Hello and welcome to my jaded Eden. I don't know about you, but here, the summer
is over. The temperatures are beginning to cool down, and this is the perfect
opportunity to immerse yourself in a book on the couch. In fact, I have the
pleasure to host today a prolific and eclectic author. So don't hesitate,
you'll surely find a genre that you'll enjoy. Please welcome Mister Joe
Filippone.
The morning, you are tea or coffee?
Coffee most
definitely. I never drank coffee, or smoked ironically enough, until I moved
out here to Hollywood and started working on set. Those five AM calls, twelve
hour days and night shoots, will really make you addicted to coffee. And I
actually really like the taste of it. Sometimes I'll have an afternoon or
evening coffee too. But I love tea as well. It's fun to try all the different
flavors that Celestial Seasons puts out and when I'm sick I always have some
sleepy time and wellness tea around plus some tension tamer for stress relieve.
What kind of books do you write?
I primarily
write erotica; gay, straight, bi, lesbian, BDSM, historical, erotic horror. I
want to write some trans erotica because I don't think there's enough out there
and I recently found a publisher who publishes incest erotica, I may try that
just to see if I like it or if it sells good. I also have a horror novel out
and a young adult novel. I've also written a couple children's books which I'm
shopping around to literary agents.
Why did you choose this genre?
I didn't.
It seemed to choose me. Growing up I had always been interested in sex and the
human body. I actually wrote my first erotic story when I was in sixth grade,
my mother wasn't too happy when she read it, anyway, when I was in college I wrote
poems and plays and everyone said that my characters had a lot of sexual
tension and there was erotic undertones, and homoerotic undertones in my
writing. I didn't even know I was doing that! A couple friends suggested I look
into erotica. I did and started getting published and a fan base. But growing
up I always wanted to write children's and young adult novels and horror. I
wanted to be the next Stephen King, could probably still be if I focus more on
the horror ideas I have.
When you write, are you keyboard or paper?
I'm trying
to use the keyboard more to save time but when I use my laptop I have the bad
habit of getting distracted and checking my email, Facebook or surfing the web.
I like writing on paper because I can take my notebook anywhere. I live by
Griffith Park in Hollywood so I go there a lot and write. Sometimes I go to
Hollywood and Highland, a big tourist spot, watch the tourists and get
inspiration from them.
Are you more motivated to write when the sun shines or when the weather is
gray?
When the
weather is gray. I love LA when it rains and is cloudy. It feels like such
creative weather. Right now when it's sunny I wanna go out and go to the beach
or to Universal Studios. Plus, during the summer when LA has our heat waves
it's hard to write steamy sex scenes.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere.
From experiences I've had, from people I see on the street, photos I see,
conversations I overhear, sometimes even something from a movie or TV show I
watch or a song I listen to will inspire me. I also have profiles on a lot of
dating and hookup sites-don't tell my husband-and regularly look at the
pictures on there to see if anyone would make an interesting character in one
of my books. Plus I use a lot of my own fantasies and being in show business,
I've found that more and more of my characters and books take place in the
business. Maybe I'll invent showbiz erotica and become famous that way.
When you start a book, do you already have the whole story in your head,
or is it built progressively?
Depends.
Sometimes I know how it will end. Sometimes I just know the ending. Sometimes I
don't know anything and just have a character and I'll see where that takes me.
I wish I could do outlines like some writers but that feels to limiting to me
so I just let the story and characters take me where they want. Sometimes I've
gotten mad at my characters because they've done something I didn't know they
were going to do and totally changed how I wanted the story to be.
How do you feel before the release of a book? Fear, joy? And after?
I always
feel a little nervous. It's like when a movie I'm in gets released or I'm going
to be on TV. I always wonder if people will like it. If it will be at the level
people expect from me. If it will bring people joy. Afterwards I kind of move
on to the next project. I occasionally check to see what people are saying
about it but I try not to stress about past projects. I just try to grow as a
writer with each book and keep making my work get better and better.
Between your first and last novel, do you feel a change? Do you write
differently?
I think
I've gotten stronger as a writer since my first novel. I wrote it when I was
about seventeen, but it didn't get published until two years ago so when you read
it, it is definitely written and has the feel of a younger writer and someone
who maybe doesn't know exactly what they're doing. I feel that I've gotten
better with showing instead of telling and with dialogue and making each
character distinct but I know I still have a long way to go before I can call
myself an author or even a good writer.
They say that writers project themselves into the skin and into the head
of his hero / heroine, is that the case for you?
Yes. There
is a part of me in every character I write. I feel for my characters. I go
through what they go through. When I finish a book, I feel sad because it's
like I've lost friends. If I kill a character off I get sad and mourn a little.
