Interviews
TV Obsessions: Urban Fantasy Author Jess Haines
What’s the first show you remember watching? How old were you?
Oh, man. The first show I can recall watching was Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He was my idol when I was a little kid. I remember being 4 or 5 years old and being entranced by the puppets (was I the only one mildly creeped out by the king?) and episodes like the ones showing how food was made and packaged. I was as obsessed with that show as my little brother was with Thomas the Tank Engine and Winnie the Pooh, but looking back, I don’t remember many specifics about it other than how much I adored Mister Rogers–especially his voice.
What was your favorite TV show as a child?
There were so many! I loved the Care Bears, My Little Pony, Fraggle Rock, ThunderCats, Gummi Bears, Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–you name it. If it was a Saturday morning cartoon (or one of the weird Nickelodeon cartoon shows like Ren and Stimpy or Rocko’s Modern Life), I was glued to it.
What show defined your high school and/or college years?
I didn’t discover it until I was already out of high school, but that would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s almost cliche at this point, but there was so much about it that resonated with me–like Xander’s goofiness and inability to fit in with the cool crowd, Willow’s nerdy proclivities and shy attitude, Angel’s broodiness, Spike’s fierce love, and the weight of the world on Buffy’s shoulders–that even today I find a lot of memories about the show still have the power to move me. Very often I found that issues that came up in the show, such as bullying, family woes, boy trouble, strains on friendships, and even the joys (not) of a first job mirrored a lot of the things I was going through myself. It will always have a very fond space on my DVD shelf.
Which current show is Must See TV for you?
Right now, I am obsessed with Dexter. I just recently discovered the series and have been devouring the previous seasons every spare moment. Who knew an emotionless serial killer as a main character could be so compelling?
If you could resurrect any TV show, what would it be?
That’s a tough one. There are a few great ones I would have loved to see more of back in their heyday–Buffy, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica–but I would hate to see a Hollywood-ized reboot of any of those shows. Much as it pains me to say it (particularly of Firefly), it wouldn’t be the same.
I’ve recently discovered Veronica Mars via all of the hoopla on Twitter about the Kickstarter to fund a movie. That would be a great one that’s within the realm of possibility. I’d also like to see the Blade TV show from Spike TV resurrected–though mostly to find out what happened to Krista, Marcus and Shen. Lastly, as long as I’m dreaming, bring back Beavis and Butthead, The Tick, and Ren and Stimpy!
Thanks again so much for having me!
We’re happy to be one of the stops on Jess’s Blog Tour as she promotes her latest novel in her H & W Investigations series, Forsaken By the Others, which debuts July 2, 2013. She is also giving away signed copies of her entire series, a contest you won’t want to miss. U.S. residents can enter by clicking this link. For international entries click this link.
You can get to know more about Jess Haines by visiting her blog, www.jesshaines.com/blog.
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