Author Interview with Joshua Isaacs

1. Why do you write?
As the last child still living with my parents, my imagination is still active without much outlet. Writing lets me open up those little 'worlds' and help them grow. . . And it's hugely fun.


2. How many books have you written?
No full length novels, but about a half-dozen short stories.


3. What inspired you to write your (latest) book?
A shadow on a wall.


4. What is your favorite genre to read?
Sci-fi, horror and thrillers mostly.


5. Is your writing style at all influenced by those of your favorite authors?
More or less; it's more common that I find a writer that writes in a style I want to learn to write in. Richard Matheson, for instance, has recently become my favorite author simply because of his endings. I just adore a good ending. More than anything, though, I want my style to be uniquely my own.


6. Which is your favorite book that you’ve written?
Each story is unique to me, representing something I've been going through at the time, so I can't pick a favorite. It'd be like choosing a favorite sibling—each helps you through different circumstances, but none are more or less favored than the other(s).


7. What is your opinion of the art of writing?
Everyone has their own life and experiences, and each mind perceives things differently and so everyone has a different story to tell. Telling that story can be fun, but it can also be quite painful. It can bring the reader and the writer to laughter or to tears. It opens the mind to new ways of thinking, new ways of imagining things. It allows for pure, unbridled creativity and application in a world totally unique to itself, free of the complications of real life.


8. What advice would you give someone who is just beginning their own novel?
Always know where you're going with a plot or subplot to avoid getting 235 pages into a novel only to realize you've worked your way into a hole. With each section/chapter, it's best to know where you're going with it, how you're going to get out of it, and how it will affect the story as a whole. Loose ends, like why a certain character fell into a coma and relived her childhood, annoy a lot of readers.


9. Do you have any funny and / or interesting stories about how you’ve come up with plots or characters?
My latest story was, as stated before, inspired by a tree's strangely shaped shadow. That's probably the most odd inspiration I've had so far.


10. Coke or Pepsi?
I'm trying to quit both... But Coca Cola.


You can download Joshua's book "Perceptions" here and read his blog here.