Joe lives outside of Washington, DC with his wife, Yee, and daughter, Elizabeth. Joe has published several short stories in the science fiction genre, including in the Trail of Indiscretion Magazine (Issue 6/Death Imitates Art), Comics Now! Magazine (Issue 3/Man and Superman), Metahuman Press (Psi-Kotic, appearing monthly), 23 House Publishing/Atriad Press (Nights of Blood II/Give Until It Kills (2009)), Whortleberry Press (Christmas in Space Anthology/The Gift of the Karisma (Nov. 2009)), A Thousand Faces (Issue #10/The Return of Power Boy, (Dec. 2009)),and the Comics Artists Guild (Worlds Beyond/It All Started with a Mouse (Forthcoming 2010)).

In addition, Joe has published numerous comic stories, including The Red Line (in U is For United), Economy of Scale and The Phantom Rickshaw (in From Here to There from Resolution Comics), The Body and Through the Eyes of a Child (in CGS Anthology 3), The Prisoner (in Tales from the Comics Experience from Elevator Pitch Press), Iconic 2 (Guild Works Publications (Forthcoming 2010)), and Carnies (a three issue limited series from Resolution Comics (Forthcoming 2011)).

In 2008, Joe was selected as a semi-finalist in the Who Wants to Create a Superheroine contest sponsored by the Shadowline Imprint of Image Comics. Joe also works as an editor and runs the Cup of Geek website at www.joesergi.net. When he is not writing, Joe works for an unnamed government agency.

Q: It’s rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a ‘real’ job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you’ve had in your life? Have they influenced/inspired your writing?

In my day job, I work as a Senior Litigation Counsel for the government.  I can’t really give too many details about what I do, but basically, I try complex and large dollar cases on behalf of the United States Government.  This is the perfect complement to my career as a writer.  Because, at the end of the day, writing and litigation are about the same thing: effective communication.  Litigators are really just nonfiction storytellers who have to communicate their persuasive message across to their intended audience: the judges and the juries.

In fact, I was given some great advice in my career that I try to pass on to all my junior attorneys, as well as my students.  And that is: if someone wants to improve their litigation style, one of the best things they can do is to read and analyze the storytelling method in children’s books and fairy tales.  This is because these simple books tell a complete story (and most times, a subtle message or moral) that can be understood by an audience that is just learning reading comprehension and has a short attention span.

When you take those skills and add a sophisticated audience (like a judge or jury) the effectiveness of the communication improves.  The same holds true for my writing.  For example, Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy is the first in a three book series, which have all been written (with the possibility of more stories in the future if there is demand).  This three book trilogy tells a complete story for Sky Girl; the first book deals with her origin, the second book sets up a major conflict for her, and the third book resolves that conflict.  But, as a story teller, I also know that it is important for each book to stand on own and each novel in the series has a beginning, a middle and an end and can be read on its own, or as part of the larger story.

I have found, as a comic book reader, that nothing is more annoying than reading a mini-series (whether it be 6 issues, 12 issues or even 52 issue) and then find out that the major plot does not get resolved in the book, but rather, requires the reader to invest in an all new series (Marvel and DC, I am looking at you).  I didn’t want to do that with the Sky Girl story.

In addition to my position in the government, I also teach at George Mason University School of Law.  Like litigation, I found that teaching comes to down to effective communication.  And as a result, perfectly complements my writing goals.  I have found that being able to explain the interrelation of distribution and dissolution of S-Corps, LLPs and LLCs under the ULPA, RULPA, and ReRULPA, really helps when I am trying to describe how DeDe’s Skypulse works. (just don’t ask me about midiclorians  or what the island is in Lost because that’s really confusing.)

Sorry for the long answer, but as I warned early on I am a lawyer.  And we all know that lawyers regularly draft 60,000 word documents and call it a brief.

Q: What compelled you to write your first book?

I wasn’t sure whether to answer this as to what compelled my first story or my first novel.  In a strange coincidence, the answer is the same since the first story I ever wrote was also the inspiration for my first novel.  My first story, and perhaps my writing career, can be traced to the Comic Geek Speak podcast or, more specifically, it was the forum associated with the show.  Comic Geek Speak is a group of comic fans that do a podcast about comics.  They are all great guys.

