Interview with Barry Jones

Author of Treasonous Cabal

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born and raised in Indiana and Michigan. I now live with my family in Fairview, Tennessee – right outside Nashville.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

My wife and I moved to Tennessee shortly after we graduated from college to take a teaching job. She was 8-months pregnant with our second child and I promised to take the first job I was offered. Cheatham County Schools moved quicker than Bedford Schools in Michigan.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

My first attempt at writing was a personal journey, one that needed to happen. It was my story growing up. I had some issues to work through and it helped writing about it. It was NOT necessarily a pleasant experience. I hoped it might help others in similar circumstances but its been more of a negative than a positive unfortunately. The book was called, “Flagrant Foul”. I tried a second time at writing a non-history book with my novel “Letters to Toby”. I enjoyed that process very much as it was written to and about my oldest son. From there, I delved into my history obsession – the JFK Assassination – writing 3 books on the topic. My students made me do it!

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

Informative and tinged with sarcasm and cynicism – especially the JFK books.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

People who are suckers for the truth. I always say people intuitively know when they are being lied to. They want the straight skinny. Those who suspect they’ve been lied to for years about the JFK assassination and its links to the Watergate Scandal will like my books. Those who believe what they’ve been taught will not.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

Kids nowadays are MORE interested (as opposed to less) in an event that happened more than 50 years ago. They eat it up. When I get to the JFK portion of our class, the students are primed and ready. I teach juniors. They’ve heard from the senior class about our JFK unit and they wear me out, asking about it (“When are we starting JFK?”). I can’t NOT teach it! Every year, I say to myself, “this is the year I won’t teach JFK” and every year I’m wrong. The students are hungry for something that makes sense, something that helps explain the world they live in today. I know this answer doesn’t really apply to writing and publishing but they (the students) are the reason I began writing and publishing my JFK material in the first place. Without my students, none of the JFK books would have happened.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

Take your freaking time! I want everything done yesterday. That is NOT the attitude to take into a writing project.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

The whole nation needs to know what REALLY happened on November 22, 1963. This is not a niche topic, or it shouldn’t be. I want everybody to read my books and start thinking about what’s going on in Washington D.C. in a whole new light. It’s a revelation.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Dealing with publishing companies that produced crappy products. It’s why I began self-publishing. At least I knew who to blame if the product didn’t turn out the way I wanted!

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Writing is my strong suite. Self-publishing is work and I don’t mind the work. Marketing? I am an unmitigated disaster at marketing. Did I mention I’m a disaster at marketing? Because I am. Totally.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I can be a bit wordy sometimes. I’ve been working on being more efficient. As far as publishing, I don’t know what I don’t know. I feel as if I’ve been taken advantage of sometimes in the past which is another reason I’m doing everything myself now. My biggest weakness in marketing is I am probably insecure about my work – truth be told. In the area of JFK research, I am not even a newbie. I’m still not to the rank of peon. There are so many researchers out there who’ve done tremendous work, I feel self-conscious trying to pitch my books. I feel like an interloper I guess. Like I don’t belong. I’m just a regular joe – a high school history teacher. What the hell do I know?

When do you think you will write your next book?

When I’m feeling inspired, it’s effortless for me. I derive a lot of pleasure writing when I feel passionate and inspired. When I don’t? It’s work. I try to avoid that. Anyway, I just finished an addendum to my Treasonous Cabal book – a new chapter on the connections between the JFK assassination and the Watergate Scandal. Fascinating stuff. When I’m finished with the publishing details, I may find inspiration in something new. And then again, I may not. I have no plans at this time.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I’ve written 5 books. The first was with a company that has since folded. The second was a traditional publisher – it has also folded. The third was a hybrid – terrible experience. The fourth and fifth books – I self-published with Amazon. It’s a lot of work but I like the flexibility. I’ve made numerous changes to both books. I also just added a whole new chapter (with pictures) to my latest book. It’s a cool feature…like the book is never completely finished. I can always go back and make improvements. I like that!