My next interview is with Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Joseph Carrabis, who’s been a good friend of mine on Twitter and a fellow member of the Fantasy and Science Fiction Reader’s Lounge on Facebook.
Tell us about yourself! What would you like readers to know about you?
Joseph Carrabis: COVID hasn’t touched me or mine, yet, except in the ways it’s touched everyone - social distancing, quarantining, and such. However, since June I’ve had two surgeries and lost a loved one.
I was born blind and have had minimal eyesight my entire life. About two years ago a test indicated my eyes were weakening. We did everything possible and kept surgery as a last resort because, as my doctor said, “Once we cut we can’t go back. We have to save it for last.”
The nature of my challenge was such that we would operate on one eye at a time, see if that worked, then do the other eye. We did my left, weaker eye first and the operation was a complete success. For the first time in my life I could “see” through my left eye as people with normal eyesight can see.
And it enabled me to see one of my children grow weaker and weaker and finally pass over within a three day period.
I would gladly go blind if I could hold my child for another heartbeat, one pulse of the universe, a single tick of the clock.
But such wasn’t one of the options offered me.
I recently had my right eye worked on. So far so good.
And I cherish what I see now. People don’t understand their worlds can change in an instant. Take nothing for granted, live each moment fully, completely, intentionally. Be aware of what you do. Appreciate yourself and those around you. Enjoy every breath, let everyone know they are loved, speak no harsh words to anyone, be at peace with yourself and let your peace teach others.
Long ago one of my teachers told me “Always look for the good.”
That phrase has so much meaning to me now.
Alexis: “Always look for the good”—those are good words to live by. I think when times are difficult it’s so important to hold on to the people we love. I’m so grateful that neither of my children has had a serious health problem, and that no one in my family has died from COVID. It’ easy to get bogged down by the hassles and the stresses, but we need to focus on what really matters.
What book or books have most influenced you as a writer?
Joseph Carrabis: Those I’ve read.
I wanted to respond “The kinds with words in them” and then came up with “Well written,” but the best answer is “Those I’ve read” because I’m influenced by well written and poorly written books, and probably more the poorly written ones because the mistakes are obvious. Well written books can be subtle. You know they’re good and enjoy them, figuring out why they’re good and enjoyable might take some effort. Then there are the books you recognize are well crafted but the story’s don’t interest you. Margaret Atwood’s books are the prime example of this to me. I love her storycrafting, her storytelling bores me to tears. I read her work to learn my craft. I read Bradbury to enjoy what I’m learning.
Then there are certain authors I read to learn specific craft elements and whose work I enjoy. Katherine Mansfield is a trove of setting and character. Poe is a graduate course in timing and rhythm in language. Budrys owns imagery. Few match Butler’s ability to show emotion through character subtleties. Silverberg, at the height of his powers, had an amazing voice. Few writers can draw a reader in like Delany. Hammett is a study in plot. King is a master of character.
And I haven’t touched on poetry. Dickey, Hughes, Eiseley, Brown, ...
Essayists. Kenko, James, Eiseley again, ...
I haven’t mentioned much from non-English authors. Whatever your daily language, I encourage you (who are authors) to study writings in your non-native languages. A completely different philosophy, metaphorical system, my god I can lose myself for years reading non-Western works.
Alexis: I love so man of the writers you’ve mentioned! I do think that reading non-English authors is vitally important. Personally, I’m also drawn to ancient writers. I think there’s something so magical about reading the Epic of Gilgamesh or the Illiad, or Sappho’s poetry, and feeling like you’re hearing a voice from out of time.
What are some tropes of fiction in your genre that you love/hate? Why?
Joseph Carrabis: First, more and more readers tell me my genre is “Joseph.” In the Joseph genre, I will not tolerate weak writing. As soon as I tire, I stop writing and do something else. I don’t rush to get something done, I let it wait. Also in the Joseph genre, I love intricate, tightly woven plots.
Second and regarding other people’s work, linear storylines bore me except in the work of authors such as Hammett, Faulkner, Hemingway and several of the Golden Age SF writers. Linear storylines are fine in some modern things, but if I can figure out a story’s ending before I finish the first 2-3 sentences, the story’s not working for me. I remember being 9-10 years old and reading Agatha Christie’s The Clocks. My mother loved Christie and I read the books after she finished them. I got about forty pages in, went to my mother and told her how the story ended, who did it, et cetera. I’d read 2-3 other Christie novels and figured out her storytelling style, how she placed clues, et cetera, and how she worked out her novels. I lost interest in Christie right after that (although The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a stylistic marvel still). I’ll guess my ability to deduce a story’s outcome (plot) is what’s caused me to prefer character driven stories, and unfortunately most genre stories are plot driven (Rita Mae Brown offers a great test for this and it hasn’t failed me yet).
I attended a con a while back (in the days when you actually went out and spent time with people not wearing masks) and offered that genre v literature test while on a panel. An author in the audience got loudly defensive. I was confused. I didn’t say there was anything wrong with genre, only that it tends to be plot driven, not character driven. But pick up any of this author’s books (the ones I’ve seen anyway), read the first paragraph, and you know if the emphasis is on plot or character, hence genre v literature, and please do remember that “literature” is also a genre, simply one that emphasizes character over plot.
