Meet Joshua Marcus | Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joshua Marcus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joshua, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Nothing is more satisfying to me than expressing myself with authenticity. I have a creative way of thinking that I manifest in a unique style of writing and artistry. Making that into a career was something I did not believe possible growing up. I saw the adults around me working in professions which provided a sense of financial security, whether they enjoyed them or not. I thought I had to do the same.

However, the passion I saw in the lives of creative people inspired me a lot more than material wealth could. I knew that I would rather live a minimalist life than forgo my creative pursuits, but the thought of taking that leap overwhelmed me.

When I was twenty-five, I spent two months in a psychiatric institution. At the start of my journey there, I felt like a massive failure. Adults were meant to have their shit together, yet here I was, with a half-completed degree, no career to speak of, and struggling with depression. By the time I was discharged, my understanding of who I needed to be had changed completely.

Back then, I had no way of knowing that I would be living my dream life a decade on. All I knew was that I had to start at the bottom again, with no evidence that I had what it took to build a career. After all, I was already twenty-five and unemployed. But I had fallen back in love with life, and that seemed like more than enough.

The lesson I needed to learn was that I was as alive in that moment as I would ever be. I would not become any more real if I wrote a novel that changed the world or made me a millionaire. Only in understanding that could I go back to a life in which I’d achieved none of what I’d hoped to. My artistry did not need to be validated by external factors, as long as I could live fully within myself. In this context, pursuing a creative career was a no-brainer.

In the ten years since then, I have built a career, fallen in love, written a novel, and travelled the world. However, the moments I spent walking my dog or meditating do not mean any less to me than those I spent achieving my career goals.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My biggest influences when I started writing were Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, which led me to believe I’d write dry, philosophical novels. It turns out all the Stephen King novels I read during my youth had much more of an impact on my work. Now my approach to literature is that even an easy read can have tremendous depth.

I don’t stick to any particular genre, but I will always have queer main characters as queer stories are the ones I feel most excited to tell. Writing good sex scenes is important to me, especially since so much queer sex in literature has revolved around trauma and disease instead of celebrating pleasure.

My first novel, The Moralist, is a fast-paced psychological crime thriller. I’m currently working on a queer romance novel with political undertones. Next, I plan on writing some King-inspired horror of my own. All of my characters are nuanced – neither good nor evil – and I’ll never write an outright villain.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Johannesburg is an interesting place to host visitors, as there are multiple facets to explore, from Apartheid history to the diversity of modern life. The history is important – and the Apartheid Museum is a good place for an interested visitor to start – but that’s not how you get to know a city.

Meeting and mingling with other South Africans is easy at a market like The Playground. You’ll find live music and food stalls there every Saturday. It has been bustling in post-Covid times.

One of the most exciting aspects of Joburg is that a short drive can take you from the city to a beautiful hiking spot. Some of the bets include the trails at the Cradle of Humankind and the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve. Drive another couple of hours and you can spend a few days in the wild at the Kruger National Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband Kyle has changed my life. We’ve built a life together which is full of meaning and joy, but their impact on me goes beyond that. They showed me what it means to live life unapologetically, that queerness is about more than just my sexuality, that it is something to be celebrated. They have also been the best partner I could have hoped for in exploring our inner lives and the world around us.

Website: thequeerjew.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_queer_jew/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jomarcus/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaMarcusAuthor/