Joseph Willson Interview Published on: 15, Feb 2022

I have to say, there is very little I miss. I unfortunately had to ‘grow up’ very quickly regarding my early teen years. My memory of my childhood is quite vague in that respect. Now whether this is due to years of alcohol abuse later in life or not, I will never know for sure. Oddly the only real memories of childhood I have are those spent on Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay where the family summer vacationed every year. My two brothers and two sisters and our mother. On the odd occasion our father would join us, but that was rare.

Referring to the previous answer, I had no choice but to grow up very quickly. When I was 14ish my father decided, he was going to move the entire family across the country from Ontario to British Columbia. Effectively removing his children from all their friends and their schools, basically the only life we had ever known being kids, to a place where we knew no one nor anything about the province or city he had moved us to. Let’s just say the first few years did not go well at all. I quit school, went to work full time, my father’s business failed, and my parents divorced all within a short period of time. It certainly taught me hardship, resilience, self-determination yet it also exposed me to the dangers of addiction.

Oddly, no. I hated reading. On the same token, although up until grade 8 I thoroughly enjoyed school and was a straight A student, English was my least favorite subject and the only subject where I received a B average versus A’s in all my other subjects. My favorite books of the time were the James Herriot books.

I chose self-publishing-sort of. As I knew nothing about conventional nor self-publishing and my computer skills were indeed lacking when I first investigated publishing, I went with what I thought was a traditional publisher. I had no clue the extent of editing, formatting, copy editing, cover design- none of that. The publisher, Friesen Press did all of this for me and all I had to do was approve the work. Yet even though they did most of the work after I submitted the transcripts, it is still considered self-publishing. I used them for my first 2 books. Then I discovered Amazon and Kindle direct. It’s a bit cheaper so in future I believe I’ll stick with this…

This is a direct quote from the book that I believe will answer this question nicely. ‘I have chosen to present depictions of my rather sordid past as creative non-fiction, which is to say I am going to stretch the truth. Creative nonfiction-I like this description because it means I am not lying per se, but I am most certainly taking some liberties where need be. I am not telling lies; I am embellishing the truths. Some of the details may be somewhat distorted from the actual events that took place because my train of thought was slightly derailed so to speak. Though the memories themselves may not be what truly happened, they are, to the best of my recollection true nonetheless- with a bit of embellishment thrown just for kicks.’

Through the Minds’ Eye essentially is about the time I spent in addictions treatment. A typical treatment program for addiction is 3 months, a live-in program, then the rest is up to the individual. I stayed in this program for 14 months- no questions asked. One aspect of the daily counselling was journaling. This entire book is adapted from the journaling I kept through those 14 months. In answer to the question, I had very few challenges while writing, quite the contrary. I had so many people on staff that wanted to help but for me this was something I truly needed to do on my own. The challenges only started when I wanted to take the next step and publish.

As with the cover design, the title is the first thing the prospective reader will see. The need for this to draw the reader in is tantamount to the success of the book. If this does not entice, tantalize even- that reader, they will never pick the book up. As for any tips on picking a book title. It needs to come from the heart. Yet until the book is read, the reader will not know that connection. That connection needs to be made to the reader through the combination of the cover art and the title specifically. That’s how to grab a potential reader.

I will say, I was nervous. Mostly regarding my father’s reaction because let’s just say we are not the best of friends. My first book, if he had interpreted the words the way they were intended, he would have never spoken to me again. I was fairly certain though that his perception of those words would be completely different from my intention. This put me at ease somewhat. Everyone else in the family and friends included I received nothing but accolades and recommendations to their friends and so on. The first 3 months after publication they were ‘flying off the theoretical shelves.’ It was quite something.

I am not sure why you’ve asked me this question, but I’ll take a stab at it. Yes, in Through the Mind’s Eye there is 1 chapter titled ‘Depression’ as I did have a stint with this disorder. Every person that suffers from depression experiences this differently. There are many symptoms, many triggers, many stressors. Some physical and some mental, usually a combination of both yet no two people will ever experience the exact same symptoms the exact same way. So, the only real way I could answer this would be to say, eat properly, abstain from any mood-altering substance as they are all depressants and follow your doctor’s orders to the letter. It took me almost a full year to get on the proper dosages and diet regiment before I truly felt like I had returned to the land of the living. Unfortunately, the addiction was stronger, and I returned to my addiction for a further 15 years.

‘That each and every person was an individual and should be treated as one, for it is our differences that we need to learn and to respect in each other.’ ‘He further explained that it was each child’s individual differences that made them truly unique and special.’

Profound huh? I confess, this is from my own unpublished as of yet, work. I wrote this children’s book as a final project in a creative writing course. I am just waiting for my daughter to finish the illustrations before it goes to the publisher.

Well, I’m afraid I really can’t answer that. Simply because I haven’t yet accomplished this. Maybe ask me that again in a year or so…. I do have a kid’s book that has done okay but does it have anything to do with being a successful children’s book author?

Be yourself. Do not try to create a persona of yourself that you are not. People will call you out on it, guaranteed. The best resources are the people that were there. Whether that be friends or family or both. Use that which is in your grasp. And always, always, always hire a good editor. It’s funny, both of my memoirs are listed as self-help books, not memoirs.

In all honesty, this was not my concern. There was so much more I could have added to both these memoirs of a darker nature, yet I chose not too. Not because however of the way it would/could have affected others. That’s a part of the recovery process. To learn to deal with those feelings that have made you so uncomfortable for so long and be able to live with them. For me it was simply not necessary to do so. I wrote these books to help others in a similar situation as my own. All of that ‘dark stuff’ certainly never did me any good, so what truly was the point of including that stupidity of my younger years in these memoirs? I chose to leave it out. If someone really wants to know, they’ll ask me.

I have many on the go. Although I am not specifically a non-fiction writer, I do prefer writing in the genre. Having said that, I do have another memoir in the works which is about my ridiculous life throughout my years in the hospitality industry as I am a Chef by trade. I have another specifically about the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver as I spent 5 years there while in the treatment centre Titled ‘Hell on Earth.’ Then the children’s book I’m doing with my daughter titled, ‘Mr. Pickle.’ And also the second book in the series I am co-authoring with a writer friend of mine titled ‘The Oliver Chronicles and The Avery Chronicles.’ That could continue for some time as there are already six books out. I have my hand in many pies.

The hardest part about being an author is not the writing. Unless of course you cannot write, but that’s a whole other story. It’s the marketing, it’s the connecting with the readers. But also, it’s about connecting with other authors in the genre and other genres also. Making and being able to establish and keep those connections is critical to an author’s success, to sales and to new friendships along the way. I now know people all over the world through my books. AllAuthor has been a big part of me accomplishing that, just like Goodreads has, just like Amazon has. I do believe I will be using AllAuthor for as long as I continue to write and publish books.