It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another interview with one of the winners of our worldbuilding short fiction contest. We got so many fantastic submissions and it has been such a pleasure to get to know more about how their writerly minds work. Today’s interview is with J.P. Raison, the author of “From Jineria”.
“From Jineria” is a compelling sci-fi/fantasy story with a fascinating magic system and a unique world. It’s rare to find a story with such wonderful worldbuilding that also has a deep emotional core.
Before we get to the interview, here are more details about “From Jineria” and J.P. himself.
From Jineria
Everything Lyla knows about her world, Jineria, changes suddenly when silver disks descend from the sky. Then the witch hunts begin, and Lyla loses her mother. She must gather her courage, strength, and magic to face this new threat, as it threatens to take everything she loves away.
This story features top-notch worldbuilding and forms of magic you’ve never seen before. Like our other Grand Prize winners, J.P. is able to combine science fiction and fantasy and produce an intriguing and distinctive world.
Magic and tech come together in such a great way in “From Jineria”. This story is thrilling to the last drop, and you’ll be sad once it’s over.
Author Biography
J.P. Raison is the author of “From Jineria”. He is an Australian University student who loves the sci-fi and fantasy genres. He’s studying history as part of his degree, which greatly influences his fantasy writing.
Author Interview
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
What served as the inspiration for your story “From Jineria”, apart from our picture prompt?
When I saw the prompt, I instantly thought of aliens because of the UFOs, but after thinking about it for a day or two, I realized I could do a story more about an invasion from another more technologically advanced country on the same world. Real-world history really inspired me here because those types of invasions are all through it. And this time, I wanted the underdogs to win.
How old were you when you started writing?
I’ve been writing bits and pieces ever since I could! I first started taking it seriously in high school though, and fell in love with it enough that I focused on writing and literature in my degree at university.
The characters in your story use a fascinating form of magic. What influenced you in coming up with your magic system and its rules?
This happened opposite to how I usually go about it! Usually, when doing sci-fi/fantasy, I try to think up a magic or tech system, and go from there into characters, then plot, then setting.
But this time I already had the world given to me, with flying machines and a classic fantasy setting with castles and stuff. So, I kind of started thinking of how those machines could fly, and came up with a gravity-based tech system that then translated across into the magic.
I always wanted the tech and magic to be two sides of the same coin, so having one be an artificial gravity manipulator, and another be a very natural gravity influencer made sense to me. I also like using Brandon Sanderson’s laws of magic as a rulebook when making these things.
What do you consider to be the biggest influences on your writing and why?
What I learned at university has massively influenced my writing, but so has reading authors like Brandon Sanderson and Robin Hobb. I feel like we subconsciously take a little bit from every book we read, which is why it’s so important to read a lot in the genres we want to write in!
I grew up reading the fantastic Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda, which I think had a huge hand in making me a fantasy lover. Now, reading Brandon Sanderson’s laws of magic and other tips and tricks on writing sci-fi/fantasy has had the biggest influence on my writing.
You are currently a student—how do you find the time to write with your busy schedule?
Some times are easier than others. When assessments roll around, I usually fall off the horse a bit when it comes to writing, but when everything is a little less intense I usually just try to write at least two hundred words a day. You’d be surprised at how much you end up getting in, and how quickly solid works can form! Sticking to the routine is key.
What is your typical writing routine, and what would be your advice for writers looking to optimize their own routines?
Usually I write at night, in bed, as a sort of wind-down where I can forget what happened during the day. I’ve been told this isn’t a great writing practice so I don’t suggest it really, but for some reason, it’s when I’m most productive. It does get a little problematic when I get on a roll and end up staying up till the early hours of the next day, but I think it’s worth it. My only advice for others would be to figure out when you’re most productive, and try to write every day at that time. Forcing a routine makes a habit, and a habit will get results!
You’ve mentioned that you love the science fiction and fantasy genres, and meld them so well in your story. What draws you most to writing these genres?
Honestly, I look at sci-fi and fantasy as if they’re the same thing, just different filters, so melding them came naturally. I like the genres because they let me take real-world events and thoughts and feelings and put them in this environment where everything can be heightened. I also just really like magic, so any chance to read or write a story with magic draws me in almost instantly.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from all around me! Some of my other stuff is much more grounded, and I suppose it’s more inspired by my own life than something like “From Jineria”. I think, for fantasy stuff, studying history as part of my degree has been a massive source of inspiration, as well as literature. I focused mainly on ancient history, and that’s amazing for fantasy writing. There’s so much there that I use as a springboard. Funnily enough, though, it was modern history that inspired most of “From Jineria”. The whole concept of “manifest destiny” really drives the piece for me.
Your writing style in “From Jineria” is fantastic. Do you have any books on writing to recommend, and/or perhaps some blogs you find helpful?
Thank you! Honestly, I’ve had the luxury because of uni to have people giving me feedback on everything I write, and I give them full credit for helping me develop my writing. So, if you can find someone to trade writing and workshop with, do it! It can only help.
As for books, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder is an awesome resource, even if you’re not doing a screenplay. And I think there’s a new version about novel writing now too. I’m not usually a blog reader, but I checked out Fictionate.Me’s articles leading up to the contest submission, and there was some great stuff there, especially for fantasy and sci-fi writers.
What is your ultimate goal/biggest dream as an author?
I would love to be a full-time author, to get out a book a year if I can, and make enough to live off it. We’ll see how that goes as I go from uni to full-time work, but it’s still the dream!
You created such a unique and imaginative world in your story. What advice do you have for writers on how to build a great world?
Thank you! Well, I stole a lot from real-world history, which I suggest to everybody. Also, I really enjoy pushing ideas as far as I can. For example, the gravity powers informed how I came up with the cultures and landscapes. Weird gravity is the big thing in this world, so there are floating islands, the cultures deal with stones that help manipulate gravity, and the bad guys fly in gravity-defying spaceships. When I can make an idea influence the setting, characters, and plot like that, I feel like the whole story must at least be working a little bit.
Let’s end with a question just for fun. What are your favorite:
Books:
The Mistborn trilogy and Six of Crows. (For now! It changes all the time.)
Movies:
Anything Star Wars, Marvel, and Lord of the Rings. Also Tron, which is a bit random but it’s a pet love of mine.
Shows:
The Mandalorian, The Legend of Korra, and Heartstopper.
Many thanks to J.P. for taking time out of his hectic schedule as a student to answer our questions and provide such thoughtful answers! I hope you enjoyed learning more about J.P.’s worldbuilding and overall writing process.
If you want to read the other winning contest entries, just click here!
Stop by next week for another author interview, and check in on our social media accounts for features on all our anthology contributors.
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