Bee: Hi J. Luke, Welcometo Bookpleasures.com
Bee: How long have youbeen writing? Almost ten years now, started writing my first novel in2015. And second when did you realize this was what you wanted to doprofessionally?
J.L.B: Not until recently, after finishing my fifth noveland coming up with the idea for an 8-book series. There’s a certainmagic that happens when you’re writing a novel and, withoutrealizing it, the author turns into a conduit from wherever ourthoughts come from (heaven/the universe, take your pick) and thewords pour out onto the page. Sometimes, I feel like I just can’ttype fast enough! ?
Bee: How do you come upwith your ideas? Big picture “theme” and overall plot ideas havea way of finding me, not sure how.
J.L.B.Usually, it’s when I’mrelaxed, perhaps on vacation. Sometimes, they come to me in dreamsand I write them down the moment I wake up (otherwise I’ll forget!)For smaller ideas, when I’m coming up with sub-plots and scenedetails, I try to relax, close my eyes, and let the possibilitiesflow through until I find a particular detail that resonates.
Bee: Andwhat is your writing schedule like?
J.L.B.I wake up, guzzle down my firstcup of coffee, and read/edit what I wrote the previous day, then Iwork to write about 1,000 words. Some days, I can only get a fewhundred words if my muse is not cooperating, or I’m distracted withsomething “life-related”, other days I can bang out severalthousand words.
Bee: What's the craziestwriting idea you've had?
J.L.B.: Great question! Ihave a bunch, but the one that comes to mind first is a world wherewe shrink criminals into 1-inch-tall people and let them live theirtiny lives in a miniature “prison”. Think of the money we’d allsave! But there are obvious moral/ethical issues running in parallel.Conflict! ? Once they’re rehabbed, we return them to their fullsize, along with their freedom.
Bee: When did the thought come to you?
J.L.B. The thought came to me one daywhen I was working in San Luis Obispo on a US-101 interchangeconstruction project. I read an article about the drought that got methinking. Then I had a nice chat with a fellow civil engineer whoused to work at the California Department of Water Resources, and wediscussed big picture ways Californians get our drinking wateraqueducts, canals, pumps, storage tanks, etc.). I also went down therabbit hole of new nuclear power plants (e.g. molten salt reactors,like the one Bill Gates is building), where you get all the positivebenefits of nuclear power, without the negatives (waste, potentialmeltdown, etc.) I wondered why nobody had thought of building aseries of power plants along the coast and pairing them withdesalination plants. California has 800 miles of coastline, why arewe not taking advantage of that to solve our drought? So, I gavemyself artistic license to make that happen, which would be great . .. but what if terrorists took advantage of the new system andweaponized it with genetically modified viruses? This was allpre-COVID, mind you. So, at the end, there are some practical ideascontained in the story, coupled with a solid cautionary tale foranyone thinking of actually implementing them.
Bee: If you could jumpinto a book, and live in that world, which would it be?
J.L.B.: Echo From A Bayou.The character arc in that story is intense. Since there’s a dualtimeline and two lives for the protagonist, it was super fun to writeand I gave the guy a happy ending, one I wouldn’t mind jumpinginto!
Bee: If someone wrote abook about your life, what would the title be?
J.L.B.: Fortunate
Bee: What is your favoritescene in the book and why do you love it?
J.L.B.: I read a book afew years ago where the author made me wait until the very lastsentence to reveal what had happened. And that blew me away! Supersatisfying! She kept the tension tight until the last word, which isa bit of a challenge. I wanted to do the same with Waterborne, sowithout giving away the ending, the reader will not know if TracyCiacchella lives or dies until the last line. Took me a few times torewrite that last page, but I love how it came out and I hope yourreaders do, too!
Bee: What did you want tobe when you grew up?
J.L.B.: When I was little,I wanted to be a fireman (favorite TV show: Emergency!) As ateenager, I thought I’d become a doctor, since that was pretty muchthe only profession I knew of—in my little bubble of a world—whereyou could “make a lot of money” and get “rich”. Not until mythird year of college did I discover civil engineering, where I coulduse computers, math, science, logic and creativity to solvereal-world problems. I’d found part of my purpose in life. Wordscan’t explain how COOL it is to work on the plans for something (abridge, house, freeway, water system, retaining wall, grading plan,building, etc.) and literally bring something into physicalexistence. For example, I worked on part of the I-210 freeway throughSo Cal for four years and now, every time I drive through it, I thinkback to the team of engineers who worked with me, all the efforts weput in, and man, what a sweet feeling that is.
Bee: What is next? Are youworking on a new book?
J.L.B.: YES! I’vewritten the first novel in an 8-book series with a working title TimeGoggles. I have a detailed series outline and am super excited everyday to have the chance to write the second book. I’m working totake everything I’ve learned in the various classes at writer’sconferences, the seven books I’ve written, all the writingtechniques books I’ve read, and all my life’s experiences tocreate something extraordinary for my readers.
About J. Luke Bennecke
Multi award winning andbest-selling author, J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineerwith a well-spent career helping people by improving SouthernCalifornia roadways. He is the author of three bestselling,award-winning thrillers: Civil Terror: Gridlock, Waterborne,and his 2023 release Echo from a Bayou To find out moreabout J. Luke Bennecke and his books, please visit his website at: https://www.jlukebennecke.com/