BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Visible Through Darkness: The Jura Series [1]

Friday, 31 March 2017

ℚ♫ Visible Through Darkness: The Jura Series [1] - Auden Johnson

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Auden Johnson to talk about her novella Visible Through Darkness (25 December 2013, Aubey LLC, 67 pages), a Fantasy Romance, book one of The Jura Series.

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

A very warm welcome back to Auden Johnson; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter!

To start, as we love music, Auden has shared with us her writing playlist - enjoy!

What compelled you to write this particular story, Visible Through Darkness?

"I was having a hard time in college. I wasn’t good at making friends in the beginning. When I felt heavy, I put my emotions on paper… or the computer, turning them into a story. One of those was Visible Through Darkness. I didn’t go into this story thinking of how it would turn out. It was a way for me to dump some emotions. After many years of editing it and learning more about writing, Visible Through Darkness turned into what it is now."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"My stories always have people who are outsiders. Jade grew up in a world where what we think of as crimes are legal. Her parents taught her the old ways- you don’t put your hands on people, especially if they don’t want it, you don’t break into people’s apartments and you read books not burn them. Because of this upbringing, Jade is ignored. She doesn’t have any friends. People rarely say her name. Since I was bullied growing up, I’m drawn to write characters that don’t fit in. I like watching them find confidence and a place where they belong."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Visible Through Darkness - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I designed the cover. This current one is a redesign. The original was a gold symbol on a black background. It didn’t say anything about the story. Since Visible Through Darkness is a story about a character traveling from one “world” to another, I figured having a portal on the cover would work. Since the world Jade’s coming from is terrible, I showed that with the dark forest. She’s not going from a dark world to a light one. The bright landscape represents how she views the journey."

Why should we read Visible Through Darkness and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"Like sassy characters? Like some romance with a heap of fantasy and a side of the apocalypse? Want a unique magic system and new mythical creatures? Anyone who enjoys a light read and a story set in a different kind of fantasy world would enjoy Visible Through Darkness. Also, I often have brown skinned characters as main protagonists because I didn’t have that growing up. If you’re looking for a fantasy series with a diverse cast, The Jura series is for you."

What has been your greatest challenge as a writer?

"Finding time write. Because I’m insane, I’m a designer and photographer as well as a writer. On top of that, I run a blog and I’m on a million social networks. I barely have time to sleep let alone write. I organize my week and use social media schedulers to free up time to work on my stories."

What is in store next?

"Book 3 of The Jura series will come out some time this year. I have some ideas what will happen next for Jade, Serin and co. but nothing pinned down. When I start writing, the story often takes a different route that I expected."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?