# Please introduce yourself and your books!
a. My name is Josiah Akhtab and I’ve been writing for over ten years. My hobbies include Martial Arts, Calisthenics, Reading, Hanging out with my girlfriend, and Blogging. My first novella, Confession, was published in 2017 with Dorrance Publishing. My first novel, The Jake Matthews Saga: Ascension, was published in 2019 and it was self-published. Other works I have written include titles such as Immortal, Under the Moonlight: A Short Story Collection, Ghost: A Short Story, and The Devil’s Game.
# What inspires your creativity?
a. Watching anime, movies, TV shows, and reading really good fantasy series inspires me. It is said that if you’re going to be a writer, you must be a reader. My musings are often a result of daydreaming and using specific scenes from shows or books to build a story of my own. Some stories come out of nowhere when I haven’t been watching or consuming anything.
# How do you deal with creative blocks?
a. I don’t personally suffer from creative blocks so much as low motivation to sit down and write. Most times, I’ll have a plethora of stories in my head but no real desire to sit and write because everything else seems more interesting. However, one way to deal with creative blocks of any kind is to step away and clear your mind with meditation, hanging out with friends, treating yourself to a nice dinner, etc. Creative blocks come from a saturated mind and for creativity to flow you need to clear your mind so the stories in your head don’t get lost in the sauce of life. Dealing with low motivation, on the other hand, is more about discovering what makes life worthwhile and remembering why you started writing in the first place.
# How do bad reviews and negative feedback affect you and how do you deal with them?
a. I simply remember that my stories are not for everyone and if someone doesn’t like my work then it isn’t for them. There’s an audience for everything and everybody, all every author has to do is find their people and they will be fine. Any negative feedback is of little consequence and isn’t worth excessively thinking about because you can’t please everyone. Negative feedback can be jarring but, ultimately, it is only what one person out of billions of people think about your work.
# Do you tend towards self-satisfaction or aim to serve readers? Do you balance the two and how?
a. I typically balance the two as I have a knack for knowing what people would want to read. My ability to balance the two objectives comes from being aware that I am the demographic I am trying to reach. I know what I like and I am trying to reach people that like the same things I do. This makes it easy to achieve both ends. I like action packed, gritty, fast paced, and dark. I write for people who like those things as well. I know my people because I know myself.
# What role do emotions play in creativity?
a. Emotions are at the very center of creativity. Without emotions one cannot summon the passion necessary to bring their stories to life. Each character starts off as an emotion which ultimately establishes who they are and shapes their story. Some characters are created in anger, some in sadness, some in grief, some in shame. Without emotions, one cannot begin to pull the heartstrings of the reader and immerse them into the world they are trying to create. No one can create a story from a place of apathy as the nature of storytelling is emotional.
# What are your plans for future books?
a. I plan on writing more short stories for the time being, one being Headhunter which is coming out mid-June. My latest novel, The Adventures of Fleeting Grace, is set to come out Christmas this year and will make the perfect gift for those looking for long and satisfying fantasy reads. The Adventures of Fleeting Grace centers around a moorish girl who dies and becomes a tangible spirit that’s led to a portal which takes her to different worlds on a series of adventures.