Jeff
asked
James Islington:
I'm fascinated by the idea that you seem to have just decided to become an author one day because you were inspired by Brandon and Patrick. Could you provide us with a bit of a background/biography? How did you find the time to do it? Did you have a writing background before starting your first novel or did you just have a natural gift for telling an amazing story?
James Islington
Sure! It wasn’t *quite* as abrupt as that – I absolutely loved creative writing as a teen, and the ambition to write a novel ‘one day’ was always there. Most of my twenties, though, was spent running a startup with a friend of mine. It was pretty successful and a major learning experience, but also an insane amount of work and stress. I barely had time to read fiction, let alone write anything.
So when I finally got around to discovering Brandon’s and Patrick’s books, it wasn’t that they necessarily created my first ‘I want to be an author’ moment – I think everyone who enjoys writing has a little bit of that in them already anyway. It was more that they rekindled my *enthusiasm* for the idea, which to me is actually a much harder thing to inspire. Those books really got me excited about the genre again, and that in turn motivated me to give my own story a go.
In terms of finding the time, when I turned thirty I basically decided to scale back my involvement in the business so that it became a not-quite-full-time endeavour - less money, of course, but it allowed me both the opportunity and head space to write while still earning a paycheck. I'd already been working from home and on my own schedule for years, so self-discipline wasn't really an issue. From there it was just a case of being diligent about getting something down on the page every day. It took a couple of years and a fair amount of patience - a lot of drafts and a lot of edits based on feedback, especially early on - but eventually 'Shadow' got to the point where I was comfortable releasing it.
I think that about sums it up. Cheers for the question!
So when I finally got around to discovering Brandon’s and Patrick’s books, it wasn’t that they necessarily created my first ‘I want to be an author’ moment – I think everyone who enjoys writing has a little bit of that in them already anyway. It was more that they rekindled my *enthusiasm* for the idea, which to me is actually a much harder thing to inspire. Those books really got me excited about the genre again, and that in turn motivated me to give my own story a go.
In terms of finding the time, when I turned thirty I basically decided to scale back my involvement in the business so that it became a not-quite-full-time endeavour - less money, of course, but it allowed me both the opportunity and head space to write while still earning a paycheck. I'd already been working from home and on my own schedule for years, so self-discipline wasn't really an issue. From there it was just a case of being diligent about getting something down on the page every day. It took a couple of years and a fair amount of patience - a lot of drafts and a lot of edits based on feedback, especially early on - but eventually 'Shadow' got to the point where I was comfortable releasing it.
I think that about sums it up. Cheers for the question!
More Answered Questions
Elena Blackmore
asked
James Islington:
James: Like so many here I’ve been obsessed with the world you are created. I wonder if you can respond to this question or is it a ‘stay tuned’ kind of answer, but here goes nothing. What is Synchronous? My best guess is that it is one’s ability the ability to connect to other copies of self in all three worlds, in a way existing a processing all three at the same time. Hot? Cold? Thank you for opening these forums!
Rachel Durning
asked
James Islington:
Hi James! I love your books and am SO excited for the release of The Strength of the Few. This question is about the cover designs of the Hierarchy books. I saw that in a previous Q&A session, you said that there's a possibility of some sort of workaround for those of us who bought copies of TWOTM with the original design and would like future editions to match. Do you have any update?
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