Ask the Author: Joe Mauriello
Answered Questions (6)
Joe Mauriello
My first reaction was to claim it’s characters from one of my books. As much as I love my characters, I have to be honest and say—Lois and Clark.
First, you have to admire any relationship that has lasted since the 1930s. No other couple has that kind of staying power. Nick and Nora from the Thin Man, Rhett and Scarlett from Gone with the Wind, or any other couple have their moments and then fade away. Lois and Clark keep getting stronger.
Second, I like all the potential dynamics between them. Small town vs. big city. Naïve vs. Savvy. Mild mannered vs. competitive. In love vs. avoiding love, and that was the important dynamic for decades. When Superman debuted, a woman pursuing a career was rare. Yes, the majority of women worked (in shops, in factories, on farms, in homes) but few aggressively went after a career. Lois was one of the first literary role models of such an attitude, and as such she could not be diverted by loving Clark. She was attracted to him, found him cute and fun to be around, but not to be taken seriously. Instead, she put her romantic dreams into Superman, a man she knew that she could never possess and didn’t have to worry about taking her from her career. Over the decades, the attitude toward women having careers changed, but still that dynamic didn’t alter. Lois was still too committed to her goals.
Finally, how can you not be impressed by a love like Clark’s? He endured no matter what obstacle came between them. He loved her for who she is, not his hope, dreams, or what he thought he could make her into. His love for her was so strong that it slowly overcame her fears.
As you may have guessed, I’m a comic book collector. I began in the 70s and only recently stopped. I saw Lois and Clark go through the goofy 1970s, the overly-dramatic 1980s, the push toward realism of the 1990s, and the, sadly, darkening of comics that came with the 2000s. The only constant was their love. As a writer, to come up with a relationship that could last that long would be fantastic. As a fan, rooting for their romance has been fun. As a husband, I can tell you that I held out until I found my Lois and married her.
First, you have to admire any relationship that has lasted since the 1930s. No other couple has that kind of staying power. Nick and Nora from the Thin Man, Rhett and Scarlett from Gone with the Wind, or any other couple have their moments and then fade away. Lois and Clark keep getting stronger.
Second, I like all the potential dynamics between them. Small town vs. big city. Naïve vs. Savvy. Mild mannered vs. competitive. In love vs. avoiding love, and that was the important dynamic for decades. When Superman debuted, a woman pursuing a career was rare. Yes, the majority of women worked (in shops, in factories, on farms, in homes) but few aggressively went after a career. Lois was one of the first literary role models of such an attitude, and as such she could not be diverted by loving Clark. She was attracted to him, found him cute and fun to be around, but not to be taken seriously. Instead, she put her romantic dreams into Superman, a man she knew that she could never possess and didn’t have to worry about taking her from her career. Over the decades, the attitude toward women having careers changed, but still that dynamic didn’t alter. Lois was still too committed to her goals.
Finally, how can you not be impressed by a love like Clark’s? He endured no matter what obstacle came between them. He loved her for who she is, not his hope, dreams, or what he thought he could make her into. His love for her was so strong that it slowly overcame her fears.
As you may have guessed, I’m a comic book collector. I began in the 70s and only recently stopped. I saw Lois and Clark go through the goofy 1970s, the overly-dramatic 1980s, the push toward realism of the 1990s, and the, sadly, darkening of comics that came with the 2000s. The only constant was their love. As a writer, to come up with a relationship that could last that long would be fantastic. As a fan, rooting for their romance has been fun. As a husband, I can tell you that I held out until I found my Lois and married her.
Joe Mauriello
A spirit from the other side came to me with the idea. I was sitting around doing some other work on the computer and a spirit showed up to talk to me. This is a normal occurrence for me so not concerned. However, this spirit showed me an image of an Asgardian God and said his name is Borr.
"Borr?" I asked confused. "I've studied Nordic myths and I don't remember a Borr."
"No," the spirit said. "This is a fictional story about a god who lives in contemporary times and his difficulties."
I was intrigued. We discussed the story line and then I got to writing. I wrote the first book in four days.
"Borr?" I asked confused. "I've studied Nordic myths and I don't remember a Borr."
"No," the spirit said. "This is a fictional story about a god who lives in contemporary times and his difficulties."
I was intrigued. We discussed the story line and then I got to writing. I wrote the first book in four days.
Joe Mauriello
I love being able to take the imagery that's in my mind and present it to you. To bring the characters and worlds to life.
I love working with spirits from the other side to co-create these books. We have long discussions about the books and have become really good friends.
Now, what's the hardest thing? Finishing a book. I get so wrapped up in the characters' lives that I hate seeing a story line end. I want it to keep going, which is why I tend to write series.
I love working with spirits from the other side to co-create these books. We have long discussions about the books and have become really good friends.
Now, what's the hardest thing? Finishing a book. I get so wrapped up in the characters' lives that I hate seeing a story line end. I want it to keep going, which is why I tend to write series.
Joe Mauriello
Two books. First there is the second Malcolm Sinclair book titled "The Case of One Mummy Too Many."
The other one is the second Borr the Asgardian book titled "The Trial and Execution of Borr."
I need to get them edited, copyrights in place and create covers. Yeah, that's all. It should just me a few minutes. Yeesh. But it's worth it. I love the first books in each series but I believe that the second ones are even better and I can't wait to get them out to you to read.
