5 Questions with Angela J. Ford
We are so excited to host Angela J. Ford, International best selling fantasy author, as she celebrates the release of the final book in her Legends of the Nameless One series (out today!). She’s been super busy this year already having released multiple books including Music of the Night and Aofie’s Quest.
1. Realm of Power, the final book planned in the Legend of the Nameless One series is out today! What has been the most anticipated part of this series to write?
Wow, writing the series has been a rollercoaster of emotions, but the most anticipated part was the dynamic between Citrine and Tor Lir. When one first meets Tor Lir, he comes across as arrogant, cold and rude, however, as he interacts with Citrine and discovers more about the world of mortals, it changes him. Citrine, on the other hand, is impulsive, hard-headed and is always right, but as she works alongside Tor Lir, she learns from him. Their relationship is sizzling, frustrating, and ended up being everything I wanted it to be.
The other anticipated part of the series was writing each location, those were planned before I wrote the first book and determining where each story would take place was a lot of fun. I love visuals and fantasy landscapes, so I put together a few Pinterest boards to get ideas before starting. The cover design for each book is a great indicator of my inspiration for locations.
2. I loved Tales of the Enchanted Wildwood, how different is it to plot and world build through short stories in the same world versus in an epic fantasy series?
It’s much different! With the short stories I had to remind myself to focus on the story, the characters and the end goal for each story. There really wasn’t room to add too many details about the world, and when it did I had to keep it concise. Basically, I tried to focus only on scenes and characters that directly influenced the main characters. It was fantastic to write though, and I enjoyed the brief scenes in each character’s story!
3. Aofie's Quest came out last month, congrats! Did this book involve a lot of Celtic Mythology research? or was it more influenced from mythology you've read or studied? Tell us a little about your process for diving into writing this new world.
Thank you! Aofie’s Quest was such a long, beautiful journey for it. It took about two years to write, and I pulled from a mix of personal experience, history and mythology. I spent ten days in Ireland in 2008 and absolutely loved the landscape, the culture and the history and incorporated some of it into Aofie’s Quest. However, when I write I focus more on the character journey and their perception of the world around them. I didn’t want to drown out Aofie’s voice so as you read, you see the world through her eyes as she walks the land of Labraid for the first time.
4. You seem to be working in multiple fantasy worlds at once (alright probably not at the same time) but what I'm trying to get at is what types of tips and tricks do you use to keep the details and features of each world separated?
I keep a glossary of terms for each world, so that when I dive into a project, it’s easy for me to reference the names, locations, species, races and languages that belong in each world.
By far, I’d say the Four Worlds is the most unique world I’ve created and I’m excited to start my 3rd series in that world. It’s a world without humans, the people groups are well defined, and there’s a clear distinction between mortals and immortals.
The fantasy world creatures for the Night of the Dark Fae series and Tales of the Enchanted Wildwood is more of a normal fantasy world. There are terms and creatures people recognize which made it easier to write because I did not have to make up names for every single creature and race.
When I create a world, I focus on one defining trait that makes it different and as I write the story, additional elements fall into place.
5. You non-writing projects show you are clearly passionate about helping other indie authors. Can you tell us some of the ways you're helping indie authors market their work and what makes you most excited about these projects?
Before I started publishing books, I had a blog and worked with other entrepreneurs and small businesses with marketing. My tasks were varied but I found that I loved building websites, enjoy talking and have a natural talent for marketing. Now, aside from writing, I also build websites for authors and have a podcast called Indie Author Lifestyle. It’s a great way to do what I love and help others while making an income!
Angela J. Ford is a bestselling author who writes epic fantasy and steamy fantasy romance with vivid worlds, gray characters and endings you just can’t guess. She has published 14 novels, 6 short stories and sold over 32,000 copies.
Angela is also a Co-Founder of Booksniffer. A new app for book lovers, plus an effective way for authors to market their books to new readers.
She enjoys traveling, hiking, and playing World of Warcraft with her husband. First and foremost, Angela is a reader and can often be found with her nose in a book.
Aside from writing she enjoys the challenge of working with marketing technology and builds websites for authors.
Angela is passionate about helping indie authors succeed and co-hosts a podcast called Indie Author Lifestyle.
If you happen to be in Nashville, you’ll most likely find her enjoying a white chocolate mocha and daydreaming about her next book.
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