I’m very happy to introduce
Richard Voza, a life-long New Jersey resident. He has written four
novels, one of which (Connecting Flight) will be released by Start
Publishing. Most of his work tends to lean in the paranormal direction, but
there’s always room for humor in the mix. His film reviews can be found at
Cinekatz.com. He sometimes hangs out with the South Jersey Writers Group.
His current work-in-progress is a time-travel novel called Time.
Marie Gilbert: Hi Richard, it’s a pleasure doing this interview
with you and I have lots of questions. First tell us a bit about yourself and
how and what got you into writing.
Richard Voza:
Ever since college, I have always had something that I could consider a “work
in progress.” During college I wrote a
screenplay, my first real piece of work, and I sent that to a film agent. Good news: he loved it. Bad news: he told me to keep my eye out for a
movie coming out soon called “Pretty Woman.” The only difference between my
story and that film was that my main character was a rock star instead of a
“Wall Street” type of guy. About 20
years ago, during my early years teaching, I wrote a story about a boy caught
in the middle of the Civil War. Since
then, my writing and attitude have grown up.
While teaching for 25
years, I wasn’t taking my writing very seriously. I was always working on
something, but I would just stop after a second or third draft and then do
almost nothing with it. After 15 years
of teaching, I realized that I needed to get more serious about it. I then wrote three novels in about five years. During the past three years – after
completely stepping away from education – I’ve been more focused than ever and
now have a right to call myself “published.”
Marie Gilbert: You have four books under your belt so far, which
one is your favorite? I know this is a tough question, but there has to be one
that you favor more than the rest.
Richard Voza:
you're right, this is a tough question. However, if a choice must be made, I’ll
have to go with an older book, Room 317. It's about a man who has had so
many things go wrong in his life that he's contemplating suicide. Before
doing so, he wants to see the Pacific Ocean. On his way there, he
stumbles into a situation in which he simultaneously witnesses an
"organized" crime while also endangering the lives of a single mom
and her child. He knows he could easily protect himself and walk away,
but instead he is willing to potentially sacrifice himself to protect them.
His personal circumstances make him a candidate to jump off a building or
blow himself up in a crowded movie theater, but instead he manages to attempt
something positive.
Marie Gilbert: What was your inspiration for Mrs. Rabinski? Is she
based on anyone that you know?
Richard Voza:
Don’t tell anyone, but Mrs. Rabinski is based very closely on someone I know.
Although that person has not exactly done the things that Mrs. Rabinski
does, her own life conditions are similar. This is how most, possibly all of my
writing is generated. I look at real-life situation, and I simply think,
"How could this become interesting?" While accompanying someone
on a similar doctor visit that Mrs. Rabinski attends, I twisted it into
something else. To the best of my recollection, that's the same process
for everything I have ever written.
Marie Gilbert: What are you working on now?
Richard Voza:
My current work-in-progress is tentatively titled "Time." Yeah,
that's a bad title, but it's short and easy to type until I change it. I
have always loved and wanted to write a time travel story, but the problem for
me was that I couldn't write one until I had what I considered an "acceptable"
time travel device or theory. The nuclear DeLorean hitting 88 mph was
already taken, and other devices in books I’ve read were just dumb to me.
I was watching a science television show a few months ago about parallel
universes when I finally found my idea/device, and it's connected to déjà vu. The
story involves a character much like in Room 317, but this time the man with
nothing much to live for volunteers for an experiment that might send him back
in time where he potentially can correct all of his mistakes, or he might die. Or
both.
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Marie Gilbert: It’s always nice when we get to see you at the
South Jersey Writers’ Group. What drew you to our group and why would you
recommend someone joining a writers’ group.
Richard Voza:
I found the group after complaining to a friend about a bad writers' group I
had joined. She showed me the Meetup.com website, and a quick search resulted
in the SJWG. The best part of this and hopefully any writers' group is
the camaraderie and encouragement to move forward with your work. At my first
meeting, I heard members talking sadly about their rejection letters. I
interrupted and said, "Hey. Don’t feel down about that. A
rejection means you're trying. I have no rejections to talk about at the
moment, but that means that I haven't been trying hard enough." Now,
about a year later, I have a novel titled “Connecting Flight” that will be
released in a few months by Start Publishing, a small press in New York.
Marie Gilbert: You do movie reviews. What type of movies do you
like to watch?
Richard Voza:
I mostly enjoy movies about "real" people. What I mean is I
don't like movies about wealthy people who have the ability to hop on a private
jet and zip to wherever and buy whatever. Most of us like those movies
because they involve an escape to a fun and exciting lifestyle - but it's
nothing I can relate to. I prefer movies that could be stories about
people I actually know with problems that must be solved by real people who
don't have extreme weapons or government connections.
Marie Gilbert: Did you ever write a bad review of a movie that
everyone else liked?
Richard Voza:
Oh dear yes. I have had the most trouble with my review of 2001: A Space
Odyssey. To me, it was 80% all about the technology without much of a
story. It had the potential for a fabulous story, but it left that
undeveloped. It also had one of the most indecipherable endings ever.
I’ve been told that if I read the book, then I’ll completely understand
the ending. To me, that's unfair. A good movie needs to stand on
its own without the book as a crutch. I have had email arguments with the
late great Roger Ebert about this movie. We also argued about his love
and my similar dislike of The Great Gatsby, another work that everyone loves – except
me.
Marie Gilbert: Richard I want to thank you for this interview for
our Reading Glasses Fans. I loved your story, Mrs. Rabinski and I also have
known people just like her. I’ll be looking forward to reading your upcoming
book, “Connecting Flight” and I’m sure after our followers read Mrs. Rabinski,
they’ll want to read your novel, too.
You can find Reading Glasses on Amazon, Kindle and Smashwords and you can find my book Roof Oasis, an apocalyptic tale with a twist on Amazon and Kindle. The second book in the series will be out this summer.
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