Interview with Leaping into the Abyss Author Christopher Joseph

Welcome my friend Christopher Joseph back to the blog with his latest book!

Tell us about your book!

At the center of the novel is Nadonis Sebastian, a woman who reemerges after being missing for four years and officially declared dead—only to become the prime suspect in the murder of her former lover, Mitchell Gardner. As she struggles to clear her name, Nadonis finds herself caught in a web of corruption and deception, with shocking secrets implicating her former boss, District Attorney Christian Phillips, and her ex-husband, City Planner Cecil Sebastian, who is embroiled in a hush money scandal.

Set in the lush, uptown-funk valleys of Southwest Ohio, the novel explores themes of rebirth, survival, and truth through the perspective of an educated, ambitious, and successful Black mother of three. The revitalizing power of water is a recurring motif, representing both cleansing and danger in Nadonis’s journey to reclaim her life and reveal the conspiracy endangering her very existence.

Leaping into the Abyss provides a compelling experience for both women and men, blending exciting suspense with emotional depth and a powerful narrative.

The setting is deeply tied to my personal history, highlighting familiar and evocative locations like the Antioch President’s House in Yellow Springs, Ohio; the Huffman Dam in Dayton; and the towering Jeremiah Morrow Bridge over the Little Miami River, where I once canoed as a teenager, dreaming up the kind of tales now brought to life in this novel.
 
What inspired you to write it?

With many stories swirling in my mind, my only outlet during college was working as a hip-hop DJ. After I failed algebra, the school placed me on academic probation. When I returned home, a mysterious typewriter appeared on the porch, and I typed my first manuscript, Roadkill. It was filled with grammatical errors from margin to margin, reflecting my struggles in English class. Still, I was motivated by my high school teacher, Mary McDonald, who encouraged my work while correcting my many mistakes—challenges I can now attribute to my adult diagnosis of ADD. As rough as that first manuscript was, it satisfied my soul, and I continued.

As a teenager, I was obsessed with action and science fiction films and books, and I longed for stories that represented me, since most of these stories either left out black heroes or only showed them as sidekicks or comic relief. 

Inspired by immersive and atmospheric crime fiction, ‘Leaping into the Abyss’ echoes Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series and James Patterson’s Alex Cross books, with added touches of magical realism and cultural nuance in the spirit of Virginia Hamilton’s ‘The House of Dies Drear’.
 
 
What’s a book that you love?

Even though I primarily write fiction stories, my favorite books have been biographies such as ‘The Autobiography of Malcolm X’ by Alex Haley, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, and Nathan McCall’s personal misunderstood autobiography “Makes Me Wanna Holler.”
 
Did any specific music inspire you while working on this?

Oh, the dream soundtrack is already planned! Music is vital to me, and my musical tastes have fueled my inspiration for years—ever since I bought my first cassette tape, yes, revealing my age! Not only are various chapters in my book inspired by songs, but they are also woven into the story. For example, in Nadonis’s origin story, I use the ‘80s classic by Brenda Russell, ‘Piano in the Dark,’ which is essentially a simple love song. However, in my interpretation, it’s an eerie ode to all of us as humans and our life journey, reflecting individual paths that can sometimes become murky, dark, and disoriented. Yet, the light at the end of the tunnel constantly pulls us forward to achieve greatness.

As I’ve described, the story highlights the revitalizing power of water as a recurring motif, symbolizing both cleansing and danger in Nadonis’s journey to reclaim her life and expose the conspiracy threatening her very existence. This pays homage to the Spencer Lee Band’s ‘River Water,’ which essentially involves self-baptism—washing away all of life’s grime in the water to cleanse your soul—rejuvenation being a central theme in the story. Other water-themed songs included are De La Soul’s ‘Tread Water’ and Mick Jenkins’ ‘The Waters.’ Another song I prominently pay homage to is a newer single by Persian singer Sevdaliza, ‘All Rivers at Once,’ regarded as a haunting piece that alludes to humans letting go of their guards that bind us to each other’s light and to using the nourishing power of water to release unnecessary fears.

