Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Interview with fantasy author Joshua K. Johnson

I’m chatting with fantasy author Joshua K. Johnson today about his novels, The Cerberus Rebellion and The Hydra Offensive

As he does a virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, Joshua will be awarding an e-book containing short stories set in the same world as the series, The Chesian Wars, to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Joshua Johnson is the author of "Gunpowder Fantasy" The Cerberus Rebellion and the creator of the Griffins & Gunpowder universe. When he isn't working or spending time with his family, he writes novels, short stories and novellas.

He currently lives in Northern Illinois with his wife and young children.


Welcome, Joshua. Please tell us about your current release.
The Hydra Offensive is the second book in this series, continuing the story of the nobles of western Ansgar rebelling against their king. It follows several characters as they do their best to help (or in the case of one character, hinder) the rebellion.

What inspired you to write this book?
The whole story idea sprang from a short blurb I wrote a couple of years ago. It was originally a steampunk/futuristic story that morphed into the Gunpowder Fantasy setting I've built.

Excerpt from The Ansgari Rebellion Series:
Magnus reined up his horse in front of the largest tent pavilion he had ever seen.

“And whose tent is this?” The gaudy purple canvas tent structure stood twenty feet at the center pole, at least twelve at the edge and was more than a hundred feet on each side.

“Your Grace, it is mine!” a short man announced and then bowed. “Sir Byron Alfson, of Harristown.”

“Ah, sir, you have me at a disadvantage.”

Magnus inspected the knight with narrowed eyes.

He had a mop of frail-looking brown hair tied into a short ponytail and a narrow nose that was flanked by light blue eyes. He wore a greatcoat that looked like it had been cut from the same fabric as his tent.

Harristown was one of the small villages that had sprouted up along the rail lines that ran from Agilard to Aetheston. The strange grape beer that had made the town famous gave its color to everything the town did. They had even changed their sigil to a purple field with a golden mug.

“This is quite the pavilion,” Magnus continued after a moment. “I didn’t know that the grape beer business had so much money to be made.”

“We do our best, Your Grace,” the knight said. “I hope my pavilion does not offend you, Your Grace. While it is my tent, I have shared it with many of the knights from Lord Tallet’s levies.”

“It does not offend,” Magnus lied. If he had his way, the knights would be sleeping in camp tents with the rest of his soldiers. But his advisors had warned him that not giving the knights and lesser lords their symbols of pride and authority could drive them away. He had been reluctant to accept the counsel, but in the end the tradition of tent pavilions and knightly feasts had been upheld. “Carry on, Sir Alfson.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.” The knight bowed again and disappeared into his purple monstrosity.


What exciting story are you working on next?
I'm currently working on two novels set in this same world. Book 3 of this series is underway and I'm also writing a standalone novel set on the other side of the world and approaching a completely different type of conflict.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I sat down with the intention of putting The Cerberus Rebellion out there for people to read.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I don't write full-time as of right now. I'm currently working 2 jobs and finishing up my BA in English. I've got 2 kids and a sister that lives with me so you can imagine finding time to write is very difficult. I have a couple of times each week that I have set aside for writing (usually on the weekends after the kids are in bed) and I also try to squeeze in some writing whenever I don't have papers to write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Rock covers of older songs are a wealth of inspiration for me. I have 5 or 6 different story lines that have developed just from listening to these songs.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I've really always wanted to be a writer. I started at the age of 12, scribbling stories in notebooks that are currently piled up in my basement storage room.

Links:

Both books are on sale for $.99 during the VBT. 

Thanks, Joshua!