Joshua Kern is an anxiety-riddled individual who is trying to write for a living. He loves reading and the escape books provide from everyday life. Joshua has always wanted to be a writer and finally decided to take the plunge. He's currently writing several series that span a few different genres from GameLit to Fantasy and even a bit of romance. Joshua was born in a little town called Xenia, Ohio, and raised in the even smaller town of Elizabeth, Colorado. He attended University for a time, where he discovered that while he enjoyed Electrical Engineering and Computer Science his true passion lay in writing. Joshua primarily lives in Colorado but has been known to move around as the need arises. When not writing he enjoys riding motorcycles, reading anything he can get my hands on, and anime.
Give my readers a little background on The Dungeon Alaria. Where did the plot idea come from?
It came about when I was thinking of the plot for another series, certain things needed to happen for everything to make sense. Instead of just introducing some random facts I decided to do it by tying another story into the same universe. Alaria is the result of that, a completely different world with its own rules and tribulations that still has some effect on the main story for ‘The Game of Gods’. The plot itself was born through my desire to mix isekai and the dungeon core genres together.
Book 2 of Dungeon Alaria released this year, will there be a third?
There will be no third book for this particular part of the series, I had always envisioned it to be a duology. That said there is plenty more story to be told in that world, so if the readers really want it there can easily be a sequel series with the same characters made. The Dungeon Alaria series was designed to interact with another story, that interaction is now done so I wanted something to differentiate the two series if I decide to continue it.
What book have you read do you believe sparked the writer in you?
Twilight, as weird as I’m sure that sounds. I had the desire to be a writer for a long time before I read that series, but at the time I read it for the first time was a low point in my life. I was having health issues and was more or less confined to my bed and house for several months, and after finishing one of them I just pulled out my laptop and started writing. I still have that story on my computer and plan on rewriting it and making it slightly longer at some point.
If you were able to spend the day with any author, who would it be and what you want to discuss?
Hands down it would be Brandon Sanderson without a doubt. There are so many things I would want to talk to him about, everything from plotting to character development. He is an author that I not only respect but is also a professor. There is so much I could learn from him in person, that I can’t from his Youtube channel.
If money were no object, where would be your dream place to live?
I’m not sure at this point, there are so many places that I consider to be interesting and are on my list of possibilities. Ideally, for now, at least I think it would involve a nice RV trailer and truck to haul it from place to place. Of course, having my own Caribbean island is certainly an attractive option.
How did you pick your character names?
It tends to be a process for me. The first step is I can’t know anyone with that particular name close enough to have them overwrite the character I am creating. Then the name also has to fit the character, certain names invoke certain feelings and thoughts.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Telling the stories I see in my head, and going through the fine details. For a long time, I got around my desire to write by telling myself I could enjoy the stories just fine in my head. Then I wrote a story fully through and found that wasn’t true, I was seeing the broad strokes but not the little details that truly make them interesting. So for me what I enjoy most is seeing those details that surprise me, that I hadn’t seen happening from the broad overview I already had.