Blog Archives
A Deep Personal Journey
Capricorn, Utopia & Days Gone By is a collection of novellas that incorporates philosophical meaning into three different but highly entertaining stories. Was it intentional to write stories with a moral message or did it happen organically?
I had a good idea how each story was going to end before I started writing, but the roadmap was fluid, and not set in stone.
The main characters are flawed in various ways. Their shortcomings had to carry a lot of weight and their triumphs had to be powerful. My goal was to show hopelessness in such a way that it brought hope to my audience. Yes, things are bad, but in the end, there is something to take away. Sometimes tragedy is capable of bringing the best out of people.
Utopia stood out as my favorite story from this volume. Do you have a story that you personally enjoy more out of the three?
I think Capricorn resonates with me the most. This isn’t just a story to save a loved one, but one that contains a deep personal journey into one’s own salvation. Montague is surrounded by evil, and he believes the only way to combat it is to become it. He becomes lost to it while admitting his views in dark, poetic soliloquies. In his mind everyone is guilty, and humanity is not worth saving until finding one who was never part of it. This pure innocence begins to shift the way he thinks.
Did you write these stories for this collection or did you write them over time and then combined them?
Each story was written years apart as separate screenplays before being published individually. After rewriting and extending these stories I decided to combine them into a 2-volume novella set to make the books cost effective.
Do you have plans to write more novellas through other outlets, like Kindle Vella?
I had considered using Kindle Vella for Apocalypsia, but now that I have all my titles published, I’ll continue working on promoting my books over trying to break into another area where I will either need a new story or try to market to a different audience. Although, I hope to one day have my stories reach more people, so I’m not closed to the concept just yet.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
The City is a Cancer. They are the Cure .
In the aftermath of a civil war the city is in ruins and without order. Montague administers his idea of justice with his black steel sword until he discovers Capricorn. He becomes drawn to her and vows to protect her, but this is challenged when a group of thugs kidnap her.
Montague is sent on a determined rescue mission, but in order to succeed he must battle the thugs of the city and their leader. Montague then finds himself on a path of seven trials in order to gain entry into Mammon’s domain to save the one he loves.
UTOPIA
Sometimes perfect comes with fine print.
Brian Troth is a defense attorney, who after being shot in the head, awakes from a coma thirty years later. He is told that the world is now perfect where everything is provided. He is given a new job, a posh apartment and, to his surprise, the perfect romantic match.
However, when he questions the sudden disappearance of a colleague and stumbles upon a concealed government secret; he and his loved one become targeted for a swift removal.
DAYS GONE BY
Hope.
Three days after Christmas an auto accident left Caleb partially disabled and took the life of his five-year-old nephew. Now on the anniversary, four years later, Caleb is afraid to leave his house; even to attend his brother’s upcoming wedding.
Soon past friends and deceased relatives mysteriously begin showing up in his home to deliver their messages and help him through his phobia by showing him glimpses of his past, present and possible future.
Telling Him to Return Home
Jerry J.C. Veit Author Interview
Days Gone By follows Caleb as he struggles with agoraphobia and the loss of his nephew in a car accident. What made you want to write a story about this topic? Anything pulled from your life experiences?
There are a few things that are taken from my past. At the time of my writing Days Gone By my nephew was five years old. He is now seven and a joy to be around. No tragic car accident; however, I wanted to write a heartfelt, emotional, character-driven story and if I had to go through what Caleb did, I don’t know how I would deal with it, but hiding seemed like a safe choice; and that’s exactly what Caleb is doing.
Many of Caleb’s visitors are based on real people in my life. His grandfather, for one, is based on my Mother’s father who did live in The Azores, Portugal. His story he shared about a possible angel telling him to return home due to a dangerous road ahead was true. Since he also lived so far away I did not see him that much and do wish I had more memories with him.
Caleb’s Irish great, great, great grandmother is also mine from my father’s side who also emigrated to the U.S. from Cork, Ireland. Miss. Di Coco was my second grade teacher and Jessica was my real life childhood friend.
The writing in your story is very artful and creative. Was it a conscious effort to create a story in this fashion or is this style of writing reflective of your writing style in general?
To date all my books are adaptations from my screenplays. So they all share this style of writing. I also marketed it to a local theater to be a play, but my character list ended up being too long. The stories I’ve written before my scripts and now after will follow more traditional book layouts.
Caleb’s has physical and psychological difficulties, but the spiritual burden of guilt for being the cause of his nephew’s death is overwhelming. What were the driving ideals behind the characters development throughout the story?
I knew Caleb’s journey was going to be a hard one. Feeling sadness because of a tragic event is one thing, but Caleb is terrified of it. He’s afraid to feel that deep sorrow and face that reality. This fear became an illness that spread to all aspects of his life. He put up a wall to protect himself and now everything outside of his home and daily routine is scary.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book will be written as a regular novel and takes place in 1885, but further advanced than in our own history. I think I’m on page five. 🙂
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Three days after Christmas an auto accident left Caleb partially disabled and took the life of his five year old nephew. Now on the anniversary, four years later, Caleb is afraid to leave his house; even to attend his brother’s upcoming wedding.
Soon past friends and deceased relatives mysteriously begin showing up in his home to deliver their messages and help him through his phobia by showing him glimpses of his past, present and possible future.
Days Gone By
Days Gone By is a heartfelt tale of loss, memory, and acceptance. Jerry Veit writes a heartwarming and wholesome tale that is startlingly intimate.
We follow the main character, Caleb, four years after a car accident that occurred three days after Christmas and left him partially handicapped and terrified of leaving his house. The accident also took the life of his five-year-old nephew. The fallout of the event is not only Caleb’s physical and psychological difficulties, but the spiritual burden of guilt for being the cause of his nephew’s death. We find him now, four years later, unwilling to leave his house, even for his brother’s wedding. It is only after the mysterious arrival of past friends and deceased relatives, who give him messages that help him out of this fog of phobia and grief.
At first glance, Days Gone By may seem to echo some of the beats of A Christmas Carol, but in some ways, it brings us back to the classic fable in a nostalgic glance. Veit chose to write this story in play format, but considering the story and themes it allows the reader to enjoy the dialogue and characters even further. The reader can feel a part of the action this way and considering that the story bespeaks more fabel qualities, than a usual novel, Veit gets away with it.
The story has an almost Lifetime channel or Hallmark qualities, considering the history and cause of Caleb’s problems. What should not be left out is how Veit chooses to tackle these issues and instead seeks to bring his hero through these tribulations. It calls on the long tradition of other Christmas story classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life.
Once the reader gets used to the format of the story, it reads quite easily and fairly quickly. It is perfect for the short winter days and may be a perfect thing to pick up around the holidays. As Caleb struggles with agoraphobia readers will find it easy to connect with the sense of loss and how memory often haunts us. We all long to speak with loved ones who have since passed and Caleb is lucky enough to experience this for a short time. Hopefully, we can cherish that gift and not take our time for granted.
Pages: 106 | ASIN: B0175A7258
LITERARY TITAN 