The other one is the second Borr the Asgardian book titled "The Trial and Execution of Borr."
I need to get them edited, copyrights in place and create covers. Yeah, that's all. It should just me a few minutes. Yeesh. But it's worth it. I love the first books in each series but I believe that the second ones are even better and I can't wait to get them out to you to read.
Joe Mauriello
Be Persistent: Write, write, write. The only way to get good at any skill is to do it. If you want to write then start writing. Don't worry if it's any good. Also, read all the time. Whatever genre you want to write in, you have to know it. Read everything that you can, even read the stuff that you don't like so you can learn from it.
Be Ruthless: I mean about your writing. The hardest thing for a writer to learn is to throw things out. I’ve had entire chapters that I’ve worked hard creating that didn’t work and that I deleted. Don’t try to force it to work or twist it until it sort of works. Readers will know that it doesn’t fit and it will throw off the rest of your writing. If it doesn’t work, throw it out!
Be Open to Criticism: My biggest fan and harshest critic is my wife. She reads every book that I produce several times. She'll tell me what doesn't work, when dialog is flat, what plot points don't connect and when I'm losing the 'feel' of the story. She is almost always right and what she does is make me think through things in new, better ways. Also, don’t argue with your critics but think about how to explain to them why you think something should be the way that you wrote it. When I do that, I discover that I didn’t give enough description or background and I end up making the story a whole lot better.
Be Your Own Reader: When you finish writing set it aside. Come back to it the next day and read it straight through. Try to think, not as the author, but as someone who has been handed this book and is trying to decide if you like it. Next, read it a second time, out loud. When we hear things, we know if it sounds right or not. If you read a paragraph that you wrote and it sounds cumbersome, strange or just not right, then it needs reworked. You are also more likely to spot spelling and grammar errors this way.
Be Consistent: Set aside time every day to write. Don’t let anything interfere with that writing time. If this is what you want, then you have to put in the work. Do it! It will teach you discipline for when you are facing a deadline and give you a realistic feel for how long it will take you to write something.
Be Strong: Writing is not easy. It can be very frustrating to know what you want to write but be unable to figure out how to write it. I've rewritten some things a dozen times or more before getting them right. There are story lines that I have tucked away for years waiting for me to figure out how to use them. I've recently been working on a book that I’m up to version nine of. I have started it, stopped, restarted and stopped again throwing out the old versions and starting from the very beginning just to get it right (and I think I might be close this time). Stay with it and the moment will come when you find yourself writing and it feels wonderful.
Be Ruthless: I mean about your writing. The hardest thing for a writer to learn is to throw things out. I’ve had entire chapters that I’ve worked hard creating that didn’t work and that I deleted. Don’t try to force it to work or twist it until it sort of works. Readers will know that it doesn’t fit and it will throw off the rest of your writing. If it doesn’t work, throw it out!
Be Open to Criticism: My biggest fan and harshest critic is my wife. She reads every book that I produce several times. She'll tell me what doesn't work, when dialog is flat, what plot points don't connect and when I'm losing the 'feel' of the story. She is almost always right and what she does is make me think through things in new, better ways. Also, don’t argue with your critics but think about how to explain to them why you think something should be the way that you wrote it. When I do that, I discover that I didn’t give enough description or background and I end up making the story a whole lot better.
Be Your Own Reader: When you finish writing set it aside. Come back to it the next day and read it straight through. Try to think, not as the author, but as someone who has been handed this book and is trying to decide if you like it. Next, read it a second time, out loud. When we hear things, we know if it sounds right or not. If you read a paragraph that you wrote and it sounds cumbersome, strange or just not right, then it needs reworked. You are also more likely to spot spelling and grammar errors this way.
Be Consistent: Set aside time every day to write. Don’t let anything interfere with that writing time. If this is what you want, then you have to put in the work. Do it! It will teach you discipline for when you are facing a deadline and give you a realistic feel for how long it will take you to write something.
Be Strong: Writing is not easy. It can be very frustrating to know what you want to write but be unable to figure out how to write it. I've rewritten some things a dozen times or more before getting them right. There are story lines that I have tucked away for years waiting for me to figure out how to use them. I've recently been working on a book that I’m up to version nine of. I have started it, stopped, restarted and stopped again throwing out the old versions and starting from the very beginning just to get it right (and I think I might be close this time). Stay with it and the moment will come when you find yourself writing and it feels wonderful.
Joe Mauriello
It depends on the level of blockage. If I am stuck on something small like finding the right word for a description or dialog, then I will write down any word that will work and come back to the sentence later to edit it. At first, it's more important to get the story written than perfect.
If it's something bigger, like not being sure where the plot goes next, then I walk away. Sitting staring at the computer screen just makes the block get bigger. Instead, I engage my mind in other things. I do work around the house, watch TV, read, talk to my wife (hmm, that one should not have been last :0) When I return to writing I find that the block is gone. Sometimes the blockage goes away while I'm in the middle of something else and I can feel the story flowing, during those times I can't wait to get back to work.
If it's something bigger, like not being sure where the plot goes next, then I walk away. Sitting staring at the computer screen just makes the block get bigger. Instead, I engage my mind in other things. I do work around the house, watch TV, read, talk to my wife (hmm, that one should not have been last :0) When I return to writing I find that the block is gone. Sometimes the blockage goes away while I'm in the middle of something else and I can feel the story flowing, during those times I can't wait to get back to work.
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