I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books, particularly dark fiction. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Joshua Caleb.

————

To start, can you tell me a little about yourself?

There's not a whole lot to tell. I live at home with my parents and sisters. I spend most of my time surfing the internet, writing, playing video games, or listening to music. I read occasionally, when I can find a good book.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I've been writing in some shape or form almost my entire life. When I was younger, this mostly consisted of playing "action figures" with my two sisters.

You have a new book just out, Warped and Wired. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

A lot of things. I derived the plot and characters from many sources: movies, video games, books, science & technology. Portia's "portal" ability was actually inspired by the game "Portal", I always thought being able to "tear space" and warp instantaneously between two places was really cool. Mlina's neural computer matrix was a little more original in that I thought up most of it myself.(though nothing's really original nowadays) As far as what drove me to write in general: the need to tell a good story. There are so many books out there, but very few are actually worth reading. Opinions may differ on this, obviously, but I've had a hard time finding books nowadays that can even come close to matching the likes of Conan Doyle, Verne, Tolkien, and Lewis(and even some of their works bore me:)

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I've always had a hard time with genres, they can be so subjective and redundant. I would definitely classify "Warped & Wired" as a modern, sci-fi, fantasy novel, though. As far as what makes it dark? The series chronicles the changing times in the world and its affect on humans. Few know the real history of the earth and the beings that originally inhabited it and the evil one that created them. Now, those beings are seeking to reclaim their place as the dominate and ruling race of the world. The modified versions of traditional witches and vampires also lend a little "darkness" to the story.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

Getting the characters and plot to all mesh together. I generally pick two characters to star in a novel and it's a real trick to write them in unique ways and get them to cooperate the way I want:) I've had to eliminate scenes, characters, even rewrite the entire first half of the book to get everything to work together. Even then, the characters will sometimes take a turn that I wasn't expecting and I have to try and figure out a way to make it work. I think the characters can be the hardest part of writing, they are after all, people in a sense and people can be very unpredictable.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

"Knowledge is a Bed of Roses; for Each Beautiful Flower, there a dozen Thorns to Match"

Most stories have a moral or lesson in them, what would you say yours is?

The biggest one? "Accept who you are, faults and all, to discover your true power and potential."

What can we expect from you next?

The sequel to "Warped & Wired" of course. While it won't star Portia and Mlina, they will play major supporting roles to the new main characters. I plan to write a whole series of books called the "Wryter Chronicles" each starring different characters from within the world(don't worry, there will be plenty of cameo appearances). The series should be quite exciting, covering everything from mythology, urban legend, cutting-edge science & technology, conspiracy theories, supernatural beings, to extraterrestrial life!

Where can we find you on the internet?

All of the above. I'm really trying to get the hang of this whole social networking thing. So, I am on Twitter, I have a blog, I have a website, and I have three book trailers.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Support good stories. Authors have a tendency to let their writing slip after they've made their name. So keep us in line, let us know that you demand quality fiction. This goes for movies and TV shows as well as books. Vote with your dollars and reviews!

————

Joshua, thanks for coming by and answering these questions. And best of luck with the sequel to Warped & Wired!

Purchasing information:

Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo