Featured Interview With Phillip Vega
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Phillip Vega. I’ve always been a storyteller, but never put pen to paper until August 2015. Suddenly, I had a publishing contract, and in the midst of the vortex of marketing, analytics, refining, and continuing to write, I’ve discovered my true calling and passion. I’m now fully and happily immersed in the whirlwind that is the publishing industry, even as I diligently continue my work in software sales.
I’m a former-Long Islander with Hispanic roots, now living Florida, and it is from those memories of summers on Long Island that I crafted my debut novel, Last Exit to Montauk. Now I can’t stop my brain from working through new ideas for future stories, which is why I currently have sixteen other stories in various stages.
My hobbies, aside from enjoying my ongoing work as a published author, include many of the other art forms: singing, performing, and reading. The beach is always home to me. . . and laughter, whether my own or someone else’s, is an unsurpassed joy that I embrace whenever possible.
I live in the Tampa Bay area with my wife, four sons and “two and a half dogs,” which are actually four dogs, but three are Chihuahuas while the fourth is a shepherd, who thinks she’s a Chihuahua, so I call it “two and a half.”
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Growing up, I never really enjoyed reading books. As a teenager though, I started reading comic books, DC mostly. You know, Superman, Batman, Flash, etc. In my late teens through early twenties, I caught the “acting bug”, and began devouring plays. I loved Neil Simon, David Mamet, and other modern authors. I guess this is when I really started enjoying reading and gained a fascination with books.
Writing, on the other hand, just recently started, as a fluke, to be frank, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, in August 2015. My wife and I came home from grocery shopping, and after putting the groceries away, she turned in for a nap with the dogs, leaving me alone to watch TV.
Unfortunately, or fortunately I suppose, nothing caught my attention, so I turned on my iPad, opened Pages and started typing. Before I knew it, I was three chapters into my debut novel, Last Exit to Montauk. It was like a floodgate opened. Images began to play in my mind’s eye, like a video or movie, dialogue and soundtrack included.
Fast forward to the end of October 2015, and I had an 800-page story in my hands, and had no idea what to do with it. Writing a novel, let alone sixteen other ones, was never on my road map. I didn’t know publishers, or editors, and had no idea what to do next.
Over dinner with another couple, I mentioned that I wrote an 800-page story, in between providing an update on the kids and my job. My friend, Carol, brought me back to the story part, and began asking me what my plans were. When I told her I had no plans, she put me in touch with a friend of hers, author, Russ Elliott, who, in turn, put me in contact with my editor and publisher, Janet Fix, thewordverve.
Oddly enough, she wasn’t taking on new clients, but agreed to read my massive piece as a favor to Russ. A few days later, she followed up with me, shared with me the visceral reaction she had to my story, and asked to work with me, even offering to publish Last Exit to Montauk, which is what happened this year, on May 2, 2017.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have a few. I love Jack Reacher novels. I also enjoy Jack Ryan novels as well. Other authors/books I enjoy include, Joseph F. Girzone’s Joshua series, Harry Potter series, Hunger Games, Howard Stern, Stieg Larsson, Lawrence Kelter, Cheryl Bradshaw, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and others.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
It’s called Last Exit to Montauk. According to my readers, Last Exit to Montauk had them laughing and crying in the beat of just a few pages.
It’s a coming-of-age romantic tale of young love, based in the 1980’s and summertime on Long Island. Though the main characters are in their late teens, this is not classified as a new-adult novel, though it certainly could appeal to readers in that category.
Instead, I see it as a love story for any age. And my readership thus far attests to that, talking about memories of first love, or Long Island, or summertime anywhere, or the icons of the 1980’s—or all of the above. It’s also received endorsements from some heavy-hitters in the book industry as well.
Here’s a blurb from the back cover:
When he approaches her at the market, he has no idea the next three weeks of his life would change him forever.
It’s the late 1980’s, summertime, on the North Shore of Long Island. The air stirs with possibilities as it often does during this time of year. And so begins the romance between one Hispanic seventeen-year-old male, on the verge of manhood and ready to conquer the world, and one beautiful and intelligent young woman named B.
It is much more than romance, though. B will forever become a part of this young man’s soul. He will never forget her. This is a coming-of-age story, a love story, replete with milestones, tangled emotions, and adventures that are the embodiments of first love. Not just for the young, but for the young at heart.
The book is available in digital and paperback formats at all online retailers, including:
Amazon book Links: https://goo.gl/wNe2q4
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/721024
Website: https://phillipvega.com
Publisher: https://thewordverve.com/shop/last-exit-to-montauk
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles