Featured Interview With JA Coppinger
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born and raised in NJ, the lovely Garden State. I am a long time resident of the Jersey Shore (the real place, not the horrifying TV show!) I actually love Jersey, it’s the only place I know where you can do anything you can imagine in under an hour. Broadway – one hour away. Ski? One hour. Beach, zoo, Yankees, Giants, Mets, Kicks, Nets, museums, five star restaurants . . . one hour! They should change our name to “The Convenient State”.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The first novel I ever read was “The Hobbit” when I was eleven and I’ve been hooked on reading and writing ever since. Fantasy has always been my genre of choice. I love that you can take everyday concerns and expand them into an epic setting where the consequences of simple choices loom so much larger. I think fantasy works are a great way to get people thinking about the way they live their lives. That, and dragons are totally awesome!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Tolkien formed my love of fantasy but I have to say that my favorite author is probably Stephen R. Donaldson. The beauty of his language and the way he pulls you into his worlds always amazes me. His “Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” series is a masterwork. More recently, I’ve become a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. The man knows how to tell a really good story and keep the pace moving quickly while still providing epic scope to his tales.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“The Screaming God” is my first published novel. It started from a short story I wrote many years ago that I was certain would make me a successful author . . . it didn’t. Still, I loved the characters so much and the dialog made me laugh every time I read it, so i kept playing with it in my spare time and it eventually reached novel length.
The book follows Godslayer, a man whose job is to kill anyone silly enough to declare themselves a god. The job –and the name– are hereditary but as Slayer will tell you himself: he’s the best there’s ever been. the problem is, this time around his bosses saddle him with a partner, the refined Lady Catrina, whose job is to make sure Slayer doesn’t kill the next god on his list before finding out how he’s generating blockbuster crops in the midst of the worst drought in memory. Sounds simple, right? Well, between assassins, smugglers, politicians and the never-ending battle for superiority between Slayer and Cat, simple is the one thing it’s not!
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