Welcome to James G Pearson
Where are you from and where do you live now? I’m a UK based author residing in the beach-side town of Brighton.
Please tell us a little about your writing – for example genre, title, etc. I’m a fantasy author that’s currently writing a series called The Kingmaker Saga. I suppose most people would call them fantasy with a mix of thriller. I like to keep readers on their toes.
Where do you find inspiration? I take particular inspiration from the Norse and Viking mythology and their ways. But generally I find inspiration in the codes and warriors of many different nations and incorporate several of them into my story.
Do you have a favourite character? If so why? I have several favourite characters, but if I had to pick one it would be a man called Carrick Belhound. I won’t spoil it, but he’s a villain and incredibly fun to write.
Do you have a character you dislike? If so why? I do have a character I disliked. I just couldn’t find a true purpose for him and something just fell flat. In the end I used him as cannon fodder. But his death wasn’t in vain.
Are your characters based on real people? I have one or two that are based on real people. But I like to exaggerate certain traits to make them come to life.
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Do you enjoy this aspect of creating a novel and what are your favourite resources? Research has been key to some of my settings and even down to names. I spend probably a quarter of my writing time preparing my research so I can be authentic enough when I need to describe something. The power of Google is what helps me find everything I need from ship sections to castle names, translations of Old High Germanic and Old Norse.
In what formats are your books available? (E-books, print, large print audio) Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason? Currently my books are in paperback through Createspace and also on Kindle. I have thought about moving to audio books but I have to look into it.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why do you think this might be? Self-published authors are viewed completely differently. It’s hard for an indie author to make a name for themselves these days without a significant amount of luck and hard work. I think this is because we, as indie authors, haven’t got the budgets to push our names out there and get the reviews with the big newspapers. Which is why we do blog tours to try and get our names out there.
Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Did you enjoy it? I’ve nearly finished Blood Song by Anthony Ryan, another fantasy author based in the UK. He was an indie author who got picked up with a traditional publisher after a series of fortunate events. I’m looking forward to reading the next one in his series as it hooked me from the beginning.
Book links, website/blog and author links:
Amazon UK Kindle book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IA8MHLO/
Amazon US Kindle book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IA8MHLO/
Author Website http://kingmakersaga.wordpress.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Kingmakersaga
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Kingmakersaga
Library of Erana 