Interview with Josh Winning

The Shadow Glass was one of my favorite books that I have read this year. I have already done a review for The Shadow Glass the link to it is here. I was so happy when Josh agreed to do an interview with me.

1: What is your book about?

The Shadow Glass is about Jack, a man who’s struggling after the recent death of his father, who goes on a real-world quest with the puppets from his father’s 1980s fantasy film. He’s helped by a group of teenagers who love his dad’s movie, plus a couple of fox-like creatures who teach him the ways of the world. It’s full of humour, excitement and adventure – and a few scary puppets, too!

2: What is the worst thing you ever did (or considered doing) to one of your characters?

I do some pretty horrible things to the characters in The Shadow Glass! I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but there’s a moment involving a security guard that I had to write while peeking through my fingers! Some quite mean things happen in my next book, Burn the Negative, which is published in summer 2023, but I’ll leave you to wonder about those until then.

3: Who is your favorite character from your book?

It changes every time I read it. I really loved writing Zavanna, because some of my favourite characters in books and movies are the ones who kick butt but also have a rarely-glimpsed emotional side to them. And of course I adored the lub – I wish I had one!

4: What is your favorite genre of books?

I read quite widely, so it’s difficult to say which genre is my absolute favourite. Growing up, I was really into fantasy and horror, which is probably why I write that sort of book now. But I like to mix up my reading – often I’ll go from a gripping thriller to a fascinating non-fiction book and then a YA horror story. It’s like a literary pick n mix!

5: If you were stranded on a desert island what 2 books, 2 movies and two species of animals would you bring?

Great question, are you sure I can only have two of each?! The two books I’d take are The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis, because it’s a brilliant fantasy book that I first read as a child, and Hideous Beauty by William Hussey, which is one of my all-time recent favourites. The two movies would be Labyrinth, which is my favourite film of all time, and Sister Act, because it would make me laugh and sing. Animals-wise, I’d bring my cat Penny because I can’t live without him, and maybe a chicken, because I think chickens are very funny (not to mention delicious!).