Nov. 9, 2025

Chasing Shadows: Jared Givens on Crafting Horror and Inspiring Dreams

Send us a text In this captivating episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Jared Givens, a talented author and screenplay writer from Wichita, Kansas. Jared shares his inspiring journey from a young writer to a multi-genre author, highlighting his transition from self-help books to the thrilling world of horror novels. With seven books under his belt and a passion for storytelling, Jared discusses the influences that shaped his writing, including icons like R.L. Stine and...

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Send us a text

In this captivating episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Jared Givens, a talented author and screenplay writer from Wichita, Kansas. Jared shares his inspiring journey from a young writer to a multi-genre author, highlighting his transition from self-help books to the thrilling world of horror novels. With seven books under his belt and a passion for storytelling, Jared discusses the influences that shaped his writing, including icons like R.L. Stine and Stephen King. He delves into his aspirations of becoming a prominent voice in the horror genre and the creative process behind his projects, including his recent horror novel "Roll Call" and its upcoming sequel. Listeners will gain valuable insights into the world of self-publishing, the importance of persistence in writing, and the thrill of seeing one's name on the big screen. Join us for an uplifting conversation that encourages you to pursue your dreams and embrace your creative journey!
Instagram: @jaredgivenswrites
Twitter: @jaredgauthor
Amazon: Search for Jared Givens

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. if you believe you can achieve.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome, to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by author and screenplay writer, Jared Gibbons. Jared is from right here in Wichita, Kansas area. He has written two self help books and five horror, novels and has written four screenplays. So we're going to be talking to him about his writing and everything that he's up to and gonna be up to. So, Jared, thank you so much for joining me.

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> Jared Givens>Yes, thanks for having me. I'm excited to get into it today.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

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> Jared Givens>Yep. So just like the intro, my name is Jared Givens. I'm from here, Wichita, Kansas. I, went to Wichita Northwest High school, graduated in 2020, then went to Jorge State for three years, finished writing my first book there in the fall of 2022 and then just kept writing on. Then, transferred to Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas and kept writing again and finished a whole lot of books, seven in total over the course of three years. And I have just been really taking pride in my writing as far as novels go. And now stepping into screenplay writing.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Sounds like you definitely been working. So talk to the listeners about why you decided to become an author and a screenplay writer.

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> Jared Givens>Yeah, so I decided to become an author. I wrote my first book with a lot of my friends and family and mind. It had been a couple years after, Covid, the Pandemic and everything, and I was just missing a whole lot of people. So my first book was mainly about motivation and, you know, self improvement and a lot of self love. And then the second book was more about discipline. And the fall of 2023, I decided to step into horror novels because growing up I used to read a lot of the Goosebumps series, by R.L. stein. I read a lot of Stephen King when I was younger and I just wanted to test and see if I can do that. So really the inspiration comes from words and the power that I have and this gift that I have of writing. I really got into it as I kept journaling and practicing and just doing a whole lot of research. So I really just dove deep into it.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, what made you wanted to want to jump into screenplays?

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> Jared Givens>I was very inspired by all the horror content that I've consumed since I was a kid. You know, all these scary movies that I loved. And I just wanted to be A part of that and a part of something bigger. And I just thought to myself, like, oh, what if I wrote a script? And what if I could sit in a theater one day and, you know, see my name in the beginning where it says, like, written and directed by Jared Givens. Like, what if I could write a script and do that? So I was really inspired by all my favorite directors like Jordan Peele, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, big names like that, Jason Blum, James Wan, and new voices in horror like Osgood Perkins, those type of guys that really just dominated in the. In that horror genre over the years. And I just wanted to get into it as soon as possible and as fast as possible.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>You talked about some of your biggest influences in screenplays. Who are, some of your biggest influences when it comes to being an author?

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> Jared Givens>I'd say my biggest influence right now is R L Stein. He is an older gentleman that released all the Goosebumps series. He's been writing, I pretty sure, since the 90s, since before I was born. And his catalog is in the hundreds, I believe he is.

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> Jared Givens>He's really released a lot of horror novels for children, and I think he's, released novels for adults as well. Just his reach as an author. He was really my main influence because with my stories, I'd wanted to sort of captivate audiences and readers just like he has done for decades.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, you also have some professional aspirations, so kind of, talk to us about what your professional dreams are and what you're working on professionally outside of authoring and screenplay writing.

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> Jared Givens>Absolutely. with my writing career as of right now, there's really only two things. Two or three things that I really want to do is just keep on writing books, keep on writing screenplays, and ultimately direct as many films as I can. I just found a lot of inspiration in what I've seen in theaters. Just as an audience member and just as a reader in general, professionally, I want to be one of the next voices in the horror genre, as far as Hollywood goes, and just want to be one of those people at the top when it comes to directing and storytelling and just scaring as many people as possible. Just terrifying audiences across the country and across the world.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, do you have any screenplays, any of your screenplays on any platforms? Where can listeners find your screenplays if they want to check them out?

