Interview With Author Joakim Lloyd Raboff
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Joakim Lloyd Raboff — a globe-trotting visual storyteller, photographer, and author of more than 25 books, including Phobias & Fears and the bestselling The Aging Man’s Survival Guide. With a camera in one hand and a passport in the other, I’ve documented everything from the raw beauty of Svalbard to the architectural quirks and urban grit of Malmö, where I live and work.
Several of my books are interview-based documentary projects — including deep dives into the world of Malmö Opera and other uniquely Swedish cultural arenas. My background as an editorial photojournalist continues to shape how I approach storytelling: with empathy, a critical eye, and a healthy dose of curiosity.
My work blends humor, honesty, and a fascination with human behavior — whether I’m decoding phobias, dodging sketchy buffet shrimp, or philosophizing about Eastern European melancholy. I tend to go deep, but I never take myself too seriously.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book project is Phobias & Fears — a deep-dive into the often irrational, sometimes hilarious, and surprisingly common world of what scares us. The idea came to me after noticing just how many of my friends and family members quietly live with phobias. In fact, the older they got, the more pronounced some of those fears seemed to become.
Whether it’s a fear of flying, spiders, elevators, or just an uneasy feeling about open water, phobias tend to sneak into our lives in strange and personal ways. There’s usually a pinch of superstition involved, a dash of generalized anxiety, and a generous helping of overthinking. What fascinated me most, though, was how even the most rational, logic-driven people aren’t immune. We all carry little irrational fears around with us — some we laugh off, others we quietly avoid.
And it’s not just humans. In one of my favorite chapters, I explore how animals also experience fear and even develop phobia-like behaviors. You don’t need to believe in ghosts or monsters to have a good scare — our own brains are often spooky enough.
This book is equal parts curious, humorous, and (hopefully) relatable. If you’ve ever sprinted up a dark basement staircase or side-eyed a buffet shrimp with suspicion, this one’s for you.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes, I start all my book projects by opening up a blank email and begin writing there. After a while, I’ll transition to a proper writing application like Pages or Word.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Stephen King
Toni Morrison
Frederick Forsyth
Isaac Asimov
Douglas Adams
Haruki Murakami
Margaret Atwood
George Orwell
Virginia Woolf
Agatha Christie
Ernest Hemingway
Gabriel García Márquez
J.K. Rowling
Ray Bradbury
Neil Gaiman
Salman Rushdie
Kurt Vonnegut
Leo Tolstoy
Franz Kafka
Joan Didion
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Well, awesomegang.com seems to be great place to enjoy some good promotion. Otherwise, I use my social media channels to get the word out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Get structured from the get-go. Book ideas are great but without structure on the onset, you will easily get lost and confused. I always start of with a table of contents and then a title for each chapter. When all that’s done, I’ll write a blurb for each chapter. This will be my book’s skeleton from which I add flesh and blood.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
It’s your monkey, and it’s your circus.
What are you reading now?
What a Fool Believes: A Memoir by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Award-winning, platinum-selling, singer-songwriter Michael McDonald.
What’s next for you as a writer?
A memoir of sorts for my daughter. It’s basically a collection of memories from my childhood in Los Angeles, my years living in Sweden and a few choice tales from trips around the world.
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?
One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare – William Shakespeare
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
Author Websites and Profiles
Joakim Lloyd Raboff Amazon Profile
Joakim Lloyd Raboff’s Social Media Links
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