Author Interview With Jae V. Reece

Today, we have an interview with Jae V. Reece, author of the upcoming fantasy novel, The Forest Lone.

So, what exactly do you write?

I write Young Adult epic fantasies with bits of adventure, mystery and steampunk thrown into the mix.

How would you describe yourself in a short third person bio?

Jae V. Reece is a 17 year old Australian aspiring author almost finished his schooling years and moving off to University soon.

Follow him on twitter: @jaevreece

Or get in contact with him via email: jaevreece@outlook.com

What made you initially want to write? Has your motivation changed since then?

Originally, I never liked reading. I found it tedious and boring. But then I came across J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books and they literally changed my life. Now I’ve read over 140 books in the past 4-5 years; most are fantasy, but Sherlock, Katniss and others are in there too!

And ever since The Philosopher’s Stone, I’ve wanted to create stories of my own with the same magic in them. I guess I started from then and built up my literary base.

What do you think is the most important part of writing?

For me, the most important part of writing is that you have to like what you write. It’s not about pleasing your target audience or your fan base. You’re top priority should always be you. Don’t do something that you as a reader wouldn’t like.

What is your favourite part of writing?

My favourite part of writing is exploring this new world I have created, and realise that though I did start the creation, it has started creating itself. I like how I find out little tid-bits of information about places and characters that I didn’t originally start of with. It’s magical.

Tell us an interesting fact about you.

An interesting fact about myself… I would love to go to the UK and visit England when I’m older. Maybe even move there…

Do you prefer a physical book or an ebook? Why?

Physical book. Easy. I do own a few ebooks, and I’m trying to get used to them, a good, physical book in my hands is my preferred method of reading.

Tell us about your upcoming novel.

‘The Paesian Prologues’ is my upcoming YA fantasy novella with six separate stories that really kick off the events of my first novel, ‘The Forest Lone’.

Most of these stories were supposed to form the beginning of The Forest Lone, as prologue chapters. But as the book grew bigger and bigger, I realised I needed to do some major cutting. And thus, The Paesian Prologues was born!

So, how long does it take you, on average, to complete a first draft?

The first draft of The Paesian Prologues (25k words) took me around 2 months to actually write, with a couple of weeks beforehand spent planning. I find it a bit difficult to juggle writing with school, but no matter how slow I write, I never go a week without writing something down. I never stop.

Which projects are you working on at the moment?

I’m editing ‘The Paesian Prologues’ now, and hope to put it up on Amazon by october/november 2013 for about 99c. ‘The Forest Lone’, my full-sized book (120k words), should be out on Amazon by mid-2014 for around $4.

How do you come up with the titles for your books? And do you have the final title before completing your book, or after?

For ‘The Forest Lone’, the title was the first thing I thought of, along with an extremely vague outline of the story. It was the inception. And I built up the story and world around that.

For ‘The Paesian Prologues’ however, I had to actually start writing the novella to really find an appropriate title.

How has writing changed your life?

Well, without reading I wouldn’t have started writing, and the world of Paesia would be non-existent. It is really a big part of my life, and even though school is trying to take over, I still find solace in words. Paesia is my get-away from real-life struggles.

Where do you get inspiration for writing from? Do you listen to music whilst writing or have a ‘writing cave’?

Florence + The Machine, and recently Bastille and MS MR, have been with me constantly while writing ‘The Forest Lone’ and ‘The Paesian Prologues’. Though I have to say I listen to ‘Two Steps From Hell’ the most. They make epic soundtrack/trailer/instrumental music that is really inspiring for me.

Is there a particular form, style or genre that you’d like to have a go at writing? Why?

I would love to try my hand at mystery or pure Steampunk. But right now I’m sticking to my roots of fantasy.

Favourite book and/or author(s)?

J K Rowling’s Harry Potter, George R R Martin’s A Song Of Ice and Fire and John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice are my top authors/books.

Also Jennifer Fallon, Brent Weeks, Peter V Brett, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jim Butcher are excellent.

I’ve also recently made acquaintance with Aussie poetess Vicki Case who has some brilliantly emotional poetry books on amazon. You must check her out!

What would you say to those who want to become a writer? Any advice?

I would say- “try”. Get writing now, get better. It’s no use saying “I’d love to write a book but I’m too busy now… Maybe later…” It’s never going to write itself! You must take the time for it, and that is the only way you will ever succeed.

Oh, and don’t worry about negative criticism. You will always have people that don’t like your writing. Don’t stress out! Just listen to what they are saying and improve!

Thank you very much for your time.