NIKKI DJOKOVICH
“I never in a million years thought I’d be an author. Maybe playing for the Cincinnati Reds, but I wasn’t that good,” said three-time published author Joe Cognard.
This Queens native and Flushing resident never aspired to be the self-published novelist he is today. He actually attended St. John’s University and majored in finance.
Cognard’s three novels have been greatly influenced by his background and family. With the help of his daughters, he was able to write his first two novels, “Three Twigs for the Campfire” and “Cemetery Girl.” Both of these Queens based stories were taken on as family projects, which Cognard greatly enjoyed writing.
His third and latest novel, “Written for You,” was influenced more by his own personal experience within the publishing business.
This comedic tome touches on a topic that has become a great issue countless publishers and other industries deal with. As social media increases within society, various industries are in search of ways to keep up with the technological advances.
“‘Written for You’ is a comedic play about an accountant who works at a publisher. He writes a book and in trying to get feedback on the book, all hell breaks loose,” explained Cognard.
“Written for You” has been picked up as a YouTube series film project with filming starting in November. Cognard believes that many will be able to find a connection to the story “because people will feel the pain and hardship of this person.”
The process of production has been an enjoyable one for Cognard. “They gave me the free reign to create a different ending so you couldn’t spoil it,” he said.
This is only one of the ways that the production company has allowed Cognard to have his own say within the film project, which should be available for free viewing by the start of 2014 on YouTube.
Becoming a published author has been a great journey for Cognard.
“I am very excited about all three books,” he said. “Writing across different genres is something I am very proud of. I aspire to be a great author. I hope to get as much notoriety of my work as possible.”
Cognard’s books can be purchased on amazon.com.
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