I pay tribute to local artist Roly Yuma and their single ‘Hollowed Out to Float,’ which I interpret as representing human struggles against the system, leaving the singer feeling unfilled and essentially hollowed out. The groovy rock tune is a journey through subdued angst that builds up to an explosive ending, which has always deserved a larger audience. Another local artist I want to highlight is my friend Paige Beller and her COVID-19 era masterpiece ‘So Much Water,’ with its haunting melody, sparse minimalism, and her unanswered pleas to her lover to stay, as she compares trying to hold water to clutching sand slipping through clenched fists. Nadonis’s longing for a deeper relationship with Mitchell, instead of returning to her husband, fits perfectly with this tune. I also include a funky, rocking track from the local band Komandoz OGC from the late 90s called ‘Rags II Rugged,’ which serves as the perfect backdrop for an exciting car chase through Cincinnati’s OTR district, with wailing guitars and mosh-pit rapping. This song has long been a fan favorite and has always deserved to reach a bigger audience.

Mixed with the water themes are ideas of time and resurrection, which I dedicate to one of my all-time favorite artists, Sade, and her smoky ballad ‘In Another Time,’ as well as Digable Planets’ ‘Time and Refutation’ and, of course, Common’s ‘Resurrection.’ I pay tribute to the departed with Khruangbin’s great ‘So We Won’t Forget’ and explore escaping it all with Jabs and Willow Smith’s atmospheric ‘Road Trip.’

Nadonis catches up on the latest music gossip, including Kendrick Lamar and Drake's recent battle of words. 

What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve learned?

I have several favorite quotes from prominent individuals, such as James Baldwin’s, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” or Horace Mann’s, “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity,” which were ingrained in my mind as a child growing up in Yellow Springs. These lessons resonate deeply when facing life’s constant battles and contemplating your inevitable mortality.

I experienced the loss of a loved one when my father passed away when I was just fifteen, which motivated me to pursue my creative passions more passionately. The recent tragic death of one of my children reminded me that, regardless of how long you live, life is a continuous learning journey, and you must live it to the fullest.

It was frustrating because I had many passions within the same art realm that I wanted to master all at once. However, as I learned—especially after being diagnosed with ADD—it’s essential to focus on mastering your talent before taking on multiple pursuits. As a creative individual, I find immense inspiration in a blank canvas and the desire to create something meaningful for myself and others. I want to leave behind something that is respected and cherished by my children and future generations. 
 
 
Top 5 favorite songs and why?

As someone who enjoys experiencing the full audio journey from my favorite musical artists, I prefer to share the story they tell through a complete album. 

I have many favorite albums from Prince’s entire catalog. Still, the ones that mean the most to me are the ones that followed his worldwide success with Purple Rain: the more experimental *Around the World in A Day* with The Revolution, *Parade*, and the epic *Sign o’ the Times*. *Parade*, from the soundtrack of *Under the Cherry Moon*, stands out because, while it was created for a film, it also feels deeply personal, as Prince himself immersed himself in the character. As each tune seamlessly blends into the next — smoother than on the *Lovesexy* one continuous experimental groove album — Prince is Christopher Tracy: as he woos an elusive lover, suggesting ‘New Positions,’ to falling for her in ‘Girls & Boys,’ to the beautifully joyous ode to love, ‘Mountains.’ He crashes into despair with “Do U Lie?”, wants her “Kiss,” and declares to her (You need) “Anotherloverholenyohead,” culminating in the beautiful ballad memorializing life after everything falls apart, “Sometimes It Snows in April.” The entire album is a masterpiece.  

