Reader's Freebies 10 - LUCIFER'S FALL by A.J. Flowers
Hello, Reader Abodians!
This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with A.J. Flowers, author of Fallen to Grace, A Guide to Writing Your First Novel, and numerous short stories and flash fiction pieces. But before I get into our Q&A, I wanted to give a quick review of her FREE prequel to Fallen to Grace, “Lucifer’s Fall.”
The story takes place in Heaven, before Lucifer fell and became Mehmet—as he is known in the novel, Fallen to Grace. I absolutely loved A.J.’s take on this tale of old! As someone who’s read Fallen, this short story is an awesome prequel and adds so much to the series. BUT if you haven’t read Fallen to Grace, that’s fine! Actually, it might be better because you can start at the beginning. The point is, this short story stands alone. So, whether you read it before or after, you’re going to enjoy it! In addition to the wonderfully descriptive writing and world lore, the story takes a deeper look at the villain. Lucifer believes his actions are right and as the reader you empathize with him. I love when an utterly terrible character, put under a microscope, can be seen in a new light. A.J. does a fantastic job showing this in just a few pages.
I highly recommend this FREE short you can download on her website. If you like it as much as I did, then pick up her novel, Fallen to Grace. (Here’s a little secret… if you head on over to her site now, she’s doing a giveaway. Thanks, A.J.!)
Grab a copy of “Lucifer’s Fall” here.
So . . . without further ado, Ms. A.J. Flowers! *the crowd goes wild*
A.J. found her love for writing roughly 10 years ago. But her writing really kicked off about two years ago when she stumbled upon writer’s critique groups. She said, and I quote, “Finding others who knew what they were doing, and willing to teach me, made all the difference.”
A.J. currently lives in Detroit, Michigan with her Dutch husband and Blue Russian Kitty named Mina.
What inspired you to write “Lucifer’s Fall,” a short story/prequel to Fallen to Grace?
This short story started with the idea of trying to make the reader empathize with the villain. I believe that a true villain isn't just a "muahaha" bad guy, but a person who believes they are truly doing the right thing, even with they have a warped sense of the world. I wanted to take a look at the world of Fallen to Grace and use language the average reader could understand. Instead of Mehmet, I named the main character Lucifer, and I tell his origin story from his point of view. It was fun to write. I however made the story a "secret" freebie accessed only by the link itself because of the sensitive nature of the topic of "Lucifer." Some people get offended by it, even though to me it's just a story. So the website where this story can be accessed is only given out directly, either to my subscribers or special events like this.
What was the most challenging thing about writing and publishing a story about angels?
I started writing a fantasy about angels simply because they are my favorite fantasy creature. I've always loved the idea of being able to fly away and the grandeur that's associated with angels. However, after writing a book themed with angels, I learned how difficult it would be to publish and how differently other people saw a story with angels. Some believe it to be religious, when it's not intended to be. Others believe it to be Paranormal, like ghosts or werewolves, where I don't feel the flesh and bone angels I've written belong in that genre. The stipulations that came with the word "angel" made it difficult to pitch. That's the main reason I chose to self-publish the Celestial Downfall Trilogy so that I would have more control over how it was marketed and introduced to readers. I think one of the biggest challenges with writing anything is that the reader interprets your words how you expect them to. But no matter what, readers will see their own perspective, and I've learned to appreciate that as well.
Where have you been published?
My work has been published in the July 2016 and January 2017 issues of Bards and Sages Quarterly. I keep a regular list of my published works on www.AJFlowers.wordpress.com/Teasers
What are you working on now?
I'm always working on short stories and flash, but for longer works I'm done with the first draft for the second book in the Celestial Downfall trilogy, Rise to Hope, and am working on edits. Release is scheduled for end of this year! I've also finished the first draft of a new work tentatively titled "Daughter of Dragons" and am working on edits as well. (Editing never ends!)
What triggers your story ideas: a character, a setting, plot or dialogue?
For short works, it's typically a scene, like two moons about to collide and a city is looking on from below; or a knight is pitted against a shield maiden who's the love of his life, etc. Scenarios pop into my head and I go, how can I make that a story? For novels, though, I've changed how I come up with ideas. I've started and trashed a few novels that I've written halfway through because I tried to start them the same way as I did shorter works, but I wasn't able to keep it on track for a clean storyline. Now I build a novel by focusing on a character and his or her goals. So far that has worked a lot better for me.
You write both novels and short stories. How does the writing process differ? Do you prefer one over the other?
I answered part of this in the first question, but to delve a bit deeper, a short story needs to a complete stand-alone story and not feel like a snippet of a novel. I focus on a single idea and flesh it out, then trim the fat (prose) to get the word count down. I'm still in the early stages of understanding the literature magazine market. It's a highly competitive field and while I've made it into the short list for quite a few pro magazines multiple times, I haven't broken that finish line yet. But that's the writing world. It's persevere or go home.
A novel, in some ways, is easier to write. You get to explore multiple ideas and go deeper into characters. What I like most is that a novel is allowed to have a happy ending. I'm finding that short stories typically don't.
As for which I prefer, that's hard to say. I think I prefer novels a bit more, simply because I'm free to fully explore ideas, but short stories are wonderful practice and I often get feedback from editors which I'd never be able to get when it comes to novels. I appreciate the benefits of both.
If you could trade places with one of your MCs—in ANY of your works—and live in their world, who would it be and why?
Oh dear. I don't know if I'd want to be any of my MCs. They have it pretty rough! I think the coolest world to live in would be Fallen to Grace, since I'd get to be an angel with magical powers. But then again, a bunch of demons would be after me, and the angels too. Throw in a few humans in there as well. Poor Azrael.
Finally: orange juice—pulp or no pulp?
Peanut butter—crunchy or smooth? no pulp and crunchy! (...Respectively)
Well, Folks, that concludes my interview with the lovely A.J. Flowers. Definitely check out her website. She’s got a ton of valuable tidbits on writing and, in addition to “Lucifer’s Fall,” she has a bunch of other short stories, free for your reading enjoyment! If you love “Lucifer’s Fall” as much as I did, check out her novel Fallen to Grace on Amazon, NOOK, or iBooks. (I’ve read it, and I can’t say enough great things about it! The descriptions will whisk you away and draw you into Azrael’s fantastical world.)
** DON’T FORGET to enter A.J.’s giveaway for a copy of Fallen to Grace. **
Until next time . . . Happy Reading!
Tune in for Eddie Cantrell’s July 31st blog reviewing the art in speculative fiction magazine Strange Horizons, followed by an interview with Art Director Tory Hoke!
