Suite101 down with sci-fi author Mark Jeffrey about the first book in his seven-part Max Quick series called The Pocket And The Pendant, which has over 2 million podiobook downloads.
Suite101: What makes the Max Quick series so unique?
Jeffrey: The book starts off with a young boy named Max Quick who’s 12 years old and time stops throughout the world except for him. So he’s suddenly alone in this time stopped world. The laws of physics are different and become altered because of this anomaly. He finds he can run really fast, but he’s not Superman. If he runs into a wall he’ll hurt himself. He eventually finds other kids like himself who are able to move around in this time-stopped world. So they try to figure out what’s going on, encounter mysteries, and pick up more companions. They find what’s special about them and why they’re able to move around when no one else can’t. And it’s up to them to reverse and turn things back to normal.
Suite101: What is the theme of your book?
Jeffrey: I’m a big fan of Carl Jung who said “That which we resist, persists”. The more you attack something, the more you give it power. So really fighting it and fighting against it is a like a Chinese finger trap. The more you try to get out of it, the worse it got and that’s where the power of the trap came from.
That idea I found to be fascinating, especially from a plot perspective it was fabulous. You sympathize with the main character because, like in Lord of the Rings, you want Frodo to throw the ring into the volcano, but what if that’s exactly what Sauron wanted him to do. If so, it would have all been for naught.
Suite101: Where do you draw your inspiration?
Jeffrey: Again I’m a huge fan of Carl Jung. I’m a fan of things with Quanum Mechanics and Science crossing together. There was a book by Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics. The more they dig into physics it says exactly the same as Bhuddist religion. So the more two things seem different from each other, the more they’re explored it look as if it’s two sides of one coin. So I try to weave a lot of that into my books to keep you guessing. It’s a great adventure story. The characters are deep, entertaining, and real.
Suite101: What kind of feedback have you received?
Jeffrey: People who love Harry Potter, that’s typically the audience. I get emails and tweets from kids 11 & up. I also got one recently from an 58 year old man who said, “I’m a connoisseur of sci-fi and yours is among my favorite books.” And if you email me, I will respond. The most high profile response was from a girl named Abigail Breslin, Oscar-Nominated star of Little Miss Sunshine who said that her favorite book is the Max Quick series.
Learn more about the Max Quick series
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