Miles Joyner
Author Interview - Miles Joyner
Author of Bazaar
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web. When political elites panic upon finding their names listed on the online dead pool, entrepreneurial siblings Karen and Yemi Uzunma see a business opportunity for their DC area-based executive protection firm, RAPTOR. Their first major client becomes the ex-diplomat himself, Chiedu Attah, but to guarantee his safety, they realize they are going to have to go to war in the streets with an inventive contract killer who will not stop attacking until Attah suffers the same fate as his son.
Author Interview - Miles Joyner
Author I draw inspiration from:
The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee. Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby.
Author Interview - Miles Joyner | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
Park
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Definitely Muriel from Animal Farm by George Orwell. I would survive as long as necessary from her raw milk. I'm also half Jamaican so if the elevator isn't fixed within a reasonable amount of time, that goat will be used for some high quality protein.
Author Interview - Miles Joyner | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
Even though I wrote some short stories and novellas as a youth, it really wasn't until I was more than half way done with the first draft of my manuscript when I finished reading Cosby's Razorblade Tears a couple years ago. Leading up to that point I had been connecting dots between the film industry and novels, (Looking at the success of people like Alex Garland, S. Craig Zahler, Michael Crichton, and other hybrid artists) but reading the last page of Cosby's modern classic was the key moment moment I decided to make fiction writing my primary focus.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Hardback -> Looks the best, most annoying to carry around.
Paperback -> Easy to carry around and fun to flip through. For some reason I didn't really like the way my paperback debut looked when I first opened it up, but I realized that was just me.
E-book -> Not my favorite but it's how I read books the vast majority of the time. Either my Kobo or even my phone just so I can have inspiration from other writers whenever I can.
The last book I read:
Fiction -> Death List by Donald Goines. Loved it. It made me realize my straight-to-the-point screenplay-influenced style might have more in common with some of the 1970s Black thriller writers rather than the more recent literary geniuses like Cosby or Walter Mosley. It's not a Pulitzer winning masterpiece by any means, and I don't mean that as insult in the slightest sense. As I develop my prose, I'm realizing this fast paced action wordplay is pretty much how I prefer to write.
Non-Fiction -> From 2k to 10k by Rachel Aaron. A very gifted author explains how she developed the habit of increasing her daily word count and the effect it had on her productivity. While there's no rules to writing, I completely agree with her method. I'm just not at 10k a day... yet ;-)
Author Interview - Miles Joyner | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
Both. I write every single day and it's equally chaotic as it is organized. I use my e-mail drafts (Not Google Docs for some odd reason) to keep track of my basic outlines, character descriptions, task lists, etc. And then I just write randomly on a variety of notebook or record ideas to my cell phone. These are not just story ideas but also philosophical questions I ask about humanity, sociology, psychology, technology, or whatever subject has my attention at the moment. I have one main notebook at my office, a pocket notebook I try to carry around, and several random small notebooks around my apartment that I pick up spontaneously.
Bazaar took about 4 years to write. First 30k words, a 2-3 year break, and then knocked out the final 70k in a few months. I wrote the first draft of the sequel in a much more disciplined format, getting the whole thing done within a few month timespan with a daily word count. (It also helped that my day job in 2024 offered a lot of down time) I love daily word counts but the third novel I'm writing (My first one not in the Bazaar series) has been a bit different. I wrote about 30k words, trashed it, and I'm doing a total rewrite with a firm deadline being the end of May.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
As much as I hate his name, it'd probably be Pretty Willie from The Spook Who Sat By the Door by Sam Greenlee. He's literally a clone of one of my best friends from my early childhood. We have so much in common, one major factor being we're both mixed race light skinned individuals who have had their struggles with strongly identifying as Black. Pretty Willie, just like my boy from elementary school, would definitely chew me out from time to time for my bourgeoise tendencies or reluctance to join any kind of political movement. But the best friends are never yes men, they're the ones who point out your flaws not to tear you down but to help you grow into the man you didn't even know you could be.
Author Interview - Miles Joyner | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Filmmaker. I'm currently a full time video producer, so pretty much the same thing.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
I have absolutely no sense of fashion or care for it. I literally just wear the bare minimum everyday to be taken seriously at my job or to get into formal events that require my presence. In almost any other situation I'm just wearing a hoodie and slacks. I went to a private all-male high school and I would get clowned by my peers on pretty much every 'free dress' day. So in that case if I'd have to pick a decade for fashion, I'd say 1950s because that's the most uniform look. Every other decade since then just looks kind of ridiculous to me in one way or another.
Place I’d most like to travel:
Eastern shore of Maryland because I'm in desperate need of a fishing trip with the fellas.
My signature drink:
I haven't touched alcohol in several years and I highly doubt I ever will again. There's no drink I like more than an ice cold Ting, a popular grapefruit soda amongst people with ties to the Caribbean.
Favorite artist:
James Cameron. He's a true visionary at every part of the storytelling medium while also being an auteur for mainstream audiences. His work is the definition of being both timely and timeless. One of the few real maverick filmmakers left who just won't stop trying to take stories to new heights.
Number one on my bucket list:
I did my first marathon in 2023 and I'd like to try again in 2026.
Anything else you'd like to add:
https://www.thebazaarverse.com for all info and updates regarding Bazaar!
Find more from the author:
@maroonguerilla for IG
@maroonguerrilla for X/Twitter
About Miles Joyner:
Author Interview with Miles Joyner
A lifelong fiction writer, Miles turned to penning novels after nearly a decade editing television in the D.C. area for platforms including NBC Sports Washington, theGrio, and the Federal Network. He has had an obsession with the effects technology has on society since being raised by a father who was a computer programmer and a mother in workforce development He still pursues filmmaking in between books and finds that writing in the technothriller genre only enhances that passion even more. Miles is an active member of International Thriller Writers where his first book, Bazaar, was selected for their Debut Authors Program. He attends monthly meetings for the writers' group, Novels in Progress DC..
