Real Life Grit: From the Front Lines to the Streets
Joshua Bish did not take a conventional path to becoming a published author. Born and raised in Princeton, West Virginia, he joined the Army as a junior in high school just before the events of 9/11. He served as a tanker in an M1 Abrams, experiencing the intense percussion and danger of combat in Iraq. After his military service, he transitioned into a nineteen year career in law enforcement, serving with the Princeton Police Department and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department before becoming a university police officer at Concord University. His time on the streets was marked by extreme incidents, including a harrowing encounter where he was knocked unconscious and run over by a vehicle during a call. These experiences provided him with a raw, often dark perspective on human nature.
“From my military time to my law enforcement time, it is sickening to see what the human can do to another.”
Finding an Outlet in the Shadows
For Bish, writing became a necessary outlet to process the hypervigilance and trauma of his professional life. He began writing seriously around 2021 following a divorce, sitting in an efficiency apartment and pouring his interests into a laptop. Despite having no formal training and having struggled in high school, he found that his background in writing detailed police reports translated into a visceral, “prose style” of storytelling that favors realistic descriptions over flowery language. He avoids the fluff often found in the genre, opting instead to describe the grim reality of “realistic deaths” and the way people actually react to horror. While he acknowledges AI as a modern tool for things like generating keywords, he remains a staunch believer in the human element of creativity, especially when it comes to the raw emotion of a story.
“I would always say, ‘God, I would love to write a book.’ But I didn’t know how to start it because I didn’t go to college, I barely passed high school.”
Keeping the Folklore Alive
The heart of Bish’s work lies in his deep love for West Virginia and its rich tradition of folklore. His “Psalm of the Terror” series is set in Athens, West Virginia, and draws inspiration from local legends and the history of Concord University. He takes pride in weaving real historical events, such as the movements of the Lape tribe in the 1600s, into his supernatural narratives. Whether he is writing about the legendary Mothman as a silent “Watcher” or exploring the mythos of the “Beast of Beckley,” Bish views these stories as a vital part of Appalachian history that deserves to be kept alive. His latest projects include a survival thriller set at Camden Park and a retelling of the Faust legend for an Irish independent bookstore.
“I love our state, I love our stories, I love where we come from, and I want to keep our folklores and our scary stuff alive because there’s truth in them.”
Ready to hear the full story behind the Beast of Beckley? Grab a seat and dive into the complete conversation to hear Joshua Bish share more about his journey from the driver’s seat of a tank to the front lines of Appalachian horror.
