Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm welcoming back author AJ Locke to WOC Read with some updates on her current and upcoming projects and some helpful writing advice.
Does it get easier writing a series after the first book where the world is set up or do you find it more challenging?
It’s a mix of both, to be honest. I love continuing a series when I’ve already done the heavy lifting establishing my characters and world building. It makes certain things easier because you get to build on things, you can still add new things, and it’s great to get back into the heads of characters you already know well. But it can also be challenging because you want to keep each book in the series fresh and interesting in its own way, you don’t want to repeat storylines, and you want to make sure you’re continuing to develop your characters and the ups and downs of their interpersonal relationships well. I enjoy writing series because it’s a lot of fun to keep expanding your world, deepening your lore, and giving your characters new challenges.
How do you decide if a new story idea is worth pursuing?
A lot of times I get interesting ideas and I might jot them down and make some notes, but the interest doesn’t always last. When something really takes hold to the point where I’m writing scenes in my head, I know it’s something I need to spend some time with. I’ll start figuring out characters and plot, and seeing if there is something there I can create an entire story around. I’m solidly “team plotter” these days, so if I’m able to take an idea all the way to an outline, that seals the deal.
I noticed you put little nods to Caribbean heritage in your stories. Would you ever write a full out Caribbean inspired fantasy?
I would absolutely love to. It’s always in the back of my head to write a fantasy novel set in Trinidad and Tobago. We have a lot of amazing folklore I would like to explore. I know the right idea is going to find me one day.
What can we expect from Magic Legendary, Magic Rogue?
Ooh, what I can say that’s not too spoilery! Well, we are going to see Penn grow into her magical power, which is something I’m excited about. We’ll get to see some of the magical elements from Magic Dark, Magic Divine on the page, as well as some new things. With the way MDMD ends, I think readers should expect the world around Penn to be a bit different, and that was a lot of fun for me to play with. There are also some interesting things going on with Callan, Toji, and Gideon that sets up challenges for them if the series continues.
Why did you decide to try Kindle Vella?
It just kept coming back to me that I wanted to try it. I was intrigued by the idea of publishing a story in serial format. I thought it would be interesting to see what kind of audience my stories might reach. Can’t know until you try, right? So when I finally got an idea for a story I felt would work on that platform I took it as a sign that it was time to jump in.
When you post stories on Kindle Vella do you write the entire story ahead of time or do you start with some of it and write as you go along?
I write the entire story ahead of time. Even though I outline, my ideas always evolve as I write, so I might establish something in episode one that I change my mind about in episode ten, so if I’ve already published episode one, it would make it a very frustrating process for me. It works much better to complete the story, edit it, fix plot holes, incorporate new ideas, flesh scenes out, etc, before I publish.
Was this your first venture into self-publishing or have you self-published in the past?
This is my first solid venture into self-publishing. Self-publishing can be very daunting so I’m glad for a platform like Vella where you can put your story out there bit by bit.
Would you ever republish your Reanimation Files series?
Yes! There are four books in that series, and I hope to continue it, so I am going to get them back out there. I already had a new cover made for Affairs of the Dead that's really lovely. I was hoping to re-publish Affairs this year, but other projects took precedence, and before I put the books out again I want to give them a refresh. I wrote Affairs of the Dead about ten years ago, so there’s something to be said about reading it today and seeing ways I can bring the manuscript up to my current writing style. But I have realized that it is easier to write a new project than it is to revise an old one! So refreshing Affairs of the Dead has been slow going, but I have been working on it. I want to say I will definitely get it re-published in 2023. Fingers crossed.
How do you balance working on multiple writing projects at once?
Only recently have I been able to work on multiple things at once without feeling overwhelmed, and that’s because I’ve gotten better with time management. It’s as simple as saying I’ll spend the first two weeks of the month on project A and the last two on project B and stick to that so I can make progress without feeling pulled in too many directions. If I’m on deadline for something it makes me feel as though that’s the project I have to focus on over others, but I’ve been able to work things out in a manageable way.
Any other projects you want to talk about?
I am really excited about the book I just finished, which is an historical fantasy heavily inspired by Wuthering Heights. Hopefully that will be a project I can share good news about one day. I’m in the final stretch with Legendary/Rogue edits and that’s coming out in April. And I’m also publishing two stories on Vella, The Vanish Witch and Elemental Inferno, and I think I’ll be putting more work out on that platform in the coming months.
