Interview With Author Joshua Valentine
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My author name is Joshua Valentine, but I was born Joshua Wyatt Rotondo in Merced, CA to Dean Rotondo, a union sheet metal worker, and Jeanie Rotondo, an office technician at the California Department of Rehabilitation, in 2003 on the same date as Rupaul’s birthday. As an author, I like to incorporate fashion, music, and technology to create a multifaceted approach to expressing my ideas as a writer in a manner similar to how a pop star would. I like to compare this approach to what Lady Gaga has done with much of her discography. I’ve written 3 books – Among Those You Know, Runaway Humanity, and Somebody’s Dilemma.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is titled Somebody’s Dilemma, and it is partially inspired by my disdain with what philosophers consider “hard scientists” and their perceptions of AI and consciousness. This disdain comes from my perspective as a cognitive psychologist. I always felt that the argument that AI would gain consciousness and overtake humanity in droves of embodied AI agents was overblown, and was misplaced anger and fear from the threat that the rich and well-organized inventors behind them posed. You can’t hate AI, and fear it, without that hate and fear ultimately being rooted in one’s hatred and fear for the rich and powerful. That whole argument inspired Somebody’s Dilemma, and is what is the basis of Somebody’s Dilemma. Additionally, this argument is partially inspired by books From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds by Daniel Dennett and Gender And Our Brains by Gina Rippon. I think the book can be described as a novel with an anti-reductionist point to it. How the story is delivered in the Valentinian-sphere is inspired by Lady Gaga as well, and the particular visual art inspired by that of the Fifth Dimensions’s 1969 record the Age of Aquarius.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I like listening to music while writing – at some point the auditory experience of listening to music collapses with the experience of writing, and there’s kind of a whole vibe created by the audiovisual type of experience. When writing Somebody’s Dilemma, I listened to what I’d considered esoteric music – Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack for John Boorman’s Exorcist 2: The Heretic; Jerry Goldsmith’s for the 1968 Planet of the Apes; and the standalone track of Eurythmics’ live performance of ‘Your Time Will Come’, which runs for about 7 minutes and can be found on YouTube, or as the B-Side to their early 80s deep cut, “This is the House”, also a good song.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’d like to rephrase this question as what albums and musical artists have influenced me, because you’ll get a much more thorough answer from me. I’d argue the Eurythmics, Lady Gaga, and Deee-Lite have been huge inspiration for my artistry as an author. Savage by Eurythmics, released in 1987, really taught me the fundamentals of story structure, and how a narrative can be multiple independent parts constructing a bigger whole; ARTPOP by Lady Gaga from 2013 taught me the value of innovation, of creativity, and of bringing two different topics together to make a new concept, which is what ART + POP is – it especially doesn’t matter if no one else understands what you’re trying to say, as in a sense, that contributes to the legacy of the artwork living longer than an average album would; and Infinity Within by Deee-Lite, released in 1992, instilled in me a desire to set the narrative through the stories I write, to make one artistic statement about a million social issues and hope each message resonates with people and inspires change. Those all have influenced me as a writer.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my next novel, and have been since about August 2023 – I’m a slow writer, so I’m just barely nearing 70k words. I don’t like to share much about what my future books are about or meant to look like, because if there’s anything I learned from ARTPOP, or John Boorman’s Exorcist 2, expectations for how the art should be contaminates how it’ll be perceived, even if that in itself is not an objective survey of the art. So 70k words, written since August 2023, and to be published in 2026, are the only details I’m willing to share this far out.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I really like selling my book (and other products of course – stickers, shirts, charm bags, earrings, bookmarks, tarot cards, etc.) at flea markets and Pride festivals! I have data from over 40 pop up sales I’ve done (N=46), and I sell most at Pride festivals – about 20 books on average. Pride festivals always have tons of people walking through them who usually are interested in supporting queer local artists, even in Merced!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
When writing a story for the first time, try to remain connected to a the ultimate end goal you want to get out of writing an entire story. For my first book, and really any book of mine, I want to be famous and have an impact on people and the narratives they produce, so that motivates me to actually finish writing, even if I take lots of breaks or have blocks here and there. So just have an end goal to motivate you to reach that end, or some version of it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My sister Lauren has said that waking up earlier makes the day longer, so essentially you should sleep in as often as you can. And having a potentially undiagnosed-ADHD, workaholic father, I’ve had to remind him that you don’t always have to be doing something, and sometimes it’s best to just do nothing, or whatever’s a step above it. I like both pieces of advice.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading War by Bob Woodward, and recently almost finished a book discussing the ethics of President George W. Bush’s first term, and all of the political decisions he made. I got about 85% finished, and felt that was good enough, and I remember the last line of the entire book roughly said “something something ethics, something something good and evil, George W. Bush is a conspicuous failure.” I think most Americans know what that means.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, finishing the book I am currently writing, and also going on tour again. Getting more PR for my work and hopefully breaking through on the internet. This summer I went on a 7-city tour across Northern California, and sold over 100 books, in addition to other cool items, and I hope I can do a tour spanning more of California, and perhaps other states too. I have really close internet friends that live in Wisconsin and Washingtons, cousins that live in Nevada and Colorado, and former professors/friends that live in New York, so hopefully I can work out an arrangement with those loved ones.
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?
I would bring the Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket, Gender And Our Brains by Gina Rippon, The Enchanted Voyager by Dennis Brian, and The Outlier by Kai Bird.
Author Websites and Profiles
Joshua Valentine Amazon Profile
Joshua Valentine’s Social Media Links
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