J.P. Reedman interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

I’m J.P Reedman (Janet) and I am a full-time author since 2018. I write historical fiction, mostly set in medieval times, as well as historical fantasy and general fantasy. I was born in Canada but have lived half my life in the UK—I live in an ancient town just up the road from Stonehenge (where I worked for many years) and have prehistoric burial mounds almost in my back garden!

When did your love of books begin?

From a very young age. I remember going to the Carnegie Library in Victoria, Canada, with my big sister who was 19. She checked out adults’ coffee table books on Ancient Egypt for me. I always had an interest in the past. I was about 4. I still remember that beautiful library with its two floors, dome nd the carving of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. And the SMELL of it; the wonderful smell of books!

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

Again, very young. I wrote my first story at 5—‘The Adventures of Two In The Sunset.’ My sister punched holes in the margin and bound it together with gold string. After that I kept a little notebook to write stories in…however, it was when I was 9 that I made friends with another girl who also loved to write and she introduced me to ghost and supernatural stories. We would sit down for hours scribbling in our notebooks. Two years later, I discovered Tolkien and my interest shifted towards fantasy—I then started writing long stories of over 100 pages. I was from that time on fixated with the idea of being an author one day.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

In the 80’s I sent manuscripts to the big publishers; I knew this would be time consuming with a lot of rejection but, because of where I lived, it was an extremely expensive procedure, and of course no money-savers such as email back then. Instead, I sent short works out to small presses so that I could get a list of publication credits. I became fairly well-known as a horror/fantasy poet in those circles.

A few years later I moved to the UK and did not write for some time while I pursued other things. However, in 2002 I was extremely ill from a ‘mystery virus’ which temporarily made me partly-blind. I swore that if I got my sight back, I would not procrastinate anymore. I realised how much I had missed writing.

It took some time, but I eventually completed several books. I decided to self-publish for several reasons, mostly time. I wanted to get these works out there. My first book was with a small press publisher but once I had learnt ‘the ropes, I do everything myself with the exception of a proofer and a cover artist.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Don’t worry about what you’ve put on the page. Even if you don’t like what you’ve done, it’s not graven in stone. You can rewrite it later. Keep going! Don’t sit and worry about that one paragraph that seems inadequate/dull etc.

And of course, don’t let anyone tell you ‘you can’t’…but of course you must be willing to learn the business end of things—promotion and so on. You can’t just plop a book on Amazon and expect it to be magically discovered.

Tell us about your book/books:

I have two main series: I Richard Plantagenet, which is about the life of Richard III…but definitely not Shakespeare’s Richard! and Medieval Babes. which is a loosely linked series of biographical, historical fiction on lesser-known real-life medieval noblewomen.

I also have written a historical fantasy series The Hood Game, featuring a magical Robin Hood, a novel on Stonehenge that incorporates the legends of King Arthur, a dystopian fantasy set in an alternate 70’s Canada, and many short fantasy and folklore stories.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

For the most part they are so friendly and helpful. I am part of a little group of historical fiction writers who are just lovely. We retweet each other’s promos, share each other’s’ successes, and also comfort each other when something goes wrong…like a computer failure!

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Thank you so much for all your support. This was always a dream for me and you’ve made it come true. People used to say ‘Oh it’s nearly impossible to write full time’…but here I am. Long may it continue.

Where can people connect with you?

I am on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stonehenge2500 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpreedmanhistoricalfiction/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IRichardPlantagenet/ 

And my Amazon Link is: https://author.to/REEDMANHISTFIC