Blog tours are incomplete without getting the author a little more. That is why I’m thrilled to share my interview today with Josie Jaffrey, the write of The Gilded King, the first book in the Sovereign series. I posted about the book recently, as part of The WriteReads’ blog tour. Josie lives in Oxford, UK, with her husband and two cats (Sparky and Gussie), who graciously permit human cohabitation in return for regular feeding and cuddles. As a fellow cat lover, I can totally relate!
It was wonderful to connect with her! Enjoy the interview, and get some insights about the book, without any spoilers! 🙂
- Blue, the last city on earth, is inhabited by vampires and humans. Why did you choose vampires as one of the main species in this book?
I love vampires. I’ve always loved them, ever since I got hooked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a teenager. When I started writing stories, I inevitably gravitated towards them.
First, I tried writing a novel with just vampires, but that fell apart after just a few chapters. Then I tried writing and illustrating a vampiric graphic novel, which had something apocalyptic and intriguing about it, but it was just too much work to do the writing and the drawing, so it fell by the wayside. Eventually, I wrote A Bargain in Silver (the first book in the Solis Invicti series), which takes place in the same world as The Gilded King. I think that worked because I added zombies. Vampires and zombies are the perfect combination! I decided to keep them both for The Gilded King.
- Throughout the book, there are references to something that happened many centuries ago in London. Cam, in particular, is still haunted by those events. Am I correct in understanding that vampires were created, rather than coexisting from the very beginning, like in other novels about them?
There are actually two separate things going on here. The events that haunt Cam are about the creation of the zombies. The creation of vampires is discussed a little in the Solis Invicti series, but they have existed for many millennia by the time the events of The Gilded King occur. I’m not going to say any more, because I don’t want to ruin the story!
- The Gilded King is the first part of the Sovereign series. You also wrote Solis Invicti series. How is that related to Sovereign?
The Solis Invicti series is set in the same world as the Sovereign series and has a few crossover characters. The Solis Invicti series is set in the present day, but the Sovereign series is set about five hundred years in the future. Both series stand alone and can be read without the other, but they each inform each other and cross over. Where Sovereign is YA fantasy, the Solis Invicti series is paranormal romance, so is aimed at a slightly older audience.
If you want to find out more about how society collapsed to become the world you see in the Sovereign series, or if you want to find out more about the background of Cam and the royals, then I’d definitely recommend reading Solis Invicti too!
- There are a number of characters who play a vital role in this book. In the process of writing this novel, and others of the series, what strategies have you used to keep track of your characters’ stories and locations?
This is something I’m really bad at because my memory is appalling! I struggle to keep everything in my head, so I have to draw maps and write out character sheets (with pictures) to keep everything straight. I find Scrivener really helpful for this; it’s the app I use for writing. I also spend a lot of time on Google Earth, plotting journeys and taking screenshots!
- George R R Martin is one of my favorite authors and he describes his writing process as one where he lets his characters tell him the story. Do you have a similar writing process for your stories?
My writing process changes depending on what I’m writing. For something plot-heavy like The Gilded King, I draft out a rough plot (about twenty sentences, one for each chapter), then fill in the gaps. That leaves some latitude for the characters to do their own thing, but I know there are certain crunch points they have to hit, and I steer them towards those.
When I’m writing something like pure romance (which is one of the books I’m writing at the moment), then I’m much more fluid. I’ll have far fewer plot points to hit, and most of them will be external rather than internal, so I can just let the characters react in the way that feels natural.
- What inspired you to become a writer and share your stories? Are there any books that you would say influenced and shaped you as a writer?
I’ve always been a daydreamer and a reader, and I love stories. As a kid, I used to make up stories whenever I had spare time, just sitting and thinking, away in my own little world. In retrospect, it seems inevitable that I ended up being a writer. I’ve been very lucky to have the opportunity to write so much.
In terms of influential books, it changes all the time! For example, I read NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy last year, and it completely blew my mind. I’ve just written a short story called Ring the Bell for my Patreon that I think was hugely influenced by her writing, although none of that influence was conscious. That’s how it happens for me. But my initial inspirations were my favourite paranormal romance authors: Charlaine Harris, JR Ward and Kerrelyn Sparks.
- How do you select the names of your characters? Are they just names that appeal to you, did you look them up for a special meaning?
They come from a whole variety of places. Sometimes I have a character in mind and a name just pops into my head. Sometimes I name them after friends (the protagonist in the Solis Invicti series is called Emilia, which is a friend’s middle name). Sometimes I know they have a particular chronological or geographical origin, and I go looking for the name that works best. My favourite resource is www.behindthename.com, which I use all the time.
- What would you tell your younger self when it comes to writing?
Don’t put it off!
I didn’t finish my first novel until I was 30. I was busy with academia, then several successive careers, and I just stopped nurturing my creative side. I was miserable. If you’re a creative person, I think it’s genuinely damaging not to have an outlet. Even if I’d only been writing a hundred words a week, I wish I had given a little more time to that side of myself. I’m making the most of it now!
** The Gilded King is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! **
Amazon Kindle
This post is part of The WriteReads’ Blog Tour for The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey. Be sure to check out other blogs about the book and my thoughts on it here.
Cover image: Photo by Fabrizio Conti on Unsplash
Be First to Comment