Gregory Mose Interviewed by Shelagh Watkins
Today’s guest, Gregory Mose, is a much traveled author. His first novel, Stunt Road, is a satire on corporate greed; a book that will make you think and ponder life’s deeper issues. When did you begin writing and in what genre? Gregory: My first completed work was a gripping yet emotionally satisfying tale of Flipper the Flying Squirrel, when I was seven. Shunned by big corporate publishing, I moved on as an adult to strive to produce literary fiction, although I still don’t quite know what that means. When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp? Gregory: I aim for writing that is thought-provoking, morally and emotionally challenging, and funny. I like to explore ideas, but to do so in an entertaining way. If I can provoke people to question the world around them without being pedantic, then I feel I’ve done my job. Message? If there’s a message in my writing, it’s simple to question your own motivations, to stop being complacent. Do you have a specific writing style and preferred POV? Gregory: My signature style, if I have one, is the use of humor to highlight moral ambiguity. And generally to avoid trying to puff out my writing with arcane vocabulary that sends even my most educated readers scrambling for their dictionaries. If we need literature to “save” words like “noetic” or “crescive,” Mr. Roth, then quite frankly they are already lost. And good riddance. As for point of view, I’m drawn to first person narratives, but 59