Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a Midwest boy at heart, that is living currently in the Southwest. An imaginative individual that has been writing since the 6th grade, I have written a total of four or five novels, and several novellas. Though only a few of my novels have been released thus far. My Urban Fantasy Novella series has started and is available on Amazon.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The last thing that I released was entitled, Zachariah Lars and Death of a Time Traveler. It is book 3 in my Urban Fantasy novella series.
This series takes place in an alternate world, where the magical creatures that are usually hidden, have been living side-by-side with humans for over 150 years.
I started this series, because I was personally tired of Urban Fantasy series where everything is usually hidden, and it needed to stay that way for the Humans sake. I wondered what type of world would we have, it that wasn’t the case. I wanted a world where magic could be bought both legally and illegally, and dragon’s control the banks, and Fairy’s went to night clubs. I wanted a complicated mess of a world, where nearly anything was possible.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a sucker for a good cup of loose tea, and a video game soundtrack going while I write. If I am out in a coffee shop, an extremely large iced black coffee will do just as good as my tea. When I am not working on my computer, I will actually hand-write as much as I possibly can, and will even print out the drafts of my books to do hand-revisions. I just enjoy the feel of the ink on the paper.
I also love writing with fountain pens. There is just something classic and transports me to another time, that wasn’t so dependent on technology. It’s the greatest feeling ever.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Big influences have definitely been L. Frank Baum and his Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, he showed me that books can be magical, for no other reason than to be magical. There doesn’t need to be some long convoluted reason why something is magical, it just is. That really has shaped a lot of my feelings towards both Fantasy and Science Fiction. While it is great to have some realism thrown in, there are just times when I want something to be fantastic and out of this world, because it can be.
What are you working on now?
My latest book I am currently working on is titled, Shadow of the Queens, and is part of a fantasy series that I have been developing for almost two decades. It has gone through no less than three name changes (two of which have been while doing more revisions). This entire series was actually inspired by a quick, weekend book that I made that looked more like a nameless anime fan-fiction than anything else. Now it is a thriving world that will actually be linked to another independent series.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Currently, word of mouth, and Facebook ads have been my best friend.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
You just need to keep trucking. Keep writing. Keep figuring out your story. If something isn’t working, move on to something new for a bit, or move onto a different part of the story, work backwards. Sometimes that actually helps me figure out moving characters from Point A to B to C.
And just never give up. You are writing because you want to tell a story, your story. People may not get it, but others will.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I forgot who told me, or said it, but it is more or less, “You write for you, and no one else. Even if no one reads your work, you have created something magical, that no one else has.”
What are you reading now?
I am going old-school and reading some Gor by John Norman. A good old Counter-Earth series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Up next, I am continuing to revise, Shadow of the Queens, as well as a few others, and I want to get them submitted to a few publishers/agents, and I am working on getting the sequel to Bound by Roses, entitled, Bound by Fairy’s, through my publisher.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Neverending Story
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Complete Amber Chronicles (which is in one book so it’s technically counts)
Stardust
Author Websites and Profiles
Jonathan M Lazar Website
Jonathan M Lazar Amazon Profile
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