What’s the premise of the novel?

The premise that sums it up right is — What happens if you wake up in the future and be asked to join a war that is not yours to fight?

Why do you think people love post-apocalyptic stories?

Same reasons people love horror movies:

1. We want to stretch our limits via a simulation of reality. While watching a horror film or a post apocalyptic setting, you can face your inner fears and deal with them in a controlled way. You can’t watch the daily news without thinking that the world is going to end any day now. Might it be terrorism. economy crashing or an asteroid — we need to face and test our fears in order to deal with them.

2. There’s a sense of losing control that is healthy for us. What I mean by that is when there’s no actual social order and everyone is trying to survive, you can ask your self “how far out of my own personality would I go in order to survive and care for my loved ones?” When natural order loses control in a post apocalyptic situation, people have the “right” to lose control over themselves. Post apocalyptic stories enables this kind of freedom.

What’s your thought on the current world — are we getting closer to a utopia or dystopia?

It really depends on which day you ask me. On one hand I see more people turning into meditation and spirituality that teaches compassion and humility. I see people consuming less shit and educating themselves about the economy. I see more awareness to natural foods and healthy diets, I see corrupt officials go to jail. Overall world violence is less than it was a few centuries ago, world hunger is less extreme. But on the other hand I see monopolies and big corporations exploiting poor economies, I see people dying of obesity and diabetes, I see terrorism and racism on the rise. I see countries going bankrupt. I see people working more hours and getting addicted to social media and games instead of meeting people in person. I really can’t really tell what’s going to happen but I worry about the future. I think rich people are going to take care of themselves while the less unfortunate are going to suffer big time.

Are there any technological events or products that inspired things in the novel?

Yes, regarding my last answer there are actually shelter bunkers and a massive ship for the rich being built as we speak. here are the links for these projects:

Who were your major literary inspirations?

Milan Kundera, the Czech novelist. On the one hand, he can describe the most realistic scene or regular conversation, and on the other hand he can become witty, poetic and philosophic about any subject from relationships to politics and to the human existential crisis. I love it when you can read his books while alternating between these different voices.

A non-fiction book that affected the world building in my novel was Escape From Freedom by Erich Fromm — he talks about the frailty of the modern man after the industrial revolution and in regard to the rise of Nazism.

How did being a filmmaking student influence your writing of a novel? Did it make it easier or more complicated?

Plotting and outlining was much easier, I approached the whole novel writing process with a screenwriter’s mind; less descriptions and word-play and more drama and action. Dialog and plot are my strong suits but describing the situations in an interesting literary way isn’t my strong side. I’d rather write slim and focus on the characters and the story rather than on a stylistic narrative or fancy prose.

How long did it take you to write Human Again?

Two years. The idea sparked in me about 4 years ago in a screenwriting class I had taken in university. Before this novel, I wanted to write a light YA sci-fi novel about dating in the future because I used to find dates online back then. I asked myself how “would this dating look like in the future when everything is cold and automated?” Maybe you’d date only those who are genetically compatible to you. Maybe there’s going to be a climate change so people will have to live in bunkers and date in a VR world where they can assume any shape and color.

But I knew it might be too ambitious to start writing as a first full length feature film project. Later, when Israel and my life changed — I’ve found my wife and stopped dating. I grew up and decided to try writing short stories to test if I’m capable of writing prose as well. Finally, after finding the courage and motivation, I decided to write it as a “serious” adult novel.

What inspirations did you have when creating the post-apocalyptic world?

I asked myself how the future will look like after a climate crisis that causes social degradation and an economical disaster. This of course means technological stagnation and social chaos. I had to figure out what the technological developments are going to be and in which point they are going to stop developing. Then I observed the current state of Israel and the developments of ISIS and asked myself how society will deal with these challenges in the future. I tried to make it as logical and plausible as possible for people to connect with my vision.

Did you initially have an series in mind or did it just evolve as the book developed?

After spending so much time developing the world and characters it’s a shame to “waste” them on just novel. I knew I’d write 3 books in total for this series because I have a larger character development arc in mind. Also I’m ready to surprise myself with the new directions the story could take over time. We grow older and change, so they say.

How was the process of getting it digitally processed — who or what systems did you go through?

I wrote the whole novel in English to begin with. After writing the first draft I’ve contacted my editor TR Perri, who already edited my short stories in English. Then I had two rounds of taking his notes in and improving my novel, including a beta readers round in between drafts. I had ordered the main cover early in the process so I could motivate myself by seeing the image of the final product I aspire for. Lastly, I’ve finished with crowd-proofreading which was done by friends, my wife and some early reviewers. I’ve given a final copy for formatting and then used Amazon KDP and create space to upload my work.