AUTHOR INTERVIEW: William Joseph

Welcome back to Black Words-White Pages!! This week on our August Spotlight, we get to pick the brain of William Joseph and learn a bit out him with a little Author Q&A. So without further adieu, let's get started....

 WILLIAM JOSEPH

AUTHOR BIO:

William Joseph was born in Lakewood New Jersey. He grew up in nearby Pine Beach New Jersey. An only child and highly imaginative, William Joseph spent a lot of time writing growing up, but it wasn’t until he finally felt that he had a story to tell with THIS IS WAR that he stuck with it from beginning to end. During this time, William Joseph attended Ocean County College and graduated with honors and two degrees. While in college, he also attended a creative writing class, where, for the first time he shared his work with other people. Sharing a short story with them and seeing how he could emotionally connect with his readers got him hooked. His short story was published in his college’s literary magazine, and since then, the pursuit for publishing his work began, as well as the dedication and dream of writing more books and stories. He has many works, spanning many different genres in progress and cannot wait to share them with the world.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

Most of my favorite authors are indie or self-pubbed, what made you decide to go that route?

I’ve tried to go the traditional route and submit to major publishers, but most don’t accept work not submitted through an agent. So, I then tried to submit to agents. I got a lot of no’s, but even more no responses. It’s disheartening, but that never truly bothered me. What bothers me is when an agent says they will respond in six months. I am not waiting that long just to have you never respond. So I have some works published with a smaller publisher, but a lot of my books are by myself. If you want something done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? 

How much of myself I would put into it. It’s a great investment. Taking the whole money aspect out of it, there are times where I just can’t stop thinking about stories and have to rush to write them down. I could be in the middle of a family function and just be writing away. When it comes, it comes!

Do you have a particular writing habit? 

I write a lot when on the road. I blast my music and just get lost in my head. Probably not a safe choice, but it works for me 😄.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Rue Volley. Amazing woman. There aren’t enough words to describe how kind, thoughtful, and helpful she is. She gives the best advice and suggestions.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Not at the moment.

What is the hardest part of your writing?

For me it’s the blurb. I despise doing it every single time, but always end up complaining about it and figuring it out shortly after.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write for yourself. You aren’t going to get rich quick. You won’t become an overnight sensation releasing your first book. Bestsellers take time to get there. Until you have an established fan base and following, put the hard work in, release good quality content without skipping out on good editing, cover art, etc. then you will be sorely disappointed. It’s not what you think it is. So, with that being said, you have to write your stories for yourself. That’s what I do. I write for me. I have stories I want to tell, so I tell them.

Describe yourself in three words.

Ambitious, hard-working, creative. 

I know the characters are like children but if you could choose, who’s your favorite from your books? Of all time?

My favorite character from any story I’ve ever written might be Chestnut, a horse in my YA Book Of Vultures and Kings. He’s a great character, and kind of reminds me of Aslan or Falkor.

Any song or songs that could basically sum up the overall mood of your current book?

For Of Vultures and Kings, I would say Promontoy by Trevor Jones, the main theme song to The Last of the Mohicans. I’m a very musically inclined person and write all my stories to soundtracks. This was the “traveling” theme that persisted in the backdrop of my story.

Do you plot out your books or just freely write them and let the characters tell you what to do next?

Both. I found myself plotting more recently, especially when I’m creating an elaborate story that has a lot of key points I want to cover. If it’s a big project and I go into it with ideas of certain things I want to happen already, I’ll plot. For stories that just randomly come to mind, I just start writing and let the book take it’s own course.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider the biggest influence in your writing?

Edgar Allen Poe. He fascinated me as a child. His twisted macabre stories piqued my interest and churned my imagination.

What are your current projects? Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Right now I am currently writing an Erotic/Horror/Romance/Crime book titled Alpha. That’s 18+. I am also currently working on a few other horror books coming out, and even a Romance book titled Vindication that I’m super excited about. It has a lot to do with race and with everything going on in the country and world right now, I think it would be a perfect fit for the times.

Thank you so much, William for stopping by and letting us get to know you a bit more!! If you would like to follow William, you can find him at the following links below....

AUTHOR LINKS:

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : READER TEAM : TWITTER : 
INSTAGRAM : GOODREADS : AMAZON



Make sure to check out William's Amazon Author Page and all his written work including his latest release Of Vultures and Kings!!!

LINKS: $2.99 or Free on KU

GOODREADS  AMAZON