Welcome John! Thanks for taking time for an interview. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Yeah, I guess. I’m a guy, 73 years old—uh, make that 74—just had a birthday. I’ve been a computer programmer and a substance abuse counselor in my previous lives. I semi-retired in 2012, working part-time at my counseling job so I could write. Then started writing full-time in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and my employer closed up shop for a while. (You know. One door closes; another opens, and all that.)
I’m an avid hiker and backpacker. (God help me, I love the woods.) I’ve been known to stay up all night playing guitar, and my guilty pleasure is binge-watching K-dramas on Netflix.
I love, love, love to write.
You’ve been writing sci-fi novels with fantasy elements, but this book is all fantasy, can you share why you decided to write a fantasy novel? Can you tell us about your new release A Verse for Witches?
I’d say I’ve been writing fantasy all along. Wait, let’s call it speculative fiction—that sounds classier. I don’t begrudge putting a genre tag on my novels—readers need to know what they’re getting into—but, no, I didn’t just decide to write fantasy.
My first series was urban fantasy—werewolves and vampires. Then, I took some of the same characters, who lived supernaturally long lives, into the future for a space opera series.
The new series is still written in the same universe but in the distant past, when human and Fae intermingled. A Verse for Witches begins the tale of an orphan king prophesied to reclaim his throne and a dream-walking witch whose Guild assigns her the task of helping him fulfill the prophecy.
And, along the way, it could be they fall in love.
What was your inspiration for A Verse for Witches?
Well, for anyone who’s read my other books—I know you’ve read some of the Spaceship Huey Adventures, Heidi—you’ll know the character Pieter. He’s a dragon and rogue member of the Fae Protectorate, an alliance of aliens formed on ancient Earth for the purpose of exterminating the human species.
Unlike most of the other dragons and elves, Pieter saw something in us humans that made him think we should be allowed to evolve and eventually reach the stars. In both of my previous series, he’s been working behind the scenes to help us survive and grow.
I’d scattered bits of his origin story throughout the Spaceship Huey novels—and in the Red Wolf Saga series before that—and I wanted to explore it in greater detail. I’d originally decided to tell the story of how he’d created the werewolves to act as protectors of mankind.
But then I asked myself, what made him side with us in the first place?
Turns out, it was this love story between Erin and Tsing—demonstrating our capacity for perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity—that made him decide to help us.
And—I don’t know—considering the state of our world today, I thought a tale of love would be a good one to tell.
I understand this is the first book in a new series. How many will there be? Can you tell us about the next book and when it will be published?
The Song of Tsing will be a trilogy. I’m about halfway through A Chorus of Swords, scheduled for release in summer, 2025. A Bridge to Hearts (hopefully) will be ready the first of 2026.
That will complete Erin and Tsing’s story. After that … I don’t know. We’ll see. There are a plethora of interesting characters cropping up along the way. One or two of them could be involved in a spin-off series.
A Verse for Witches has been released as a paperback, but the ebook won’t come out until January 2025. You have a special contest for preordering the ebook. Can you tell us about the contest?
Yes! Thank you for asking, Heidi. And, actually, you can enter by purchasing the paperback, as well. It’s more expensive, of course—paperback prices are through the roof, these days—but that Ivan Zanchetta cover is gorgeous, so …
I’m offering folks who want to buy the book the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card—and some $20 gift cards for runners-up—by searching for it using one of my specific keywords, then purchasing it or pre-ordering the ebook.
I’m told that purchasing a book after searching with a keyword affects the ranking of the book for the word—you know, whether it appears on the first page of search results or the last—so I’m using the budget I normally allocate for promotions to gather some information. I’m very curious. I think it’s the computer nerd in me.
Here’s the link for more details, no obligation: https://www.subscribepage.com/vfw_algorithm_contest It’s also on my website, https://www.johnhundleyauthor.com
What is your writing process?
I guess I’m what we call a pantser? (Writing by the seat of my pants?) I think that’s the correct term. Most of my ideas come to me while walking in the woods—I might jot a note down on my phone if I think I need to. I do some preliminary outlining—a “W” plotline with high points and low points in the story—but I only have a vague idea how I’m going to get there before I start writing.
After that, I just write and let the characters determine the pace and action. I try to put in a few hours a day—early morning is best. My laptop stays on a desk in my bedroom, so all I need is a cup of coffee to get started.
I begin a session by reading over what I wrote the day before and editing it a bit. I try to end each session in the middle of a scene, making it easier to pick up the next day where I left off. I shoot for at least 500 words a day, which is what I base my production on when I’m scheduling with an editor or something.
For the most part, it’s a lot of fun. Lately, there have been more deadlines to hit and distractions with side projects—like, I’ve got a Kickstarter campaign to manage soon to fund an audiobook version of A Verse for Witches.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?
Just my gratitude and appreciation for their support of my writer friend, Heidi Skarie. You guys cannot know how much y’all mean to us. Ultimately, you are the ones who bring life to our stories. None of this could happen without you. Give yourselves a pat on the back and a round of applause.
Thank you for the interview. I wish you success with your new series.
Thank you, Heidi. I appreciate it immensely. As always, it’s been a pleasure talking to you.
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