Out of the Chute with WC Jameson

Today's guest is the multi-talented W.C. Jameson. W.C. Jameson is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than seventy books and over 1,500 articles and essays. In addition, he is an accomplished songwriter and performer, having recorded five albums of his original music and acted in five films. He has written the sound tracks for four films, and wrote and performed in the musical, Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?
Jameson is the creator of the "Buried Treasures of America" series. His success and fame as a professional treasure hunter has led to appearances on television's Unsolved Mysteries, the Travel Channel, the Discovery Channel, Nightline, and National Public Radio and most recently the History Channel. Jameson is the best-selling treasure author in the world. 

When I first approached W.C. Jameson about being my guest in the country, I was a bit nervous. We've built a friendship over the past twenty years and I knew one important fact. W.C. doesn't like to do interviews. He’s been misquoted so much over the years, he just doesn’t like to go there. I can understand. But I am also one that goes by the ‘if you don’t ask, they can’t tell you YES’. So I asked. Inside, I knew he’d do the interview with me not only because of our friendship, one of trust, but because I promised his answers would be in his own words… verbatim. I’ve copy/ pasted them from the Q & A I sent him. So let’s throw open the chute…

1. You have an outstanding reputation for being the foremost authority on treasure hunting. You’ve been involved in treasure hunts both with others and on your own since a young age. What is it about treasure hunting that draws you?

The quest, the challenge, and the adventure. And every once in a while we find some treasure. 

2. Would you consider yourself most ‘at home’ when you’re out in nature? Is there a particular location you’ve hiked more than once…  that gives you that ‘I’ve come home’ feeling? 

I’m at home pretty much anywhere, but I am particularly comfortable in the out-of-doors. I’ve had decades of experience living and packing in primitive and challenging environments and conditions and have learned a great deal about not only surviving in such locations, but actually thriving on it.

I have probably packed into the Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas more than anyplace else. I still return to that location to this day. Most of my other favorite location are in the Sierra Madres of Mexico.

3. Of all the treasure books you’ve written to-date, which one provided the most challenges to research? Which was the most interesting?

All them provided challenges and I mean that in a positive way. The biggest challenge, I guess, was writing my memoir, Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations. I didn’t want to write it at all because I don’t possess a need to write about myself, but my wife, the famous writer Laurie Jameson, encouraged me for so often and so long that I wound up agreeing to it. In the end I’m glad I did. The book won Best Book of 2011 and seeing some great sales figures. 

4. I think it’s safe to say you enjoy the ‘quest’ for something. Where have your research travels led you that provided that least expected nugget of information?

Always Mexico. Some of the greatest adventures to be had take place in some of the unexplored regions of Mexico. There is knowledge to be gained with almost every step in some of those rugged and challenging environments.

5. You have a massive amount of published credits, some of which include books on the craft of writing. When you first started on your writing journey, what was the hardest lesson for you to learn?

Patience.

6. You mix business with pleasure, book tours with music. How do you make time to do it all and still have space for your private life?

I’m fortunate to get to perform my music around the country. Sometimes I will try to book some literary events in between the music gigs. Other times when I am on a book tour, I will try to lock in some music gigs. It winds up being double the fun! Since most of what I do is music and writing, my so-called private life is tied up in those activities. In between I get to do some television and film and interviews like this one!

7. Do you believe in soul mates? If so, how do you know when you’ve found yours?

I do believe in soul mates. It would be a better world if everybody finds theirs.

8. Your most recent CD, Texas Tonight, is a beautiful collection of 14 tracks. All were written or co-written by you. One of my favorites is Glass-eyed Paint in the Rain, which you wrote with your wife, Laurie, based on one of her poems. If you were to pick one song you feel the CD wouldn’t be complete without, which one would it be and why?

All fourteen songs are integral parts of the whole album. I put a lot of thought into the songs selected for the album. They consist largely of those that are most often requested at my current shows and some that were simply fun to write and remain fun to perform.

I want to thank W.C. Jameson for agreeing to this interview. Talking to him is always a pleasure. If you think it stops here... we're just getting started. Tomorrow I'll be reviewing his most recent book,

Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses and Deadly Confrontations