Thank you to S.Jae Jones for the interview. Thank you to Titan Books for organising and sending me a copy of Zhara to read.

Who is S. Jae Jones?

S. Jae-Jones (called JJ) is an artist, an adrenaline junkie, and the New York Times bestselling author of the Wintersong duology and the Guardians of Dawn series.

Interview

 What was your inspiration for ZHARA?

The original inspiration for Zhara came about because after the dark romance of my previous duology, I wanted to write something lighthearted and fun. I grew up with the magical girl anime and manga of the 90s, so I drew a lot of inspiration from works like Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi, Magic Knight Rayearth by CLAMP, and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne by Arina Tanemura. 

What drew you to writing?

For the first 10 years of my life, so I spent a lot of time playing by myself and creating elaborate tableaus of make believe with my stuffed animals. Eventually these storylines got so convoluted and tangled, I started writing them down so I could remember what was happening.

What was your process for writing Zhara?

…chaos? I wish I were the sort of person who could be methodical and organized about writing, but I’m ADHD, so I am inherently allergic to routine. I do try my best to sit at my desk to work at the same time every day, but they’re not always productive sessions. As a result, I often find myself writing when I’m supposed to be doing something else—on my phone while waiting in line at the grocery store, late at night on my couch with YouTube on autoplay, or otherwise stolen from time that should be spent on errands and being a proper adult.

What is your approach to world and character building?

As with my writing process, I wish I could say I were the sort of writer who had character or world building worksheets, but alas, I’m more of a discovery writer. I did a lot of research prior to writing Zhara by traveling to China, Tibet, and Korea to soak up the atmosphere, the sights, the scents, the mood.

How did you choose the character to focus the book around?

All these questions are revealing to just how little thought I put into the writing process. 🤣 To be honest, I don’t choose. A character’s voice sort of…shows up in my head and a lot of the first draft feels like an interview with this character and becoming their amanuensis.

How would you describe Zhara in five words?

Sincerely weird and weirdly sincere.

Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?

Anything from Han’s POV, honestly. His voice is probably the closest to what mine is like in real life. One of the very first scenes I wrote was the moment Han gets stuck in a storm drain trying to sneak back into the palace 

What was your favourite book growing up? 

I have TOO MANY to choose! I was an enormous fantasy reader as a child, so I devoured a lot of Lloyd Alexander, Philip Pullman, Tamora Pierce, Terry Pratchett, and Brian Jacques. But today I’ll choose the first one off the top of my head, which is Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

Certainly fantasy across all age categories, but I also love a great mystery novel, probably because I can’t write them.