An Interview with J.J. Fischer
Tell us about yourself!
Hi, I’m Jasmine, an award-winning author of Christian fantasy. I live with my husband Dave and our crazy ginger cat-dog (he’s a cat, but basically acts like a dog) a couple of hours north of Sydney, Australia. Yes, that strange southern country where everything wants to kill you. Also, as Vizzini from The Princess Bride pointed out, the birthplace of iocane powder. (Which also wants to kill you.)
I love books, chickens, and all things fantasy. I completed my Bachelor degree in English Literature and Creative Writing in 2012 and currently work full-time between freelance editing and writing. I’m also originally a qualified psychologist with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical psychology, and my ambition is to write stories that weave together my love for Jesus, my passion for mental health, and my struggles with chronic illness.
When tempted away from the keyboard, I enjoy devouring books, dabbling in floristry, thinking about lasagne (yes, I am most likely Garfield in human form), eating peanut butter out of the jar, contemplating the possibility of exercise, and wishing it rained more often.
What does NobleBright fantasy mean to you? Why is it important?
I think there’s something imprinted on all our hearts of the importance the good ending, an awareness of and a longing for the perfection of Eden. I believe humanity’s enduring thirst for eternity in the midst of a broken world manifests in our hunger for stories where hope prevails, good triumphs over evil, hurts are healed, flawed characters are redeemed, and our heroines and heroes ultimately live happily-ever-after. To this end, I write stories that aim to give readers a tiny whiff of eternity. They’re only ever a shadow of the real thing, of course, but more than most things in this life, I think these kinds of stories feed the soul.
How did you start writing?
I’ve always loved reading and writing, but in 2006 my family went on a caravanning holiday around Australia. We were in the state of Western Australia, near a place called Jurien Bay, when I had a dream of the opening scene of a fantasy novel. I later scrapped that particular idea, but I had already started work on the book, and the story ended up being The Sword in His Hand, my debut novel which was published in 2021. The main villain also became Jurien, after the place where I had the idea. I’m sneaky like that.
While I was at school and later university, I wrote whenever I could, but The Sword in His Hand took a whopping 12.5 years to finish. And it only got finished because I became very sick almost overnight, and had to step away from my job as a psychologist. While I recovered, I worked on the novel, then finished the sequel, and both books were picked up by a publisher. Eventually, I decided to stay in the writing game permanently and launched my own freelance editing business a few years ago. I haven’t looked back since!
What are some of your favorite books/authors? Why?
*Casts an eye over at my favorites shelf*. Phew, there are too many to name, but I’ll have a go. Obviously The Lord of the Rings and Narnia and most of Jane Austen’s work (except for Emma, there was a whole chapter about apples that just went on and on…). But also Julianne Donaldson’s Edenbrooke, Tracy Higley’s books, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Christy by Catherine Marshall, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, the Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers, The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, Andromache by L. E. Richmond, The Chaos Grid and The Crier Stone by Lyndsey Lewellen, the Children of the Consortium trilogy by Cathy McCrumb, Protector and Proclaimer by Megan Schaulis…
These are just some of the books that have stuck with me long after I closed them, either because of their spiritual richness, the truths they contain, their wonderful characters, the quality of the writing, or all of the above!
Here’s a Pinterest board of a few more of my favorites: https://au.pinterest.com/jjfischerauthor/favourite-films-books/.
Please tell us about your world and your characters.
The world of Calor is a pretty unusual one because it’s a little fantasy, a little dystopian, and a little post-apocalyptic all in one. The book is set sixty-two years after the apocalypse, and the world has come back to life again in what’s known as the Greening. The books all take place in a land known as Caldera (yes, named for the crater left behind after a volcanic eruption). Some people, called alters, are born with magical abilities, but they’re not your usual gifts—they are powers like the ability to edit memories (the FMC), to instill courage or peace, or to know when someone is lying to you. There are dark distortions of these gifts, too, such as the ability to change forms, instill fear, or produce different-colored fireballs. The mark of an alter is iridescence—whether hair, eyes, or even nails.
The FMC is a young slave woman named Sephone Winter who, despite not knowing much about her past, is forced to use her gift of memory editing to temporarily suppress the dark memories of the ruling aristocracy…and to help them revel in lost pleasurable memories belonging to the now-treasured past. However, Sephone’s life changes forever when she encounters Lord Adamo (Dorian Ashwood), a nobleman running from a horrific past where he watched his wife and young daughter be murdered in front of him. Together with his white wolf companion, Dorian is on the hunt for an old-world artifact known as the Reliquary which can permanently delete memories…and would help Dorian to finally move on from his traumatic past. The three are also joined by the charming and hilarious but rather flawed Cassius (Cass) Vera, a type of alter known as a lumen who’s basically a walking lie-detector.
Do you have any works in progress? Tell us about them!
There is so much happening at the moment, most minutes I forget to breathe. 😀 The first book of my next series (The Heart of the King, Painted Wind #1) releases August 15, and the subsequent books will release 6-7 months apart (I’m currently finishing writing the final book). I’ll also be releasing a cozy, comedic, Christmas fantasy short novel in early November about a magical steam train that fast-tracks people from different fantasy worlds through painful holiday seasons (despite the serious-sounding premise, it’s a comedy). And I’ve been sketching out the plot for a sci-fi book—yes, you read that correctly—for the general market. This will be a stand-alone book, and possibly my most complicated world yet. Phew. When I write all that down, I realize why I’m so tired lately. 😀
Where can we find you online?
You can visit me at my website: www.jjfischer.com, which has links to all my social media presences (FB, Instagram, Twitter, etc). Make sure you sign up for my newsletter for the latest updates!
