We chat with author S. Jae-Jones about Ami, which is Sailor Moon meets Beauty and the Beast, full of adventure, romance, and a race against time.
Hi, JJ! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello, nerds! I’m just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill fangirl of various properties whose hobby is collecting more hobbies. I’m also a recovering adrenaline junkie and am currently working toward my second degree black belt in taekwondo.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was an only child for the first ten years of my life, so I didn’t have a sibling to play with at home. As a result, I created these elaborate tableaux of make-believe to keep myself occupied, and eventually, these pretend stories got so baroque and complicated I had to start writing them down to remember it all. Growing up as an only child and pre-internet, the only way I had to keep myself entertained was by reading, so I voraciously devoured anything I could get my hands on.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Day Chubby Became Charles by Achim Bröger
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Ami is the second installment in your Guardians of Dawn series and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Zombies, elemental magic, queer relationships
What can readers expect?
Ami continues the overarching story from Zhara, where reincarnated elemental warriors must band together defeat to the Mother of Ten Thousand Demons. There are new monsters—the undead—that the Guardians of Dawn must fight, and Ami and the others must journey to the Root of the World to seal the demon portal that has opened there.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
As with Zhara, the easiest character for me to write across the series has been Han, who is essentially 16-year-old me. But I really loved writing Ami in this book; like me, she is neurodivergent, and bringing in elements of sensory overstimulation and fraught social interactions was both a relief and a release.
Talk about another stunning cover! Did you have a vision in mind before this was brought to life?
I really wanted the Guardians of Dawn series to bring to mind shoujo manga from the late 90s/early 2000s, so I sent my publisher lots and lots of examples from my personal collection, haha. I’m thrilled with the art direction, and I really lucked out with my cover artist, Sija Hong.
Zhara released earlier this year. Can you tell us a bit about the timelines of writing these two books through to the publication?
Writing for a book-a-year schedule is quite intense! For example, I turned in the final draft of book 3 earlier this year, before Ami was even published! I’m frequently drafting or revising the book in the series while reviewing copyedits and first pass for the previous title. How do I manage it? I don’t know; I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Can you give our readers a little tease for Book 3?
Our favorite Guardian of Wind is the star. 😉
What’s next for you?
I’m currently drafting the last book in the Guardians of Dawn series. I have lots of other story ideas (some set in the same universe as Guardians!), but we’ll see if any of those come to fruition.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I read pretty broadly, but I’d say one of the standouts from this year I’ve read thus far are None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. In the latter half of the year, I’m really looking forward to Heir by Sabaa Tahir.
