AMBER LOVE 07-AUG-2013 Author JORDAN STRATFORD joined Vodka O’Clock from merry ol’ Vancouver, Canada where he lives an idyllic life surrounded by artists, nature, and frolicking children. I swear, that’s what it sounds like. Jordan recently ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign to fund his book series WOLLSTONECRAFT, a fictionalized tale about young Ada Lovelace and her best friend Mary Shelley with cameos by other historical figures. Listen to this great episode. Pants optional.
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Jordan and I ponder ludicrous notions about what it must be like to have the success and wealth of J.K. Rowling. Ms. Rowling was recently outed as using a pseudonym with completely falsified backstory; she successfully sued the law office that leaked her identity and she then donated all the award to charity as she’s known to do.
“I quit Facebook which really was the key. By leaving Facebook, it gave me all this time — to spend the time I would’ve spent on Facebook on writing the novel.†~JS
Jordan explained his motivations behind turning to Kickstarter for funding the first novel. Since he decided it wouldn’t work as a screenplay, he switched gears and novelized this story about two young female detectives based on these extraordinary women who have inspired people throughout history with their imaginations and curiosity. Ada Lovelace is considered the first computer programmer; Mary Shelley is the first science fiction writer for FRANKENSTEIN. Jordan flawlessly takes them into his fictional universe based on what it really was like for women back then addressing such scenarios as girls being forbidden to travel without men or do minor tasks like placing an ad in the newspaper without help from a man. Ada comes from privilege though is neglected by her mother. Her precociousness would probably be consider Asperger’s by today’s medical standards. Mary is romantic and grounded. As the older girl, she learns how to be less grownup from Ada and believe in absurd things which can be made possible with the right resources.
Initial goal was to raise $4,000 and reached that in 72 hours. By the end of the campaign, WOLLSTONECRAFT raised $92,000, the largest fiction prose goal at the time. January 2015 the first Wollstonecraft book comes out through Knopf Random House Penguin “Random Penguin.â€
Jordan grew up in a house of sisters so he didn’t feel disenfranchised by reading “chick lit†like BLACK BEAUTY, LITTLE WOMEN or NANCY DREW.
“Kids can imagine and I just want to fuel that imagination.†~JS
Jordan believes “science†is a natural human reflex that flourishes outside of labs. All babies are scientists merely by having wonder about what something is and putting it in their mouths. Jordan’s son is 8 and daughter is 10 and he does have two grown sons that live on the next island. He says the island is a perfect place for the young ones to run around being little scientists that explore their world.
Canada apparently doesn’t have high school sports. This is mind-blowing news! Though they play sports, it is not part of school curriculum; whereas in the U.S. high school and college sports are akin to religion.
One of my standard questions for creators and fans is whether they can separate creators from their politics. This year’s seems to be saturated by Orson Scott Card’s non-apology about his politicking to outlaw same-sex marriage through the National Organization on Marriage. Card has a new movie for his property ENDER’S GAME coming out and a lot of people are calling for a boycott. Jordan says he is capable of separating the product from its maker. There are celebrities like the ultra conservative Adam Baldwin and the liberal Jim Beaver not to mention the vocal atheist Ricky Gervais, all of whom have exciting Twitter feeds.
We barely scratched the surface on what I hope will be a follow-up interview with Jordan on the subject of metaphysics. This is a massive subject and Jordan is well-versed in these studies of the occult.
“I’m a huge fan of crowdfunding not just what’s it done for me as a creator but what’s done for me as a fan.†~JS
Since it’s apparent that Jordan is unapologetically pro-feminism, I throw it out to the powers that be that he should be considered as a screenwriter for bringing WONDER WOMAN to the screen. In the DC universe of Wonder Woman, she’s the paragon which is why Jordan says that we, the people of “man’s world†as they call it, are her antithesis. Jordan also says he would cast her older than a 22-year-old starlet.
“We’re the villain in Wonder Woman. It’s us.†~JS
LINKS:
Twitter: @jordanstratford
http://worldofwollstonecraft.com/
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.