- What is your “day” job if you are not a full time
author?
I work for a recruiting company. We help people on
public assistance find employment.
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the
title be?
Well, You Wanted an Adventure. In college, I used to
dream of exciting things happening to me. Then I studied in England, moved to
New York, got 2 master degrees and published 13 books. Now every weekend I’m
running to the Hudson Valley to hike alone just to get some peace.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
Pushing yourself to keep moving forward even when
all signs tell you this is not working. It’s hard to discern if something’s not
working because things take time or because you’re doing something wrong.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
I love world-building. I love the almost endless
possibilities, creating my own magic system, my own monsters. Taking a staple
fantasy race like dragons and shifters and making them my own. People have been
wanting more diversity in speculative fiction and I’m in a position to publish
books with more brown-skinned characters as the lead.
- Have you ever been starstruck by meeting one of
your favorite authors? If so who was it?
I attended Book Expo America in NY a couple of times.
One year, R.L. Stine was signing one of his books. I stood in line for over an
hour to get his autograph. Totally fangirled, on the inside of course, when I
got to the front. Given the line, I didn’t have time to have a conversation.
- What book changed your life?
I grew up the odd person out because I didn’t act or
dress like the people around me. I also don’t talk as much as most people. I
used to tease for being quiet. Then, I read A
Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause. The narrator was quiet like me. I
didn’t feel alone anymore.
- What were some of your favorite books growing up?
Blood
and Chocolate and A
Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause. I wasn’t a huge sci-fi reader but I
loved Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time,
A Wind in the Door and Troubling a Star.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
I watched the Bungo Stray Dogs anime. Now, I want to
read the manga. I also want to catch up
on Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest. Then
there’s The Rage of Dragons by Evan
Winter and A Song of Quiet by Cassandra
Khaw.
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audiobooks?
I don’t have a preference. I lean towards ebooks
because they’re cheaper and easier to read on a crowded train. Audiobooks comes
in second. I love print books because there’s something comforting about a room
filled with books. Some print books like Junji Ito’s manga are just beautiful.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or
series which world would it be and why?
Fairy Tail is one of my favorite anime and manga
series. I’d love to live in Magnolia. The Fairy Tail guild is just wild. It
would be so much fun hanging out with Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and co.
Other Investigator Series
Book One
Auden Johnson
Genre: Dark Fantasy Horror
Publisher: Aubey LLC
Date of Publication: April 2017
ISBN: 9780996423427
ASIN: B06XX2RSBY
Number of pages: 148 pages
Word Count: 30,000
Cover Artist: Auden Johnson
Tagline: A haunted island. An unusual demon. Can this team of magical investigators solve the mystery of the Unburned Island?
Book Description:
Date of Publication: April 2017
ISBN: 9780996423427
ASIN: B06XX2RSBY
Number of pages: 148 pages
Word Count: 30,000
Cover Artist: Auden Johnson
Tagline: A haunted island. An unusual demon. Can this team of magical investigators solve the mystery of the Unburned Island?
Book Description:
The entire island was on fire yet only one schoolhouse burned. Everyone disappeared. Several tried taking it over but were never successful. People no longer talk about Unburned Island. It was left to rot.
Years later, Kiran, En, and a team of magical investigators travel to the island to banish whatever haunts an old building. With En acting strange, they knew this wouldn't be a simple job. Kiran develops a second ability, making their investigation both easier and harder.
It takes them no time to realize the building isn't the problem. The island is. They never anticipated the terrible secrets hidden within the school’s campus. Maybe some of the residents deserved their fate.
Excerpt
1:
She pulled the
band off her wrist and tied back her bushy hair. Of course, it didn’t all fit
in the tie.
At least it
wasn’t in her way now. Rather than use magic or chemicals to straighten her
hair, Kiran usually kept it short. It was time to cut it again. She rarely let
it run wild like this but work got in the way. Kiran liked her hair wild and
long but it wasn’t practical. She needed to dye it again. The dark blue wasn’t
as vibrant.
Why was she the
only one drawn to this area? She usually saw more spirits than most but tests
showed Kiran wasn’t sensitive. Maybe the other people wandering the grounds
were human and she hadn’t paid much attention to that.
A terrible smell
rolled in. Like old garbage and rotting corpses. Then the odor was gone.
The smell
returned. Then it was gone.
It pulsed like a
heartbeat. Kiran followed it.
From the small
glances she got through windows, the interior appeared sturdy despite being
abandoned. The school was clearly old but not nearly as worn as she had
expected. Pieces of the stone exterior were chipped, probably due to age or
weather. Thick green vines climbed up the building and through windows. She
couldn’t see much of the roof from this angle.
She understood
why someone wanted to use this place. The island was a short ferry ride away
from the mainland. From Kiran’s first look, it seemed the land was large enough
to fit a small village, the perfect location for an experimental campus.
This close, the
old school no longer felt like a monster despite the oppressive air. Maybe the
building wasn’t the problem.
Maybe it sat
between worlds. Most believed Others’ ancestors came from different worlds and
settled here. No one knew why they ran away from home.
Grass rustled.
Kiran stopped. A figure jerked as though it wasn’t used to its body. The head
turned at impossible angles. It twitched like the broken hands of a clock. It
clicked as though each step towards her snapped a bone.
Kiran spread her
feet shoulder length apart. She made sure all the lines of her body were
straight so power could flow freely. She lifted two fingers and drew a level one
ward symbol—a circle with a simple X in the middle.
Nothing
happened.
She tried level
two— an X with a line down the middle, from the sky to the ground.
Nothing.
She hit level
five with no results. Symbols at higher levels took longer to create. Knots twisted
in her wrist and side. The thing was close now. The smell was so bile she could
taste it. She didn’t want to inhale and get more of that stuff in her. Kiran
needed to breathe. If she wasn’t calm, the spell wouldn’t do what she wanted.
She stepped back,
making sure to keep her body straight. This was taking too long. Hopefully,
level ten would work. She made the ward sign. The creature shattered.
Kiran hit the
ground. She couldn’t hear the clicking of bones anymore.
Some magic had a
strong recoil. Wards were dangerous. You felt the effects only after the enemy
was gone. Kiran’s limbs trembled. That was about all the moving she would do
for a while.
About the Author:
An artist at heart, Auden Johnson loves photography, graphic design, and writing beautifully dark stories. She has published 13 dark fantasy stories featuring diverse characters with powers and questionable morals. She enjoys taking her camera on a long hike and photographing the scenic views. Most of her landscape photos are on sale online. Auden has a Masters in Publishing: Digital and Print and a Masters in Information and Library Science. She lives in Brooklyn with her writing buddy Oreo.
Website: https://www.audenjohnson.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/audendj
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audenjohnson/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audendjohnson/
1 comment:
Thanks for interviewing me!
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