In the end, it all comes down to poor writing for me. How many different ways can one write a “Man versus Nature” story? Well, it’s uncountable. “Man versus Nature” is the core. Change it up one and you get “Woman versus Nature.” Change it up one again and you have “Man versus Tidal Wave.” Make it feminist fantasy with “Woman versus Mountain Elemental.”
What I have no tolerance for is anything poorly written.
Alexis: That’s an interesting distinction between genre and literature. I often find the lines between the two very fine and rather arbitrary. Under your test, I imagine that a great deal of well written science fiction by writers like Connie Willis or Octavia Butler, would be re-classified as literature. I’m honestly not sure if I want that or not.
Who is your favorite character in your book? What do you like about them? (or, which character do you hate most and why)
Joseph Carrabis: Which of your children is your favorite? (Hopefully) we love them all equally although we may love different things in them. I recently completed Don Quitamo Sails, a story requested by Harvey Duckman Presents editor C.G. Hallum. I wrote the first two pages of Don Quitamo Sails over two years ago but didn’t know where the story went from there. C.G. Hallum asked for a pirate story and Boom! there was the story. When I realized what the story was about I wept for joy. C.G. also asked for another story set in a world I created, The Woods. During the conversation, she mentioned making “little knitted dragons” for someone as gifts. I heard “Little Knitty Dragon” and Boom! “A Tale of The Woods: The Little Knitty Dragon” is born (which brought tears to her eyes when she read it).
There’s not character(s) I hate. Even the most evil, rotten bastards - and I’ve had readers ask me how I come up with such malevolent characters - are given one if not more reasons to make them human. Such is a requirement, me thinks, of writing any character; flaws. A “good” character needs one if not more “bad” traits, sometimes called “weaknesses.” So do “bad” characters, except a weakness in a “bad” character is a redeemable trait.
What are you doing to de-stress during the pandemic? Is there any coping mechanism you’d recommend (or NOT recommend)?
Joseph Carrabis: Ha. I’m writing. Listening to music. Playing music, too. Walking with Susan (wife/partner/Princess) and our dog. Reading.
Wait a second...that’s what I do anyway.
I tell people I’m boring and dull and this is evidence of it. My life isn’t complex. I’ve also learned to be adaptable. Not being able to do something means I have time to do something else.
Alexis: That’s a good way of thinking about things! I’ve been listening to more music lately, and reading more books as well.
What do you like to do other than read or write? Do you have any interesting hobbies?
Joseph Carrabis: Music. Cooking. Reading.
Interesting. If you didn’t put that qualifier on it, I maybe could come up with some answers. Oh! I know! I love to fly kites. I have about a hundred different kinds for all sorts of weather conditions and types of flying. Completely relaxing to me, and I don’t do it enough. I also enjoy a good cigar with a good single-malt Scotch. Usually once a week on the backporch, a kind of ceremony, a “Hurrah! I made it through another one! Congratulations to me!” I wrote a blog post about it, Enjoying Scotch and Cigars with @FireRenaissance, @FromGreenhills, and @GGGenge.
Tell us about a mystery/urban legend from your hometown (or another place you’ve lived).
Joseph Carrabis: Oy! I’ve lived many places. What legend or mystery would be best? Have your readers heard of the Inuit SnowWalker? Or how the Northern Lights are the souls of unborn children? Sometimes the myths of where I’ve lived show up in my work. Two examples would be Them Doore Girls and The Boy Who Loved Horses. The former’s about a ocean elemental and the latter is about a gifted child.
One legend that I keep coming back to as story fodder involves an 1800s factory and a boy who was killed in the machinery. He haunts the mill and some workers claim to see him to this day even though the mill itself has been gentrified into office space.
What TV shows/Movies do you like to watch or stream?
Joseph Carrabis: Well-written ones. Currently we’re watching old episodes of New Tricks and Hustle, two British mysteries. We’re also restarting The Doctor Blake Mysteries, a mystery set in the post WWII Australia. We’re impatiently waiting for the next Murdoch Mysteries season, a Canadian import. Sometimes we’ll do a Cadfael night, a Brit period piece from the time of the Crusades.
Sometimes the production values get in the way of the stories, especially with some of the older shows, and so long as the storytelling is there, we’ll watch. I watch mostly to learn storycrafting technique; learn how to introduce characters, situations, how to use setting to enhance a story, things like that.
We recently rewatched the original StarMan. I took notes on how seamlessly they introduced setting, character, initialized plot, provided crisis elements, et cetera, in the first eighteen minutes of the movie and kept it all moving forward so the viewer didn’t stop watching. Amazing.
If your readers find a movie or book they enjoy, go back and reread or rewatch it and take notes on what works and why. A movie or book they don’t enjoy? Ditto. Learn what doesn’t work and why. Then apply both to your own writing
What’s your favorite animal?
