Author: Dijorn Moss

How did you become a writer?

I started off writing poetry. An English teacher had me read Langston Hughes and Edgar Allen Poe. I knew then that I did not want to do anything else with my life except write. Then I got into playwriting until I came up with an idea that was too big to be a stage play, which led to my first novel, My Father's House.

What are you hoping readers take from your book?

I am hoping that women will get a better understanding of the plight of the Christian man. I hope that men will understand that it is okay to be vulnerable when the occasion calls for it and that though they are flawed, they are not weak.

Who is the hero in your life? How does your hero inspire you?

I have many heroes, but two of them would have to be my grndmother and my cousin. I have seen life throwing the worst it has to offer a t them and I have seen them shake it off and keep pressing towards the mark. We often forgot how heroic we all are and our capacity to triumph.

How do you relax after a ling day of writing?

If I have had a long day of writing then I am too exhausted to read. I will usually eat a good meal and watch a movie with my wife. Now that I am a father, I have to add him in the mix.

What are your favorite marketing and/or promotional tools?

Facebook, I have benefited from the social network immensely. I have gotten a chance to network and reconnect with people and as a result, the Retreat is doing very well.

What is one thing you have learned about the publishing industry?

Forget everything you see in the movies. When you finish a novel your job as a writer may be over, but your job as a businessman/businesswoman has just begun. You have to market your product because essentially you are asking the reader to invest in you.

What  advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Overcome rejection. All the great writers have experienced it and no one is immune to it. The difference between the aspiring and the published comes down to perseverance and the will to pursue against all odds.

Who was the first author you read? What was the title of the book?

Toni Morrison's the Bluest Eye. I still get chill bumps when I think about it. Toni Morrison reminds me of the possibilities one can achieve in writing.

Tell us, what new projects you are working on?

Besides the Retreat, I am apart of the Home Again Anthology which deals with stories of restoration. I am working on a novel that will be finished as soon as I learn how to write during my son's nap time.

Where can your readers find you?

www.dijornmoss.webs.com and on Facebook whatever the forward splash thing is!