Interview with J.V. Jones

*If the Sword of Shadows series was to be filmed, who would you like to see as Raif?*
I never write my characters with real people or celebrities in mind, though sometimes in retrospect certain similarities come to light. About halfway through my first trilogy, The Book of Words, I began to feel that Lord Maybor was becoming distinctly Sean Connery-ish, while Melli had more than a pinch of Scarlet O'Hara in her. As for Raif Sevrance ... you're probably going to hate me but I can't think of anyone I'd choose to play him. He may only be eighteen, but he carries many burdens and has been through many traumatic events; that kind of experience would be hard to find in a young actor.

*What advice would you give to aspiring writers of fantasy fiction?*
Write every day - even when you don't feel like it. In my experience inspiration rarely comes while you're sitting musing on the couch; it comes during the process of writing, while you're actually banging away at the keyboard. Don't become dispirited if the words aren't flowing on any given day, just keep at it. Writing badly is better than not writing at all. Then, when you've finally finished your piece de resistance, seal it in a big brown envelope and put in a drawer for at least six months. When the time is up you'll be able to look at your work from a more detached viewpoint. You'll probably hate it...but that's what rewrites are for.

*Is there one single novel you simply couldn't be without?*
This is a difficult question to answer. Even on Desert Island Discs they get to take eight records with them! I love all my books and I think it's cruel to make me choose. All I can say is that it would have to be one of the great long books; the complete, annotated edition of Lord Of The Rings; David Copperfield, The Iliad, Gone With The Wind, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Odyssey.

*When you look back over your growing backlist of novels, how do you feel?*
I have great fondness for The Book Of Words. I was literally learning my trade as I wrote the trilogy, and although I made plenty of mistakes I'm still pleased with the characters. Bodger & Grift, Tavalisk, Maybor, Baralis, Melli: they feel like good friends to me. I'm working on my seventh book now, and mostly I hope I can continue to create interesting characters, and then sit back and watch as they take me to unexpected places.

*Do you have the third book of Sword of Shadows mapped out in your head?*
I have an endpoint in mind, but I'm not taking the most direct route to get there. Angus Lok said it best in A CAVERN OF BLACK ICE. I'm traveling, "As the blind crow flies, as the wounded crow crawls, and as the dead crow rots." I'll get there eventually, but not before I've taken a good few detours along the way.

*And when can we read it?!*
I'm writing as fast as I can. Hopefully next Autumn.