My other longtime favorite artist is Sade, who has a stunning catalog, with her 1988 classic “Stronger Than Pride” standing out. She croons how ‘Love is Stronger Than Pride’ and how difficult it is to stop loving someone you’re wasting time with. The album also explores themes of love and defiance in ‘Nothing Can Come Between Us,’ the pain of love lost in ‘Love Did Me Wrong,’ and staying hopeful with ‘Keep Looking.’ The importance of perseverance is highlighted in ‘Give It Up.’ “Stronger Than Pride” is the ultimate romantic album you’ll ever need. 

The hip-hop collective known as ‘Native Tongues,’ which includes The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Black Sheep, Moni Love, and affiliated crews such as Fu-Schnickens, Brand Nubian, Common, and KMD, never officially released a project under their collective name, yet they represented an entire generation of hip-hop fans. These artists captured the everyday yet distinctive Black American experience—those who earned their diplomas, attended college, and pursued the American Dream by building successful careers, families, and following their passions. As hip-hop became more profitable, the industry started emphasizing the negative over the positive.

The Native Tongues pushed back, most notably with De La Soul’s acclaimed *De La Soul is Dead* and *Stakes Is High*. ATCQ made a powerful statement with their second album, *The Low End Theory*, which directly addressed industry issues through insightful lyrics paired with the signature low-end bass of West Coast hip-hop, reimagined from the East Coast’s epicenter. This was a stark contrast to their experimental debut, *People’s Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm*. *The Low End Theory* opened with ‘Excursions,’ where Q-Tip proclaimed ‘We gotta make moves – Never, ever, ever, could we fake moves.’ They stayed true to that ethos with tracks like Buggin’ Out, Butter, Vibes and Stuff, Check the Rhime, Jazz (We’ve Got), and the legendary posse cut ‘Scenario,’ which later ironically inspired the then-unknown RZA to create the phenomenal nine-man crew Wu-Tang Clan. For Tribe, both this album and their subsequent release, *Midnight Marauders*, are widely regarded as two of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, including my own. 

Damn, that DJ made my day. Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back’ sucked me in like prey from a Barracuda after an initial repulsive reaction to the in-your-face hardcore black activism of ‘Rebel Without A Pause’, complete with obnoxious screeches and whistles, and Chuck D’s deep, angry baritone, which was the complete opposite of the popular dance hip-hop of ’86. “Bring the Noize’ reeled me into their stratosphere as I was now fully committed to their blend of mayhem and message. At one point, I could rap that song with Chuck word for word. Within the sharp confines of the Shocklee brothers’ kaleidoscope of beats and Terminator X slicing, cutting, and scratching over them, respectively, all chopped up in a fully complete fantastic album blending mix of rock, funk, and oddball sound effects assaulting your senses! It had to grow on me, but that’s what made it exceptional.

A low-key surprise album I have loved since the late 90s is by King Britt, the former DJ for the outstanding hip-hop jazz crew the Digable Planets. He aimed to embrace the deep soul of 70s funk bands and update the sound with the rise of new age electronic neo-soul and lo-fi grooves. “King Britt presents Sylk 130 - When the Funk Hits the Fan,” which debuted in 1997, was overshadowed by emerging neo-soul stars like Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and Zhane, and suffered from lackluster marketing by the label’s parent company, Ruffhouse/Columbia. Oozing with funky tracks such as ‘The Reason,’ ‘Getting Into It,’ the title track and remake of ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life,’ and the beautiful ballad, ‘Season’s Change,’ this album should have been as big as labelmate Fugees’ “The Score.”

It set a high standard for the emerging trend that mixes DJ/producer blending house, electronica, R&B, and dance with Caribbean and African rhythms, heavily inspired by hip-hop. This style thrived in the early 2000s thanks to social media and organic promotion, propelling beatmakers like Kaytranada, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Masego, and FKJ — and King Britt is the OG.
 
Top 5 favorite shows/movies and why?

‘Do The Right Thing’ by Spike Lee is one of my all-time favorite movies because Love versus Hate wins over everything. This film should be studied by historians and displayed in the Smithsonian as a symbol of human relations during this great American experiment. 

