Jon Cronshaw

 Interview with Jon Cronshaw

Author of

The Wasteland Series, and more

 

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I’m currently working on the follow-up to my fantasy novel, Dawn of Assassins. The first book followed a pair of thieves who are recruited by a master assassin. But they’re thieves, not killers.

Trial of Thieves is set a week after Dawn of Assassins and deals with the fallout of that story.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

It’s hard to say where ideas come from for stories because they usually stem from thousands of little ideas that come together.

The Dawn of Assassins series is set in the same world as The Ravenglass Chronicles. Where The Ravenglass Chronicles tells the story of a bratty princess’s journey to maturity, I wanted something a bit grittier, a bit more down to earth.

Do you write in more than one genre?

I do! Though, for the sake of branding and marketing, it would be much easier to stick to just one. But the Muse doesn’t concern herself with little things like paying bills.

I have published five post-apocalyptic novels, two teen novels about disability, twenty-one fantasy novellas, and one fantasy novel.

If the Muse plays along, I need her to keep me focused on the fantasy as I think we’ve all had enough of potential apocalyptic scenarios recently.

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

Quite a few readers have told me they love the depth of my characters and enjoy how I twist expectations.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I grew up on a deprived council estate in Wolverhampton, England. It taught me to be tough and scrappy and to size people up very quickly. Being in that environment meant I saw things and met people kids should avoid—criminals, drug addicts, etc. And it’s given me the view that people aren’t all good, or all bad. Some bad people are kind. And some people’s good intentions can have unforeseen results.

When I write about those characters in my work, I try to do it from a place of understanding and empathy, but also one of real experience.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I’m severely visually impaired and am legally blind. This does mean I get to have an awesome guide dog called Digit.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

Does Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun count as underrated? I love this series and have read it several times. Because of its opaque style, it’s a series that rewards careful reading. It’s like a puzzle that needs to be solved.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

Dawn of Assassins is a good place to start. Several readers have emailed me telling me how much they love the banter between Fedor and Lev.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

In 2016, I attended an Avron writing workshop focused on fantasy and sci-fi. I came away feeling motivated, but also crushed. My writing sucked back then and the feedback from one of the tutors was hard to take. But it was the best thing I did to level up my craft.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

How, with your amazing writing, rapier wit, and boyish good looks do you still remain humble?

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk everything.” It’s the catchphrase of Rob Moore who presents the Disruptive Entrepreneur podcast.

It’s a phrase that’s stuck with me and one I try to live by.

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Thanks to Jon for participating.

My own writing hit a hard pause near the end of the week. I've been working on a short story, but a wee bit of the plague struck me. Though she was but little, she was fierce. I believe I've hacked my way through the catacombs of flu and cold despair to reach the light beyond, but still bear the scars of the ordeal in the form of a runny nose, cough, and those sorts of issues. It was on Friday night that we wrestled from the depths to the heights and I smote the disease's ruin on the mountainside, breaking the fever like the pillars of the Temple of Dagon, but it's a long trek back to the plain of good feeling, or out from under the wreckage of the temple--depending on which of the ill-mixed metaphors you prefer. I prefer my metaphor's ill-mixed, not stirred. For what is a metaphor if not the mixing and mingling of incongruent ingredients in a potent blend of potential nonsense in a hearty quaff to satisfy a deep and dusty yearn?

I shouldn't try to wax philosophical while I'm still in the wilderness of lingering aftermath.