Juleigh Howard-Hobson interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Juleigh Howard-Hobson. I write mostly formalist poetry, with forays into fiction and even some non-fiction when the spirit moves me. I have six books out, and my latest manuscript was long listed for the Sexton Prize.  I live in the Pacific NorthWest of the USA, but was born in England and raised in New York, California and Australia (no wonder I ended up writing about otherworlds). I have seen two ghosts in my life, and am currently moving from the middle of a deep forest into a haunted Vernacular Victorian house on the coast. With my husband and two sons. And a dog. Also a cat. And, of course, books, lots of them.

When did your love of books begin?

I’ve tried but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books. I must have learned how to read at some point, but...I don’t actually remember it. It feels to me like I’ve always known how. Perhaps a past life influenced me early on? 

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

I remember getting a book of true ghost stories from a scholastic school order (3^rd grade??) and deciding that one day I’d write about things like that. I didn’t end up becoming a ghost-hunter-writer, I ended up writing formal poetry about ghosts (and other macabre things) instead, but...the subject matter stuck with me!

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

My process was to eschew the establishment. I got an English Literature degree, started a Master’s Writing  program and dropped out of it in disgust.  By that time I’d already learned my craft through reading and re-reading everything I could get my hands on -- ghost tales, tales of the unexpected, accounts of witch trials, aliens, formal poetry -- I didn’t need a program which didn’t appreciate what I was doing. Because free verse was the only poetic style recognized as vital, I knew I was always going to be heading into the fray, academically and publishingly speaking. Since I decided long ago not to care about that, I simply proceeded to send my work out anywhere and everywhere I could think of that would possibly accept it. Which is what I continue to do. Is it the best approach?  For me, yes.  Between writing speculatively and in rhyme, I am aware I don’t play well with literary others. That said, by sticking to my own voice, my own vision, I have been successful. I’m in more anthologies and journals than I could have ever dreamed of back when the world was telling me I’d never get published writing in rhyme. And more publications are forthcoming as I write this. 

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

Go to a rummage sale and look at the table of old books from the last century...how many of those authors thought they were successfully lodged in the halls of literary fame but are unknown and/or unread today? It’s quite sobering. And freeing. Success is not the same as fame. Success takes time, fame can fleet. Just write and get on with it. 

Tell us about your book/books:

I tend toward the otherworldly /speculative—edging closer to the darkly supernatural these days. My latest book is Curses, Black Spells and Hexes: a Grimoire Sonnetica published by The Alien Buddha Press. (https://www.amazon.com/Curses-Black-Spells-Hexes-Sonnetica/dp/B09B2FW196). It’s a true grimoire, as in the book is made of real working spells, written in sonnet form. Because rhyme, meter and magic go together, by the time you’ve gotten a spell distilled to fourteen lines of ten syllables each, it is pure and it is strong. And of course it is a poetry book at its heart, so if you prefer to read these poems as not spells but dark spirited sonnets, then that is perfectly fine. I’m sometimes asked if hexes and curses are black magic. There is no black and no white in true magic—just powers used for certain purposes. A good banishing spell solves a lot of problems! 

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I don’t like workshops or readings, but I thought I should have a twitter account to keep up with what is going on. It’s been much more than that. I have connected with people I consider literary friends. All writing crafts, all styles, an endless variety of energy. Positively powerful!

I’m a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, too. Which is another great resource with some very lovely people in it. One of my best literary friendships has come from this association. 

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

My poetry is not necessarily autobiographical. No matter how many poems I write about dark forests and full moons, I am not a werewolf. (Then again, wouldn’t a werewolf say that?)

Where can people connect with you?

https://twitter.com/PoetForest