On top of that, their forum is a friendly, welcoming place where people (creators and fans) can express ideas and be encouraged to try new things.  With some encouragement, I wrote my first story called The Return of Power Boy, which originally was supposed to be included as part of a Comic Geek Speak prose project that never manifested (in fact listeners of the CGS podcast may recognize the characters named Peter and Bryan, who play a very important role in the story).  The Return of Power Boy was my gateway into science fiction and fantasy writing.

Without giving too much away, the story provides a very dark look at what happens when the super villain wins the never ending battles against his heroic nemesis.  One of the very minor characters was a four year-old girl named CeeCee, who was the daughter of the main character who may have been a grown up Power Boy.  After the story was finished, I kept coming back to that little girl.  What kind of life would she live, would she develop her father’s powers, and what would she do if she did?

Well, CeeCee became DeDe, and the character of Sky Girl was born.  And while Sky Girl ended up being a much different character and Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy, a more light-hearted book, there are definitely some common themes between the two tales and, at one point, the openings were nearly identical.  In an even stranger coincidence, I continued to publish other short stories and comics while publishers considered the Return of Power Boy.

And the story was eventually released in issue 10 of A Thousand Faces, the Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction, which came out shortly before the release of the novel.  This required me to completely rework Chapter 0 of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy so that the characters ended up in the same place thematically, but took different very different paths to get there.  It was challenging, but also fun.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I have always been a storyteller.  As a child, I spent a lot of my time in imaginary worlds with imaginary friends and fantastic creatures.  Luckily, I had teachers and parents that encouraged this behavior rather than medicating me.  My parents tell me that they used to get notes about my vivid imagination. I also have very fond memories of sitting in the back of the car on long family trips with my markers and crayons and making my own comic books. In college and law school, I found an outlet for my creativity through standup comedy and acting.  As an adult, I decided that I wanted to be a litigator.  Many people think this is because a trial attorney is just a story teller with the judge or jury as the audience (nonfiction of course).

Q: Tell us briefly about your book.

Imagine living up to a legacy that no one can remember. Sky Girl is the story of an ordinary teenager with an extraordinary destiny.

DeDe Christopher is an average high school sophomore with dreams of winning the National Gymnastic Tournament and dating the school quarterback. But her world changes when DeDe begins to develop fantastic abilities that are strangely similar to those of a fictional comic book superhero named SkyBoy. With the help of her best friend, Jason, a self-proclaimed comic geek, DeDe begins a quest to discover her true destiny as she confronts the all-too-real enemies and allies of SkyBoy. She must deal with capes, apes, and aliens to find a way to live up to a legacy that no one can remember and become Sky Girl.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

I like to work on several projects at once.  I just finished an anthology project with a bunch of great guys I met through Andy Schmidt’s Comic Experience Class.  We each wrote a five page story and then formed Elevator Pitch Press to release the book.  My story is about an agoraphobic, who must decide whether to leave his sound-proof, airtight, temperature-controlled brownstone after he believes the outside world has been destroyed in a terrorist attack.

The book is called Tales from the Comics Experience and is available from Indyplanet.com and we are running a special at DCBService.com where the book can be purchased at a discount and it comes with a free signed and numbered mini poster.

I have just finished a prose story entitled It All Started with a Mouse for World’s Beyond, which features a murder mystery involving a serial killer that murders animatronic robots in a theme park.  I am also finalizing a couple of comic stories based on Public Domain characters (PT Barnum vs. Sherlock Holmes; a modern retelling of Don Quixote; and a Cinderella story with a male lead) for the soon to be released Iconic 2.  Finally, I have just started a couple of comic scripts (a grind house inspired story and a supervillain heist story) as well as a few horror short stories.

Q: Do you have a favourite character? Why is s/he your favourite?

I have always been partial to Jason.  He is the comic book geek.  I relate to him in any many ways.  However, unlike Jason, who flies his geek flag proudly, I tried to hide my geekiness. In college and law school, I snuck out to the comic shops at night so no one knew I bought them.  I would never give any hint as to the level of passion I had with science fiction books, television, and movies.

