Welcome, today we are talking with Joannes Rhino! I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions.
First, I think it’s important for readers to get a little insight on an author that they don’t necessarily get from your professional bio. You’d be surprised at what readers connect to, and sometimes the simplest ‘I can relate to that’ grabs their interest where nothing else can. Don’t answer anything you feel uncomfortable with.
Can you share a little something about Joannes Rhino that’s not mentioned in your bio on your website?
I used to be a very quiet person and tend to keep silent when it came to giving opinion about something. This situation inspired me to write because I wanted to be heard. My inspiration came from my surrounding and personal life experience. I believe it’s easier to express yourself based on what you see and feel.
What are your favorite animal, food, movie, TV show, actor, singer, and author?
- Animal : dogs
- Food : chocolate
- Movie : Any
- TV Show : any
- Actor : Johnny Depp
- Singer : None
- Author : Sidney Sheldon
What are your pet peeves?
- Cats who tease dogs from outside the fence
- People who are mean to animals
- When you genuinely ask someone what’s wrong (when there obviously is something wrong) and they respond half-heartedly, “hmmm? oh nothing…”
- Double negatives.
- Someone standing over my shoulder reading the computer screen.
Who is your hero?
I’d say that my hero would be my best friend in one of the companies I worked with. He handed me a novel by Paulo Coelho “The Alchemist” and a motivational book by Rhonda Byrne “The Secret”. Those books really changed my perspective about life, and that was when I decided to let go of the glamorous life I had at the time and followed my dream.
Give us one thing on your bucket list.
To have a vineyard in a small village of Italy.
What would readers find surprising about you?
The fact that as an author I don’t read books much. I prefer to watch movie.
If you could go to heaven, who would you visit?
My dearest Mom
Any bad habits?
I can provide a high quality of writing only at night between 12am until 4am.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
Taking a dump in the middle of the street of Melbourne, Australia. It was 2 am in the morning and all public restrooms were closed. No café or public areas nearby. I had no other choice.
Now that our readers know a little bit more about Joannes Rhino, let’s get down to the business of your book, The Unseen Face. How long did it take you from beginning to end before your novel was completely finished, and how did you decide on the topic and title?
Honestly speaking, the writing process didn’t take that long. No more than 6 months I got it done, roughly. However, the editing process took a lot of time, money and efforts.
As for the topic, I decided to be Psychology/thriller because I love such genre. I ended up with “The Unseen Face” as the title because obviously the title explains what the book is all about.
With an almost 5-star rating on Amazon (155 reviews) and a 4.2-star rating on Goodreads (137 reviews) the success of The Unseen Face must please you tremendously. Please tell us about your book.
A key word of the spiritual message in the book is FORGIVENESS. We have to remember that everything is giving by purpose. Hatred and revenge are not the best friends in our spiritual journey. Non ability to deal with negativity is leading to serious crimes, psycho problems, crumpled life and as an end result – wrong direction and wrong Spiritual Choices.
The Unseen Face is actually based on my close mate’s testimony about his disease. He had struggled with mental disorders since the loss of his loved ones. His story was very triggering for me to come up with The Unseen Face. However, it also elicited a lot of unexpected responses, negative or positive. For that reason, and to protect my friend’s personal life, I decided to twist up some of the facts. The content of The Unseen Face, however, 80% is based on actual event.
What was your hardest challenge writing this book?
The hardest part in making The Unseen Face is how to make the book a page turner right from the first page, because most of the times I got carry away by telling something so detail that shouldn’t and made it boring.
Any other works in progress?
I have been working on this “special” book about religion since the last 4 years but unable to get it done due to not brave enough to bring up the subject. Realizing that I’m still living in the third world country where religion does matter and the majority of people here are narrow minded, I think the wisest thing to do is to wait a couple more years until I move to New Zealand.
I understand that in your daily job you are an editor and copywriter. What’s that like? Did that inspire you to become a writer?
Well actually, it was my friend in high school who first spotted my writing talent, and so I thought how cool would it be to be a writer. And just like that, everything happened naturally after that.
Working as an Editor in one of the biggest publishing companies in the country really help me in terms of financial. I mean who could live with royalties as main income? And working as an editor is quite fun as well. I travel a lot, I do a lot of activities, and I see what people normally don’t. In short, I am living most of people’s dream!
Any advice for aspiring authors?
Be yourself! That’s very important. I mean, don’t try to write using your favorite author’s writing style. Use your own style, and don’t be afraid to show people what’s inside your head.
Final words?
You are who you think you are
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