To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our right-side blog hop to sneak a peek at all the wonderful authors and artists I’ll be interviewing in the coming weeks.
Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick
Without further ado, Science Fiction Author: A. J. Super.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
What is there to tell? I live in the middle-of-nowhere KS with my amazing hubster and two cats. I’m a crazy cat lady in training. Not that I don’t like dogs, I just can’t have them at the rental. I’d totally have a big black lab or a Puli or a Great Pyrenese. Hahaha! I like big dogs. Really though, I’d probably have a shelter mutt. All my animals have been rescues, either straight off the street or from a shelter. Other than my immense love for animals, I’m a big boring nerd. When I’m not writing, I play MTG with the hubster, sew historical costumes and cosplay costumes, garden, and other nerdy things. During the summer, I love to camp and hike, but KS is very flat, not ideal for either. I’m originally from the Sun Valley, ID area. Lots of mountains, trees, and almost as windy, at least in the valley!
What types of books do you write, and why?
I write sci-fi. I mean, how can I not? All the great sci-fi works have something to say. I want to say something, engage people in a way that stimulates their imaginations and makes them look to the future. Sci-fi is a great way to have a voice.
What were your early influences, and how does this manifest in your work today?
I read sci-fi and fantasy a lot as a kid. But it wasn’t until I read Dispossessed, by Ursula LeGuin, that I started to see what powerful messages writing can spread. Then I read the Dune series and the Ender series, specifically Speaker for the Dead, and I realized I could have a voice that was loud, brazen even, and I didn’t have to speak a word. I just had to write.
Are there aspects of the craft that excite you more than others?
I love writing characters’ responses to situations I throw at them. I’m always asking “How does this character respond to this?” and the character tells me what to write. I love how they force ME to react even though my goal is to get a reaction from them. Each person I write is such a living being; they breathe.
What books or websites are your go-to places while editing?
Right now, I’m in love with “The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression.” It helps to guide writing those emotional responses to the situations I throw my characters into.
Tell us about your writing space (music/snacks/interruptions/etc).
I have a great big poofy chair and a bamboo lap-desk for my Lappy (read: really old Mac laptop that runs beautifully, but is starting to physically fall apart). I make sure I have a glass of ice water and a giant mug of coffee. Every hour or so, I get up and stretch to eat a small snack. I try to eat something healthy like craisins or nuts or… my favorite… a whole slow roasted sweet potato. I also try to schedule at least two 15-20 minute yoga sessions in there to make sure I’m energized. I’m lucky though, I have a quiet house for 8-10 hours a day. I can choose, or not, to listen to music; I have Spotify playlists for my MS, and I like to listen to Spotify’s “Brain Food” playlist too.
Tell us about your current WIP or your latest book release.
My current WIP, BENEATH GREEN, is done, and I’m querying it. Hoping for the best! Would love if I could get it published in the next 2-3 years. That’s the goal anyway.
 |
In BENEATH GREEN, invaders have terraformed Aev’s world. It’s genocide, and she’s lost everything—her family, her home… Now she hides in the shadows underground. From her desperate people. From the enemy. If she wants to survive, she needs to get off-planet. So when her new mentor asks if she wants “off this rock,” she must trust an unpredictable man with a broken ship. But she’d rather die on the surface with him than rot in the dark. |
A HUGE thank you to A. J. Super for her overall amazingness.In honor of kicking off Winterviews, she’s given us a glimpse into her universe. Check out her short story:
If you want to learn more about her work, here’s how to connect:
Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog
And for all you twitter folks, A. J. super also runs the #Fri1st hashtag. Check out the theme every Friday, and post one corresponding line from your latest work in progress. It’s a great way to take those working lines and polish them into pristine stellarness to share with the world.
Before you leave, don’t forget to check out all the amazing Winterviews Authors. 🙂
Great interview, and Beneath the Green sounds awesome!
Agreed it does!
What a FUN INTERVIEW! A.J. Super is a fantastic writer and I love her hashtag #Fri1st! One thing that I look forward to every Friday! Can’t wait to read anything that she writes!