Indie Authors Uncovered - Meet the person behind the pages - Meet Joey Coleman - Her Craft is Chaos?
Where were you born?
I was born in BC, Canada.
Where do you live?
I still live in BC, Canada.
Do you have fur babies?
One fat black cat.
People have described her as a basketball with legs.
Do you use a pen name?
No.
What kind of writer are you?
- Old School Notebook and pen Writer
- Modern Day Laptop/PC Writer
Name one book you loved as a kid - one you loved as a new adult - and one you love now.
- As a kid, I loved the Series of Unfortunate Events books,
- Teens, I got more into manga- loved Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, Gravitation.
- Books I love now- anything by Stephen King or Jodi Picoult
Is there an author you look up to? Or had an influence on your craft?
I would say Jodi Picoult helped me craft some pretty cool ending plot twists into my stories- love a good plot twist!
How would you describe your craft in one sentence
Chaos?
At The Dreamer's Bookshop, we embrace diversity and advocate for invisible illnesses. How do you feel about those topics? Do you include messages in your writing?
Love that. I'm fortunate enough not to have any, but I love learning about any and all topics, especially if it has to do with the brain!
I don't include them in my writing because, as mentioned, I don't have that experience firsthand. As a sign language interpreter (my day-job), I am very cognizant of being an ally, but recognizing these are not my experiences first-hand, so they are not my stories to tell.
Do you have red lines when it comes to writing/reading?
Such as things I will not include in my stories? I don't think I would ever include SA or violence, or infant abuse/death. They are topics that I'm just not comfortable with personally.
Was there a review that touched you more than others?
Oh wow. SO many beautiful reviews (I can't believe it actually).
The two I loved were:
"First and foremost, I need you to know that I am not over exaggerating when I tell you that The Darkness in Us is hands down one of the best young adult fantasy novels I have read to date. So much so that I not only lost all concept of time and my surroundings, but I also had to stop myself from yelling at (or throwing) my device."
"This is nothing short of a masterpiece."
If someone asked you why you write, what would you answer in one sentence?
I write because I am lucky enough to be able to, and I love creating worlds to get lost in.
Which book are you most proud of and why?
I think these books that I'm publishing now- The Talish Trilogy (book 1 just released Dec).
They are stories I have been crafting since I was in high school and tried to imagine a world other than my own mundane one. It started as such a baby writing project (actually, it originally began as manga) and has gone through countless revisions to get to something I am finally proud enough to share with the world.
What would you tell an aspiring writer?
Don't stop.
If it's something you're passionate about, keep at it and don't let negative people influence you to do otherwise. Not everyone is going to love everything you do, and that's okay as long as you're proud of it. Take your time and put your best work out there.
What's a wish you have for yourself as an author?
Just for people to see my work and hopefully escape into it for a brief moment of their stressful lives.
What's a wish you have for yourself as a person?
To get all these books I have lying around published!
Do you have a message for your audience
THANK YOU!
If you have read my book and enjoyed it, that means the world to me. The fact that strangers are actually reading my work is a wild concept to me, and I am so grateful for the book community, the writing community, and to random strangers who pick up my work! It doesn't go unrecognized how to support us little indie authors!
