Interview with Joseph J. Cor
Published 2013-12-27.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
It was a Dr. Zeus book, but I can't remember a particular impact other than I had, for the first time, read a book from cover to cover.
How do you approach cover design?
Something eye catching that gives a sense of the content of the book.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Historical books and religious books. History shows where we've been and religion shows where we're going.
What do you read for pleasure?
All sorts of things. Fiction, history, religion. Some "challenging" things as well. I'm into volume VI of Gibbon. He's a tough read, assumes the reader knows a lot more than I do, but I'm this far along so I think I'll finish.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle.
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
I'm trying to get something that works. Giving it away for free isn't bad but I'd prefer not to rely on that completely.
Describe your desk
It's an armchair. Sometimes a dining room table.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Wyoming. I can't say that that really influenced how I write too much. My college, the University of Wyoming, did stress writing skills quite a bit. Maybe that had an influence.
When did you first start writing?
I was about 12. At 13 I started one of the stories that appears in my first book. If it takes me 40 years to complete every story I write, I doubt I'll ever be a particularly prolific writer. Fortunately, my second story was finished in less than two decades.
What's the story behind your latest book?
It's a couple of short stories I have been working on for quite a few years. I started one of them when I was 13 -- about a couple of explorers on Mars. The story has evolved considerably since then. I've picked it up several times to revise it. I actually submitted the original version to a few science fiction magazines when I was 13. Analog and Fantasy and Science Fiction, I believe. They rejected it; I wasn't a prodigy. The second story has its origins somewhere in the mid 1990s. I've revised it several times as well. I submitted it to one or two science fiction magazines as well. I still wasn't a prodigy, unfortunately.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
It's about the only avenue I can see to ever get my writing published. With the themes of my stories, which are religious, in a conservative Catholic vein, I don't see many other avenues to publish them. They definitely are not politically correct (as in leftist-socialist), so I don't see where they could be published otherwise.
What are you working on next?
A mystery novel. I'll keep everyone guessing as to what it's about.
Who are your favorite authors?
C. S. Lewis, Bruce Catton, Taylor Caldwell, Irving Stone, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Azimov, Shelby Foote. To name a few.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Working, painting, reading.
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