Joseph Carrabis: Favorite. Hmm...that is a tough one. Do I talk about my Totems? My Guardians? My Guides? My Grandmother and Grandfather spirits? The animals appearing on my personal shield? I suppose the safest answer is “The one I’m talking with at the moment.”
Every aboriginal culture I’ve studied has told me I carry Spider and Wolf (medicines), and most of these cultures associate Spider with StoryTelling and Wolf with Teaching. So I teach via stories?
Yeah, I’m good with that.
Hope it’s true.
Do you like playing board games or role playing games like D&D? If so, which games do you like best?
Joseph Carrabis: My all time favorite was Risk, although I haven’t played it in years. I played Trivial Pursuit with my in-laws at family gatherings but they decided to handicap me due to my extensive reading and memory; I was allowed to know only one word of the question.
I love chess but lost interest early on as I’m not competitive. I learned to play because a friend played. My uncle, who taught me, told me to play my first game with someone and lose, but pay attention to how they play. Figure out how they play, their weaknesses and strengths, and you’ll win thereafter. I played with that friend, lost, and asked to play again. His mother asked why I wanted to play again, hadn’t her son shown he was a better player? I explained about losing to learn and they couldn’t accept that. Then let’s play again? Okay, fine. And I won six games in a row, at which point his mother wouldn’t let him play any more with me. About two months later he wanted to play again, beat me the first game, and I beat him the second. “You learned to beat me. Specifically me. Not how to play chess better.” During those two months I’d read half a dozen books on chess. My mentor in chess was a fellow student, John Baumgart. My god what a gifted player he was. And lonely as hell. I felt so sorry for him. I hope he found happiness in life.
I play cards fairly often and relax playing various solitaires. I prefer card games because the mathematics is usually fixed by the situation, hence they’re better training for the things I like to do.
Do you have pet(s)? If so, share a picture of your pet!
Joseph Carrabis: Ghost, our cat, passed about a month ago as I write this. Congestive heart failure. He weakened and passed in three days. We still mourn, less each day, and prefer to remember our joy with him than our sorrow at not being with him. We’ll join him when we pass, as we believe all things are waiting, not lost.
Boo is our pup.
This picture is from December 2012, shortly after we got them. Both are rescues.
Alexis: They are so cute! I’m so sorry about your cat’s heart failure. It’s so hard when a pet dies.
What advice do you have for other writers or people just getting started in writing?
Joseph Carrabis: Write, write, and write. When you’re done with that, write some more.
Also read, read, read. And when you’re done with that, read some more.
Here’s a post about it, What do you mean, exactly, when you tell me to Read and Write to be an author?
How do you choose what books you want to read?
Joseph Carrabis: As noted earlier, the first requirement is that the book be well-written. I do an hour a day on the stairs at the gym and read the entire time. Those books tend to be instructional/educational. My nightstand has books recommended to me and/or given to me. My headboard has books I want to study for various reasons, usually technique or research. The stand by my chair has books I read for enjoyment (and often technique gets in there, too).
Authors sometimes ask me to read their books. I ask for the first few chapters/10-15 pages, and can tell (often in the first sentence and usually in the first paragraph) if the author has enough chops to keep me reading, at which point I’ll buy their book (love supporting my brothers and sisters in pen). Four authors who blew me away with their book openings/writings are Steven Searls, Ricky Ginsburg, Joanell Serra, and Terry Melia. Four completely different styles of writing, four completely different genres, four amazing authors worth watching. And reading.
Do you like Greek/Roman/Norse/Asian/African mythology or folklore? What’s your favorite myth?
Joseph Carrabis: I spent much of my life as a cultural anthropologist, so yes, I love indigenous truths. Many of my stories make use of various cultural milieus.
But my favorite? Probably the earlier ones. The earlier the better. They tend to be more accurate to what actually happened, less edited to suit some political or social agenda.
If you write scifi, what technology or innovations or scientific discoveries have inspired your work?
Joseph Carrabis: I don’t write about technology or such per se, I write about how people are affected by technology. Most often I come up with a story idea and then go looking for the science - current or projected - to support it.
The closest I can come up with re science presaging a story would be a work-in-progress, The Absolute Limit of Sound. The story came to me pretty much fully formed while I was reading a Science magazine paper on sonoluminescence.
What’s one subject you wish you knew more about? What kinds of things would you like to learn someday?
Joseph Carrabis: The one subject I wish I knew more about? Me.
What kinds of things would I like to learn someday? First, stuff I don’t know I don’t know. That’ll keep me busy. Then the stuff I know I don’t know. Finally, the stuff I “know,” because I really don’t and am just fooling myself.
Alexis: Yes, it’s always hard to really see and understand ourselves, isn’t it? To get an honest picture of what we’re really like.
Find Out More About Joseph Carrabis!
Books: The Augmented Man, Empty Sky, Tales Told ‘Round Celestial Campfires
Website: https://josephcarrabis.com/
Social Media: Twitter, FaceBook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Instagram