Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Geoff Jones
Book Title: The Rule of Extinction & Struggle for Existence: The Preservation of Species I & II
Released: 02/25/25
Genre: Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “The Rule of Extinction”?
Jones: Many of the books I’ve really enjoyed in recent years are post-apocalyptic. I love how the characters in these scenarios are truly on their own. They can’t count on the calvary riding in to rescue them, and there’s no place they can escape to. It’s a hard reset, and they’re stuck dealing with the situation at hand. (Just a few examples: Bird Box, The Book of Koli, The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, The Dog Stars, The Fireman, Hollow Kingdom, The Living Dead, The Mist, Pines, The Road, Silo, Survivor Song, Wanderers…) I wanted to write something like that.
[mild spoilers]
After publishing my first book, The Dinosaur Four, a number of readers reached out and asked me to write another dinosaur book.* I was determined to avoid using time-travel again, because it was so challenging to make everything fit together well. I didn’t want to use genetic engineering because Mr. Crichton completely nailed that approach. Somewhere along the way, I started thinking about the idea of alien abductions, and it occurred to me that aliens could abduct different species from different eras and then throw them together.
When I combined those two ideas, everything started to fall into place.
And also…
I was absolutely enraptured by Blake Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy. The dark tone created the sense that anything could happen and the sci-fi elements kept unfolding in a way that really excited my imagination. They were exactly the sort of books I wanted to write. I even hired Crouch’s editor from the Pines trilogy to help me polish mine.
As a side note, Pines was part of an Amazon program called “Kindle Worlds,” which allowed other writers to publish stories in the same universe, with a percentage of the royalties going back to the creator. I loved the idea and fleshed out a scenario that I thought would work well as a Kindle Worlds license. The program ended up shutting down before I finished my trilogy, but the books benefited from the exercise. It helped me to broaden the scope of the world I was building.
* Wait, why is it a spoiler that this book contains dinosaurs?
Two reasons:
1) I ran into some marketing challenges with The Dinosaur Four. I learned that when some readers see the word “dinosaur,” they immediately think this is a story for kids… and my books are definitely not for kids.
2) Also, one of my goals with Rule of Extinction was to really put the reader in the characters’ heads. I do this mostly through close PoV. When you’re reading a David chapter, you only know what David knows, and all of the knowledge, opinions, and attitudes expressed in that chapter are specific to him. None of these characters know that they are going to encounter dinosaurs. By keeping that detail out of the marketing, I allow the reader to experience the discovery along with the characters.
Of course, now that the book is out, some reviews have revealed this detail, which is fine. One reader’s spoiler is another reader’s selling point.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Jones: Most of my characters have an odd little story to explain their name. Some examples:
David was named after David Drayton, the protagonist of Stephen King’s The Mist. For a long time, David’s last name was Grimshaw, because I once had a co-worker with that name and I thought it was cool. However, beta readers complained that David was too grim in early drafts, and one of them pointed out that the last name only reinforced that element. I switched it to Williams to make him more of an “everyman.”
Sierra’s name means mountain because she represents Earth. Her last name, Preston, comes from the great Preston Sturges, which connects her to her father, a big-shot Hollywood producer.
Joe was named after Joe Pilato, who played Rhodes in George Romero’s Day of the Dead. Rhodes was one inspiration for Joe.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Jones: It was important to me to finish all three books before I published the first one. I wanted readers to be confident that I wouldn’t leave them hanging with an unfinished story.
Book II will be released in June and Book III comes out in October.
A fringe benefit of this is that I was able to weave story elements and character details through all three books. For example, when a background character from book I grew into an important role in Book III, I was able to go back to Books I and II and thread in details to make him feel like he was part of the story all along. There are even events in Book III that are foreshadowed early in Book I.
It was frustrating to wait so long to put out another book after The Dinosaur Four, but in the end, it was worth it. These books are stronger as a result.
If "The Rule of Extinction" were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Jones: When I wrote the book, I often had someone in mind for each character, but they wouldn’t necessarily be good choices to portray them. In some cases, I pictured actors
from years ago, when they were much younger.
Honestly, I’d love for most of the cast to be relative unknowns. When you watch the movie version of Rule of Extinction, I’d love for you to simply think: That’s David, that’s Sierra, that’s Joe, etc., without recognizing any familiar faces. (It’s impossible for me to watch any show or movie without my wife elbowing me and whispering, “Ooh–ooh–ooh, who is that?”)
But for fun, here are a few of the people I pictured during the writing process:
David – Phil Keoghan
Sierra – Rashida Jones
Waldmire – Kris Kristofferson + George Carlin
Charlie – Val Kilmer
Cameron – Charlize Theron
Joe - Tommy Lee Jones + Josh Brolin + Steven Ogg
Randall – Norman Reedus
Thad – Ed Harris
Burt - Robert Trujillo
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Jones: Two thirds of my work is editing and rewriting. I rarely get stuck during that process. I’m usually reading aloud as I work, and that keeps me going.
During the initial writing phase, if I ever get stuck, I simply jot down what is supposed to happen next as simply as possible. For example: “They argue for a while about what to do, and then go to bed.” I’ll write it out very blandly like that, and move on to the next scene that grabs me. Often, when I come back to the scene that I skipped, I’ll be more engaged because I now know how to use it to set up what follows.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Jones: I can only talk about the things that work for me. Early on, I write a rough outline with all the big plot points and try to connect lots of exciting scenes. I create a spreadsheet with tabs for each character and notes about everything I want to accomplish in each chapter. I spend twice as much time re-writing and polishing as I spend on the initial draft. I read everything out loud repeatedly until it flows smoothly. I share my work with a critique group for feedback. And when I feel that the book is as good as I can possibly make it, I hire an editor to make it even better. All along the way, I read as many other books as I can.
What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?
Jones: I love both horror and science fiction. Post-apocalyptic books provide a brilliant mix of the two. I try to read a wide range of authors, but if I had to pick a single favorite, no one comes close to Stephen King. I consume most books in audiobook format these days, which allows me to get chores done at the same time.
What are you working on next?
Jones: I’ve had several false starts on new story ideas, but just recently one got some traction in my imagination. My books straddle sci-fi and horror, but I’d really like to write something that feels firmly like horror. This new idea has vibes from The Terminator and They Live. It’s too early to say much more.
Want to find out more about The Rule of Extinction or Geoff Jones? Find them here:
Website: https://www.geoffjoneswriter.com/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geoffjoneswriter
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Find it for purchase here
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