I will modestly tell people that I’m a hack, having taught myself the techniques that I use to write my books and to frame my stories. I secretly hope people will see me as much more.
While The Lost Art of Magic Tome I is a debut novel, Jonni Jordyn started writing at an early age. She has previously written in many genres, and retiring from playing music afforded her the opportunity to pursue this new journey.
Lyndi: What authors or books have inspired your writing?
Jonni: It’s a very long list that includes Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Isaac Asimov, Tolkien, Mary Stewart, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, and on and on.
Lyndi: How did your previous writing help you write a novel and how does writing a novel differ?
Jonni: I attended creative writing classes in college, but they were nothing like what I think today’s authors are getting. We never discussed technical issues of writing structure, point of view, plots, or characters. We just wrote and read what we had done to the class. My writing had always been well received. One of my professors showed my work to his agent and several people during his sabbatical to Europe. One day when I was reading my work, the bell rang, and I closed up my notebook to leave, but the class and the instructor insisted that I finish it before we dismissed. That was a moving moment and instrumental in my return to writing twenty years later.
Unfortunately for my writing, I had discovered that I also had an innate talent for computers and music. During my college days, I also showed some promise in sketching and acting. And upon leaving the institution, I had to choose the path I would follow. Computers were instantly lucrative and a slam dunk decision, but between the others, I chose music for my avocation and found some modest success working with legendary musicians before I set it aside and moved from California to Arizona.
Lyndi: Why write young adult fantasy?
Jonni: I don’t write young adult, I write early adult. I don’t have any explicit scenes or language in my writing, but I do include topics of sexual assault which I find may be inappropriate for twelve-year-olds, but could be shared with fourteen-year-olds. Over my first dozen novels, my language became somewhat more graphic, however I never approached the full language of an R-rated movie until my most recent adult oriented works. As to why I write fantasy, I actually explore a number of genres, including magical realism, sci fi, crime, and prehistoric life. I also have two romcoms that have yet to be published, but are on the schedule (one is currently available as a pre-order.)
Lyndi: What can readers expect to learn about your main character, Destiny, in The Lost Art of Magic, Tome I?
Jonni: Like any other teenager, Destiny wants to branch out and expand her boundaries. She was raised in isolation, living on a small outcropping in the Louisiana bayou and is homeschooled by her grandmother, but she wants to find her own path and wants her grandmother to understand that she is not a little girl anymore. She desperately wants to know her mother, who is in a hospital for the mentally incurable. When she stumbles upon her new powers, she finds herself in a world of “be careful what you ask for, you may get it.”
Lyndi: Tell us a little about your process. Have you outlined the entire Tome Trilogy or are you more of a pantser?
Jonni: First, the series is The Lost Art of Magic series. The Tome designation is just to identify where the book belongs in the series. Second, I currently have four completed Tomes in the series and have plans for a fifth and final entry. The final tome will wrap up how the mysterious “Librarians” came to be and why they play a role throughout the series.
As to my style, When I set out to write my first book, The Mother of All Viruses, I was a panster all the way and discovered the pain of intertwining multiple sub-plots when the plan was just a hazy concept in my mind. I developed my technique on my own. I always start with a beginning and an ending in mind. I plot out various events as scenes and then gather them into chapters. As I plot out the scenes, I usually have ideas for new scenes that I insert and almost always move them around, especially so the pov from each scene can bounce from sub-plot to sub-plot.
With an outline in hand, I go through writing each scene. This may only include the characters and what they did, and sometimes, I might just write a short description to be filled out later. I may convert to panster style while writing these scenes. While I already have a general idea of who the major characters are, this is where I start introducing new characters. This is also where the characters themselves start to write their own plots and back stories. (I can’t be expected to do all the work.)
Lastly, I go through revisions where I flesh out the scenes. At this point, I know the whole book and can start adding details that link to other parts of the story that may link to scenes either before or after this scene. This is also where I get more flowery with my world and character building. I put in and fix all that “writer” stuff. I commonly go through dozens of revisions before I’m satisfied. This is where I definitely get all panster in my prose.
Lyndi: What advice would you give to people who are beginning their writing journey?
Jonni: I would first advise young authors to be sure that this is what they want to do, and this is what they feel like they were destined to do. I believe that anyone can be trained to write, but I suspect that writing fiction requires a talent that can’t be taught. Writing can be easy, but finding readers can be challenging. There are probably several ways to find readers. Being a famous celebrity is a pretty good shortcut, but how many of us can do that? Spending a lot of money on editors, book awards, promotions also works, but requires capital. Being extremely lucky works for some. Most of the time, it is hard work. Selling a book, whether to an agent, a publishing company, or the public, requires talents unlike those used to write the book. I, myself, find the writing easy, but the publishing is daunting. I don’t possess those other skills. So, young authors, have a plan to not only write your masterpiece, but have a plan to get it into readers' hands. Best of luck to you all.
Lyndi: How do you plan to market your books?
Jonni: After ten years of writing my novels, I have decided to go all in and hired a publicist to help get my work out there. We have only just dropped the first book with planned releases every three weeks. I am hopeful that over time (preferably a short time) this approach will bear fruit for me, because I have a lot more stories to tell.
Jonni Jordyn was born in Oakland, California in 1957. She started writing at
an early age, writing music, poetry, short stories, radio, film, and stage scripts.
She didn’t start writing novels until later in life, after she retired from playing
music, and found herself traveling away from home for extended periods.
She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Magic has been lost for centuries, and when 16-year-old Destiny stumbles upon it, she accidentally unlocks it for all the descendants of the ancient clans, but some of them want it only for themselves and are willing to kill to keep it.
