Sho Okumoto interview

November 01, 2022

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

My love of books started at a very young age, reading Japanese, English, and Chinese books. As a child, my favorite books to read were picture books, Japanese manga, and comics. One of my favorite authors, when I was a child, was Roald Dahl.

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

I have been writing quotes for a while from a young age and my mother always used to tell me I should write and publish a book one day. At the time, I wasn't thinking about becoming an author and carried on living my life, enjoying my youth years.

In 2011, I started to travel overseas, and I started to live abroad. In 2019, I decided to start a business. After three failed startup businesses in 2019, things were not going great for me and I was pretty much digging a hole for myself, losing ideas, and running out of options. One day, sitting by myself in the dojo, during the night, I started to reflect and remembered when my mother told me when I was a kid, I should write and publish a book one day. I was pretty much stuck, out of ideas and I decided I will publish a book. I was still writing quotes in my notebook and had enough materials to publish a book. I had nothing to lose, and I wrote and published my first inspirational quote book in 2019. From there on, my journey as an author began.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Anything new you have chosen to pursue and a new path you have chosen to take, it is always trial and error in the beginning. You will experiment a lot, trying to find an understanding of what works for you and what doesn't work for you. Through time, I found what truly works for me and I was able to have a process for my writing that I felt comfortable and happy with. We are all different, so I always believe there is no such thing as the right way or the wrong way, but all knowledge is useful and powerful in many ways. Take what works and is useful for you and put aside what doesn't work for you but never discard it. Every knowledge has its place and has a purpose. You never know, somewhere down the line, the knowledge, or the process you have left aside, may come into use and will be helpful at that moment in your life. Always be open-minded, keep learning, keep exploring and let the creative juices flow and write them down.

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

For those wanting to become an author, never give up. It is one tough road, but it is a very satisfying and rewarding journey. Write from your heart, tell a story you want to share with the world genuinely, and genuinely believe in your story with confidence. Always remember, you will get haters and doubters during your journey as an author. That is just life, accept it and carry on, and push forward to becoming a successful author. Never let those people take you down. Mute them, rise above them and pursue your dream, write what you truly want to write, and speak from your heart. Stay true, stay original and tell your story to entertain people all around the world.

Tell us about your book/books:

I write crime, thriller, and action-adventure fiction stories. I enjoy writing about the yakuza. I also write inspirational quote books and I also produce photo comic books.