I spoke to Joshua Scribner about his novel Mantis Nights, what drives him as an author, and what fascinates him with the darker side of life.
LT: Tell us about your upcoming novel, Mantis Nights.
JS: Mantis is an insurance adjuster who’s alienated from his job and the world in general. At night, while walking around town, he relaxes his body and closes his eyes. This allows him to achieve altered states of mind, where he can become a character in dreamlike visions. At first, his walks are just a special hobby that allows him to escape the doldrums of everyday life. Then he becomes trapped in a vision and has to find his way back to normal reality.
LT: When did you first start writing?
JS: I started writing in 1997 after reading a Stephen King book I picked up at a garage sale. I liked it so much that I knew merely reading horror stories would not be enough.
LT: Altered states are a recurring theme in your stories. Why do you think this is?
JS: I’ve spent much of my life experimenting with altered states of mind, like meditation, lucid dreaming, hypnosis, and astral projection. Often I experience something strange or fascinating in those states and it develops into a story idea.
LT: What scares you?
JS: Sometimes life is clear and sunny. Sometimes there’s fog. Other times, it’s so dark you can’t see two feet in front of you. In the times it’s been the darkest for me, the times I was most afraid, there always seemed to be something spiritual with me. The thought of being in the pitch black alone scares me. The thought of my children being there scares me even more.
LT: What challenges did you face in writing your first novel? What were the positives?
JS: I wrote my first novel, Nescata, in 1997. The challenges of writing haven’t changed. Coming up with ideas and a plot are pretty easy for me. The difficulty is conveying to the reader what I see in my mind. This is something I try to get better at every day. Thank you editors and critics! The biggest positive of writing the first novel is getting through it. I often tell people who want to write novels to get that first one done, even if it’s awful. That’ll get you over the hump of thinking you can’t finish.
LT: Out of your work so far, which character is your favorite?
JS: Why don’t you just ask which of my children I like the best? LOL. The only way to answer this question is to cheat and say it’s a tie. Each main character has a little bit of me in them. In Soul Tripping, the second book of my Beyond Reception series, I split myself in two. Half was given to the protagonist, Joseph Stanton, the other half to the villain, Donald Pagel. I don’t want to sound like an egomaniac and say I like those two the best, but I probably enjoyed writing them the most.
LT: What draws you to the horror genre?
JS: Life draws me to the horror genre. I’ve experienced so much of the weird and scary I feel compelled to write about it.
LT: Are you currently working on another writing project?
JS: Right now, Mantis Coma, book two in the Mantis series, is under contract, and I’m working with an editor on that. I started the third book last summer and hope I can pick it back up soon. I signed the first book of my Beyond Reception with Shadow Line Press in November. I’m editing the second book in that series.
LT: When and where can our readers find Mantis Nights?
JS: The release date is January 18th. It will be available from onceuponabookstore.com on that day, then at fictionwise.com and other ebook retailers within a week or so. The easiest way to get it is to go to joshuascribner.com and follow the links.
LT: What authors do you read?
JS: I like John Saul, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Sandford. I read various authors at places like Flashes in the Dark and Microhorror.
LT: Is there anything that you’d like to add?
JS: I’d like to thank Flashes in the Dark for having me.
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©2010 Lori Titus
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Tags: Joshua Scribner
January 31st, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Thanks - good to get to know Joshua a little more. I’ll be keeping an eye out for that novel.
May 4th, 2010 at 12:35 am
Cool interview. Josh has the horror touch and this interview does a great job exploring that. I’ll definitely be looking into his book.