Our Interview today is with the Author John Hennessy. Born in 1988, John became entranced by the world of fantasy at a young age, playing video games and reading books for many long nights/early mornings. He recently graduated from Western Washington University, and now lives in the green land of Bellingham, at work on the second book in The Cry of Havoc series.
Welcome John Hennessy thanks for talking to us today and letting us have a little insight into you and your books.
Thanks for having me on your blog!
Q: Tell us about your latest book At the End?
A: At the End is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi about a group of teenage gamers who are struggling to survive in the near future. The birth control industry has been shut down and population growth has boomed yet again, bordering 39 billion in 2048. The book starts in Bellingham, WA on the third day after nearly the entire population has been taken. Strange marks have popped up on everyone’s door, and billions have disappeared for the last three nights, but no one knows why or how they were taken. The story follows Maggy, Darrel, and Félix, a close group of friends, who were in on a joke that aluminium foil protects you from aliens, but it turns out it may not be so funny, and may have actually saved their lives.
Q: What’s your genre and why did you choose it?
A: The genre for At the End is hard, because it’s not one specifically. I call it a YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller. The main category is probably just sci-fi though. Normally I write fantasy, but once I thought of the idea for At the End, I just had to write it, and I’m glad I did.
Q: What’s the biggest obstacle you faced with your writing journey?
A: I can’t say that I had any while writing At the End. It all just came together, without any hiccups.
Q: Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?
A: I get inspiration from everything and anything. For At the End, I initially got the inspiration by a swindler knocking on my door, telling me this long story of how her father was in the hospital and she needed money for gas to get down to Seattle. You could just tell she wasn’t for real, and come to find out in the paper about a week later, she was going around all of Bellingham trying to scam people. Well, that incident lead to the though: what if she went around knocking on peoples’ doors to see what was inside, then marked the houses, so that later her and her friends would rob the places with the most valuable items. Crazy start, I know, but one thing just evolved into another.
Q: Who or what are your influences?
A: I have quite a few, a lot of which have been my professors and their courses at Western before I graduated. I learned a lot while studying there. David Attenborough and his wildlife documentaries have been quite influential on my writing (in The Cry of Havoc series). As far as writers go, Garth Nix was my favourite growing up.
Q: Are you self-published, legacy or a combination?
A: Self-published.
Q: What was the hardest part of your self-pub / publishing journey?
A: Editing. Finally, I had to break down and hire an editor, which is no small thing at 23 and just out of college.
Q: What format are your books available in?
A: My books are available in all eBook formats and paperback format.
Q: How many books have you published so far?
A: Two novels, one of which I had spent six years writing, starting The Cry of Havoc: Life Descending in high school, finishing it in college.
Q: What things did you outsource, if any at all?
A: Editing.
Q: What’s the best bit of advice you received when starting out?
A: Can’t say I received any. I wish someone had told me to save my money and not to pay for any reviews and just send out free copies to more reviewers.
Q: What advice would you offer to the future Debut Authors out there?
A: Use a text-to-speech program when you edit. They allow you to find a lot more errors, listening to someone else’s voice reading your material.
Q: What’s next for you? Any projects in the pipeline for us to look forward to?
A: I am currently working on book two in The Cry of Havoc series. Part one, Life Descending, was recently made a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year awards in the fantasy category, and has been called “as good as Game of Thrones.”
Q: Any favourite Author that you are a fan of and would recommend?
A: It’s hard not to recommend George RR Martin. But I also recommend Michael Crichton, Cormac McCarthy, and Cervantes (Don Quixote).
Q: Give us one of your favourite quotes……………….
A: "If then true lovers have been ever crossed,
It stands as an edict in destiny.
Then let us teach our trial patience,
Because it is a customary cross,
As due to love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs,
Wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers." -Shakespeare.
It stands as an edict in destiny.
Then let us teach our trial patience,
Because it is a customary cross,
As due to love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs,
Wishes, and tears, poor fancy's followers." -Shakespeare.
Q: And finally tell us something random about yourself to make us chuckle………………………….
A: I used to be a comedian, but by the age of eleven I lost all my talent . . .
Thanks for joining us John and best of luck with your work. At The End is one of the books that I'll be reviewing for this blog soon so stay tuned.
You can find 'At The End' with these links.
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Goodreads Smashwords
You can find 'At The End' with these links.
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Goodreads Smashwords
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