Tell us about yourself!

I live in an old farmhouse with my husband and two wee warrior princesses in southern Michigan. It’s a great place to live, perfect for my older daughter and our English Springer Spaniel to run around and be crazy. When I’m not writing or feeding the princesses, I like to remodel my old farmhouse, read fantasy romance, watch TV shows like Doctor Who and Stargate and BBC miniseries like Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South and all the Jane Austen and Dickens shows I can get my hands on.

What does NobleBright fantasy mean to you? Why is it important?

Fantasy with hope…most of my writing would fall into this category, for sure, considering my author slogan is “Light for Dark Worlds.” I love stories with loveable but flawed characters who face the darkness despite its terrifying power and overcome their own weaknesses to become a better person and save the day. 

How did you start writing?

I started writing when I was in elementary school, before I even knew how to formulate a paragraph. My first book was a little thing I bound with yarn and illustrated with crayons. I wrote a lot of Star Wars and Thundercats fanfiction in my early years, but I enjoyed creating my own worlds better. I never outgrew my love for putting words down on paper, and my dream of being a fulltime writer and freelancer has finally come true. I now run a small publishing house called Dragonpen Press which offers services to other writers such as editing, interior formatting, and cover design. 

As much as I love helping other writers, I like writing better. I love to create gritty worlds that reflect hope out of the darkness. The Neverway Chronicles has been compared to “Dickens with magic” because of the grim worldbuilding and vivid characters. 

What are some of your favorite books/authors? Why?

This is an awful question for a booklover to answer…because there are so many books out there. I love all the pretty books! The Eleven Alliance Series by Tara Grayce has become one of my all time favorite series because of the sweet romance and epic worldbuilding. And it has a gorgeous, tragic elf prince. Another book that has a special place in my heart is White Wolf and the Ash Princess by Tammy Lash—this is a deeply emotional but inspirational historical fiction with a dash of romance and steampunk. I also love Spicebringer by H.L. Burke (SOB…you have to read it to understand). A few more traditional reads would be The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, The Host by Stephanie Meyer (anyone who can take a trope I don’t usually care for, like the love triangle, and make me like it deserves some applause), The Prydaine Chronicles, and the best fantasy book EVER…Howl’s Moving Castle.

Please tell us about your world and your characters.

The premise for After came to me one day when my husband and I were walking through a bookstore. At that time, every book on the shelf seemed to be about vampires or zombies. I told my husband something to the effect, “If zombies were real, I wonder how God would see them?” I wanted to write a story about popular modern mythology (likes zombies, werewolves, demons, vampires etc) from a Christian worldview. That’s how the Neverway began. Conrad Ellis the Third grew out of this dark world, a stubborn but loyal young man with a dark secret who will do anything to protect his stepbrothers. He’s crabby. No way around that, but he means well, and if you’re lucky enough to be his friend, he’ll die for you. And let’s not forget Ivan, cheeky and handsome, or young Victor, naïve and eager to please. The fun begins when the frightened but determined Fen stumbles into the Quarter and turns the story up on its end in her desperate search for a missing princess. 

What did you edit out of this book?

After went through multiple, extensive revisions. It began as a novella before turning into a full-length novel. I intended for the original story to be a Cinderella retelling (Cinderella with zombies…I know, I know…) But when I began revising and expanding the story and its world, the story didn’t want to be a true Cinderella story. There are hints of it in the final version—I kept the gender-swapped Conrad Ellis, with an ugly stepfather and several stepbrothers who falls in love with a woman from the Citadel. But, mostly, the story became its own, and I let it do what it wanted. 

Do you have any works in progress? Tell us about them!

I have more books on my To-Be-Written list than I care to think about, but I am still planning to write at least two more books in The Neverway Chronicles, as well as a spinoff series about Briarstone Abbey. I’m also working on a sequel to Curse and Consequence, a frolicking regency-inspired fantasy about a girl who turns into a dragon and two wealthy gentlemen who get themselves in a sticky curse, and I am always up for more When Ravens Fall stories. And, since I obviously don’t have enough to do, I am also writing a fantasy romance series under a super-secret penname. Because…who needs sleep?

Where can we find you online?

You can read more about me and my story world at www.dragonpenpress.com. I can also be found on Facebook and Instagram, @savannahjezowskiauthor. And because I like doing all the things, you’ll also find me bumbling around Twitter @SavannahJez and on Pinterest.