The Future Savior series is Jennifer’s first crack at a novel since the early days of fairy wand heists and she couldn’t be more thrilled with its quick success.
Hey Bekah! Thanks for having me. I hope you don’t mind if I get distracted. I keep scrolling through the awesome recipes on here… hmmmm caramel cheese cake… Oh, sorry about that.
Okay, how I started writing. Well, ever since I was little I loved stories and writing. This carried on through my teen years, but then… LIFE.
Yep, life likes to take us on crazy twists and turns so I didn’t “officially” start writing until I was nearly thirty. At that time I had a bear of a commute to my job. I was in the car for three hours every day. While I drove I began to daydream a story combining all my favorite things: God, fantasy, adventure, sci-fi, romance, super-powers, the works. Finally, one day I decided to write my daydream down.
Every author faces different challenges. For me, writing is the easy part! I have countless stories in my head. I just need to find time to get them all down! Conception was already in my brain when I sat down to write. The hard part for me was finding a publisher. You see, The Future Savior Series, is a sub-genre of a sub-genre of a sub-genre… not many publishers would bother putting money into something there isn’t a massive market for. Luckily, Desert Breeze Publishing took a chance on lil’ ol’ me and The Future Savior Series was able to see the light of day.
What are the challenges or benefits of incorporating faith into your storyline?
Incorporating faith in my stories is easy because it is so entwined in my life I don’t think I could write a story without it. The challenge comes in finding the right audience. My stuff tends to be too edgy for the “traditional” Christian readers and sadly most secular people run from anything labeled “inspirational.” I have been blessed though to find a few people like me who love God, love fantasy/sci-fi, love awesome romance, and love heart-pounding adventures. I would be set if I could find every single person on the planet who loves these things!!! But it can be difficult finding the target audience. I know they’re out there and I’ll hunt them down if I have to!
As a book lover this really interests me – What books or authors have influenced you both as a writer and a reader?
Double chocolate oat bars… Oh sorry, I got distracted again!
Okay, books! I have to say that everything I have ever read has influenced my writing in some way, shape, or form. I do have some top favorites though:
• The Stand – Stephen King
• The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
• Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
• Harry Potter Series – JK Rowling
• The Hunger Games Trilogy – Suzanne Collins
• The River of Time Series – Lisa Bergren
At this point in your writing career what has been your most memorable experience?
The first time I realized I had actual fans! It was amazing to realize there was a small smattering of people out there who loved my stories and were clamoring for the next installment. The first time this happened for The Future Savior Series, I was shocked! It was also really exciting to see it happen again with The Heroes Of The Horde Series. Sure, my fan base is itty bitty right now, but WOW! I have fans!
What is your favorite quote or saying?
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” ~Isaiah 41:10
And…
“You face forward, or you face the possibility of shock and damage.” ~Jason Lee
Favorite book, movie, and/or tv show?
Great question! I think you can tell a lot about a person from their favorite stories. I already listed some of my fav books. How about movies and tv shows…
Movies:
• Original Star Wars Trilogy
• Lord of the Rings
• Hobbit (the first two movies so far!)
• Avengers
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?
• The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
• How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2
TV shows:
• Supernatural
• LOST
• Once Upon A Time
• Friends
• Merlin
• Arrow
I read that a portion of your book’s proceeds goes to The A21 Campaign (www.thea21campaign.org). Can you tell me a little more about that?
Sure! The A21 Campaign is a Christian organization that works to free women and children from the horrors of sex trafficking. A21 rescues these victims and then helps them get back their lives through shelter, education, health care, and most importantly the love of Jesus.
What do you hope readers take away from The Future Savior series?
You probably noticed all the Biblical mirrors sprinkled through The Future Savior Series. Some of them are pretty obvious like Jonus taking down Gol’Gantar mirrors David killing Goliath. Other Biblical mirrors are a little more obscure.
For the Christian reader, I hope they have fun hunting down all the mirrors like a massive scavenger hunt! But one of my main hopes with The Future Savior Series is that a secular person may read one of the mirrors and recognize where it came from. They’ll grab a Bible to compare and contrast. BOOM! I just got them in the Word of God!
Beyond the Biblical mirrors, I hope people fall in love with the people and land of Meric. There is nothing more exciting for me as a writer than to hear of a person who has become completely lost in Meric.
I am a huge fan of your books, Jennifer! Thank you so much for joining me today and sharing a little bit about yourself and how your books came to be!
Thanks for the interview Bekah! Now, can we please have some of those lemon pomegranate cupcakes!?!?
To find out more about Jennifer Hartz, please visit her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Ends 7/23 at midnight.
Love that you are doing this for a good cause. It looks like a great read, too!
What a worthy cause to put the proceeds from your book towards Jennifer. Koodos to you!