SPFBO Author Interview: Jay S. Willis

What inspired you to write your SPFBO entry? Is there a particular story, personal experience, or idea that sparked this book?

Dream of the Sphere is the first book in The Sphere Saga which began with a piece of digital artwork called Sunset Mood that featured a beautiful massive golden sphere in the middle of a city. It captivated me and I couldn’t stop pondering why the Sphere was there and what purpose it served. The story sprouted from there.

At its core, the Sphere Saga examines the implications of The Conflagration in the world of Legacia which resulted from a clash between The Three, Axamar Sulvastra, Lornai val’Adoral, and Vrom Krazstar. The best of friends, the worst of enemies, The Three, the most brilliant and powerful mages in history, nearly destroyed Legacia, and after the near-apocalyptic event humanity decided to eschew Magic and prevent such a catastrophe from recurring. Over the course of three-thousand years of attempting to suppress Magic, the society forged by the survivors becomes a rigid theocracy stifled by fear. The denizens of the city of Kaharna have unwittingly locked themselves away into a pattern of stagnation trapped in their dependence upon the Sphere to keep Magic contained and untouchable. Ultimately, in Legacia Magic is Life and the people find their very existence in peril unless they find a way to restore Magic in their world.

How would you describe your writing process? How did it evolve during the creation of this book?

I’m an outliner. I do my writing and outlining in Word. My outline is more general, hitting major events, plot points, and expected character arcs along with my worldbuilding notes. The most consistent part of my routine when I manage to eke time out to write (after establishing a general outline) is to dive in and start from the beginning and work through the story. I tend to write chronologically through my stories for the most part. That’s just how my brain tends to work for some reason. After I get the story going I usually go back and review/re-read the last section I wrote to warmup without getting to deep into revision. I tend to discovery write moving between major events and adjusting my outline later as needed.

My style developed as I wrote Dream of the Sphere. Throughout the process I needed to track the threads involving each character, specifically the multiple viewpoint characters and maintaining an outline and a worldbuilding spreadsheet was the best way to accomplish that.

What challenges did you face during the writing or publishing process, and how did you overcome them?

As far as full-scale novels, I “won” National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO) back in 2013 and completed an Epic Fantasy novel which will most likely never be publishable. I kept at it and “won” again in 2014 and 2015 with what were the original drafts of my first two Sphere Saga books, Dream of the Sphere and Dawn of the Sphere.

I took some online writing courses with Dave Farland after that and started working on craft. With Dave’s help I started to realize my writing skills weren’t quite where I needed them to be to pull off my Sphere Saga so I left those behind for a while. Admitting to myself that my original drafts were awful and I frankly didn’t have the skills to pull off those books was humbling and necessary. At the 2015 Writer’s Symposium at Gen Con I spent a few days with Dave Farland in classes in-person and developed the story that became Blood is Thicker than Magic, a Coming of Age Urban Fantasy, which became my first full-scale published novel. I worked on a developmental edit with my current editor on that book and learned a LOT tearing the story apart and revising it which helped me hone my skills with pacing and dialog.

After Blood is Thicker than Magic I returned to my Epic Fantasy series having sharpened my writing skills to the point I was finally able to properly plot and write the series I’ve always wanted to write beginning with Dream of the Sphere. The only good thing that came from the pandemic was the time and focus I was able to devote to pulling together the first three books of The Sphere Saga.

Who are your biggest literary influences and how have they impacted your writing style?

The Sphere Saga is heavily influenced by Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn books, and far too many other stories that have impacted me through my life. Jordan and Sanderson’s worldbuilding serve as a guiding light for me. I grew up on Raymond E. Feist and David Eddings and their amazing characters are core inspirations as well. Magic plays a role in all my writing but The Sphere Saga revolves around the Magic System which drives all facets of life on this world. Planning Legacia stemmed from an amalgamation of my love of reading Fantasy throughout my life and from my college education. My undergraduate degree in History and Political Science with a heavy emphasis on Medieval Europe and my Juris Doctor degree from Law School provided me with an extensive array of knowledge. I college I completed Independent Studies on The History of Magic and The History of The Spanish Inquisition and I had an abiding interest in mythology and religion. Legacia developed as the culmination of my real world education, years of enjoying Fantasy and speculative fiction, and many years of playing Dungeons & Dragons.

How do you approach world-building in your fantasy novel? What elements do you think are essential for a compelling fantasy setting?

The Cool Factor is important. What’s fun, interesting, sparks a sense of wonder and can generate conflict? That’s generally what drives my worldbuilding. I was a History and Political Science major in college and I’ve been attorney for over 25 years so I have a lot of background knowledge about political, societal, legal, and religious issues to draw upon. I love developing historical timelines in the worlds I create.

First, and foremost though, Magic is always at the heart of my worldbuilding. Everything I write, for the most part, centers around Magic in some way. I also find a lot of inspiration from creating maps.

For me, a compelling Fantasy setting needs ample opportunity for intriguing and entertaining conflicts on both large and small scales; Political and/or Religious tension, unique technology, fun magic systems, original monsters/creatures/races.

If you could give a piece of advice to the main character in your book at the start of their journey, what would it be?

Trust your instincts and allow yourself to be open to depending on your friends and family more. You are NOT alone.

As a self-published author, how do you navigate marketing and promoting your work?

 I’m not a full-time author. I do have a full-time job which makes it difficult to devote time to writing and the business end of things. It’s tough to strike a balance and I constantly attempt to maintain a work-life equilibrium. I don’t have the luxury of an assistant or staff so all the marketing and promotion is on me. Fortunately, I’m always meeting other writers in the online Fantasy community and establishing those connections is vital. I’m trying to attend more live events as time and resources permit and have a couple of Book Festivals I’m going to this summer.

What made you decide to participate in the SPFBO competition? How do you think this experience will benefit you as an author?

I discovered SPFBO last year about a week after it began and by then it was too late to enter. One of the greatest benefits I anticipate is meeting new people in the Fantasy community. I hope to gain more visibility and gain new readers but I’m also looking forward to discovering new books to read and meet new fellow authors.

If you were to win SPFBO, what impact do you think this would have on your writing career?

Exposure to new readers is always a good thing. I think winning SPFBO would provide great opportunities to get my books in front of a wider audience which in turn will allow me to garner more sales. Regardless, I’ll continue writing because I love storytelling and I’m driven to write.

What's next for you after SPFBO? Are there any upcoming projects you can share with us?

I plan to continue writing. I’m gearing up to do a Kickstarter to produce an audiobook for the first book in The Arcana Chronicles, a Coming of Age Urban Fantasy Series. The series starter is Blood is Thicker than Magic. I’m also in the revision phase of the second book in that series called The Heart of Magic. I’ll be sending that to my editor and publishing it in October or November of this year. After that, it’s back to outlining and starting work on Book Five of The Sphere Saga.