Interview with Joe Canzano, author of 'Magno Girl'



Joe Canzano is a writer and musician. He lives in New Jersey, U.S.A. His short stories have appeared in a half-dozen printed literary journals, as well as in the Akashic Books online series, “Mondays are Murder.” He recently formed his own publishing company, Happy Joe Control, and published his debut novel, Magno Girl.
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About the Book:

When a Manhattan pizza maker is found dead in his own dough, Magno Girl enlists the aid of her biker ninja boyfriend to help solve the crime – and quickly discovers there’s more to the pie than meets the eye, including a sinister plot that spans the globe. 

Magno Girl leaps into action. After all, she can fly, she can fight, and she can use her fearsome superpower, the “Gaze of the Guilt,” to bring a hardened criminal to his knees. But the road ahead is hard. The city’s other superheroes despise her, and the cops don’t want her around, and her own mom won’t stop spitting out advice about marrying a “respectable guy” and trading in her crime-fighting career for a baby carriage—but is she attracted to “respectable guys”? And is she interested in emotional commitment? And will finding real love be her biggest challenge of all? 

Welcome to the world of Magno Girl, an absurd place filled with humor, action, and romance.

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Can you tell us what your book is about?

It’s a comedy about an idealistic female superhero in New York City. She discovers a lot of other crime fighters are not quite so idealistic. In fact, neither is her mom, who likes to give her advice - and neither Is her boyfriend, who wants her to do a few TV commercials and make some money.

Why did you write your book?

I like to make people laugh. I like to point out how absurd the world can be.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

None of the characters are based on specific people, but all the characters are based on everybody I’ve every met. I think every experience a person ever has ends up in the mix.

Are you consciously aware of the plot before you begin a novel or do you discover it as you write?

I always have a plan when I start, but then I change it because it invariably isn’t working as well as I expected.

Your book is set in New York City. Can you tell us why you chose this city in particular?

Superhero stories are about people, and there are a lot of them in New York City.
Also, I’ve been there many times and that was helpful. 

Does the setting play a major part in the development of your story?

Yes. NYC is a place filled with energy and crazy characters. I think it’s a place that accurately reflects the feel of the book. 

If we were to meet for lunch to talk books, where would we go?

Any local pizza place would be fine.

What kind of advice would you give other fiction authors?

Read a lot of fiction and try to be objective about your own.

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