The Relics of A.J

Ello!

Thanks for checking out this week’s interview. If you haven’t read our last interview already, you can check it out here.

Today we had a chat with fantasy author, A. J. Calvin, a microbiologist with a huge cast of characters belonging to both her published and in progress stories.

We hope you have fun reading about her favourite video games, her thoughts on fantasy and science fiction rules, and her advice for new writers. We did!

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1 – Hi A.J! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us today. Could you introduce yourself and your book/s to our readers?

Hi, and thank you so much for the opportunity!

I’m A.J. Calvin, and I’m a fantasy author from Colorado. I’ve been writing stories since I remember learning how, and I’ve always been a fan of all things fantastical, whether it’s magic, dragons, interstellar travel, or aliens. When I’m not writing, I work as a microbiologist.

I have several books published.

The first is Hunted, an urban fantasy set in Seattle, Washington. It features a main character who is somewhat morally gray and a group of people with the ability to summon creatures they call demons. The summoners are at war with the hunters, whose purpose is the extermination of the summoners. The main character learns to become a summoner, while her sister becomes a hunter. Needless to say, there’s sibling conflict involved.

The other books currently available are part of The Relics of War series, or related to it. It’s an epic fantasy with several points of view, a number of unusual/unique people (Scorpion Men and Murkor to name a couple), a host of meddling gods, and a story that’s encompassed by a large-scale conflict. There’s magic, there’s battles, friendships and heartbreak. It’s a good time!

As a writer, I strive to create characters that are not only memorable, but who are relatable and who will at times tug at the heartstrings. I want readers to feel an emotional impact when they read my books.

2 – It seems like you have a number of stories that are either published or currently works in progress. Out of all of them, which series or stand-alone book did you enjoy writing the most and why?

In addition to the books I mentioned previously, I have a number of others written and pending publication. There’s The Caein Legacy, a four-book series, which I plan to begin releasing in 2023, and The Mage War Chronicles, which is still in the writing stages. I’m currently writing book four, and won’t release that series until after The Caein Legacy is out.

I have to say my favorite to write was The Caein Legacy. Andrew, the main character, is half human and half dragon, and has the ability to assume either form. What I liked the most about his character was that he’s in his mid- to late-30s through the series, but he’s only just beginning to learn about his dragon half. A big part of the lore is that the dragon-kind are not welcome in Novania where he grew up, and to reveal himself would be a death sentence. He remained in his human form for most of his life, until certain events happen that prompt him to use his dragon form more often.

I enjoyed writing his character and the self-discovery that went with it from an adult perspective. He’s also very close to one of his brothers, and I modeled that sibling relationship off the one I share with my own brother. It was a lot of fun to write.

3 – Following on from the previous question, we’re going to assume you have a whole horde of characters. If you had to pick a favourite out of them all, who would you choose and why?

I do have a horde of characters. Spreadsheets worth! Choosing a favorite is very hard.

I have to say it’s a tossup between Andrew Caein from The Caein Legacy and Ravin De’vor from The Relics of War. Since I’ve already mentioned Andrew, I’ll focus on Ravin here.

Ravin enters the story very angry and set upon revenge. Over the course of the trilogy, he befriends someone who ultimately brings about a better side of his personality. He begins to care about the greater good, and while he still seeks to confront his old nemesis, he’s more aware of the repercussions those he cares about might suffer. Of all the characters in that series, I believe he changed the most, and I’m very happy with the outcome.

4 – Science fiction and fantasy stories are often set in completely different worlds or in universes that abide by completely different rules from our own. Do you find this applies to your books too? If so, do you enjoy this aspect of it?

I believe there are some rules that are decidedly different in the universes of my stories. There’s magic in most of them and creatures that you wouldn’t find in the real world. However, since I have a science background, I do try to include as much realism as I can for some of those fantastical elements.

For example, I touch on genetics a bit in Hunted and how it relates to the summoners’ abilities. And in The Relics of War, there was a scene involving carnivorous plants that I modeled after real world sundew.

5 – On Twitter, the excerpt you posted about a character called Liari caught our eye first. Can you tell us anything about her?

Liari Kho is the main character of Cursed Blades, the 4^thbook in The Mage War Chronicles, which I’m currently writing. She’s a mage-warrior, and in the lore of that universe, her magic allows her to increase her strength, stamina, and speed. Without giving away spoilers for the earlier books, she is relatively frustrated with her current situation. She’s made a number of mistakes—those have cost her friendships and ultimately sparked the onset of the Mage War.

I’m having a lot of fun writing this book. There are a number of fight scenes and some larger battles, both of which I enjoy working on.

6 – Some writers tend to plot out their stories first. Others just write it without planning anything in advice. What kind of writer would you say you are?

I’m a plotter. My outlines aren’t always terribly in-depth, but I need to know the basics of the story and where it’s heading. If I don’t have a plan for the end-game, the story usually doesn’t get finished.

7 – We noticed you’re a blogger (and an active one at that. Well done!) What do you tend to post about?

Thanks! My regular blog goes out each Thursday. Sometimes I talk about my writing or share snippets/excerpts. Sometimes I share new artwork, or discuss various characters. Every once in a while, I’ll post to my Tales from the Lab series, which features stories from my work as a microbiologist.

In addition, I post book reviews, usually as I finish reading, so they’re not on a set schedule. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, and on occasion, thrillers and horror. I’ve been reading more indie books than not for the past few months, simply because there is such a great variety and diversity of stories there.

8 – As far as we know, you enjoy playing video games. So do some of the Seriality authors. Which video games are your favourite?

I do play when I have some free time, which isn’t as often as I’d like. Some of my favorite games are the Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Final Fantasy franchises.

9 – Your book covers look great. Do you design them yourself or is there someone else you’d like to mention here?

I can’t take credit for the artwork on my book covers, though I do some or all of the text placement after I have the artwork. I wish I could draw that well!

The covers for The Relics of War and The Caein Legacy were illustrated by Jamie Noble, from thenobleartist.com. He also worked on the recent cover update for Hunted. He’s been great to work with and is very talented.

10 – And last but not least, if you could offer one piece of advice to a new writer, what do you think you would tell them?

Writing is a skill that will improve over time.

If you’re writing your first novel or story, my advice is this: Finish writing it, then set it aside for a while. Keep writing in the interim, then come back to that first piece later. You will be amazed at how much your writing has improved in that time, and you’ll be more aware of your personal tendencies.

I know it’s hard to step away from a piece you’ve worked months or years on, but trust me when I say it’s worth it.

And always keep writing.

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Thank you once again for agreeing to take part in this interview with us, A.J. We wish you all the best with your stories in the future. 😊

As previously mentioned, A. J. Calvin is the author of Hunted and The Relics of War series, both of which can be found here.

You can find A.J on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads too!

Like this interview with A.J? Here’s our very first author interview. If you’re an author who’d like to be interviewed by us too, get in touch here!

Thank you for reading our interviews. We hope you enjoy them. Subscribe to Seriality for an email update when we post out the next one. Hope to see you next week!

~ The Seriality Team 🖤⚪

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