Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a newly self published author from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Black Van is the first published book that I have published, though I am currently working on my first novel also. I also wrote several short stories and a fantasy novella when I was younger. I hope to become a successful author some day but for now I will keep writing away until hopefully that day comes. My road to writing hasn’t been a easy one. Discovering my craft when I was a teenager, my first story was written on lined notebook paper and was about thirty pages long. I kept writing and wrote all the way till I was 21. Then, due to a bout of depression, I stopped writing. I decided to go off to college to try and get a better career and after several years in college, three degrees that didn’t get me anywhere, I pay my bills with the fruit of with menial labor but my true job is writing fiction. I have picked up the craft again after 12 long years and, now in my early thirties, I now feel a great need to get my work out to the world. I hope that people will derive as much pleasure from reading my work as I have had in writing it.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest and first published book is called The Black Van. It was inspired by a joke I had with my girlfriend concerning a spawn point. I originally intended to have it featured on a website I had gotten a job to write for (a job that never materialized) and the story was only supposed to be about a page long. However, as I kept writing it, it kept growing in length and one page turned into 8, then 10, then…well you get the idea. The most amazing thing about this book to me is how I didn’t even have a definite plan on how it was going to end. I mean, the ending changed on me several times while I was writing the book and it was really touch and go if Shelia was going to make it in the end.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a big procrastinator for one. Probably the biggest. I typically will watch as much Netflix as possible before being overcome with a huge feeling of guilt. Then, I’ll break down and write, sometimes writing for hours. I instantly feel better once I’ve written. I also do write brief outlines sometimes, but they’re more like suggestions if I do write them at all and the story may be completely different once I’m done with it. Other times, I have an idea on certain things I want to see in the story, or an idea on how I’d like the story to end, but no idea on how I’m going to get there, which makes for some pretty exciting writing.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Definitely, the late Michael Crichton. His book, Jurassic Park, really got me into reading books like never before and got me hooked on his books. I’ve read almost everything he’s written and I really like how all of his books are written in a different genre and style. I hope to write similarly to him. Dean Koontz, especially his Phantoms book, which scared the willies out of me and showed me how one could take a really imaginative concept and weave it into a supernatural mystery story. Also liked the writing style of S.D. Perry and Steven King.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a horror fantasy novel now called The Lance Walker Chronicles: The Terror of Savannah.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon’s promotional deals have helped me when they enable writers to promote their books for free or at a reduced rate. Also, just talking to other writers has granted me a list of places to go to promote my book.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, write, write. You’ll learn how to be a better writer by writing. Also, read as much as you can and soak up and observe the style of other writers. You know, how they construct their sentences, etc. Attending a writer’s group can also be a good idea, but do your research first so you end up in a group that is actively interested in building your talent up. Also, being around other writers, as long as they’re not putting your writing down, is good because it gives you someone you can talk to who does what you do. Most importantly, never give up. Even if it takes years to become successful, it will have been worth it. And even if you don’t become successful, at least you are doing something you love right? You know what makes you happy and that’s more than some people can say. But do remember that if you never try you’ll never know…so again…write, write, write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just write! Oh, and write what interests you.
What are you reading now?
A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama’s America by Jacqueline Jones, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, and the Orcs series by Stan Nicholls.
What’s next for you as a writer?
To finish my novel I’m working on.
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?
Anything by Rick Riodan. Also, any DC graphic novel such as Blackest Night. And The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton would be good too.
Author Websites and Profiles
Joseph Ezell Amazon Profile
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