Please join me in welcoming Jaq Hawkins as she shares with us a little information about her journey through writing and what a perfect first date for her would be.
Be sure to check out the excerpt from her book Dance of the Goblins, after the interview.
1) Links to website and list of books with purchase links.
Chaos Monkey
Understanding Chaos Magic
Spirits of the Aether
Spirits of the Air
Spirits of the Earth
Spirits of the Fire
Spirits of the Water
Dance of the Goblins
2) How long have you been writing? What got you in to writing?
All my life, driven to write since I was 6.
3) What was your first published book? Looking back, is there anything you’d change about it?
Understanding Chaos Magic (Capall Bann Publishing) I did actually update it for the second edition.
4) What or Who has influenced your writing?
All my favourite authors; Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne McCaffrey, etc. Mostly Fantasy authors.
5) Where do you get your ideas?
From everything. A casual remark can set me off on a new idea for a project.
6) What hinders your writing? (distractions? noise?)
Having a life. ;) My boyfriend and I have worked out balances so that I get time to write now.
7) What genre are you most comfortable with? What would you like to explore?
Fantasy is where I want to work most. I'm getting into Steampunk now, have sent a first novel to an appropriate publisher and am waiting to hear back.
8) Are you a by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writer, or do you have to use an outline to put your collective thoughts into some semblance of common sense?
I'm mostly 'seat of the pants', but I did an outline recently for an erotic novel because a publisher wanted it.
9) Which of your books is your favorite? Why?
Dance of the Goblins, because I really love visiting the world I've created there. I'm finishing off the first sequel now and am really reveling in the atmosphere.
10) Do you incorporate some of yourself into your characters? Personality traits? Likes? Dislikes?
I think that's inevitable for an author, but I also have charaters who are very diferent from me or anyone I know. Some are people I don't even like.
11) What do you think is the perfect hero/heroine? Why?
Someone who the ordinary reader can identify with. They need to have fallibilities as well as motivations for what they set out to do in the story.
12) What is your latest release? Please share the blurb and purchase info with us.
The most recent is the Ebook edition of Dance of the Goblins, http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123080 but keep an eye out for The Wake of the Dragon, my Steampunk novel.
13) What do you have in the works?
Sequels to both series' as well as a few short stories and 2 films in edit. There are other projects waiting to be finished as well, including a fun fantasy novel called The Chase for Choronzon.
14) Do you have any suggestions/comments for prospective authors?
Let the rejections roll off your back, we all get them. JK Rowling did as well.
JUST FOR FUN:
2) If you could be an animal, what would it be? Why?
I used to want to be a cat, but then I thought about what they eat. I think I'll stick with human actually.
3) If you had super powers, what would they be? Why?
But I do... ;)
4) If you could be an immortal, what would you want to be? Why?
A successful Alchemist. They can still enjoy the pleasures that mortality brings.
5) If you could change three things in the world, what would they be? Why?
Currency and governments, because they are all about power over others, but most of all materialism. It just causes so much trouble.
6) What would be a perfect date for you?
Disneyland of course. Or looking for fairies in Groudle Glen (Isle of Man).
7) Is there anywhere you’d like to visit? Why?
I still haven't made it to Egypt (for the historic sites) or Australia(for the animals).
8) Do you have any obsessions? What are they?
Writing and filmmaking are quite enough, trust me.
9) Do you have a crush on any actor/actress? Who?
Not the actors so much as the characters. Captain Jack Sparrow tops the list of course.
Getting personal with Jaq Hawkins…
I went on a game show called Dragon's Den to try to get funding to make a film of my book. This led to making somw no budget movies and having my life taken over by filmmaking, although I do manage to keep writing as well.
Author Name: Jaq D Hawkins
Book Title: Dance of the Goblins
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: International Waters
Purchase:
Format: ebook and print
Blurb:
At the centre of goblin society is The Dance, the spiritual exaltation of life itself which is central to the goblins' existence. In the human world above, life is austere and goblins only a myth. When Count Anton is drawn into the rhythm of The Dance, a clash between two worlds is about to begin...
