sinews harbor peculiar rituals, as your quill--inked in inspiration--dances upon the parchment of your future masterpiece?

(Do you have any creative rituals or habits when you write? What helps you get into the right mindset?) 

“I don’t have any rituals, but I have a schedule. I promote my books on Twitter in the morning, usually the first thing, and then I try to do one other thing pertaining to my books every day. Generally, I have to wait for inspiration to strike before starting some new project, and that means some ideas take a while to percolate. ” 

 String freshly snipped, hinges screeching and wood creaking I ponder:  What ink-stained tales' puppeteer the strings of your imagination?  Whose words influence your quill?  Speak, fellow marionette of mind-molding tales--what authors inspire you?

(Which authors or stories have influenced your writing the most? What shaped your imagination?) 

“I’d say the author I like reading the most right now is Grady Hendrix. He mixes horror elements with real life better than most, and more importantly, better than me. I’m also a big fan of John Scalzi, who blends humor and science fiction in a way I envy. There’s an up-and-coming writer named Thule Taffe who really impressed me with the book Milk and Catfish.” 

 What are you currently spinning with your golden thread?

(What projects are you currently developing or planning to release soon?) 

"Other than Christmas in Pandemonium, scheduled to be out at the end of September 20205, I’ve got a science fiction novel I might start sending out to literary agents as soon as Pandemonium is out. I’ve also got another science fiction novel at the Alpha reading stage and a sequel to Pandemonium ready to go." 

Do you have any advice for future Marionette's wishing to put quill to parchment?

(What advice would you give to new writers who are just starting out?) 

“Be sure to space out worldbuilding, plot development, and character development so that you don’t have too much in any one area. Also, sign up for a workshop and have your works critiqued before you send them out to literary agents. I personally do Critters Workshop, and it’s always worked for me. ” 

Embrace your tangled threads and spill the milk on the best advice you have ever heard.

(What what is the best advice you have ever heard?)

“Don’t call the police officers in your book Abbot and Costello. Multiple people had to tell me that before I gave it up. ”

Now,  dear masterless marionette, what does the future hold for your quill?

(What do you hope to create in the future? What direction do you see your work taking next?) 

“I’m hoping at some point to get a literary agent who can get me into one of the Big Five Publishers, hopefully with that science fiction novel coming out. I also hope to publish more Pandemonium books. I’m planning a series of seven.” 

Dear Masterless Marionette, where can readers find you and your work?