And, I would not have been caught dead at a convention.  I even (gasp) feigned interest in sports.  At some point, I decided it was more important to be who you are.  Jason made that decision early and stands by it.  In fact, to this day, I have friends and coworkers who believe writing comics, science fiction, and young adult novels are childish and that I am wasting my time.  I think Jason would feel sorry for those people.

Q: What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write? Do you need the noise or the silence?

I have a pretty unique writing process.  I write all of my first drafts on my blackberry as emails, which I send to myself and edit later.  It is a habit I developed during very long-standing room only commutes to my job.  So, I can pretty much tune out the world when I write and sometimes listen to music, other times I sit quietly, and still others I stand on a crowded train.

However, when I do my final editing, I always like to listen to movie and television soundtracks (usually very late at night).  I have a very large collection, which runs the gamut from classic to anime to horror to science fiction.  I can always find something to put me in the mood.  For the final big battle scene in Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy, I remember listening to Alias, Superman Returns and King Arthur.  Those scores really create the heroic mood.  By contrast, I played Blade Runner, The Black Hole and 2001, A Space Odyssey when I worked on It All Started With A Mouse.

Q: How do you balance out the writer’s life and the rest of life? Do you get up early? Stay up late? Ignore friends and family for certain periods of time?

It is very hard to fit in the writing.  My position as a Senior Litigation Counsel is more than a full-time job.  Add on to that my teaching obligations, my writing classes that I take with Comics Experience (which I highly recommend by the way), and the fact that I have a five year old daughter, and time gets pretty tight.  I do the majority of my writing on commutes or while waiting.

As I said, I type my stories on a blackberry, which means I can work pretty much anywhere.  I really like the portability of the blackberry.  I can jot down quick story notes or even write an entire chapter or short story on a plane ride.  The main down side to my method is that the second draft has to be heavily edited since the original emails contain typos as they are essentially emails.

So sometimes I will write on a plane and then edit the draft in the hotel when I arrive, but before I have to do work.  If I am not travelling, most of my writing occurs late night/early morning after everyone has gone to bed.  I sometimes get so engrossed that I inadvertently pull all nighters.

There are times when real life gets so busy that I decide to stop writing.  For example, I recently had a lengthy trial, which left little time for anything else.  I should note, however that it is during those periods that I find my most creative story ideas.

Because my time is limited, it pays to have a supportive family.  I have been married to my wife, Yee, for ten years.  I often joke that she is the only one who would put up with me.  Although I think she would much rather do something (or anything) else, she is very supportive and reads my stories and listens to my ideas as I ramble on about superheroes, zombies and aliens.  She is also my harshest critic and frequently informs me that my books are “not her genre.”

My five year old daughter Elizabeth is more supportive than she will ever know. She accompanies me to conventions and book fairs (frequently in her Sky Girl costume).  She also gives hugs upon demand when the work gets tough, which is always helpful. What she doesn’t realize is that she is the inspiration for Sky Girl.  As a comic fan, I wanted to bring her into my comic world and give her the same enjoyment I get from these books.

But, as a father, I wanted to find a strong role model for her, which was lacking in the current pop culture. I created Sky Girl because she presents both a fun action story and is a good normal kid.  I think she likes it since she is always asking to dress up as Sky Girl. And if you ever meet me at a show, there is a very good chance that you might just see her in her costume at my table.

I am not going to lie and say things are perfect with my family.  I get a lot of flack for not coming down for dinner when I’m finalizing a short story or for typing on my blackberry in the mall when an idea hits me, but it could be much worse.  Writing is a pretty solitary thing.  It is good to have people around you when you are not doing it.

Q: When they write your obituary, what do you hope they will say about your book/s and writing? What do you hope they will say about you?

When I was shopping Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy around, several publishers were interested in the book but ultimately decided that the target audience for prose super hero fiction was too small.  I do not believe that and hope that I can prove them wrong with my book.  I do not believe that comic fans will avoid my book because it doesn’t have pictures in it.

Similarly, I don’t think young adult, fantasy, and science fiction readers will avoid the book because it is about a superhero.  There is a market for fun superhero stories and it does not matter what medium they are presented in, whether it be film, comics or novels.

