Jack Campbell Interview, Part 1

Jack Campbell is the subject of my latest interview to be posted at SFFWorld.  Jack provided some of the best and most detailed responses to any set of interview questions I've generated. His responses were so through I had to cut the interview in half, posting the first half today, and the second half next week.  I have to thank Ace's publicist extraordinaire Brady McReynolds for helping to facilitate this interview.  Here's a snippet:

When I initially reviewed Lost Fleet: Dauntless, I pondered the name switch. What made you adopt Jack Campbell as your pen name, aside from the AI software overlords who control book selling and distribution? (I thought perhaps homage to Joseph Campbell since your stories focus on a Heroic Ideal, while commenters suggested legendary editor John Campbell).

I do admire both Joseph Campbell and John Campbell, but the source of Jack Campbell was a bit closer to home. Part of my ancestry is Scottish, specifically Campbell, so that's where the last name came from. I knew it would resonate in the field as well having a family connection. Jack is the name of my father and the name of my eldest son, so that's a dual tribute. I don't mind at all the implied tributes to Joseph Campbell and John W. Campbell which are a bonus of sorts. But the name Jack Campbell comes mostly from my own ancestry and family, which I guess is sort of appropriate given the importance of ancestors to the people in The Lost Fleet.