Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
J.G. Źymbalist is my pseudonym, and I use a pseudonym because I am very reclusive. I grew up in Ohio and West Germany and began writing Song of the Oceanides as a child when my family summered in Castine, Maine where we rented out Robert Lowell’s house. There, inspired by school bullying, childhood depression, and that sort of thing, I began to conceive the tale.
For several years, I also lived in the Old City of Jerusalem where I night clerked at a series of Palestinian youth hostels. There I wrote the early draft of an as yet unpublished Middle-Eastern NA fantasy. Returning from the Middle East, I completed an M.F.A. in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College.
I returned to Song of the Oceanides while working for the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society, May-September, 2005. I completed the full draft in Ellsworth, Maine later that year.
I have only recently decided to self-publish these old works, and I’ve gotten some positive feedback. Foreword Reviews has called my writing “innovative fiction with depth,” and Kirkus Indie has called my style “a lovely, highly descriptive prose that luxuriates in the details and curios of his setting.”
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Song of the Oceanides is somewhat autobiographical, but the myth that really brought it all together is the Greek myth of the Oceanides. I learned about them from a German poem by Heinrich Heine, “Der Gesang der Okeaniden.” The Oceanides are basically mean girls who live in the sea. Sirens are half-bird, and mermaids are half-fish, but the Oceanides look just like any other lovely young ladies of the Mediterranean. I don’t know. Perhaps that’s why they were the right choice to bring my story to fruition. They look and act human.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I collect ideas for many years, and I write very slowly. I need time to reflect on things, I suppose. For me prose must read very carefully–something like a poem.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I have always loved Ray Bradbury, Ian Fleming, the haiku poets of Japan, the Jade-Terrace poetry of China, surrealists such as Bataille, and poets such as Mary Oliver. It’s a rather eclectic mix, but somehow it all works. I also love German writers–especially Goethe, Heine, Nietzsche, and Hesse.
What are you working on now?
I am redrafting the aforementioned NA Middle-Eastern fantasy. I wrote that first draft back in the 1990’s when I was in my twenties, but I just know that with a little hard work, I can make it really strong. I’ve also got a great editor, Amelia Beamer, famous for all her zombie novels. She’s also an editor at Locus Magazine. Yeah, I’m sure she can help me give it a nice finishing polish.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have no idea. I’m planning a blog tour this spring, and I hope that will get the word out. If all goes well, I’ll really be able to connect with people. Nothing can be more important than really truly connecting with others.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write only if you have to. Otherwise try to find peace of mind through either prayer, meditation, or communion with nature.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be afraid of failure, and don’t be ashamed of it either.
What are you reading now?
I’m actually rereading an English translation of Doctor Zhivago. I love the little tricks that Boris Pasternak uses all throughout the text. For example, he’ll refer to some magical shimmery light moving through the grass and then, a few sentences later, reveal that the magical shimmery light was a snake. It’s an extraordinary technique. In the end, the story is both a fantasy and a realistic historical piece.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’ll be spending the summer redrafting my Middle-Eastern fantasy while commenting on all the pages hosting my blog tour. Both are important. Writing is all about redrafting, and blogging is all about connecting with people. The blogging will be fun, I am sure. Redrafting of course is no fun at all. In actual point of fact, redrafting is something like Purgatory.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. Ovid’s Metamorphoses
2. The Martian Chronicles
3. Frankenstein
Author Websites and Profiles
JG Zymbalist Website
JG Zymbalist Amazon Profile
JG Zymbalist’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile