EXPOSED: A Interview with MOCTEZUMA JOHNSON

THANK YOU, MJ!
 
I hate ingratitude more in a man/Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness,/Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption/Inhabits our frail blood—Shakespeare
 
The ingenious Moctezuma Johnson, more affectionately referred to as simply MJ (thank god!), recently interviewed me as I get ready to release my latest book, Thorne: Rose’s Dark Contract, the first in a series.
 
His questions made me think, as I knew they would, as MJ is no ordinary thinker or writer or poet or person. He is uniquely MJ.
 
I thought I’d share a sneak peek with you today to thank him for taking the time to get to know me by sharing my favorite question and a bit of my answer.
 
MJ asked, and I quote:
With which writer would you secretly trade places? (so, no Shakespeare is not an option, use your brain!). Yup. But see above. I still snuck in my Shakespeare!

I won’t share my whole interview (I want you to read it when it comes out!). But I will say this. This was a very difficult question, one that I thought would be easy. Trading places. How fun. But as I answered, I realized that this life is uniquely mine, and yes, I have seen my fair share of heartache and I question myself, my journey, my goals, my decisions, my choices. But I realized, this is my go. I am here to learn. To grow. To be all that I can be. I have tasted happiness but I also have tasted pain. But isn’t that living? Why else are we here? I’m not sure I can actually answer that question, but what I deduced is that I am me. And upon inspection, I’m okay with that.

HERE IS MY ANSWER:
All my favorite writers led tragic lives it seems. Depression. Suicide. Mental insanity. Or, they led “lives of quiet desperation.” Hemingway, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Kate Chopin, Emily Bronte, on and on and on. So….my favorite works do not equate to trading places.

To answer, I think I would wish to trade places with E.E. Cummings. A male. An artist. A writer.  A genius. Someone who did what he wanted instead of what others expected of him. A glutton. A sexual deviant who loved and lusted many at one time. But only to see what it’s like to have that lack of conscience and to live in moment (“since feeling is first”) without the fear I carry. The fear of guilt. The fear of consequences. And the fear to really fly and live.

But then, deep down, I don't dislike myself or my life so much that I would REALLY want to trade places. In fact, I rather like the life I've had, the life I have, and the life I will continue. After all, it is me. It was who I was meant to be this time around.

I like that I care. I like that I care for others and their feelings. And I like that I want love and loyalty and honesty. I think it’s important to live life in the moment but also with conviction and attention to those around us. I don’t really WANT to be a glutton or a sexual deviant. I think it would get old. Fast.
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 But... for a day or a week or a month? J I’d like that!
Visit here for more of MJ and I’ll keep you posted when the interview is up and complete!

http://www.moctezumajohnson.com/?page_id=41