Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
I never intended to publish my work. I wrote bacon grief for my younger self. During the pandemic I found an online course from bestselling thriller writer Chelsea Cain. As part of the class she offered to critique ten pages. I remember this moment being particularly scary for me, no one had read anything I’d written to that point. Sending those pages was HORRIFYING. And then she said she needed more time. And then she asked for the whole manuscript. She gave it to her teenage daughter who said she loved it. And she sent it to her agent without my permission. I’m sure that’s a lie, but that’s how quickly the process went and I still learn from Chelsea and none of my work would be published without her incredible teaching.
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Yes! The very first book event that I did was for an LGBTQIA+ student group at a local high school. It was early in the morning and through a partnership with the neighboring public library we gave away twenty copies of my book and people came! Students showed up! It was WONDERFUL. A few days later, my first review showed up from Goodreads. It was one of those students who read my book, said it was NOT a masterpiece, and said they felt a lot of comfort from my work, they felt like maybe they were going to be okay. There’s not much more motivation needed, really.
Have you used an app to borrow ebooks or audiobooks from the library?
First of all this interview is my favorite because the questions are provided in alphabetical order. Incredible work. Second, I chose this question because I’m a librarian and ALSO because legitimately yesterday I discovered the Queer Liberation Library. It’s through the Libby app and I am so excited to be a card carrier there! I have only read one book so far but the collection appears to be growing. It really seems like an exciting project and I’m glad it exists!
How did you come up with the title for your book?
My first book is called bacon grief because it is, in part, about a word nerd. There is a German word, Kummerspeck, that roughly translates to grief bacon. There were already books called grief bacon and I wanted mine to be just a little different. I liked the way it sounded turned around. Now sometimes my book gets called bacon grease which is maybe not great but maybe also hilarious. Why not?
How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve published three and I’ve written, maybe six or seven? I don’t think they’ll all be published but my favorite is the most recent one, Silas on Sundays, published by Wildling Press. It’s a picture book that follows a gender nonconforming child to church. This book and my first book are both works that affirm both faith and sexuality which I think is super important, especially for young people. To know that they are loved and that they can love and be loved. What’s more important, honestly?
What are common traps for new authors?
When bacon grief came out and a review was published in Kirkus, Las Vegas called. It felt very showtime, very important, very fancy. They offered to make me a bestseller on Amazon and they did that by selling 200 copies of my eBook. It wasn’t a scam, they did exactly what they said they would do. It just felt very dirty, or something. Not one review came from those purchases which makes me think they just bought them all themselves somehow. I’m not accusing them of anything, again, they did exactly what the contract said they would do. I just expected it to be more genuine, I guess? What I am trying to say is these types of schemes aren’t important and they don’t do anything. Be careful with your marketing dollar.
What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?
I like this question because of Grant Faulkner, who used to be in charge of NaNoWriMo. He’s not anymore, which is good because they’ve started accepting AI or something weird so now it’s controversial and I like that he isn’t. Anyway, he led an exercise in which he told everyone to write about something, I don’t recall what. After a minute or two he asked everyone to raise their hands if they weren’t writing and no one did. Something like that. To him it meant there is no such thing as writer’s block. He’d done this exercise hundreds of times and no one ever raised their hand. Maybe we just need a different prompt.
What is the best money you’ve ever spent with regard to your writing?
I just got back from Hawaii! It was a writing retreat led by the aforementioned Chelsea Cain. I wrote thousands of words AND WAS IN HAWAII.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
Be a reader. And I like the words of Vonnegut also. He said something about starting as close to the end of the story as you can. I really love that.
What’s your favorite writing snack or drink?
Gin, tonic. And turkey jerky.
I’m @magicianactor on instagram and at www.itsjoelshoemaker.com.