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Free Book Friday April 26: In Conversation With – MJ James

Don’t forget to check out all the interviews I did with many of the above authors, and of course, support your next favorite indie!

In Conversation With: MJ James

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with author MJ James. Can I offer you anything to drink?

Absolutely, I’ll take some water. I am boring like that, but water is amazing.

Water is amazing. I don’t drink enough, that’s for sure.
What was the first book you remember reading on your own?

I don’t remember. Like a percentage of autistic people, I have hyperlexia and found an escape in words and numbers very early in my life. However, growing up, a few of my favorite books were A Wrinkle in Time, Bridge to Terabethia, Maniac Maggie, and Matilda. I’m sure you can see a theme.

What books and/or authors influenced you?

I find this hard to narrow down to a select few, and if I did so, I would be leaving so many people out. Writing is an experience that builds on each other. Each author takes something from other works and makes it their own. However, the most influential authors to me are those in a writing group that I belong to. We are all neurodiverse writers and amazing human beings.

Do you have a favorite book?

Just one? I don’t think that is possible. My most favorite recent book is Don’t Cry for Me. I recently finished it, and it was fantastically written, made me grow as a person, and had such vivid characters and world-building. Another favorite book is The Unkindness of Ghosts. This is a science fiction story set on a generational ship that looks at race, cast, gender, and sexuality. I reread this one continually and find new things each time I do. I collect new favorite books every time I read and love to rediscover them.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Yes. At least I knew since I was in third grade. I published my first short story in middle school about an alcoholic astronaut who found out that we were descendants of Martians. It was similar to Mission to Mars, except my story was written years before. I took a long pause on creative writing while I was raising my kids. I couldn’t lose myself in my own world while providing for their needs, but even then I didn’t stop writing.

Writers often write about what they know about or what they hold dear. Is your novel, NeurodiVeRse autographical in any way?

Yes, I don’t think I would be capable of writing a novel that didn’t have some thread of myself in it that I build off of. Jupiter, the main character, is non-binary and autistic, like me. Although, ironically, they are the main character least like me. We do not respond to situations in the same way. But I put them through situations similar to myself. I had a lot of pushback from neurotypical (non-neurodiverse) individuals with my first two books about my portrayal of autism. They were comparing my characters to autistic stereotypes while I was trying to show holistic autistic adults. However, autistic readers reached out, letting me know how much they enjoyed seeing themselves on the page. So, I went all in with NeurodiVeRse. It is all about transphobia and ableism (specifically ableism against autistic people). The situations that Jupter experienced at the start of the novel were all fictional things that happened to me. I also set it in a more liberal city, one I am very familiar with, having lived here for the last ten years, to show that these micro and macro aggressions are happening everywhere. I really tried to write NeurodiVeRse for neurotypical readers to understand, but again, it is really the autistic reader who has accepted it.

On your website you say you were diagnosed with autism at age 24. Was it a lack of resourses or something else that lead to late diagnosis?

Late diagnosis is pretty common, especially in my generation. Considering the situation 24 is a relatively early diagnosis as that was 20 years ago. Asperger’s syndrome (a term that is no longer acceptable to use due to its ties to a Nazi doctor) was not added to the DSM-IV (the manual used to diagnose psychological and developmental disorders) until 1994. I was already 14 at the time, and it took years before autism was talked about as more than a non-verbal white male condition. I was 17 in my Introduction to Psychology class in my sophomore year of college, and I remember learning about autism. It was a video of a boy rocking and hitting his head on the wall. My classmate turned to me and looked at me and said, “Hey, that’s you.” I also had co-workers compare me to Rain Man. But all these early portrayals of autism (that are still common today) are inaccurate, leading to individuals who are not white males getting diagnosed later or not at all. Even after my official diagnosis, I have had professionals tell me my diagnosis is a “fad.” The ableism is baked into psychology as well. I could go on, but I won’t. Granted to say, this is why I write what I write. I want people to see us as multi-faceted, unique humans.

How important is it for LGBTTIQ2SA+—wait, is that right? That’s really long. What’s the commonly acceptable term or acronym now? Or did I open up a big ole can o’ worms?

LGBTQIA2S+ would probably be what you are going for. I think LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA+, or LGBTQIA2S+ are all commonly used terms, depending on the situation. The addition of 2S (two-spirit) is extremely important to represent indigenous gender identities outside the European binary (or even European non-binary).

There has been a lot more representation of LGBT+ groups in books, TV, and film. Some critics will say it is disproportional to the population and others are just intolerant. Have you felt any backlash to your writing?

My first one star review (I made a strong decision to stop reading reviews after) was because my writing was not romantic enough. My book (and actually all three of my books) has aromantic and asexual representation. This is a spectrum of identities that do not have romantic or sexual attraction to other individuals. So yeah, I don’t write romance novels. That alone has been a big backlash and exclusion from book culture in general. It is assumed that LGBT+ novels are all gay, but it goes beyond that. That is actually what the A stands for – Aromantic, Asexual, Agender – and those three are all a huge part of my identity.

My writing isn’t romantic at all. I purposely wrote a male and a female character to be the protagonists and develop a friendship, not a romantic relationship. I felt it wasn’t needed to drive the story forward.
Let’s switch gears and talk about music. Do you have any favorite bands?

I actually have auditory sensitivity, which makes it hard for me to listen to music. Especially when I have been overwhelmed with lots of sound and I live really close to people, so there is always noise. Noise-canceling earbuds are the best thing ever. I have actually found myself wanting to listen to music lately and realizing that I don’t have any musical taste.

I’ve always assumed everyone enjoys music, but that’s something I’ve never considered, and I’m sure most people haven’t either. Thank you for bringing that to our attention.

Are you ready for the lightning round?

Let’s go!

Last binged show?
Stargate (the original)
Favourite piece of technology?
The smartphone
Food you like but others might think is just weird?
Everything I eat
Favorite city?
None – give me the middle of nowhere with no one around
One item on your bucket list?
I’ve actually completed my bucket list; Blackbelt in TKD, Graduate degree, Write a book – all done so now I just keep going.
Farthest from home you have been?
Mexico – but I’ve lived all over the US
Scariest animal you have encountered?
I walked right into the back end of a black bear.

This has been a pleasure. Thanks for chatting. Any links you want to share?

Thank you! Yes. You can check out my website at mj-james.com or my linktr.ee at https://linktr.ee/mj_james

Looking for more reviewers who want to receive an advance copy of my latest book!

ARC sign up here!The story behind Free Book Friday:

I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?

Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.

Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.

Reads From StoryOrigin and BookFunnel

StoryOrigin and BookFunnel allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!

Since my newsletter goes out bi-weekly, I offer book promos on those dates, so here are what’s running right now:

Free Books

Purchase Links

There are two different promos for this one, each platform have different participants.

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Review Copies (These are free!)

Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/