Excerpt: G
'I don't know why we're doing this,' growled Latham. Ten pairs of eyes turned towards him as the ragged group of common men huddled within their cloaks in the damp chill of pre-dawn on the heath. Latham drew his own cloak as close as possible over his hulking frame, pulling the hood down over his dark, greasy hair. He peered at them from within his wrappings to be sure that he had their attention.
'Since when do we take orders from the women anyway? It's not like it was the first time Caleb had a fight with his missus and went off for a walk to let off steam.'
'But he always came back before,' said the younger man at his side. Latham had always liked Ranalf, but just now he was only irritated by the metalsmith's apprentice and his reasonable attitude. The boy didn't even have to be here as he had no wife yet to nag him out of his warm bed. Latham only wished they would find the missing man so that he could get back to his own. But there was no more to be done now except to keep on complaining until the others gave in and they could all go home.
'We've been walking over the heath half the night, we probably missed him in a patch of fog.'
'What was that?' The hushed voice of one of the older men had an acute sense of urgency to it. All was silent for a moment. It was Ranalf who next thought he heard a sound, almost like a voice, just on the edge of hearing. He motioned with his hand for the others to follow and crept carefully in the direction that he thought the sound had come from. He knew that sound could be deceptive in the dampness, but his intuition led him on. His trust in the odd sense that he had was quickly rewarded with another sound, like tree branches being pushed aside. The others heard it too this time and moved more quickly towards it despite the potential danger of a misstep in the dim light.
'There he is!' shouted the older man. Caleb had seemed to appear suddenly out of the side of a lichen covered hill. The man who had spotted him was almost delirious with the excitement of seeing the missing man alive and apparently unhurt, just when they had begun to give up hope. Then his face quickly changed to an expression of shock and horror.
'What is that…thing!' he said in an exclamation of gross disgust.
In the next heartbeat the man took in the sight of the creature that held Caleb by the arm. It seemed small and scrawny, but the muscles visible beneath its sickly green skin spoke of powerful limbs. They held as much threat as the sharp teeth protruding from its slack mouth, hanging open now in an expression of astonishment. It matched those of the humans who stood frozen in a moment of disbelief. The creature was nearly naked, wearing only a loincloth of some unknown animal skin. It was as dark as the unruly hair that hung down its back in a sweeping wave, broken only by its large, pointed ears.
There were blue marks on its upper body which looked like paint imbedded in the skin. Most mesmerising though, were the large yellow eyes that held the man's gaze for an eternal split second. Then the creature was gone. Caleb stood alone for a moment, then collapsed into unconsciousness. Ranalf leaped to his side, checking quickly for heartbeat and breath. He nodded to the others to confirm that the man was alive, then as if by a signal, the men shouted all at once in an unintelligible war cry that rang through the early morning light. They plunged through the lichen and fell on a depression that might have been an opening once, but had been freshly filled in with loose earth. Latham shouted to Ranalf to run back to the village for help, while the others called orders to each other randomly. They began to dig with their hands or any other tools they could improvise.
On the other side of the freshly filled opening, the creature ran. The others of its kind had acted quickly. Goblins learned from a young age what to do in case of a sighting. There were enough others with him to hold the wall for a few minutes at best on their own, but it would be enough. He leaped down the left hand passage, clearing the pit trap easily. He nodded with an undulation of his upper body as he said just one word to the goblin waiting just beyond the opening in the side wall.
'Sighting!'
The other goblin's eyes widened, but he reacted quickly, returning the nod briefly as he began beating a rhythm on the large drum at his side. Now the diggers will come, Darek thought to himself as he continued running down the passage. He stopped anyone he met to spread the message as he ran. In his mind, the young goblin retraced his movements just before the sighting, searching for any hint of carelessness. By the time he reached the deeper levels he was satisfied. There was no breach of procedure. It was just an accident of timing. But one thought terrified him.
Because of that timing, the world is going to change. Forever.
***
Where you can find Jaq:
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