I hope I am remembered for trying to challenge industry norms in an effort to reach new readers and dispel these misconceptions.  I hope Sky Girl is remembered for helping me succeed in that challenge.

Q: Where you have lived and what you have experienced can influence your writing in many ways. Are there any specific locations or experiences that have popped up in your books?

My book takes place in Colonia, New Jersey, which is a real town.  The places in Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy are real.  In fact, like DeDe, I grew up in a white house on the corner of Hartland Court in Colonia, New Jersey.  And while there is no Debole Academy, the main setting for most of the book, is based on my high school alma mater Bishop George Ahr in Edison, New Jersey (the name Debole is the maiden name of one of my best friends).

Similarly, the Laohu School of Dance is located on the site of the Inman Avenue Krausers, one of the many places I used to buy my comics as a kid.  (Lau is also my wife’s maiden name and I pictured actress Kelly Hu when I created Coach Lee).  The similarities go on.  So, while some of the names have been changed, if you were to visit Colonia, you would certainly recognize the location if you saw it.

Q: Is there any particular book that, when you read it, you thought, “I wish I had written that!”?

I recently read Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli.  That book takes sequential storytelling to a new high.  He utilizes everything from the panel layout, to the coloring, to the lettering to craft his tale.  I really felt like an incompetent comic’s creator.  Since then, I have spoken to several people in the industry about the book and it appears that most creators that read the book feel the same way, which I hope means that my feeling of inadequacy is a reflection of how good the book is and should not be an indication of my work.

Q: Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where?

I am very actively promoting Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy.  As such, I will be attending several comic conventions and Book Festivals this year.  In fact I just finalized my table for New York Comic Con to be held on October 8^th through the 10^th, I will also be at the Baltimore ComiCon on August 28^th and 29^th.  Additionally, I will have a table at the Collingswood Book Festival on Saturday, October 2, 2010 in New Jersey.  Lastly, I plan on attending, but have not finalized the Big Apple ComicCon, the New Jersey ComicCon, and (hopefully) the National book Festival.  Check www.skygirlnovel.com/tour.html for an updated tour schedule.

Q: It’s one thing to write a book and another to edit it. How do you feel about the editing process? What was it like to edit your book?

The hardest part of writing Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy, or really any work of fiction, is the editing–especially if you decide to cut something.  For examples, in the original draft, Dianne had remarried and DeDe had a little brother.  Because of this, I had a completely different role for Michael Valjorge–he was going to be a school janitor that DeDe and Jason tried to avoid while they tested DeDe’s powers.  In early edits, it became apparent that these extra characters only complicated the plot and didn’t add anything.  So, they were cut from the novel and Valjorge came in as the boyfriend.

Use this space to tell us more about who you. Anything you want your readers to know. Include information on where to find your books, any blogs you may have, or how a reader can learn more about you and writing.

I would like to thank you for having me on the Hot Author Report.  Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy is my baby and I appreciate the chance to talk about it.  As I said, when I was shopping the book around, several publishers felt that the target audience for prose super herofiction was too small.  I do not believe that and hope that I can prove them wrong with Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy.

To help accomplish this, I throw out this unorthodox offer.  If you decide to use Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy as part of your reading or book club, I will make myself available (in person locally and by phone for others) to talk to your group and answer questions about the book, free of charge.  The same applies to schools and libraries that want carry to the book.

Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy is available online through all the major bookstores (Amazon.com, B&N.com and Booksamillions.com) and has been spotted in a few comic shops and brick and mortar stores.  I should also mention that I am running a promotion with DCBService.com for the month of June so that if you order Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy (which, last time I checked, is on sale for 30% off the cover price), I will personalize each book, sign and date it, and include a sketch doodle on the inside cover of a character from the book.

My author website is www.joesergi.net.  The official website for the book is www.skygirlnovel.com.  I am on facebook and the book has its own fan page on there as well.  I am on Good Reads and Comicspace (as Justice).  I am also an avid poster (as Justice) on the Comic Geek Speak forums at Thecomicforums.com.  Unfortunately, I have not yet broken the Twitter seal yet.

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