Featured Interview With Voss Foster
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
For the most part, I was raised in Moses Lake, Washington and, aside from a six month period when I was a kid, that’s where I’ve been my whole life. Smack in the middle of potato country.
I grew up around animals. Mostly cats, really. We were known to have 20+ cats at a time. Which made the coyotes very happy. Of course, my herd is slightly smaller, now, but I still have a couple kitties roaming about, and a handful of dogs.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’d say I didn’t truly become fascinated with books until around age eight. Before that, I liked to read. Kind of. But around second grade, that’s when I really immersed myself in reading. And, go figure, I was reading fantasy almost exclusively.
That’s also right around when I first tried out writing. And it met with disastrous failure. I have that very first, early short story in a box, if you really need proof (Although my mind has wandered back to the Adventures of Super Duck. Perhaps it’s time for a rewrite?). But that was mostly just me playing around as a kid. I really got serious about my writing in my junior year of high school. I would even give away short stories as Christmas and birthday presents. And people thought that was just peachy. They loved them. I even wrote my first full book in high school, albeit under protest. But I had to do some kind of project to graduate. A book just sounded right.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors vary, depending upon the day. But I have a few I know I can fall back on, no matter what. Christopher Moore is probably the main one. If I see his name on the spine of a book, I at least know the book will be entertaining, if not pure brilliance. I would put Erin Morgenstern right up there with him, too, if she would just put out another book. The Night Circus is easily the best book I’ve read in a long time. I tore through it three times in a row, it was so good. And, to round out the list, I would say Ira Levin. This Perfect Day and The Stepford Wives are two of my all time favorite books.
My favorite genre is a toss up, for me. I can’t settle between science fiction and fantasy, and I have no intention of trying. I prefer writing fantasy, but with reading it’s about equal, for me.
When it comes to inspiration, my answer always used to be vague. It took me a long time to pinpoint authors and artists who were influential to me as a writer. But recently, I’ve managed to ferret out a few. Edgar Allen Poe was one of the first authors I attempted to emulate, although I didn’t realize. But, when I look back through older works, it’s clear as day. Guillermo del Toro is another one who crept into my creative milieu, with his darkness and generally indistinct fantasy (I’d say Pan’s Labyrinth is the movie of his I took the most away from.). And, in their way, my other friends and acquaintances who write are my biggest inspiration. That conspiratorial spirit we share as fellow creatives is almost addictive.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is The Jester Prince, which is the second book of the King Jester Trilogy. It picks up after the destruction of the eponymous circus from the first book, Zirkua Fantastic. Toby, the main character, is now an immortal, and there’s no more hiding the truth from him. Things are not good, and they’re only going to get worse now that King Jester is free to roam the Earth again. But worst of all is that King Jester, the spirit of discord, has his claws in Toby’s boyfriend, Marley. And nobody seems to concerned about the rescue mission. So what does Toby do? He decides to charge in there himself and rescue Marley. What else would a teenage boy in love do?
I got to spend a month with this book, and I fell in love all over again. The first book, of course, sparked the whole affair. But this one was different. We were no longer on the first date. No more getting to know each other. The characters and the world and I were already well meshed by the time I wrote The Jester Prince. So I just got to play. Which, in the end, is why writers write. Or at least why this writer writes: I get to play.
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