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> Jared Givens>Absolutely, on my Instagram, @jaredgivens writes.

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> Jared Givens>I usually post content there about my screenplays, and I go into a little more detail about it. On my Instagram page and currently have some people working on a website for those screenplays, separate from my books to sort of create that separation and have other people look at it. And I've been reaching out to different production companies and managers, agents, producers, whoever I can to get these in development. But yes, certainly most of my content will be on my Instagram page.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, and what about your books? Where can listeners check those out?

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> Jared Givens>Yes, so all seven of my books are currently on Amazon.com I did have a website earlier but as the years went on I just kept releasing books and books. So yes, all, all seven of my books are on Amazon currently and that's where they could find them. They could either search the title with my name or just search my name and it should be there.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>So what advice would you give any aspiring authors or ah, screenplay writers as far as trying to get into it or as far as publishing?

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> Jared Givens>Yes, thank you for that question. I'd say don't wait for permission or approval from anyone. If I waited for a certain amount of people to say oh yeah, you should write a book, then I would maybe only have written one or two books. But really you have to think of yourself as the audience member first and write what you want to read and create that story, create that novel or self help like whatever the genre is. The genre doesn't really matter necessarily. But when it comes from the heart and when you're true to your craft and when you're consistent, then all the results that you desire will eventually come. I believe that you don't have to wait on anybody, you don't have to have permission from friends, family. You don't need that outside validation when you're building something for yourself. So I would just say it all starts with one word, one sentence, one paragraph.

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> Jared Givens>And enough of those, create some pages and with enough pages you got a book. So you just have to stay consistent and continue believing in yourself even when it gets boring and even when it gets hard.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Did you choose to self publish or go with the traditional publisher? And why did you choose your method of publishing?

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> Jared Givens>So with my first book that was like a hybrid publish where it kind of had the self help benefits but I was connected to this publisher called Balba Press, based out of Pennsylvania. But all the other books, all the other six other books were self published because I just wanted them to be out faster. So I chose the self published route because the royalties are a little bit I guess nicer financially. You get slightly, slightly more, and sometimes it changes due to the economy, but as far as self publishing goes, you do get a little more with royalty. So that's, kind of why I went that route. And I didn't necessarily want to be connected to a publisher. I just wanted to release on my own time with no contracts attached or anything like that.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to know about.

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> Jared Givens>Yes. So in October of, 2023, I released my first horror novel, which is my third book. It is called Roll Call. And after about, four books after that, now that I'm at seven, I have decided to write a sequel to the first Roll Call book. it's one of my favorite books that I've written because it is my first horror novel, and I believe it was sort of the catalyst. It was the domino that led me and pushed me into motion in the horror genre. Roll Call was. And it really just set the tone for all of the other books following. So I'll definitely be going back and rereading my own work to create the best sequel I can for Roll Call two, which will be releasing next year.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Okay, well, throw out your contact info again so listeners can keep up with everything that you're up to.

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> Jared Givens>Absolutely. So my Instagram is Jared Givens writes. that's just J A R E D G I V E N S W R I T E S on Instagram and for the Twitter account. If you're on Twitter that much, it's just Jared G, author, you could find me there. Those are my two, like, most active accounts on social media. That's where I get the most reach. As far as networking with other writers, other authors, screenwriters and directors, those two are my main points of content and contact.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

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> Jared Givens>Absolutely. For all the listeners out there. thank you for taking time to listen to this, great podcast. I appreciate this opportunity presented by Curtis Jackson. And also, like, if you're in Wichita listening and you have a dream and you have a goal that if you obsess over, just know that you're not weird for obsessing over your goal. Just stay consistent, put in the work, and surround yourself with people that can help you get to your desired future. I believe in you. If no one else has told you this, I believe in you.

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> Jared Givens>Okay, you can do this. You got this. It doesn't matter. Where you came from. But yes, just. Just keep on grinding. Keep on waking up with that fire, okay? And keep visualizing that success. And eventually you will reach, the fruits of your labor and reach that success and reach that finish line that you dream about. That's all I got.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Said. And listeners, please be sure to follow rate review share this episode to as many people as possible. Check out Jared on social media. Check out his screenplays and his books. Pick up that new book whenever it comes out. Keep up with everything that he's up to. If you or anyone you know would like to be a guest on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, or to leave a review, check out the show, visit www.craveball337.com. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Jared, thank you for all that you do. And thank you for being so gracious to join me.

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> Jared Givens>Absolutely. Thank you for this opportunity. I appreciate you.

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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcasts, visit www.craveball337.com until next time, keep Living the dream.