Gerald Everett Jones and His Mastery of Mystery, Literature, and Intriguing Narratives

Photo: Gerald Everett Jones: Award-winning novelist, essayist, and literary sage, offering readers unforgettable characters and intriguing journeys through mystery, drama, and comedy. Photo by Gabriella Muttone

Award-Winning Author Pulls Back the Curtain on His Creative Process

Gerald Everett Jones shares his inspirations, personal experiences, and creative philosophy behind his novels, exploring themes of morality, justice, humour, and human complexity across multiple genres and settings.

Gerald Everett Jones stands as a luminous figure in the literary world, a storyteller whose oeuvre of 14 award-winning novels has captivated readers across genres. From mystery-thrillers to literary fiction and satire, his works delve deep into the human condition, offering not only gripping narratives but also profound philosophical and ethical reflections. Beyond fiction, Jones has demonstrated his versatility with celebrated non-fiction such as the classic How to Lie with Charts, further cementing his reputation as a writer of exceptional breadth and depth.

With a rich background that includes a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Wesleyan University, where he studied under literary giants, Jones has carved a niche as a writer who is both inquisitive and inventive. His Southern roots and life experiences have furnished the evocative settings and characters that animate his novels, from the moral complexity of Your Preacher Evan Wycliff series set in Missouri to the vibrant yet fraught landscape of Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner. In works like Clifford’s Spiral and Bonfire of the Vanderbilts, his narratives are laced with introspective and historical dimensions, showcasing a storyteller unafraid to tackle challenging terrain.

In addition to being a novelist, Jones has contributed widely to the literary community as a book reviewer, radio host, and board member of the Writers & Publishers Network. His blog and podcast, Thinking About Thinking, continue to provide insights for readers and writers alike, reflecting his penchant for intellectual curiosity and the exploration of ideas. A recipient of numerous literary accolades, including several New York City Big Book Awards, Gerald Everett Jones continues to be a force in contemporary literature—a voice that is at once provocative, poignant, and profoundly human.

This month, Reader’s House magazine has the privilege of showcasing our exclusive interview with this extraordinary author, where he takes us on a journey through the inspirations, philosophical musings, and personal experiences that shape his remarkable stories.

Your Preacher Evan Wycliff series blends science, faith, and suspense—what inspired you to create such a morally complex protagonist?

I grew up in a Southern Baptist household. My ancestors were farmers in Southern Missouri, where these novels take place. My father was a chemical engineer, interested in both astronomy and theology. I didn’t become a research scientist as he wished. However, no surprise that Evan Wycliff becomes discouraged at Harvard Divinity, then tries and fails to develop a passion for astrophysics at MIT. He returns to his roots in the small farm community, where he finds part-time work as a guest preacher. People bring him problems no one else has any interest in solving. As he applies his research skills to help, he continues to fret that neither religion nor science can explain why bad things happen to good people.

Harry Harambee’s Kenyan Sundowner explores themes of love and corruption in an unfamiliar setting—how did your personal experiences or research inform the novel’s East African backdrop?

My wife Georja founded the Elephant Matriarch Project in Kenya, which supports wildlife conservation and education programs for unwed mothers. We lived for two years in-country, which was just as much an education for ourselves. We returned to our home in Santa Monica just before the Covid outbreak because things got “interesting” in Kenya. Now things have become much more so here. The locals there say, “Corruption is the mother of Kenya.” Now I see all these distressing events through Kenyan eyes.

Clifford’s Spiral is laced with philosophical inquiry and metafictional elements—what drew you to such an introspective and experimental narrative?

My father suffered a major stroke several years before he passed away. Although his speech seemed lucid at times, his mental state declined gradually while he was in assisted-living care. Eventually, he didn’t recognize me when I visited. The impetus for the book was my worry about what it must have been like for him, struggling from one day to the next to make sense of his fragmented memories. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes was a strong influence. The notion that we tend to rewrite history as we think back on our life stories is both intriguing and baffling. For example, if you can’t remember the order of events in time, you’re apt to confuse cause and effect: Why did I hit him? Was I the victim or the perpetrator?

The Rollo Hemphill series is satirical and wildly imaginative—how do you approach writing comedy versus more serious literary or mystery fiction?

I particularly admire the humor of Peter De Vries and his novels that satirize religion and sex. Therein lies his “engine of comedy.” Conflict between these dissimilar value systems generates silly plots. Comedy is a mindset. Obvious as it might seem, comedy begins with an unserious point of view. Every plot point turns on a decision. To generate silliness, I must always choose the nonsensical, the improbable, the outrageous. In Rollo’s case, all his horny, lame-brained schemes somehow succeed. Improbably, he fails continually upward, and he’s disappointed when he realizes getting what he wants doesn’t make him happy.

In Choke Hold, you tackle themes of justice, systemic abuse, and civil rights—how do you balance advocacy with storytelling?

The crux of this story is a wrongful death at the hands of the police. It culminates in a courtroom drama. This is a forensic hearing rather than a criminal trial. During such a proceeding, the coroner, often supported by a panel or a jury, must simply rule whether the death was due to natural causes or “at the hands of another.” If the latter, a separate investigation may bring a criminal case. The facts of a street-justice incident are essentially compelling and make an engaging story. But I found that spinning the story as a novel rather than simply reporting the event required a thoughtful examination of motivations. So, I had to imagine what would make the officers in this case storm into a man’s apartment and choke him to death. Going in there was a mistake, and then, realizing they couldn’t overcome a big man who was resisting arrest, they must’ve felt they had to kill him. But I had to wonder why, in a larger sense, the cops continued to feel their actions were justified. I tried to tell the story from both sides, even though I didn’t go so far as to exonerate the killers.

Bonfire of the Vanderbilts weaves historical art with psychological suspense—what challenges did you face combining real art history with fictional mystery?

Because I was intrigued when I first saw The Baptism at LACMA, I got stuck in a research project to discover the real identities of its subjects, which had baffled art historians. I thought it would take weeks. It took years, but I believe I found the answers. I’d say most of the plot is true. I just had to fictionalize the gaps! The amateur-sleuth plot is pure invention as a framework for dramatizing the research process.