Today’s interview is with J.R.H. Lawless, whose book helps fight child poverty in South Africa.
LQ: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
JL: I’m a father of three from Atlantic Canada, lawyer by day and Science Fiction author by whenever-I-can-grab-some-writing-time. My work skews heavily towards Science Fiction Humor, whatever the age category, and is all set within the same (hopefully) consistent Universe, including my short fiction and my novels, starting with ALWAYS GREENER, which has just released from Uproar Books, an awesome small press in Nashville. I’m also fortunate enough to be represented by the incomparable Marisa Corvisiero, of the Corvisiero Literary Agency.
LQ: What does your writing process look like?
JL: Mostly, it’s me sitting at a cluttered table with a big pot of some variety of green or black tea by my side, and swing music playing on my laptop.
More seriously, I write (by which I mean all of writing, be it outlining, drafting, revising, or everything else that goes with it — like writing interviews!) in blocks of an hour or two, generally in the evenings after work, but also, more and more, in the early mornings. There are writing sprints on Twitter that do an amazing job at motivating you, and making sure you take regular breaks, too!
LQ: What was your favorite book to write so far?
JL: Always Greener and the sequel, The Rude Eye of Rebellion, also coming out from Uproar Books this Fall, were a blast to write, both when it came to thinking up the most absurd future lives to explore and when I was writing the tongue-in-cheek etymological footnotes. That being said, I enjoy writing all my books, including the Middle Grade manuscript I’m polishing up right now!
LQ: Who is your favorite character to write about?
JL: Right now, that title would have to go to the twelve-year-old “best friend” character in my Middle Grade manuscript. This is set in the future, but she spouts quotes from movies that would seem old to a lot of middle graders already today!
Who are your favorite authors? Have any of them influenced your work?
JL: All of my work is heavily influenced by British authors like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, who are definitely two of my all-time favorites. I also love Universe-spanning bodies of work like Asimov’s extended Robot/Foundation novels, or Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
LQ: How are you doing during the current pandemic?
JL: It’s been very difficult on both a personal and a professional level, and launching a debut novel under these circumstances has been very trying. But we’ve already had perhaps more success than we could have expected, and this is only the start! Self-isolation is nowhere near finished as I’m writing this, and that’s how we’ll beat Covid-19. In the meantime, we all have to do what we can to support relief effort and make staying at home as easy as possible. For me, that means writing more than I’ve ever written, for one, but also charity donations and even our #LiveYourWorstLife Twitter contest! Starting on Monday, April 13th and carrying on until the end of the month, my publisher and I are inviting everyone to share the most absurd and ridiculous workplace stories they’ve lived or imagined, with likes and retweets counting as votes and prizes for the winners, including the opportunity to get your name and story included in The Rude Eye of Rebellion , coming out this Fall!
LQ: What are you currently working on?
JL: I’m deep in revisions on my Middle Grade manuscript, and drafting the third installment in the General Buzz series, the one that starts with Always Greener. I’ve always enjoyed outlining and drafting more than revising, but I’m having a good time with it this time around!
LQ: Anything else you would like to share?
JL: The Always Greener eBook is on sale right now, for less than a dollar. And the paperback has a special deal for orders directly from the Uproar Books shop, since we did a big print run based on large brick-and-mortar orders that have frozen up due to the pandemic. So please, check us out! You’ll also be helping to fund charity work fighting child poverty in South Africa, as all Uproar Books sales do!
