Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author/illustrator with a great love for fantasy and animals. I’ve always been fascinated by animal psychology, their relationships to us, and how they problem-solve. For me, it’s a toss up between horses and dinosaurs as to which I like more. I really had a big gap in my dinosaur knowledge when I was inspired in 2007, and the science has just leaped forward in incredible bounds. The new species discovered, soft tissue, pregnant specimens: all of it is just incredible. I tried to put as much of that into my book as I could, because I hoped my readers would find that as interesting as I did.
I’ve written two other ebooks, a soft sci-fi series called Highsong.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Mark of the Conifer was inspired by the award-winning Museum of Natural Life at Thanksgiving Point in Utah.
Their displays were the first real dinosaurs I’d ever seen. I grew up in Texas, which was underwater for most of the Mesozoic, so if you like jellyfish and the Cambrian period it’s great. Not so much for dinosaurs. Thanksgiving Point is truly spectacular, able to rival the Smithsonian, so if you get the chance I can’t recommend it enough. You will be in awe.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write at 9PM every night. I’m a night owl, which I think most creative types are. I used to get home from a job at 9PM, and I’d sit down and write for an hour or two every night. I did that for years, so now even if I’m not actively writing on a novel my brain has this little ping when 9PM hits.” Time to write!” It’s been a very helpful habit.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Brian Jacques, the author of the Redwall series, is truly amazing. I read his books over and over as a kid. I would finish the books I had and just start over. His rhythm and diction are just wonderful.
When he died, I cried because I’d never written him telling him how much I loved his work. I ended up writing a bunch of other authors to make up for it. Tamora Pierce, Stephen King, Holly Black, Charles de Lint. All big influences that I’ve greatly appreciated.
What are you working on now?
I’ve got the rough draft of an entire trilogy set in a fantasy version of Assyria. It’s about a slave girl and magic horses, abuse and freedom, and how the stories we tell ourselves can be salvation or destruction whether it’s personal or societal. The first book is about a race, but it becomes much more than that as the series progresses. I’m really excited about it, and the artwork I’ve done for it so far.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m really not very good at marketing my book. I’m either too busy actually working on stuff, or not sure where to go or what to do. But I’m teaching myself and moving forward.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Develop a good writing habit. Don’t go back and reread a rough draft; all it does is discourage you. Write the draft and get it done, then don’t look at it for 6 weeks. Then you’re allowed to look at it.
Everyone thinks books become amazing right out of the gate. They don’t. You have to rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite first.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Get The Elements of Style by Strunk and White.
What are you reading now?
I’m working my way through Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I really enjoy his sense of fun and wonder. You can tell he thoroughly enjoys his process and that’s infectious.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m fiddling with a possible trilogy or four-book series set in a fantasy version of Indochina. I love folklore and that’s an area of the world I haven’t read much folklore from. I get to mess around with caste systems, tigers, and lots of really interesting monsters. I’m excited about it, but very happy it’s just my own little secret world right now.
I’m also dabbling in some werewolf stories. I feel like werewolves are poorly represented despite being furry superheroes. Being a werewolf didn’t used to be a perk. I want to explore actual lupine psychology. Wolves are shy, aggressive animals who bully to survive. How that would grate on human motivations and relationships? On a werewolf pack?
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?
Watership Down by Richard Adams. It’s my favorite book of all time, and heavily inspired Mark of the Conifer.
Something long by Stephen King. It, The Stand, Under the Dome.
A couple of books by Charles de Lint with his interwoven characters.
Author Websites and Profiles
Laura Jennings Website
Laura Jennings Amazon Profile
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