Interview with J. J. Westerman

Now you are halfway through the first draft, what has been your favourite part of the process?

Probably the creative release writing is giving me. I have never really worked in a creative job and always struggled to find an outlet. My favoured was acting and being on stage but at this current point in my life with a young baby, that is not conducive to my lifestyle.

I have found the whole process very therapeutic, from the research, to the planning to the writing. I am very much enjoying immersing myself in the universe I am creating and I hope future readers will find that escape in my work too.

How has the story developed from your initial ideas to the halfway point?

I planned the three books with a rough outline, conscious of which worlds Freya and Zach would be visiting, in which order, which enemies they would be engaging with... but apart from that I haven’t planned how they will get to the conclusion of each book. I have learnt that I am a “pantser”, someone who writes by the seat of their pants and does not plot every chapter. I do have a rough idea of three chapters ahead and I am looking forward to going back over previous chapters on the rewrite and fleshing them out with more symbolism, references to future chapters and linking up the story even more.

I have found that Freya is how I planned her, a go getting, brave heroine. Strong, independent and ultimately, highly moral and caring. Zach on the other hand has a much deeper backstory than I first planned. I hadn’t thought much about his parents and as I was writing, the back story of his father disappearing whilst searching for his daughter, Zach’s sister, just sort of materialised and is becoming a huge part of the plot.

That is what I am enjoying most about this process is the evolution of an idea into a key plot point.

When do you find time to write and what’s your favourite time to write?

I have a son who is 11 months old and with a full-time job finding time to write isn’t always easy. I find the best time is early mornings. My son is a fairly good sleeper so I can get up at 5:30am and then have an uninterrupted two hours of writing. I find the morning is the best time of day for me to find time to write and therefore that would be my favourite time to write.

What are your aspirations for this book and the trilogy?

I am just enjoying the creativity of writing and the escapism it’s given me. This year has been particularly difficult with corona-virus, lock-down - especially with and our first baby - so escaping into the connected worlds and creating them has been great therapy for me. Obviously I would like to have a bestselling trilogy, movie deal and theme park attraction but to be honest I will be satisfied with reading these as before bedtime stories to my son when he is older enough and providing signed copies for my Goddaughter Freya.

I will try and get the books published but I’m not interested in self-publishing. If others don’t believe in my work enough to print them then I am not going to force it.

How long do you think it will take to complete the Trilogy?

I have set myself the goal of a book a year. I want to finish Armis by the end of 2020 and it be ready to submit to publishers. The same for book 2 in 2021 and book 3 in 2022. Jerry Jenkins is a big advocate of setting a goal to finish and sticking to it. I will do my best to stick to that but I won’t sacrifice my family life or compromise my career for the sake of finishing it on my own deadline.

After this trilogy are you going to continue to write?

At this moment in time the answer would be 100% yes. I have the basis of an idea for a cowboy western novel that is more adult and not aimed at middle grade but who knows. By 2022 I may have lost my passion for it but at the moment I am focused on getting Armis finished and let’s see where it goes from there.

Interviewer - Josh Hawker