A True Superhero - Jeffrey Blount by Mandy Haynes

A True Superhero - Jeffrey Blount by Mandy Haynes

It’s my honor to share an interview with this month’s featured author, Jeffrey Blount. Before we dive in, let me introduce you.

Jeffrey is the award-winning author of four novels — Almost Snow White, winner of the 2013 USA Best Book Awards, Hating Heidi Foster, winner of the 2013 Readers Favorite Book Award for young adult literature, and The Emancipation of Evan Walls, winner of the 2020 National Indie Excellence Award for African American fiction, winner of the 2019 Readers Favorite Book Award, winner of the 2019 American Bookfest Best Book Award and a Shelf Unbound 2019 Notable Book. His latest book, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, will be released January 16th.

He is also an Emmy award-winning television director and a 2016 inductee to the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame. During a 34-year career at NBC News, Jeffrey directed a decade of Meet The Press, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and major special events. He is the first African-American to direct The Today Show.

He was a contributor for HuffPost and has been published in The Washington Post, The Grio.com and other publications, commenting on issues of race, social justice and writing.

He is also an award-winning documentary scriptwriter for films and interactives that are now on display in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, the Newseum, America I AM: The African American Imprint at the National Constitution Center, The Museum at Bethel Woods, at the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, and others. These projects have won Cine Golden Eagle Awards, Muse Awards and a Thea Award.

In 2017 and 2018, Jeffrey served as Journalist in Residence and Shapiro Fellow at the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University.

Recently, Jeffrey earned his university’s alumni achievement award – the VCU Alumni Star – for his professional achievements as a director at NBC, script writer and author. He also served as a member of the advisory board at the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at Virginia Commonwealth University, his alma mater. He also served as a member of the national board of the non-profit Reading Partners, dedicated to the mission of child literacy.

Born and raised in Smithfield, Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC.

What an interesting guy! His new novel, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, graces this month’s cover. This is what Marie Bostwick, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly had to say, “Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way is a thoughtfully written, thought-provoking, complacency-smashing novel of redemption and restoration, and a testament to the truth that it is in lifting up others that we ourselves are lifted up.”

You can read the book’s description, some more wonderful endorsements on the first two pages, and click here to watch the trailer. I am really looking forward to reading this, I think it’s the perfect book to kick off the new year. Once read the interview and get to know a little bit more about Jeffrey Blount and the story behind Mr. Jimmy’s story, I think you’ll agree. Enjoy!

When writing Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way, did any of the characters surprise you by going off the plot?

Yes, for sure. In fact, I would say every character surprised me. They changed who they were a bit. They changed how they acted and, in turn, forced me to alter the path of the story. That changed the other characters. I'm no different here than many other authors. You have to leave room for characters to change. It's one of the more interesting and fun parts of writing long-form fiction.

Who was your favorite character in this novel to write?

I loved writing so many characters in this book, but I have to say Mr. Jimmy was my favorite character. For me, he was the most complicated and the most interesting. And his journey was the catalyst for change throughout the novel. So, he set the tone and elicited the responses from all the other characters.

Is Ham, Mississippi based on an actual town?

No, Ham is a fictional town. Everyone in it and everything about it comes out of my head. The name has a biblical origin. It's from the story of Noah. Over centuries, many people have believed Noah condemned the children of Ham, his son, to be lesser human beings. This misconception led to the bible verse being used as a justification for the slavery of African people. I felt it was appropriate for this story, given that the people from around the way had been living a very, very second class existence. A kind of social death. Social death, defined by sociologist Orlando Patterson as "the condition of people not accepted as fully human by wider society."

How long did you have the idea for the novel before you started putting the words on the page?

Not very long. The book tour for my previous novel had been cut short by Covid. So, I had a lot of time to sit and reflect on everything, including what I might write next. Shortly after the pandemic began, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way began to take shape in my mind and my heart. It's my pandemic baby.

What is the main thing you hope readers take away from Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way?

First, I would like them to feel the love and hope in the story. To sit with that for a moment. Then, I want them to acknowledge that there are fellow human beings in need. The United Nations’ mission statement, in part, says every human being is born free and equal in dignity and rights. I want them to feel motivated to go out into the world to do their part in making that a reality.

You've led such an interesting life. You are an incredibly talented, multi-award winning novelist, but you're also an award-winning documentary scriptwriter, award-winning television director, and journalist. When and why did you decide to write fiction?

From the first novel I read, I fell in love with fiction. I think I knew as a youngster that I was learning about life when I read it. Of course, I learned about life in non-fiction books as well, including school textbooks. But even without understanding the science behind novels creating empathy, I felt that I learned more about the emotions of people and my own life as well. Reading fiction made me a better person and I thought writing it would also help me become a better person. Writing it would help me figure out myself. It would also allow me to share my thoughts, beliefs, and conclusions with the world. I felt driven to write fiction. I started writing short stories in high school. I attempted my first novel as a freshman in college, but I put that part of my brain on hold as my journalism career began to take off. But I knew I would always come back to my literary home at some point in my life. Now, I am fully ensconced in the world of fiction and I love it.

If there is one thing you wish you had known when you were twenty years younger, what would it be?

After I left the journalism business, I taught for three semesters at a university. I taught classes on media bias and television production. I loved it. I loved the students and enjoyed watching them grow and choose their life paths. I wish I had known that twenty years ago. I might have made the change to teaching earlier.

Just for fun - if you could pick one superpower, what would it be?

Kindness. I think it is belittled and maligned in our society. But I think it is the greatest superpower of all.

Towns like Ham exist all over the country, but especially in the south. It's 2024. How can we work towards changing that in the real world?

Yes, they do exist all over the country and that is an immense shame for our country. I won't say too much because I want people to read the book. Mr. Jimmy actually answers this question directly. But I will say that every day we can acknowledge the pain of our fellow citizens who live in towns like Ham. I believe the "me generation" is still a part of us in a huge way. I think it's time to recognize that when the focus is entirely on the individual, the whole will splinter and suffer. I think we need an "us generation." As Muhammad Ali said, "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."