Q&A with Joshua Phillip Johnson

From my Q&A with Joshua Phillip Johnson, author of The Forever Sea:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I spent an enormous amount of time on my title, and my hope is that it gives readers both a sense of the lyrical prose as well as a glimpse into the mythology of the book. And beyond that, I hope it signals that the environment here is a major focus—if not the focus! Initially, I had called it The Book of the Forever Sea, but it was too misleading (since there’s no actual book in this novel called that). Following that getting nixed, I tried out longer, more poetic titles that were all iterations or permutations of the “A Noun of Noun and Noun” formula, but each one felt like a well-walked path, and so I settled with The Forever Sea.

What's in a name?

Names are all about sound for me. My main character is named Kindred Greyreach, and she’s...[read on]

Visit Joshua Phillip Johnson's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Forever Sea.

Q&A with Joshua Phillip Johnson.

--Marshal Zeringue