Joseph Gergen

I grew up in a little town called Minot, named after a fellow no one has ever heard of who worked for the great railroad baron James Hill. The city was referred to as the Magic City, not because it was some fantasy village but because it had sprung up so furiously fast along the great railroad line heading west through the US. The street I grew up on was “Normal Street”, which has always been a good joke since I have been many things except normal.

I did when I was young, but I’m not sure if I understood what that meant at the time. When I was young I liked to write poetry (which might have been slightly saccharine). I then went on to write a fantasy novel and a children’s book. They were terrible. After that, I put thoughts of writing on hold and thought perhaps I should live a bit first. I eventually came back to writing and so here I am.

I think the genre chose me. I’m not a gifted story teller so I was going to fail at other genres that required well thought out plots. So my stories have become more and more character driven. I let the characters dictate the story. I enjoy not having that burden be on my shoulders. Ha!

An architect. I would have liked to design homes that would enable people to be themselves. I think I am drawn to this idea because years ago I read a wonderful book called “The Timeless Way of Building.” It was basically a book that tried to capture why some spaces were more alive than others and how you could use that knowledge to create spaces that were alive too.

Right before I wrote “Theo and Sprout”, I read “The Book Thief,” by Markus Zusak, which completely engrossed me. While it didn’t inspire the story in “Theo and “Sprout,” it did inspire to want to write a book that had impact like that.

“Methane Wars” started out as a desire to take a silly, outrageous premise and treat it as dryly as possible. Perhaps as an ode to famous satires such as “Animal Farm” or “A Modest Proposal.” But what it turned into was an allegory/fable on how things can quickly spiral out of control and all the unintended consequences that can creep out of the woodwork.

I don’t think I own any pajamas, not that anyone wants to know that. I spend my days trying to manage my ebbs and flows of mental energy. Slowly learning not to fight with them and find a way to manage at least one creative effort a day. I didn’t have a television for many years but have one now and have discovered Netflix, or more accurately I have discovered K-dramas on Netflix.

Oddly enough most of my research was around the Jungian concept of the Anima/Animus and the concepts of the Divine Feminine. Sprout is essentially Theo’s Anima come to life. Almost all of the chapters have thematic connections (however subtly) to one of the traits associated with the Divine Feminine. Sprout could also be viewed as Theo’s bridge into the collective unconscious.

I was inspiration for Dinn in “Without a Pang” from the initial standpoint of being burned out by my career (though an unrelated career) and looking for a solution. He morphed into his own person as I developed him and he took on the role of the crusader (of which I am certainly not). Dorian then developed as essentially Dinn’s alter ego, or from a Jungian perspective, his shadow self, and went places Dinn could or would not.

I’m a terrible marketer so I think I should be the last person to comment on this. The one thing I am slowly learning is that in the digital world, I can get past my anxiety of self-promoting because at worst it is a tree falling in an empty forest.

I’m pretty introverted so I don’t have a large social circle, and it doesn’t include any authors. But, I do have a friend who I paint with who is bold and daring in his creative approach, and he’s taught me there’s no reason to leave anything in the tank. Oddly enough, though I am a painter, my books are pretty sparse on vivid descriptions. I haven’t quite reconciled that yet.

Scenes where the main character is vulnerable, since I am putting myself in their shoes and have to feel vulnerability as well, which is very draining for an empath. That was what made writing “Theo and Sprout” so hard and rewarding: it was filled with vulnerability.

When I am in the process of writing a book, I try to write everyday (which obviously isn’t always possible sine I have a full time job that gets in the way). But that consistency builds momentum. It’s kind of a boring routine to be honest. I can pretty much only write mid-morning or early evening, at other times my brain just isn’t interested in focusing that hard. I usually take long breaks in between drafts to clear the air. I think an interesting thing though is that when I am not working on a book, I don’t really do much writing. I spend my time on other creative activities, like painting, or attempting to fill my mind with new source material, which I tell myself sharpens the creative process for use when I return to writing.

Gads, I can’t think past tomorrow. Instead what I hope/wish for is to not be afraid to make bold and unanticipated decisions along the journey to lead me somewhere unexpected. Thinking of a specific future would limit me to what my small imagination could conjure. As some famous guy would say “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

I’m not very good at rating things. I’ve gotten a lot out of the site. I like having a profile and like to look at the profiles of other authors, makes them more human.