Welcome YA Author J. A. Campbell

What motivates J.A. Campbell the author? Why do you write?

The origins of why I started to write are a little fuzzy in my brain. I remember loving to write for classes, and making up stories as a kid. I even illustrated a picture book I wrote about a bookworm. I’m an avid reader and writing became a way for me to “play” in worlds like the Star Wars Universe and have my own adventures with my own characters. When I got to College, I started making up my own worlds. These days I write because I have too. There are so many stories and ideas and things I need to get out. It’s almost an addiction. I get cranky when I don’t get to write these days.

When did you know you were a writer? Was it always your destiny or did you stumble upon your craft by accident?

I think I’ve always been a writer. For me I think it was destiny, though I didn’t know it until college. I had a teacher who told me I was going to be an Author in the 6^th grade. I thought she was full of crap… turns out she knew what she was talking about.

 What is it about the YA genre that motivated you to write a book?

 Actually, I kind of stumbled into the YA genre. I was writing this story and someone read it and said, hey, cool, you write YA… I was all… Um… I do? So I started doing research and focusing more on YA because it’s a ton of fun to write.

What was one of the hardest things about writing a novel for young adults?

 I’m not a kid anymore, and I don’t have kids… so I have to make sure my characters don’t talk with 90’s slang that isn’t used anymore and act like real teens. Though in a lot of ways that’s not too hard. Teens are pretty smart, so writing smart kids isn’t hard.

How did you get into eBook publishing?

 These days it’s hard to get into the publishing world. I wanted to get my foot in the door and I came across two great publishers in the ebook world. I’m aiming for bigger press next.

How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

The mood is always striking these days…that’s nice. The bad thing is I still have to work a traditional job, so… I can’t always write. Until I got into the habit (read as obsession) of writing every day, I made myself do it. I would get up, write, then go to work. These days it’s easier for me to fit it in whenever I can, but I still try to write or work on something writing related every day and I devote large portions of my weekends to writing.

Tell us about the most intriguing character you've created.

 Oh jeeze, it’s hard to chose between Ekatarine and Doc. Ekatarine, or Kat, is my main vampire character. She’s not a typical vampire (though she does like to hunt and kill them) and she’s a lot of fun to write. Doc is a vampire-hunting dog. He’s also a ton of fun to write, though writing from a dog’s POV has it’s own challenges. Common theme though, both of my favorite characters hunt vampires.

Who is your favorite author? And, if given the opportunity to meet them, what would you ask them?

Timothy Zahn. I might ask him if he’s a god. Then I’ll have to hope he also gets the Ghost Busters reference or he’ll think I’m really strange.

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Julie writes fantasy novels. When she’s not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side.

J.A. Campbell's Website