I think, especially with main characters, writers have to put most of
themselves into them so they are likable and relatable. If we don't know our
characters and can't relate to them as writers how can we expect readers to?
You define yourself more like a bookworm, a city mouse or a country
mouse?
A little of
all three of them. I do love to read so I am a bookworm, I love living in a big
city like LA and love all big cities but I ultimately want to buy a little
cabin in the woods down in The Inland Empire.
Molière said: “Writing is like prostitution. First we write for the love
of it, then for a few friends, and in the end for money.” What do you think
about it?
I think
that's true. Writing and acting is the only way I make a living so I definitely
am doing both of them for the money but I still do them for the love. If I ever
got to the point where I wasn't doing it for the love and just doing it for the
money I would retire. I never really wrote for friends or just to give my work
to friends though. So I went from the love of it to the money. Just cut out the
middle man.
Your books have already been translated?
Not that I
know of. I do have a publisher in the UK who has published some short stories
of mine though and I've gotten fan mail from London for writing. Apparently
there's a small group of people in Bulgaria who are fans of my acting work so
I'm big there haha.
Do you pay attention to literary criticism?
If it's
constructive and not malicious.
The days are 25 hours. You spend that extra hour in the garden or in the
kitchen?
In the
garden. I love being outdoors.
What is the book you would bring with you on a deserted island?
Flowers In
The Attic by V.C. Andrews.
In the evening, do you turn off the light directly or do you take the
time to read?
Depends on
what I've been doing, what time I get in and how early I have to be up the next
morning.
Slave's
Awakening Excerpt:
The gentle
ocean breeze caressed Slave’s skin as she stepped out of the long limousine.
Looking up at the clear purple black sky she sighed. So much was happening in
the world, too much it seemed. Even though it had happened nearly two years ago
people were still rocked by the disastrous Hindenburg tragedy. It had just been
reported that Hitler had escaped a bomb blast in beer hall in Munich and she
had read in the paper that Polish Jews had just been ordered to wear Star Of
David armbands. Slave shuddered. She couldn’t imagine what the people overseas
were going through. Thank God there were people like Salka Viertel who were
aiding the escape of the Jews and employing them in the studios, but of course
like many things in Hollywood that was a closely guarded secret. It seemed that
the only happy things going on in the world was the much anticipated debut of
Greer Garson and the premiers of The Wizard Of Oz and Gone With The Wind. With
a sigh, Slave walked along the walkway to the massive, heavy front door and
opened it.
Slave’s
heart was pounding as she stepped into the archaic Victorian manor. Soft, slow
violin music completely surrounded her, caressing her body like a lover,
causing her head to slowly roll from side to side. She looked around the grand
foyer but she couldn’t place where the music was coming from. It seemed to
be—everywhere. She wondered if there were live musicians in the house or if the
music was coming from an old phonograph. The only light came from innumerable
candles. Their flickering orange flames created dozens of dancing shadows,
voyeuristically watching her every move. There was no one else around. She was
alone but she could sense hundreds of others; almost as if they were ghosts.
Twitter:
@JoeFilippone
Facebook:
Joe Friend Filippone
- Hi Jade. I don't read your interviews very often. Is it just because of not taking the time (to rushed which is not a logical excuse) or too lazy? Right now I'm at a café with my Netbook. My laptop is at home and appears to be sick - can't reach Internet. It's strange how I tend to look at different things in a café than I will at home - proof of the atmosphere making a difference. I enjoyed reading this interview. It also struck me how I don't feel that I am doing myself justice in pursuing an art that I was into at one time. Two years ago, it stopped after a move from one city to another. Too much interruption, maybe. When it comes to exiting the apartment, me and my husband do almost everything together so I have to be available when it comes time to going to the market or getting groceries. Feels like having to pay attention to two schedules. We’re both retired from formal employment.
ReplyDeleteCertain things are mentioned in Mr. Filippone’s answers which attract me towards the art. It’s interesting when people bring out points that the author him/herself doesn’t recognize – naturally enough, because psychology, in itself, is more than skin surface. I think I realized what was happening to me once I changed my name to allow myself to become as free as an uncaged bird. He mentions undertones in writing but also there is the mention of trans erotica, incest, horror (for me, erotic horror). I thought that maybe I was brought to the point of psychological necessity which was the reason of not being inclined to write but it could have been more to do with priority – a couple of Facebook sons who were in need of intense friendship in order to get their lives in some kind of shape to be able to go on to significant change for a progressive future, hopefully. Things are manageable now, so it seems, so my desire to explore other writers’ style and make comparison might still be in my future.