Ernest Brawley, a native Californian, is the man behind the gritty prison novel The Rap, a runaway bestseller which went on to be adapted into the Hollywood movie Fastwalking, starring James Woods. Another novel, Selena, set in the Central Valley of California during the Mexican farmworkers’ strike, was purchased by Twentieth Century Fox. Simon & Schuster published his third novel, The Alamo Tree. Ernest has also written two movie scripts, The Dressing Of The Dead for writer/producer George Gonneau, and The Northmen for producer Jeff Goldman. Jihadi Joe is his latest offering. T & T: First thing first, Ernest. You’ve had an eventful life, hitch-hiking from San Francisco to Patagonia, and from Paris to Singapore. You’ve been to almost every continent. How did you stumble into writing? Did your travels inspire you? Ernest : As a matter of fact, I truly did stumble into writing. In high school, I had…