USA Today bestselling and multi-award winning author, A.J. Ponder lives in a hundred year old house overlooking Wellington harbour with two cats and a family obsessed with games, books, and dungeons and dragons.
What got you into writing your own stories?
I was fascinated by stories from the age of seven, and probably earlier. driven to write my own stories from the age of seven as a way to make sure more stories that I wanted to read existed.
What genre do you write?
Mostly fantasy, but I also write sci fi and horror short stories and sci fi for children.
How would you describe your writing style?
Flexible. Let me explain. I've written everything from fantasy, to sci fi and horror, long stories, short stories and I've written children's stories that have been published by school journals in New Zealand and Australia. And each of these stories require their own style to reflect the plot and characters. For example, The Sylvalla Chronicles has a Tolkienesque, old man yells at clouds, wizardly academic tone with double entendre and Pratchet style asides thrown in. On the other hand, my current series has more of a fantasy, mythology hybrid style with a mix of literary/poetic devices to evoke wonder.
What comes more easily, plot or characters?
Nothing comes easy, or it all does. Plot and character interact all the time when I'm writing. Often the characters are like, "nah, I know you thought that's what we were going to do, but how about I go off on this tangent instead?"
What would be the greatest achievement for you to aim for as a writer if anything were possible?
The greatest achievement for me as a writer would be to make other people's lives better. It's one of the reasons I'm a huge advocate for a UBI. (Universal Basic Income.) So much evidence shows that people with certainty in their lives are more productive, happier, healthier and more community minded, and wouldn't that be nice?
Do you read fellow indie authors' works? Why or why not?
Absolutely, I read widely through both traditionally published and indie authors. I particularly love humour and originality, which means I'm always seeking out new authors to read. And I'm not interested in how famous they are, but in whether they're bringing something new to the table.
Give us three fun facts about yourself.
To switch this up a bit I thought I'd give you two facts and a lie:
I was a top New Zealand fencer
I'm hyperflexible
I have a sword and rose tattoo on my arm
Do you have pets?
The family has two beautiful cats. A long haired fluffy little princess called Maisie whose full title is "Queen Mazikeen, ruler of all Pandora". (Pandora was the name she came with because her caregiver did not appreciate being bitten so much.) And a short haired black and white "tuxie" cat called "Herbert." Herbert is not only is the star of my newsletter, but according to my son who named him, he's not allowed any other nicknames. (Dear reader, he has a lot of other nick names) They are both rescues and absolutely adorable. (Maisie stopped biting the day after she came home, partly because we realised she bit when she was hangry, and partly because Eli, our eldest is fantastic with animals and had just completed an animal care course.)
Connect with A.J. Ponder here.
Featured Book: Into FaerLand book 1 of Blood of the Fae
A.J. Ponder does a wonderful job bringing the Fae into a whole new light. Intermingling the Fairy with Mythology. Strong characters, A story that weaves and twists. Very well written!
Who was your favorite character to write and why?
My favourite characters to write in this series were Aiden's parents and Ruby and Pearl Grandparents. They do turn up in this book, but they're not much fun until books two and three. Kick-ass and yet somehow bumbling, they stumble in and out of trouble as Grandad almost loses his leg in the Deadlands, and then they both stumble around lost in the Underworld and getting themselves into trouble.
My favourite character who actually stars in in Into FaerLand is Aiden's friend Corson. Movie-star handsome, heroic, and great sense of humour, the character was inspired by Schuyler Corson's love of "terribly bad movies." It was so much fun using some of those movie tropes and creating a charming, flashy, honorable man.
What was your favorite scene to write and why?
My favourite scenes to write were Lettie, the fae nusemaid's scenes. They were always a lovely mix of whimsical and strong emotion, as she wants to protect the changeling she loves so much.
What was the spark that started this book?
I have a Blood of the Demonspawn series that's been kicking around for years. And I suddenly realised I couldn't write that series until the prequels had been written, so that I understood where the demons came from.
I'm not sure I'll ever write that series, because it's quite dark, but it's been fun writing the mythological background for those unwritten books.
Humans seem to think fae are either flitting through the flowers drinking nectar, or stealing children. Well, only one of those is true— —we never steal children. We only swap them. An eye for an eye, a child for a child.
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