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| Archives October 21, 2007 www.webdigestweekly.com |
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| With popular titles like The Fallen and Demon Tears, Joshua Dagon has created for himself a pair of hit novels as well as a loyal fan base. He’s wildly popular these days and his works are in high demand. Currently finishing up his third book, Joshua has been very busy lately. His work is unique, exciting, and thoroughly original. It’s no wonder he’s become a celebrated author in the industry. Living in Las Vegas, Joshua is acutely aware of winning big and the characters who populate this world are as colorful and as exciting as any on the planet. Mingling in touches of personal experience, interspersed with characters vividly created, and magnified through excellent storytelling, the followers of Joshua’s work can easily attest to his original style. He’s not your everyday wordslinger. He’s an artist of immense talent and far reaching aspirations. Aspirations which are already coming true. Spending a while chatting with Joshua (or JD, as he asked me to call him) was a real treat for me. Having read his work, and having mutual friends, I was keen to get to know him better. I discovered a warm and charming young man who is just bursting at the seams with energy. His excitement over the things going on in his orbit these days is contagious. More importantly, the guy behind the excitement is a gem indeed. I’m pleased to present him here. |
| WDW |
| Joshua Dagon Lucky In Las Vegas |
| Married/Single/Divorced/Involved? JCP: Do you have any children? JD: Are you kidding? I can’t even keep a plant alive. JCP: What are your hobbies? JD: I’m sure I’m not the first writer to tell you that his primary hobby is reading. A good novel is such a pleasure to me that I have to be careful I don’t indulge to the point of excess. I like non-fiction, too, and study Judaeo-Christian history, hermeneutics, and basic Biblical etymology. JCP: Who are your heroes? JD: I can’t get enough of the work of E. L. Doctorow, Gore Vidal, and Anita Diamant. Of course I grew up reading Stephen King, James Clavell, and Anne Rice. I discovered Jeff Long’s work a few years ago, which is riveting. Oh, and I can’t forget Tom Wolfe, Jay McInerney, and Bret Easton Ellis. JCP: Favorite food? JD: Seafood. JCP: Favorite place? JD: Well, I live in Las Vegas, and there are simply too many from which to choose. How many people have a real pyramid right down the street from their home? Not only that, but you can go there and get schnocked on margaritas. This is a great city; I think every hotel in the world should have its own roller- coaster. JCP: Favorite movie? JD: I have to admit I’m a fan of the big budget, blockbuster type of films, especially this new fad in Hollywood for making serial movies: The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Harry Potter films in particular. JCP: How casual would you say you are? Would you say shoes, socks, or bare feet? JD: I’m nothing but casual. Professional work attire for me is a T-shirt, socks, and boxer briefs. JCP: What bit of wisdom or advice can you pass along? JD: A friend once told me that “we tend to criticize most in others that which we fear of ourselves;” the understanding of which is, I think, crucial. JCP: And what are you most proud of? JD: The projects I’ve pursued with my editor and publisher, Arthur Breur, these past few years, The Fallen, Demon Tears, and now Into the Mouth of the Wolf, are works of which I’m exceptionally proud. JCP: JD, thanks again for this great experience. JD: Oh, no, thank you! |
| JC Parrish |
| It’s impossible not to recognize brilliance when you see it, and I’ve seen it in Joshua Dagon. He’s such a dynamo that any other description would be unflattering. He’s also someone who loves people and loves to make friends. His mind always seems to be spinning with possibilities and ideas. That he’s become a friend is something I’ m quite pleased with indeed and spending a while in his world has been a delight. Opening one of his novels is like falling into an exciting place where you don’t really want to leave. Fortunately, he’s busy expanding these worlds and creating new ones with which to delight his fans. JD is a guy who aims to please. Joshua's Website: www.joshuadagon.com |
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| working with my publisher to promote both of my novels. We’ve just completed our second printing and also recently partnered with a distributor. JCP: Are you working on a new book now? JD: Always. The new book is called Into the Mouth of the Wolf, and will be available this fall. JCP: What will the new book be about? JD: The novel is the first person narrative of Russell Sheppard, a victim of lycanthropy, which means he’s been bitten by a werewolf. The story begins nearly thirty years after the first werewolf was documented on video, after which the infection spread around the world. JCP: Your first novel, The Fallen, was a big success. Where did it come from? JD: The Fallen began as a magazine article I was writing for my first editor, Steve Kammon. We’d been discussing the issue of facing one’s personal demons and the way so many young gay men turn to drugs and hedonism as a means of doing this. Using my own experience with the gay party circuit, I suggested an article in which one of the drugs would be given a voice and a personality. The idea was to compose a literal dialogue in which the subject could face his demon. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but one day I realized my 1,200 word article had grown to 15,000 words, and that I was in fact writing a book. JCP: And Demon Tears? JD: Demon Tears is the second half of the same story; volume two, I suppose you could say. When the premise for The Fallen first got hold of me, it was creatively overwhelming, quickly developing into a very ambitious work that treated many aspects of life with which I’d struggled as a young man. Having been raised Catholic in Orange County, California, I was taught to believe that being gay was wrong and a sin. Homosexuals were ‘demonized,’ in other words. So, the nature of good and evil has always been a particular fascination to me. When the story I’d begun in The Fallen grew too long to stand as a single novel, the decision was made to split the work into two books, consecutively released, about ninety days apart. JCP: Is it true you’ve got a hidden message in your works? JD: I would hope the messages in my works wouldn’t be hidden. Certainly, I love symbolism and metaphor. JCP: What’s the most challenging part of writing for you? JD: Being brief. ;-) JCP: How much of yourself, meaning life experience, goes into your work? JD: Everything in my books, even the stuff I completely made up, comes from my own life experience. Some folks might call that psychosis. Let’s not be judgmental, though, I always say. JCP: Your characters seem to take on a life of their own. Does that just happen or do you plan it that way when you’re working? JD: My characters do seem to come alive for me in a very gratifying way. I’d like to take credit for planning it, but... Uh, yeah, okay, I plan it. It’s totally planned. I do that on purpose. Yup. I plan it that way while I’m working. JCP: Where do you see yourself five years from now? JD: I see myself exactly where I am right now: At the keyboard, writing, and spectacularly happy doing so. Perhaps, however, I’ll have a bigger home and a nicer car. JCP: What’s next for you? JD: Once this next novel is complete I’ll be working on a short story for Breur Media, something specifically for electronic publication. After that, I’ll be continuing work on a third novel in The Fallen series. |
