Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your writing.
Oh, gosh, would it be cliched to say, 'I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember'? It sounds bloody corny but it actually is the truth; aside from a moment of insanity when I declared I wanted to be gymnast (or a vet, or a jockey...) being a writer is one of my earliest aspirations. I wrote my first 'epic' story when I was seven, in one of my primary school exercise books I clearly was not using for homework (it was eleven pages, I felt like a wordsmitthing beast), and continured to write shockingly melodramatic misadventures featuring female protagonists all through primary school and into highschool, before going on to major in Creative Arts/Creative Writing at University. Eventhough I took a different career path (I was always afraid to 'work' as a writer because I didn't want to burn myself out creatively), I stuck with my passion project and now, after two decades, it's finally out in the world!
My debut novel, The Ruptured Sky, is a character-driven epic grimdark fantasy, set in a world where the gods are dead, the sky is torn, and the land wasted by magic. Led by one kickarse female main character, the plot follows an ensemble cast of morally grey characters who become involved in a madman's plot to revive the dead goddess and prevent the rise of a dark and dangerous power -- but it may destroy the world in the process...
It is the first installment of the Gardens of War & Wasteland quartet, and Book II (The Blood Curse) is slated for a late 2023/early 2024 release!
Who would you say your biggest literary influences are?
I'm actually quite a naughty writer in that a lot of my influences haven't actually come from literary sources... I've been working on Gardens of War & Wasteland for just on two decades now and the 'foundation stage' of building this world took place when I was in highschool (ages 15-18) and at that time I was really heavily into videogames and Japanese manga/anime. Story based RPGs such as Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem and the 'Tales of' series have been hugely inspirational, and more recently, 'darker' franchises such as The Witcher, Bloodborne, Dark Souls and Elden Ring really helped put the finishing touches on everything. In fact, Bloodborne was what inspired me to really commit to the dark and twisty, which is how I ended up being a grimdark author as opposed to the fantasy adventure quest it started out as.
To speak specifically on literature, I do have to credit David Eddings's The Belgariad as being the first real high fantasy series I read and it introduced me to practically all of the most popular tropes of the genre. And, I don't think I could be a writer of modern fantasy without being influenced by George R.R Martin. I actually started reading A Song of Ice & Fire around the time I was doing some pretty heavy, structural rewrites of Gardens of War and Wasteland, and that's how I came to tell the story through multiple POVs. It wasn't something I had considered before--I always thought there needed to be just ONE hero whose story we'd follow, and so originally, I was just writing from Amika's headspace. After reading Ice & Fire, I started to realise that the perspectives of the supporting characters can be equally, or perhaps even more important at times, and that was when I started weaving in Kio, Kriah and Rei's experiences.
While I certainly don't plan on expanding the cast to GRRM levels, a new perspective will be added in later books.
How has the history of the middle ages impacted/influenced your work?
Yes, actually, I've been doing a lot of research into the Black Death and what the pandemic response was back in that time ... So that's been fun!
At its core, my fantasy world (Whyt'hallen) is built upon the foundations of British/European middle ages. I wouldn't say it's as strongly influenced as say, A Song of Ice & Fire, but the flavour is definitely there.
Do you feel like your writing has been impacted/influenced by Tolkien? If so, in what way(s)?
Not my writing so much, buy my imagination, most definitely.
I never wrote (or even read) hard fantasy until I saw Lord of the Rings -- prior to that I'd been more paranormal/supernatural with aliens, spirits, fairies and what have you. But once I saw LotR was I was absolutely obsessed. The depth of world building, the characters, grand battles and epic quests... It was truly eye-opening -- and inspiring.
While I have not actually read the books (I did read The Hobbit and my little 14yo brain struggled with the density of it I never could bring myself to tackle the trilogy) I fully acknowledge and respect the impact Tolkien has had on the genre. I don't think anyone who reads/writes fantasy could say they remain entirely untouched by his influence.
One specific Tolkien homage I will draw attention to is that magical forests and beings of Whyt'hallen were strongly inspired by Lothlorien and the elves. While there are some notable differences between the Meah-Hyren and Tolkien's elves, Lothlorien/Kherunis, I don't think I'll ever separate the connection in my mind.
What do you think the current innovations in your genre(s) are?
Strong female protagonists. There definitely does seem to be a boom of take no shit, kickarse female leads in fantasy fiction in general and I am so here for it!
What is something in your genre(s) you'd like to see more of?
More openly female authors in epic, dark and grimdark fantasy! I say openly in that their identity is not obsecured behind pen names or ambigious initials as a means of hiding gender and avoiding stigma. Basically, I like to just see that stigma erased!
What is something in your genre(s) you'd like to see less of?
Sexual violence (against women) as a a plot device, whether to propel the narrative or a character arc. It's pretty rampant in the grimdark genre because, let's face it, it's a heinous crime. I'm not saying it should be erased from literature altogether but it would be nice to not see it used so frequently (on page) as means of establishing 'evil'. There's so many other horrible, shocking things to do instead.
Is there anything else related I didn't ask a question about that you'd like to add?
No - it's been a great interview. Thank you!:)
Where online can our readers find you and your work?
The Ruptured Sky is available in digital format exclusively through Amazon, and is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.
Paperbacks can be purchased from most online retailrs (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Booktopia etc)
Two FREE prequel novellas can also be found at jessicaamcminn.com
Character merchandise is also available from https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/jamjamcrafts (more options including bookmarks, signed paperbacks etc to come!)
And of course, readers can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all @jessicaamcminn
Come and say hi! :)
Jessica, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your thoughtful answers!
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