‘Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul’ is one of the most mature and well-written dramas I’ve ever watched, with intricate and complex storylines that keep you on the edge. The suspense was incredible and still motivates my work goals. 

‘The Shawshank Redemption’ is a powerful story of two men overcoming adversity and a corrupt system from two different perspectives and outcomes that still resonate today.

‘Star Wars’ IV/V/VI: The dark side versus the light — it’s a recurring theme. May the Force be with you.

‘A Different World’, I wanted to be those college kids. 

Blurb from Leaping into the Abyss:

Nadonis Sebastian has become unglued.

In 2020, Nadonis was living the good life: a happily married mother of three beautiful children, a vast, lovely home, and a blossoming career as an assistant prosecutor in Cincinnati, Ohio, with rumors of eventually becoming a prosecutor. All of this was impressive for a young African American millennial woman from small-town Ohio—until she abruptly died on February 29, 2020.
As cracks in her perfect life unravel, they expose loose threads of her disgraced husband, Cecil Sebastian's political entanglements and eventual downfall. His corruption intertwines with head prosecutor Christian Phillip's controlling entitlement and conniving ways, leading his band of cronies who disrupt her life. Alienated from her sulking, depressed husband, Nadonis spends considerable time with county aide Mitchell Gardner.

Then, during a peaceful winter bicycle ride, the unthinkable happens: Nadonis and Mitchell are violently run off a bridge by a vengeful person, perishing in the raging current of the icy Mad River below.
She abruptly awakens four years later, on February 29, 2024. Confused and all alone in her SUV, she is wearing warm, fluffy pajamas. Her cell phone service is down, and a centimeter of dust is on her dash. Adding to her confusion, she is parked on the wrong side of the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, 225 feet over the Little Miami River, facing south on the northbound shoulder.

What happens next is seemingly guided by unseen spirits as Nadonis learns a hard lesson about life through a series of unfounded events.
Act I serves as her wake-up call, as Leap Day 2024 rewinds itself seven times—aka the Groundhog Day effect—until her guardian angel, Grandma Haddox, whispers to her from the great unknown and guides her into action to solve Mitchell's murder and her would-be killer.

Act II is about reconnecting with lost friends and family as she wrestles with the fact that she is officially (on paper) deceased. Her Social Security number is invalid, her bank accounts are closed, and her identification has expired. She does not exist, yet somehow, here she is. Her children don't even recognize her, and Cecil has remarried a mysterious and vindictive woman named Jocelyn Sebastian! To make matters worse, the mismatched detective duo Shiloh Zarantos and Fendi Alexanders analyze her every move regarding how she fits into the suspicious death of her partner, Mitchell, as the cold case reopens, with her now as the prime suspect for possible murder. So, what else is there to do? She must utilize her skills to reckon with these life-changing events as she seeks justice to solve this whodunit alone!

Act III: Nadonis teams up with her sister Athena Haddox and college best friend Lisa Melvoin to stay one step ahead of the police. Time is running out as she gets closer to the truth while also fending off several more attempts on her life. Additional bodies start turning up dead as she receives unexpected help from renegade tabloid journalist Malala Shafi, hapless hero and local jazz musician Dwight Jukebox Jr., and her estranged brother Horus Haddox, who provides a glimpse into his outrageous journey.

Returning to their grandmother's house, where it all started, Nadonis and her team face the ghosts of her past, the secrets that won't die, and the larger conspiracy lurking behind them. Meanwhile, an unknown assailant stalks them from across the river.

In life's journey from dawn to dusk, a chosen few experience a reset, a rewind, a reemergence from the dark.

Pick up Christopher's books here: www.amazon.com/Leaping-Into-Abyss-Christopher-Joseph-ebook/dp/B0DSBRR7XB

Find his website here: about.me/christopher.j88