Fumbling Your Way to Full-Time Fantasizing
1) What is your Author name; use your Pen name if you have one.
J.D.L. Rosell
2) What is your genre and what drew you to it?
I write epic fantasy primarily, though I've dabbled in LitRPG, science fiction, and even have a bit of romantasy and mythic retellings on the horizon.
3) How far along are you on your current work-in-progress?
Pretty darn close to finished! I'm presently in the self-editing stages of The Wilds Exile, Book 4 in the Ranger of the Titan Wilds series. After my wife gives it a pass as my first reader, it's just a bit more from me, a pass by my editor and proofreader, then we're off to publish!
4) Which character of yours was the most challenging to write and why?
Characters that are smarter than me or think in very different ways from me tend to be the hardest. A couple come to mind as being tricky at points.
The first is Leiyn, the protagonist of Ranger of the Titan Wilds. She's very competent in various ways, be it wilderness survival skills or strategy in combat—and far more competent than myself! Particularly while writing the first book in the series, I found myself concocting less-than-optimal decisions or forgetting certain skills she would have—for example, accounting for the wind when loosing an arrow.
After four books, though, I think I've got her skills and mindset down a lot better!
Another character was tricky was for a different reason. Seth is a viewpoint character in Book 3 of The Runewar Saga, titled The Stone of Iron & Omen. Having been raised and trained as a religious zealot and terrorist, keeping within the bounds of his thinking and motivations took more effort than characters who more align with my outlook on life.
It’s quite the interesting experience writing characters different from myself, however, so even when it's tricky, I enjoy the challenge!
5) Do you prefer writing dialogue, action or other scenes?
Both dialogue and action can be quite fun at times, and I enjoy both of those. The only exception is when I'm taking on a big battle scene— those become quite finicky, as you need to keep track of every character and variable to make it believable.
I tend to take the longest, though, in composing settings and character descriptions. They can be enjoyable if you hit the right extended metaphor, say, but I generally find them tedious.
6) How did you come up with your cover design?
There are various layers to it. The first comes from an artistic lens: do I think this looks good? Is it unique to me and my writing in some aspect? This is important even for the business side of things, as when I'm proud of my book covers, it's much easier to show them off.
The second lens comes from a marketing and publishing standpoint. Does this cover go with the covers I want to be selling next to? In some sense, I want them to both “fit in” and “stand out,” a balance that is tricky to strike.
The surest path to a good cover is to work with talented artists and designers, which I have the pleasure of doing on a regular basis.
7) Did you receive encouragement from a mentor, family member, teacher, coach…?
Absolutely! My family has been supremely supportive from the very beginning. I'm immensely grateful to my parents, siblings, and wife for never failing to believe I could do this writing thing.
There's one moment that’s been particularly impactful on me. It came early in college, at the end of a creative writing class I was taking. My professor, Dr. Holcomb, told me something to the effect of I had a lot of potential and to stick with it. That brief word of encouragement fueled me through the rest of college and graduate school. I was sure to thank him years later while I wrote my first couple of novels!
8) Did you ever feel like giving up? If so, how did you overcome that?
All the time. Years ago, before I was doing this full-time, those feelings came on a lot stronger and lasted longer. They haven't fully gone away, and I doubt they will—it's natural to feel discouraged when things are going poorly.
But I've stuck with it purely because nothing else brings me the kind of joy that writing and publishing do. Remembering that brings me back to the page sooner rather than later.
Looking at things that have improved since I first began writing provides a nice change of context as well and is often encouraging. Also, I sometimes look to wins I've had along the way—lovely reviews from readers, sales milestones, that sort of thing.
At this point, I can almost laugh at myself when those feelings come, because I know I'm full of crap and won't quit. What else would I do, anyway?
9) What is the one thing you wish you knew at the beginning of your writing journey?
That what makes something “good” in fiction is largely subjective. What makes for good writing and a good book is down to expectations and preferences, in large part, not an inherent quality.
Yes, you need to become competent in certain ways. Learn proper grammar so you know how and when you can break it (if you so choose). Learn story structure and sound character development for the same reason.
But at the end of the day, there's just you and the reader. And if you're meant for each other, it's a good book because you wrote it for preferences that they share in common with you.
10) What is your favorite character from any book you have ever read?
FitzChivalry Farseer comes to mind. Partly it's because we follow him throughout the entirety of his life. Partly because Robin Hobb is a master at earning reader sympathy. Perhaps the greatest reason comes from Fitz having the most nuanced relationships in fantasy, if not all fiction. We grow to understand him from how he relates to other characters and how they relate to him.
11) Where is your favorite place to read?
On the couch, on a weekend morning, just after sunrise, with a fresh cup of hot coffee in hand. And in paperback or hardcover!
12) What is one book that is currently on your To-Be-Read list?
Too many, but one I'm quite looking forward to is Ruin by John Gwynne.
13) Villain, hero or “show stealing” side character? Which would you be?
Side character for sure, and I likely wouldn't steal the show! The pedantic scribe or troubadour of dubious talent would suit me best. Perhaps a middling mage, if magic is common enough in the world!
14) What is the name of your book/series? Tell me a little bit about them.
My epic fantasy series are four in total:
● Legend of Tal
● Ranger of the Titan Wilds
● The Runewar Saga
● The Famine Cycle
Legend of Tal is about as classic-style fantasy as it gets. It boasts elves, pointy-hat wizards, and even a farmboy hero. Pair that with a retired adventurer with a legend that would make anyone's back weary and a deific sorcerer hunting him, and you've got the series right there! What’s more, it’s a complete series, so you won’t be left hanging.
Ranger of the Titan Wilds takes plenty of classic fantasy inspiration, but uses entirely new worldbuilding. You follow Leiyn, a hard-edged heroine with a knack for archery and a host of flaws to challenge any antihero, as she navigates a recently colonized land striven by the tantrums of titanic creatures. She'll set out for vengeance and duty, then find her way to redemption and heroism by the end.
The Runewar Saga is largely inspired by Norse mythology, though we have a hefty dose of Egyptian mythological inspiration as well. We follow a pair of siblings, heirs to the leader of the clan and city, as they seek to protect their people from threats both within and without after a cataclysmic, unprecedented attack using unknown magic. Throw in berserkers, scheming giants, political machinations, runic magic, and a worldwide war, and that's The Runewar Saga for you.
The Famine Cycle is my earliest complete series. It's a trilogy that follows Airene, a private investigator type who works in an Ancient Greek-inspired city-state, as she first looks into the murder of her king, then tries to uncover the greater conspiracy threatening her world. It's got a hard magic system that pivots around different types of energy and an entertaining found family around her. And did I mention the world-devouring dragon god?
15) Do you have a website? If so, what is it?
My hub is at jdlrosell.com.
16) Where can we find and follow you? (Name your social media platforms.)
● Facebook page: facebook.com/authorjdlrosell
● Instagram: instagram.com/jdlrosell_author
● TikTok: tiktok.com/@rosell.writes
● YouTube: youtube.com/@rosell.writes
● Reddit: reddit.com/user/jdlrosell_author
● Twitter: twitter.com/jdlrosell
● Threads: threads.net/@jdlrosell_author
17) If there anything important that you would want my readers to know about you?
I'm sure this has given them more than they asked for! But if they're looking for character-driven stories with big stakes and twists on their favorite mainstays in fantasy, then I hope they'll give my books a try.
