Author Interview: J.J. Thorn

What inspired you to write in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and how does that inspiration reflect in your stories?

I grew up reading manga, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and eventually found my way to anime on the internet. These mediums were an amazing source of entertainment, and as I grew older, they always remained at my side. At a certain point, however, I started to venture away from some of those mediums and went looking for written forms of entertainment. This manifested as light novels and web novels, which showed me a different type of story.

I’d always been a reader (e.g. Harry Potter was my jam), but these stories were fun and digestible. Set into smaller chapters, and packed with so much action and creativity, a lot of the themes I’d grown used to in manga and anime were now available in a completely new form.

Moving ahead, it wasn’t until the pandemic that I finally had the time to sit down and write something of my own. By this point, I’d moved away from light novels and was now firmly in the territory of LitRPG and Progression Fantasy stories. I’ve said it before, but these stories truly reignited my love for reading. And it was in those stories that I started thinking about one of my own. The genre itself, which takes inspiration from fantasy and gaming, showed me a way to write that was extremely engaging.

I’ve been fortunate enough to bring some of these inspirations with me as I delve into the world of writing. I like to think my background, including the numerous stories I’ve read or ingested over the years, has a part to play in shaping the worlds I create.

 Why did you choose the indie author route to publication?

When I finally got words to paper, everything went so quickly that I honestly don’t think I considered the alternatives. All the stories I was reading were being self-published, so I thought: why wouldn’t I do the same. Since then, I realize how lucky I was to not overthink it. Self-publishing offers a lot of benefits, autonomy being one of them, and I believe it allowed me to work towards my first series at a pace that made sense to me.

If I were to do it again, I would self-publish to start (again). Now, as I work towards building a potential career as an author long term, I am considering the possibilities of working with a small press or publishing house much more.

I’ve got to write the right book for that first, though 😊.

 Can you share a bit about the world-building process in your series or novel? How do you balance creativity with consistency?

This is very difficult. Especially in my genre where the rules are often laid out to the reader from the outset. One way, and this is likely just one piece of the pie, is learning how far you can push those rules without completely breaking them.

I’ll use something like power scaling in a fantasy world as an example. When I plan out a story, I like to think about who the ‘strongest’ person in my world might be. They don’t need to have a name, nor do they need to be fleshed out in any way, but if they were to appear in front of the main character, what chance could the main character have?

I find providing a ceiling on that person’s power gives me a place to work towards. And since you might be thinking it, this will always be a moving target! Still, this target helps ground the characters as I expand the story. Furthermore, it gives me an opportunity to start thinking about things that I think are often overlooked: for instance, if Frieza is able to destroy planets with a wave of their hand, what is actively stopping Goku from doing the same thing as he becomes more powerful? Now, I know this doesn’t often matter in the grand scheme of things, but the thought process allows me to flesh out the world in my mind. Pushing the idea more, is an even higher entity stopping these threats from actively destroying anything vital (like the planet)? Are some planets immune to the energies used by these uber powerful beings? Why only some planets? Does a planet destroying action take an exorbitant amount of energy that is only possible to use under very specific situations? Etc. etc.

Once you create a target, creativity can flow because you have something to gauge against.

And as for consistency, keep track of your ideas. Create a spreadsheet, write an outline, keep track of your characters. To be consistent, you need to have a way to reference what has already happened. Novels are long pieces of work. Often enough inconsistencies are not done purposefully. Often enough they happen because the writer simply forgot.

 What unique challenges do you face as an indie author in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and how do you overcome them?

Further to the question above, I am always trying to be more creative. In my genre, several themes are often repeated from story to story. Further to that, the concept of magic has obviously been done countless times. While I realize I won’t ever come up with something completely unique, I am always trying to find a new way to execute those ideas. Often enough, I fail, but every now and then I come up with something I’ve never read before, and those are the moments I strive for as a writer.

How do I overcome this challenge? Hard work, self-doubt, and food. Plus I have a wonderful wife who pushes me to not give up.

 Who are your favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors or works, and in what ways have they influenced your writing?

I don’t keep overall favourites, for anything – sadly my memory just simply isn’t good enough for that. With that said, I have some favourites from last year that are fresher on my mind. Two that spring to mind are ‘All the Skills’ by Honour Rae and ‘Reborn Apocalypse 4’ by L.M. Kerr.

All the Skills always comes to mind because it is a story that was beautifully executed. It’s close enough to a traditional fantasy with dragons, magic, and interesting locations that anyone can pick it up and be enamoured by the world they’ve created. Further to that, however, is their ability to build a simple magic system that helps carry the story forward. Though I’ve fallen behind on the third book in the series, I think this story is a true delight.

