Featured Interview With J.B. Kovacs
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Zurich, Switzerland and now live everywhere since I’m a PADI scuba instructor, currently in Tenerife. I don’t have any pets but I say hi to all the sea creatures I meet.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I started reading when I was 5, started writing on a typewriter when I was 12 and wrote my first novel when I was 19 and never stopped since.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I am massively into fantasy, spy novels and adventure thrillers. Some of my favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, Ken Follet, Clive Cussler, Lee Child, James Rollins and many more. I get inspired by other books, things I see on my travels and movie soundtracks, without which I can’t write. Every movie, TV I see, every video game I played gave and gives me ideas for my books. But music for sure is the greatest source as I’m writing.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Zari and the Citadel is about a young girl who discovers the world of Realmwalkers and learns that her real parents waged a war against the founders of the Citadel she’s a student in. She uncovers secrets, mysteries while battling her fears of becoming like her father. She forges friendships and encounters her first enemies as she talks to dragons, fights with swords and learns how to craft things out of thin air. And the more she learns, the more she realizes how many more mysteries, ruins and secrets there are to unveil.
It took me a good full year to write it and another year to edit it into its final form. As always with Fantasy, the challenge is to do worldbuilding in a way to introduces the reader into the world but also leaves space for mysteries to be explored in later installments while also developing the characters to make them fully fleshed out.