Author Interview:Updated November 2024

UPDATE November 2024:

Deathday is currently making the film festival rounds and has thus far won three Semi Finalist laurels! See the teaser, trailer, cast, crew and FAQ on the Press Kit: Deathday page.

UPDATE July 2023:

You’re filming an independent movie?! How exciting!

Yes. I wrote a short story, Deathday, which I turned into a screenplay. While helping a friend with his documentary, as well as suffering from writer’s block while writing my novel The Absence, I got the idea to film my own movie. I was surprised at myself to say the least since I’d never thought of filming a movie before, and I had no idea how I was going to do it but, I’m doing it!

How did it happen?

Well, I put together a list of what I’d need for the project, i.e., actors, locations, cameras, etc. Then I discussed the project with some friends, did a ton of research, watched some Masterclasses, Googled, Youtubed and, next thing I knew, I was filming a movie! I was truly blessed because people came out of everywhere to help. Locations were offered, ideas were provided, I found actors on Backstage, it was amazing. During my research I found an article that said Ridley Scott, the famous Director/Producer, filmed a movie using the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, so I decided to do the same. I procured the phone and used it to film Deathday.

What?! You filmed Deathday with a phone camera?

I did! I don’t mind saying I was scared, and more than one actor passed on the opportunity to be in the film because of the fact I was using a phone camera, but I have great footage and trust that when I’m done editing, the end result will be amazing.

I look forward to our next interview after you’ve finished the film. I can’t wait!

I can’t wait, either. Talk soon!

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Original Interview

For this writing, I imagined what it would be like for Lucy Aponte, children’s book author, and JP Luce, multi-hyphenate artist, to interview each other. This is the result. Enjoy.

Introduce yourself:

My website’s About page introduces me. I’d hate to be repetitive, so I’ll just briefly say that I worked in corporate America my whole life, until I didn’t.

Can you tell us a bit about the pseudonyms you decided to use?

The idea of using pseudonyms has always captivated me, thus I knew I’d use them in my writing career. Using pseudonyms will place me in amazing company. Among many, a couple of my favorites, Agatha Christie and Stephen King.

My children’s books will be written under the name Lucy Aponte. Aponte is a family surname that I’ve decided to use to honor those who came before me. My novels and short stories will be written under the name JP Luce. I’ll keep the mystery of the JP for now, but the surname Luce is the phonetic spelling of my actual first name, Luz, which means light in Spanish.

Tell us about your first published book: how did it come about, what inspired you to write it?

My first self-published children’s book is “The Little Fly That Lost Her Way,” and “La Mosquita Que Perdió Su Camino,” written in both English and Spanish, starring Maya and Lily, the fly.

It came about because while I was working on my passion project, The Absence, I got to a part in the novel that was very emotional, and needed a mental break, so I started writing the Fly story. Next thing I knew, I had an entire book! I incorporated a memory I had from a while back when I had a fight with a fly that refused to get out of my house and came up with this book.

So, you’re the mom with the fly swatter?

I guess so!

You mentioned The Absence is an emotionally charged book?

It is. It involves family betrayal, a type of pseudo death, and illegal activity.

Without giving it all away, can you tell us what it’s about and, how you developed your characters?

A chemist mourning his dead wife produces a drug that can transport him to specific memories of them together. The chemist allows his mentee, who is also his niece, to try the drug. She is captivated by the experience and, envisioning the wider implications of it, starts producing and trafficking it.

Sounds intriguing!

As for my characters, I tend to envision what a particular character looks like when I’m writing so I can relate to them, like I’m writing about someone already known to me even though I’m just creating the character. I may add a current actor’s picture to help me visualize, or just Google random people, such as a middle-aged man for example, then add that photo to my document so when I’m writing about that character, I have their photo in my mind.

How did you feel about taking a break from The Absence to work on the Fly book?

Initially I was anxious at the fact that I’d stopped working on my passion project to work on something else, but then realized that it was necessary for my mental and emotional health. I could have just stepped away from my passion project and taken a break, but instead I wrote a children’s book.

How was it working with an illustrator located, as they say, “across the pond?”

Working with Abira was great. I found her via another author on TikTok. She’d illustrated said author’s book. I liked what I saw so contracted her. She’s on PeoplePerHour.com. Initially, Abira lived in India, then moved to the U.K. There was a lull during her move, but then we picked up where we’d left off. With Abira located in India then the U.K., I thought it was going to be hard, but we worked well together, communicating via PeoplePerHour, Whatsapp, and short phone calls. In the end, you can see the results. Her work is beautiful.

Will you use her again?

Absolutely.

Nice! Any hobbies when you’re not writing?

I like going to museums and local concerts. I recently attended a jazz concert on a neighborhood street hosted by a local politician. It was amazing sitting out with my neighbors and enjoying music in the twilight.

Do you have a writing technique, i.e., morning, night, etc., and do you self-impose deadlines when writing?

For my WIP (work in progress), The Absence: I’ve done a lot of research for this book, i.e., what I’m writing needs to be plausible. I understand suspension of disbelief, but I still want what I’m writing to be conceivable. As for timetable, I do self-impose deadlines, but if I blow them, I try not to stress. When I started writing creatively again, I used a writing coach, Maureen Anderson. She said that at those times when I need to take a break, I need to grant myself some grace thus, I try not to stress when I blow a deadline.

For children’s books, I try to think as a child would, as well as do research as needed. My upcoming projects run the gamut from suing a person who’s not alive, to children’s books about a farm, so how I approach those projects will differ.

Any takeaways for your readers?

I’ve been writing all my life, but for corporate America. I wrote manuals, reports, emails. I edited others’ reports. Between work and life, there was little time for creative pursuits. I waited until “midlife+” to start writing creatively again so, if you have something on your heart, don’t give up on it.

No matter the fear, which I had plenty of, the naysayers, of which I had a few. Find a way. I recently read something about dying with a song in your heart. Don’t. Find a way to live the life you could have lived before “life” got in the way. I subscribe to the Dylan Thomas method of passing: “do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Unlock the song from your vaulted heart and yell it to the mountains; turn around any rage you may hold against coulda/woulda/shoulda and live the life you can live. While there’s breath, there’s hope, and I’d rather die trying than succumb.