Q: What's your name and where are you from?

A: My name is Joe Hoeffner, and I'm from Lynbrook, New York -- Long Island, in other words.

Q: Talk about your journey as a writer. Was there any inspiration you can recall that started it all? When did you know writing was a passion for you?

A: When I was in second grade, my mom was talking hypothetically about what we would be doing in the future, and she said "...and Joseph will be an author." I was kind of surprised by that because I had never said anything about being an author before that. But I liked the sound of it, so that's what I did.

Q: Have you had any formal education in writing? If yes, what did you find most useful from the education? If no, how did you learn everything you currently know about writing?

A: I received a B.A. from Adelphi University and an MLitt from the University of Stirling, which is in Scotland. I had some wonderful professors at Adelphi, including Martha Cooley and Katherine Hill -- there, I learned not to doubt myself so much. I had to do a dissertation for the Honors College, so I wrote a bunch of short stories, and right up until they came out to tell me I got a good grade after my defense, I thought they were going to tell me I had to go back and fix it.

At Stirling, my adviser was the brilliant Kevin MacNeil, who taught me not to disparage other kinds of writing. I was once speaking critically about myself, saying that my attempts at humor felt like a sitcom, and he reminded me (quite gently) that writing a sitcom requires considerable skill.

Q: Do you have a writer’s group that you work with? What other resources have you found that help you out?

A: Not as such, but I send stuff along to my friends sometimes. I probably should find one, though.

Q: What are some of your goals for your writing career?

A: In the short term, I'd like to write a novel before I turn thirty -- I turn twenty-eight in April, so the clock is ticking. But in the long term...well, I'm not delusional. I know what a Herculean effort it takes to get even a meager publication. I just hope to find some kind of audience and bring them some kind of joy.

Q: Talk about one of your favorite pieces you’ve written. Why is that one your favorite?

A: Of the few pieces that have been published, I think "Songs from the End of History" for Magazine1. It combines a few of my favorite things -- music, '90s nostalgia, absurdist humor, etc., etc. -- and, unusually for me, I had a lot of fun writing it. I strained a bit too hard to find some note of pathos, though, because it was for my MLitt thesis project and I was trying to lend it some sense of importance so it didn't seem like a total piss take. But pobody's nerfect.

Q: What does your writing process look like?

A: When I'm under a deadline: I consider an idea, toss it around in my head, and start writing it. Halfway through, I realize I'm not satisfied, at which point it's inevitably too late to change course -- so I try to salvage it as best I can. When I'm not under a deadline, it happens in very sudden spurts, like food poisoning. I wish I could say I was diligent in doing drafts, edits, etc., but familiarity ends up breeding contempt with me -- I always want to get a story out of my system as soon as possible.

Q: What do you do for work? What other hobbies or interests do you have besides writing?

A: I am a freelance writer. I've written articles about music, movies, television, books, and (especially as of late) food. I love to watch movies, listen to music, and cook.

Q: As we all know, most people make little to no money for their writing, yet it’s still an important part of any writer’s life. How do you make time to write? Is there a particular time of day you prefer to write?

A: When I'm finished writing for work for the day, I'm usually too tired to do much more. So, most of my fiction writing gets done on the weekends, usually late at night. I write whatever I can, then I read it over the next morning.

Q: What are you currently reading?

A: Shadowbahn by Steve Erickson. It's about the Twin Towers mysteriously reappearing in South Dakota twenty years after they were destroyed. I absolutely love stories that make their characters come face to face with the bizarre and inexplicable, and while his approach is more haunting and serious than mine might have been, it's still completely engrossing.

Q: Are you currently working on any projects you want to talk about?

A: I have several ideas in the exploratory stage, so to speak. One involves two women stationed on a remote Scottish island at the behest of a being who communicates through a typewriter; another involves a group of people compelled to converge upon one point in search of a woman named Caroline Manning; another is a love story between the groundskeeper of a Victorian manor house and a living statue. I have no idea what will become of these ideas, but I wanted to put them down in writing so one of you can show up at my doorstep and badger me if I haven't made any progress.

Q: What is one piece of advice you can offer to new writers?

A: Don't write to appease people who aren't engaging in good faith. They can smell fear.

Q: Is there anything else you want to talk about?

A: I hope we all get a good night's sleep.