Welcome, Allan Yoskowitz!
1. For those who might not be familiar with you, would you be a dear and tell the readers a little about yourself? How did you get your start in the writing business?
(AY) I’m thirty-five years old, and I run my father’s accounting firm. I’m something like a cross between an office manager, a clerk, a secretary, and I don’t know what else. I just do whatever needs to get done in that office, and I make sure that everything stays operating to the best of my ability.
I also train in Tae Kwon Do under Grand Master Heung Taek (Ben) Hur. I’ve been training with him for over twenty years, and am a Third Dan black belt, currently preparing to test for my Fourth degree.
As for writing, it began in school. I’ve been writing since I was in elementary school, but I started writing science-fiction at some point in sixth or seventh grade. What eventually became Codename: Winterborn and its universe got its first beginnings in doodles and short stories I wrote sitting in high school literary magazine meetings.
2. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, please share how you handle it.
(AY) Well, I know that the best way to get out of “block” is just to keep chipping away at it, but that doesn’t seem to work all that well for me. I guess I have to look around at other types of writing and get interested in them – for example, once, when I was bored with the story I was writing, I started working on a screenplay just as a writing exercise. It helped me out a bit.
3. Contrary to what some people envision about a romance writer’s life, it’s not all glitz and glam. Well not for the majority of us. With that bubble sadly busted, when you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
(AY) Outside of work? It depends on the time of week. Sometimes, it’ll be training at my Tae Kwon Do dojang, and other times it might just be playing some video games, watching a movie, reading something, or sometimes just writing. It’s important to stay relaxed and healthy.
4. I know many writers keep their pastime/career a secret. Do those close to you know you write? If so, what are their thoughts?
(AY) Well, for me, I have the full support of my family – especially my wife. She’s proven to be part editor, part creative consultant and main sustenance provider. So, for the most part, I’m encouraged to write when the notion takes me, and my family helps me by giving me the space to do it.
5. Will you share with us your all-time favorite authors? If you’re like me, it’s a long list so give us your top ten.
(AY) My top ten all-time favorites? That’s not an easy one… but if it has to be ten?
** David Eddings **
(The Belgariad/Malloreon as well as the Elenium/Tamuli)
** Terry Goodkind **
(Sword of Truth series)
** Douglas Addams **
(The Hitchhiker’s Guide, of course…)
** Stephen King **
(though after the Dark Tower fiasco I was more than a little perturbed at him… we were waiting for an ending… not another loop through.
** Isaac Asimov **
(I, Robot… amongst his other works…)
** Art Spiegelman **
(The Complete Maus)
** Frank Miller **
(Batman: The Dark Knight Returns)
** David Duncan **
(The Seventh Sword Saga)
** Piers Anthony **
(Incarnations of Immortality)
and, as number ten…
** Suzanne Collins **
(Hunger Games…) and before anyone says anything, yes I know it’s a young adult novel… but my wife and I read it to each other out loud, so it has something of a special meaning to me)
6. If you could choose one book to go to the big screen, yours or otherwise, which book would you choose and whom would you love to see cast in the parts?
(AY) Wow… our group of friends has actually had whole conversations based just on that question. Sure, I would love to have Codename: Winterborn on the silver screen!
At the same time, though, I can probably rattle off a whole list of other works that deserve to be given that treatment. As for casting… I think I would like for some of the major roles to go in to actors just breaking in to the field – or to actors now known for television roles.
For example, I think Stephen Amell (currently on Arrow) would make for a good Kevin Anderson. At one point, we thought Mia Kirshner would have been great for the character of Mandy, but that was a while ago.
7. Would you care to tell us what you’re working on now? That is if it’s not top-secret information. If so, just whisper it in my ear. I swear it’ll go no further.
(AY) Declan and I are working on the sequel to Codename: Winterborn. So far, the working title is Codename: Unsub.
8. Where can we find your stories, and is there a particular reading order?
(AY) Codename: Winterborn is my first published work, found on Amazon.com,
but other than that you would have to hunt down my high school and college papers and such – and I don’t think that would work too well.
9. Would you please share how your present and future fans can contact you?
(AY) Well, Declan and I have a Facebook page up for Winterborn, and I have a page of my own. Of course, there’s always e-mail, but I prefer not to give that out on the internet.
10. Before we conclude this enlightening interview, do you have anything else you’d like to share? The stage is all yours.
(AY) Oh, great… now I have stage fright! I guess I would like to add that working through the process of writing this novel has been somewhat a labor of love. I’ve been at it for what seems like an incredibly long time, and to finally have it published – to have the book in my hand is a heady, intoxicating feeling. Was it a pain at times? Yes. Were there moments where I would have liked to just scrap the whole thing? Sure. Did I doubt we would get there? To the point where the book is in my hand? Yes. But was it worth the pain, the doubt and the headaches? Oh yeah. If you’re a writer, go for it! Don’t let anyone stop you until you are satisfied with your work.
Wrap-up
Ladies and Gents, I hope you enjoyed our interview with Allan Yoskowitz. If you have any questions or comments for Allan, by all means, leave him a message below. Thank you in advance for your visit!
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