Interview with humorist Ben Mariner

Today’s special guest is Ben Mariner. He’s chatting with me about his post-apocalyptic humor book, Apocalypse Wow.

During his virtual book tour, Ben will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Ben Mariner is the author of Apocalypse Wow as well as The Many Lives of Zane Montgomery, which definitely sold some copies to some people. He currently lives in Denver with his wife and animals. He enjoys mozzarella sticks, dunk tanks at carnivals, and solving crime with his psychic powers and best friend/sidekick.

Welcome, Ben. Please share a little bit about your current release.
Apocalypse Wow is about a 30-something guy who’s life is going nowhere. One day he meets the girl of his dreams and falls completely bum over noggin almost immediately. The two go on the perfect date, and then he wakes up to find out that a week has passed since the date and the world has ended in the interim. Thinking pretty much only himself, Jack sets off on a cross country road trip with his friends to find the love of his life.

What inspired you to write this book?
I don’t really remember where the idea for this book came from. It happened sometime in high school which was, sadly, over a decade ago. The idea just kept coming back to me over and over again, so eventually I just sat down and got it all down on paper.

Excerpt from Apocalypse Wow:

A man who could best be described as homeless was standing in the middle of the merry-go-round as the metal saucer twirled slowly around. His clothes were filthy, and the hair that stuck out the bottom of his tin foil hat was matted and disgusting. In his hands he held a piece of cardboard that was about three feet by three feet with black writing that read: THE END IS NEAR. For some reason, I couldn’t help but stand and watch the man slowly rotate over and over again, reading the sign each time it came around. I found myself wondering three things. First, why was he standing in that abandoned park instead of on a street corner that people other than me frequented, so that he may spread his message? I would think that everyone would like to know that the end – whatever that entailed – was near. Second, why do all homeless doomsday prophets have to be so vague? Don’t they think we’d like a more exact date on when the end would occur? A time, a day…something? And third, just how in the hell does a homeless guy afford markers to make a sign anyway?

I decided to let the more important mysteries of the universe figure themselves out and continued on my way to work. After all, the only apocalypse I cared about was the PlayStation game of the same name starring none other than the incomparable Bruce Willis. Man, that guy rocked my world with his unrelenting machismo. By the way, I’m not gay. I just thought I’d clear that up. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

What exciting story are you working on next?
Up next is the follow up to Apocalypse Wow. It takes place a year after the events of the first book and everyone is hot on the search for Jack Winters. I’m really excited about it because I feel like it adds a lot of depth to the first book and, hopefully, readers will enjoy it even more.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

It all depends on what you consider a ‘writer’ to be. If it’s someone who has sold at least one copy of something they’ve written, then I’d say a few years ago. If it’s someone who has written stories on a regular basis that other people have read, then I’d say roughly high school.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Sadly, I can’t afford to write full time right now. During the day I work in the IT department of a major satellite television provider. Nothing major. Nothing exciting.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know if I do anything that’s really all that interesting. I just like to sit down and zero in. No distractions. I put on some music just to keep other outside noise drowned out. Oh, and I also like to have sit in a bathtub full of rainbow Nerds. I think that’s pretty much par for the course with writers though.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Green Power Ranger. That dude was legit. Especially after he turned into the White Ranger. Though I never understood why his helmet looked like a tiger but his zord was a falcon.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I just want people to read and enjoy Apocalypse Wow. I don’t care about becoming some millionaire famous author who has every book turned into a movie. I just want people to pick up a book I’ve written and think it’s good enough to recommend to someone else. Hopefully I’ve accomplished that, and I wish everyone happy reading!

Links: 

Twitter | Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

Thank you for being a guest on my blog, Ben!

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