Reborn Apocalypse is a story I’ve loved for quite a while, and the fourth instalment came out recently. Technically, this book has some flaws, but the action and creative scenarios that are jam-packed into the story more than make up for it. The story is just fun. And often enough in a fantasy world, it’s important to throw logic out the window and have fun with it. The ‘Rule of Cool’ has a part to play in any action packed story with magic.

Both stories show that any story can be interesting if executed well, whether that’s done in a more measured way (All the Skills) or if rules are constantly thrown out the window and it somehow still ‘works’ (Reborn Apocalypse).

 How do you develop your characters, and who is your favourite character from your works? Why?

Characters come over time. I’ve tried throwing a bunch of things together before writing, but that didn’t work. I like to come up with some key features and craft the character as the story goes along. For a character you’ll only know for a chapter or two, this needs to happen very quickly, but for an important character I like this approach. It allows the reader and I to both get to know the character as we delve deeper into their story.

For instance, I crafted my character ‘Claire’ over an extended period of time. Her background is a bit more brutal, and I always knew it wouldn’t be pleasant, but the full details of that background don’t become apparent to me, or the reader, until late in the first book. Until that point, I knew a lot about Claire, but learning key details about her past helped me reshape my view of her as I finished the story and did revisions. Where at the beginning of the story she is a self-admitted bi***, enough flashbacks happen through the story to show you why she turned out that way. You begin to sympathize. And as time goes on, you learn to root for her even more.

All that said, Characters are hard to get right. Trying to show truly distinct personalities is a challenge. In Claire’s story I created a few characters that I think stood out: Claire, Chen, Amelia, Norman, but I know some others have blended a bit too close together.

 Could you discuss the role of magic/science or fantastical/sci-fi elements in your stories? How do you create rules and limitations for them?

I lean very heavily towards magic. I recently read a story titled ‘Ends of Magic’ where magic abilities are based in science, and while I enjoyed the concept, I know it wasn’t something I’d be able to pull off well.

Creating rules while world-building is half the fun while writing a LitRPG or progression fantasy. Further to what I’d written earlier, I try to keep the magic system open enough to support interpretation and play, while closing it down into set and defined rungs of power. This is how I am able to ‘quantify’ my magic system, while also allowing room for growth – which is enormously important in my genre.

For instance, in my first story ‘The Weight Of It All’, a portion of society are given access to an Affinity. With the Affinity comes an ability and a Rank. Each Rank provides another (stronger) ability but Ranking up becomes more difficult as you progress. Ranking up becomes the goal, while the Skills are where interpretation and play come into effect.

 How do you approach the plotting and planning of your series or novels? Do you prefer to map everything out beforehand or let the story evolve as you write?

I am a semi-pantser, who is actively trying to plot. I have gotten into the habit of writing out notes for the next 5-10 chapters in my story, so I know what’s about to happen, and I generally have a clear idea of what will happen at the end of the story, but everything is up for change as I write. Nothing is completely set in stone until I hit publish.

 What is a theme or message you hope readers take away from your work?

Each of my stories should always be about more than just the action.

In ‘The Weight Of It All’, I tried to get across the themes of ‘discovery’ early on, but quickly set down a path of ‘loss’ and ‘destruction’. I tried to interplay the wonders of growing stronger with the very real threats around my main characters as those moments of strength lead them to more dangerous circumstances. In the stories I’ve read, I find that there isn’t enough reflection. For instance, the parent of a main character dies in one of my stories. It’s a turning point in the main character’s life and it causes their decisions to change moving forward. While it wasn’t flashy, I enjoyed the moments of reflection in the chapters that happened afterwards.

In ‘System Orphans: Claire’, the main theme is revenge, but it’s also about re-gaining a sense of self after a terrible thing has happened. While you may not forget about your revenge entirely, you cannot let it consume you completely and cause you to forget the ones around you. In this story, the side characters are often just as important as Claire herself.

 In what ways do you connect with your readers, and how has their feedback influenced your writing?

This has changed over time, but I have received some of the kindest feedback from readers and it has been absorbed with a full heart. I’ve appreciated all the nice messages, they helped me to complete six books.

 As an indie author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers wanting to publish in the fantasy/sci-fi genre?

Another tough question because it depends on what the person is struggling with.

So, I’ll give the generic advice that sadly is the best writing advice any of us will ever get: just write. Writing is not just putting words down on paper, but only you can stop you from getting those words out into the world. So, stop planning, thinking, crafting, plotting, etc. Start writing.

 What are the biggest challenges you face as an indie author?

Marketing and getting people to take a chance on my stories. But I keep trying 😊.

 Links here –

Check out my stories on amazon or as an audiobook! You can find my amazon page here:  https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.J.-Thorn/author/B08RSMG2Z1

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 Thank you!