About Jordan Gerdes
Jordan Gerdes is an English teacher in Central Oregon, where he lives with his fiancée, Justy and their two goldendoodles, Huck and Finn. He is the owner and editor of Features of Fright, a horror website focused on genre analysis. He is currently working on a collection of short horror stories.
Connect with Jordan on his Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Jordan Gerdes Talks Goshen
Do you have any “side stories” about the characters in Goshen?
Goshen doesn’t really have explicit characters, as much it does glimpses of people around the narrator’s life. Though it is technically a fictional memoir, much of the book is drawn from experiences I had in my college years. The characters are my friends, roommates, family, and the city of Portland in general.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The easy answer is that writing this book saved my life. What I enjoyed most about this book was the therapeutic quality that I learned existed in writing my experiences into short stories without having to explicitly say “Today I tried to kill myself” or “I bought an engagement ring and it was a bad idea.” I was able to really reflect on myself and my feelings, how my mental illness plays into my life, and what it would look like from the outside in.
How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
Growing up in church, I heard the story about the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, in the land of Goshen. For some reason, though my faith has wavered over the years, that place of trial and tribulation stuck with me.
Though I wasn’t enslaved, I felt that I was in a place of suffering, of trials, and that I wasn’t sure I would make it out. The notes grew and grew, and I began to share a few around after a few years. Though it wasn’t horror, I noticed that the folks I shared it with identified with something in the words. Be it their own struggles or trying times, I saw that these words had power in them to help others feel not so alone, to be seen, and to be comforted.
Who designed your book cover?
For Goshen, I designed it myself. KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) has a cover design tool that I used when putting the novel up the first time. However, in preparation for this tour, I redesigned the cover in a more professional manner, including a photograph taken by fiancee on our first trip to Portland.
About Goshen
Goshen: A Memoir by Jordan Gerdes
Genre: YA Fiction Memoir
Synopsis
Goshen is a collection that chronicles a battle with depression, heartbreak, and moving forward.
Written first as a collection of notes in a phone, this became the only thing that kept me alive over those few years. It is my hope that you find hope within these pages, a kindred spirit, solidarity, and know that you are not alone.
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