Hi, I'm Jason.
I've written a few books, such as Awake in the World and Eleanor. I also write a newsletter, Letters from Hill House, about life and work. I live on a hill in Scappoose, Oregon, where I design software and write fiction. I'm a husband and a dad, a semi-competent drummer, a compulsive pencil collector, and a big fan of three-hour-long mid-afternoon naps.
What I'm working on
Presently I'm working on two novels. One of these, The Dark Age, is an adaptation and expansion of a short story I wrote several years ago. As the novel develops, I'm sharing my experiences writing it in my newsletter.
What I'm reading
- Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata
(See my full reading list.)
Not enough banjos on the internet
Recently I saw a video of a musician serenading a fox. Afterward, I went looking for ambient/instrumental banjo music. It's hard to find that sort of thing; most of it is of course very bluegrassy (which I like, but which isn't what I felt a weird hunger for at
Quote wall: Raymond Carver
On the bulletin board above my desk, I keep a handful of quotes that have taught me something, or that I hope to learn from. Here's one: It is his world and no other. —Raymond Carver, in the New York TimesThis one is useful, but so is the larger passage
A shed in which to write, and live
Late last year, my wife and I were talking about writers and their sheds. Writers have a long history of writing in sheds, or little gazebos or cabins—give them a small room and tuck it in the backyard, or in the woods, and they're usually pretty content. (Here are
Quote wall: Ben Gibbard
On the bulletin board above my desk, I keep a handful of quotes that have taught me something, or that I hope to learn from. Here's one: There’s that saying: You spend your 20s thinking everybody’s talking about you, you spend your 30s wondering why nobody’s talking
Quote wall: Colum McCann
On the bulletin board above my desk, I keep a handful of quotes that have taught me something, or that I hope to learn from. Here's one: A first line should open up your rib cage. It should reach in and twist your heart backward. It should suggest that the
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