Monday, October 24, 2016

Q&A with Joshua C. Cook, author of Bridgebreaker




Available now is the urban fantasy Bridgebreaker, book two of The Echo Worlds series by Joshua C. Cook.




The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his newest novel.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Hmm... Well… I was always one of those kids with the ‘over active imagination’ growing up. As I grew up in rural Florida on a farm, I had a lot of time to myself to make up stories in my head. I usually acted them out in the quiet of my room, and tried not to let my older sister bug me about it.

As I got older, I got more involved in Drama and Theater, and went that route. The older I got the more I drifted away from creating new stories. Until later on I came back to it as an adult. I had been yearning to do something creative again (my day job isn’t super creative.) I hot upon writing as it wasn’t an expensive way to scratch that itch. (I have two kids got to watch those costs!) Haven’t looked back since.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book I published was ‘Oversee of One.’ Short, but interesting story. I had NO idea what I was doing at the time. Just wrote something that came to me.

What inspired you to write Bridgebreaker?
Bridgebreaker and its series were inspired by an idea. See when I write, I start with a ‘seed sentence’ a single idea that the book comes from. In the case of the ‘Echo Worlds’ series, the idea was that creation had echoes. That was it. Everything flowed from that single idea. I have notebook of these ‘seed sentences’ so lots of ideas to keep writing from.

What character in Bridgebreaker is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

That’s an easy one, Cendan Key is the most like me. I would say that though Cendan takes it way farther than I do, a very analytical mind, and really approach things in a system based way. Very logical, not un-emotional, but just very controlled, at least at first.

What is your favorite part in Bridgebreaker?

Without giving anything away my favorite part was the true rise of Grellnot. Grellnot is a hell of a lot of fun to write.

What was the hardest part to write?
 
The fall of a character from the good. As with many cases, his fall was based on pride and jealousy.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

I actually enjoy my day job, I’m an IT Manager and enjoy it. If I’m picking from creative fields, I’d go back to culinary school, and own a restaurant. I secretly have a document with a full menu I’ve already made. 

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

I do read them. I feel like not reading them is a disservice to whomever reviewed the book. The only way I let them influence anything is if I see a trend. I had a book where more than 4 or 5 people liked it, but they all said it was missing an emotional hook for them. I tried to keep that in mind for the next book. Bad reviews happen, and not all books are for all people. But if I see a trend in comments, I do keep it in mind.

What well-known writers do you admire most?

Well, in the ‘No longer living’ category I go with Tolkien (I was always a Tolkien kid, read the LoTR in 2nd grade and never looked back.) and Terry Pratchet. In the currently alive and kicking world I go with Steven King and S.M. Sterling.


Do you have any other books/stories in the works?

Yep. The next book in the series is in the works, plus the start of a new series that I’ve been fleshing out. The next book in the Echo Worlds, is named “Bridgemaker.” The new series, the first book rough title is ‘The Green Miles’ and the series is named ‘Worker Road.’ It’s a post- apocalyptic title, so it’s nice to take things in a different way.





About the Author: Josh Cook grew up in a highly literary family, with an English Professor mother who taught rhetoric. Having a long term love to fantasy and science fiction, Josh began writing three years ago. Outside of writing, Josh enjoys politics, cooking, hiking, and a good argument.

You can follow Josh on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and his blog.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I adore reading reader feedback! I will, however, remove all spam and pointless comments.

Please take note that I have the right to delete comments from this site. Please only post constructive and respectful feedback.