About J C Pereira:
With a life's journey from the mountains of a small Caribbean Island to England's rural Wiltshire, education culminating in a B.A. (Hons) Psychology degree, a career in the civil service, fulfilling experiences, and finally to sun-drenched Italy, J C has found many stories to write about. His first attempt was A Place to Belong To, followed by nine other novels, from fantasy to a semi-biography, a total of ten books written over eight years, the last being The Chosen, with much more brewing in the creative vat.
What inspires you to write?
Inspiration usually springs from something that has an emotional impact on whatever level. If my imagination captures it, I can daydream the story into life. Sometimes, I can put words to it, and sometimes I cannot. If I believe strongly in a topic, that, too, can be my starting point. Most of my best stories are never written. My isolated but not lonely childhood, where nature surrounded me, free from modern human influences, has always allowed this introspective communication with real experiences and my thoughts to flow easily. Writing allows me to submerge myself into an alternative world where, in many ways, I have godlike control. It is a type of escapism where I can confront and sometimes triumph over many issues and challenges using any method, conventional or not. The characters I create allow me the pathway to do this.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
That's a difficult one. When I was a teenager and a young man, I read countless books without even taking note of the author. The story was everything to me, not the storyteller. My apologies to those authors. Many authors influenced me, including those we had to read in school, like Chaucer and Shakespeare, even the Biblical tales – all fascinating and rivetting.
Regarding fantasy, my primary authors are David Gemmel, Robert Jordan (especially The Wheel of Time) and Tad Williams (mainly The Dragonbone Chair). When not writing, I try to reread the classics (sometimes even children's classics like Treasure Island) in Italian. It's a good way to learn the language through my younger eyes with a different perspective. I must find time to read more and explore new authors.
Tell us about your writing process.
I guess I am a seat-of-the-pants writer, but I think carefully about the theme of my story, the roles I want my characters to play, and the direction of the tale I'm trying to tell. In my mind, there is a living story, like an ongoing movie, which I can pause at will, so sketching things out is rarely necessary. As a child, I remember becoming aware of dreams and, in some ways, controlling them. I do the same thing when writing a story.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
My characters soon take on an identity of their own, and their actions can change the immediate path of the story and sometimes spawn new characters and issues depending on who they meet and the conditions in which they find themselves. So yes, I listen to them, but I use other characters to talk to them. My characters are inside me, and I am inside them.
What advice would you give other writers?
To tell your stories. Do not try to think about what the readers want or how well it will sell. If you have a tale to tell, tell it. With AI's advancement, human authors will not be able to compete, and only those who enjoy the art of storytelling will survive, but poor they will remain. Tell your tale. Promotion is a nightmare; when you try, you will attract all kinds of promises for a fee. Most of these you can do for yourself, given time, patience, and willingness to learn. Finding trust is elusive.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided on self-publishing because I had so many stories in my head and just wanted to move on to the next book instead of spending an inordinate amount of time grinding through the gatekeepers. Self-publishing is getting easier, with many platforms offering ebooks, paperback, hardbacks and audio. Most are free, but the sticking point is when you try to promote and get known by readers. Then, the joy of writing becomes an expensive business whether you want it or not. You might be lucky to find someone to represent you quite early on, but I can't express an opinion on that as I have never followed that path.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
As AI improves, book publishing will become relatively easy. Already, many authors are employing AI tools to write and publish books on command. However, there will always be an audience for books written from human experience, so if you enjoy writing, write.
What genres do you write?: Sci fi, Fantasy/ fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook
Website(s)
Link To J C Pereira Page On Amazon
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
