Thank you for joining me for the fifth installment of Authoring Arrowheads’s 2020 Author Interview series. For May, I’ll be interviewing young adult superhero fantasy and retelling author, Jes Drew.

On the last Wednesday of each month in 2020, I will be hosting an author for an interview! These authors will range from indie friends I’ve made online to authors in my local area. Be sure to subscribe to never miss an interview!

Meet Jes Drew!

Jes Drew is the author of the Ninja and Hunter trilogy, the Howling Twenty trilogy, the Kristian Clark saga, the Castaways trilogy, and Mind of Darkness. She lives with her mom, dad, younger sister, four younger brothers, and two dogs, obsessing about her true love, Captain Steve Rogers. There is a possibility that she may or may not be a superhuman, but she hasn’t discovered her powers. Yet. Also, she might be a spy, but that’s classified.

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Interview with Jes Drew, author of the Kristian Clark saga.

Q1: When did you first realize you love writing and what inspired you to write your first book?

I wrote a few stories when I was much younger and going through stages, but my first serious book, and also the first one I ever published, was The Time I Saved the Day. It was inspired when I watched Marvel’s Avengers for the first time. I was swept into the action, and dreamed I could be a superhero as well. But, in lieu of that, I decided to create my own superhuman. Captain America is definitely my muse. 

Q2:  What writing project(s) are you currently working on?

I’m working on quite a few right now. My most notable would be The Summers of Yesteryear series, which was actually one of the first series I wrote, and the first book- At Summer’s End– comes out this June. It takes place in the same world as The Time I Saved the Day and all its companion series do. 

Another project is a multi-author series I’m putting together about a bunch of normal people who get exposed to a chemical that gives them both super powers and super weaknesses. I’ll be piloting the series in July with Accidentally on the Run.

I’m also working on a series of steampunk faerie tale retellings, with the next installment releasing in August. Sleep Like Poison is, if you can believe it, a Sleeping Beauty retelling.

Finally, I’m also putting together an anthology of short stories related to the Kristian Clark universe to release in fall to support a pro-life group called Human Coalition, and a smaller anthology that focuses on the world of The Howling Twenties that will support an anti-slavery nonprofit called Polaris.

Q3: Which authors (inside or outside your genre) have inspired your writing?

That is a very hard question to answer, because I read so much so I come into contact with so many authors. Ally Carter and Elise Strokes showed me how to write intrigue and action respectively. C. S. Lewis illustrated how to intertwine story and theme. Jane Austen brought the importance of wit and a droll humor. Charles Dickens showed me how to write serials and stories with intersecting storylines that climax. The list goes on and on. 

Q4: What are your go-to writing snacks?

I don’t have writing snacks per say, but I do have a life snack. Dark chocolate chips sustain me and dilute my vampric impulses- oh, wait, the last one is Uncle Vincent’s thing.

Q5: What is your favorite part about indie (self) publishing? What is your least favorite part?

My favorite part of indie publishing is being able to write whatever I want, publish whenever I want, and do it all however I want. My least favorite part is that there are so many roles to juggle, and sometimes it feels like it would be so much easier to focus on being creative and let others handle the rest. Except I’m a control freak, so they wouldn’t actually be handling it without me micro-managing. 

Q6: What advice would you like to share with first-time writers?

Ignore that negative voice until your done with your first draft. And your second. And your third. Then you can listen  what’s left of it to help you perfect the fourth draft. 

Thank you for stopping by, Jes!

Connect with Author Jes Drew at:

• Goodreads
• Pinterest
• Amazon
• YouTube
• Link

Check out her website!

Check out her newest release,
Operation Paradise Lost!

And Eden were no Eden thus exposed…

He found himself only to be stolen again. This time, though, it is not Kristian’s mind that is lost, but his soul. Suddenly without a conscience, the man formerly known as Kristian Clark has only goal: to make sure that no other being controls him again despite his weakened state. Whatever that means, and whatever it takes.

She found a reason to live only to lose it again. Her goal to find the lost children remains unchanged- and the Aisling’s need to remain focused on that end only strengthens. But with a new sociopath dead-set on the same mission, she finds the heart she thought died breaking in all new ways. Aisling knows one thing for sure, though: she will redeem what she lost. If that means sacrificing an innocent life, then heaven help them all.

Together with their motley allies, including Kristian’s un-fallen Alternate, a fellow sociopath, and the men who love her, they face the same impossible task. Fight against two enemy agencies to find twin innocent children and separate parallel worlds before the ashes of one burns the other.

View the Book on Amazon!

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

Have you read any of Jes’s books? She’s been a great author friend of mine for about two years now, and I love her books! Check out my reviews for the ones I’ve read here!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