Seth Augenstein interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

Here is a short bio of myself, in the third-person and all fancy-like:

Seth Augenstein is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His debut novel, Project 137 (2019) was called “an involving, tense and visceral near-future thriller” by Kirkus, and it won a Readers Favorite award. His short stories have appeared in more than a dozen magazines and fiction podcasts, including Writer's Digest, The Grey Rooms podcast, The Molotov Cocktail, and others. He spent a decade writing for New Jersey newspapers, most recently at The Star-Ledger. He picked up some state journalism awards, along travels to crime scenes, hospital operating rooms, natural disasters, funerals, and quiet homes. He was also the editor of Forensic Magazine, a tour guide at the James Joyce Centre, and a student in Saul Bellow’s final class. Now he lives on a rocky ridge in New Jersey with his wife, daughters, dog named Mishima, and cats. His next novel, Lama with a Gun, will be published in 2022.

When did your love of books begin?

My love of books was there from my earliest days stuck in a church pew, when I would read all those crazy tales of blood and vengeance in the Old Testament. But it also continued through discovery of authors which shaped me, the earliest being Roald Dahl and John Bellairs. The stories of books were always even richer, somehow, than the movies I loved.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

It was Edgar Allan Poe (at age eight) which made me want to be a writer. Reading those intense short visions of nightmares just fired my imagination, and I wanted to try to do the same with my own creations.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

The process to me is to just write every day, and keep essaying to make the perfect sentence. For me, it's a quasi-devotional pursuit which makes life meaningful. Everything else about the "process" to becoming an author is branding/marketing, handshakes and politics. I like that part of the process much less, partly because my work does not always fit neatly into genres, or play well into template tropes.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Writers have to write, and take the pursuit seriously. There is no waiting around for the perfect inspiration or idea. It's about getting the words down, and then endlessly chiseling, planing, sanding them down into the best version of your vision possible. There's no faking or hacking your way to a good story.

Tell us about your book/books:

Project 137 came out in 2019 from Pandamoon Publishing, and it is a conspiracy/medical thriller set in the future, based on true but little-known horrors from World War II. It follows Dr. Joe Barnes and his search for those responsible for unexplained deaths in his New Jersey hospital in the year 2087... but he ends up finding a lot more than he bargained for. The film rights were optioned recently.

Lama with a Gun comes out late this year. It's a Western set in Mongolia, an adventure based on the true-life exploits of Ja Lama, a Buddhist monk with exceptional powers who became a warlord and highway robber. 

I also have a short-story collection I'm shopping around... it's called The Gospels of Extinction. Some new stories in it are appearing on horror podcasts in the coming months.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I love that writers are supportive of each other, even when they have not met in person. Readers, when they connect with a book, are so helpful in connecting a book they love with an audience.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

My readers should all know I pledge to never bore them, and never will waste their time. Every word, sentence, and plot twist is the product of toil and sweat equity. I believe this comes through in the final product.

Where can people connect with you?

I have a Facebook author page - https://www.facebook.com/Project137Book

And I also frequent that cyber hellscape known as Twitter - https://twitter.com/SethAugenstein