James Stewart
James A. Stewart was born in Baton Rouge, LA. After graduating from Louisiana State University with a BS in Industrial Technology, he spent twenty-five years on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He also holds a BA in English from National University and an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. He lives with his family in San Diego, CA. The Blue Sea Cottage is his first book.
Twitter: @JStewartAuthor
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
My favorite movies are film noir. I like stories that are tightly-plotted, focus on the dark side of human nature, and ooze with atmosphere. I usually look for the same characteristics in novels and narrative nonfiction books. My favorite classic film noir movies are Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard, hardly original choices. Conventional wisdom in screenwriting and film-making, I’m told, is that voice over narration and flash backs are verboten. Well, guess what? These two, among the best films ever made in my view, feature voice over and flashbacks. I’d add Casablanca to this list, probably my favorite film of all time. It’s not generally considered film noir but it has most of the right traits. My favorite neo-noir films: Chinatown, Body Heat, and Blood Simple.
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music when you write?
I often listen to classical music when I write. I also like hard rock, heavy metal, and the blues but I can’t listen to those when I write. I think classical music encourages creativity and it doesn’t distract me. I also often listen to some of the softer instrumental music of guitar wizard Buckethead when I write. Some of it is gorgeous and almost hypnotic.
What period of history do you wish you knew more about?
The 1920s. I didn’t know much until I started researching my first book, set in 1923. It’s a fascinating period. Society was full of conflict. After WWI and the 1918 flu pandemic killed millions, the disillusioned younger set decided to party like there was no tomorrow. At the same time, Congress was passing the Volstead Act to outlaw alcohol. Feminist archetypes like the New Woman and the flapper pushed the boundaries of gender norms, outraging the patriarchal society. Jazz Age liberalism and frivolity clashed with the lingering Victorian moral code and laws outlawing birth control and abortion. All of this created a culture war that is eerily similar to the one going on now in the U.S. It had the same flash points—gender, race, immigration, abortion—and the same ugly rhetoric. The only things that have changed much are the addition of LGBTQ+ rights and technology. Other major forces shaping the culture included Prohibition crime and corruption, the Hollywood film colony, and yellow journalism.
Is there a work of art that you love? Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
The Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer. I like all types of art, from the ancient Greeks to modern abstractions, but to me this is the most perfect art object ever created, the supreme masterpiece of the greatest old master. People create art for all kinds of reasons but to me the purpose is to create beauty with an artful arrangement of color and form. This painting is the best example of that. I haven’t seen it in person. I lived in Europe for a few years. I travelled a lot and saw many of my favorite works. I travelled to Vienna specifically to see The Art of Painting at the Kunsthistorisches museum. Wouldn’t you know it, they had taken it down for restoration! One of the biggest disappointments in my life. Hope to go back one day. No reproduction ever does justice to the real thing so it’s hard to imagine how beautiful it must be in person.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
I paint in oils, sort of a post-Impressionistic style if I had to put a label on it. Although I’m a much better writer than I am a painter, art was my first love. It doesn’t come naturally to me and I’ve always struggled with it. I have this artistic vision and one day I hope I can duplicate on canvas what I see in my head. I haven’t come anywhere close yet but the struggle is worth it.
