Author Spotlight: Jodi L. Milner, Author of Stonebearer’s Betrayal

Posted by Rampant Coyote on November 2, 2018

Unsurprisingly, I have a lot of writer friends these days, to go along with all my game developer friends. (Side note: It’s also interesting how often those two groups intersect). I met Jodi when we were both writing stories for anthologies from Xchyler Publishing. Xchyler’s authors were scattered all over the globe, but somehow we had a concentration of authors from Utah. That’s also unsurprising, considering the concentration of speculative fiction writers in the state. It’s something of a running joke here.

Anyhow, Jodi and I share the same publisher once again – Immortal Works. (Yeah, we writers talk about publishers and give recommendations / warnings about publishers all the time, too.) Her new book, Stonebearer’s Betrayal, is coming out in less than two weeks, and I wanted to talk to her about it and what she’s doing. She’s a big fan of the Witcher novels, which I haven’t read, so as a fan of the game series I wanted to ask her about those, too. So… here. I hope you find it interesting / entertaining:

RC- Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself.

Jodi: I’m a bit of a patchwork quilt. There’s a chaotic piecework of motherhood, writing, volunteering, and music stitched together with sheer determination. Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor of all things. I made it all the way to college thinking it was my path. After taking a few premed classes I realized the parts I loved about medicine were only 2% of the job, and the rest was stuff I couldn’t stand. So, I took up veterinary nursing instead. No regrets there, and puppies! My other hobbies include martial arts, travel, and violin, although I don’t get much time these days to do any of them.

I didn’t start writing seriously until my second child was born and I desperately needed an outlet. I’d always dabbled, but never allowed myself to pursue the dream of publishing a book of my own until then. It’s been quite the journey ever since!

RC – What else have you written and had published?

Jodi: My first short story “Breath” was published in 2015 in Xchyler Publishing’s fantasy anthology The Toll of Another Bell. “The Skull Collector” was shortlisted in SQ Magazine’s 2016 international short story contest and published in edition 31. My one and only published poem “The Clicker Clack Man” can be found in The Hunger, a Collection of Utah Horror. Two of my random flash fiction pieces are in writing conference anthologies. I’ve also had two stories featured in Immortal Works Flash Fiction Friday.

RC – Okay, tell us all about your new book!

Jodi: Stonebearer’s Betrayal is an emotional coming-of-age story filled with magic and danger. In it, Katira is dragged into a reality that she once believed to be only legend – the existence of immortal Stonebearers and the power they hold. Their ancient society is being threatened by a demon bent on revenge and Katira must be brave enough do what’s necessary to protect her family.

Appropriate for kids 13 and up, interesting enough for adults to enjoy.

RC – Bonus Question! You are a fan of the Witcher book series. What got you into those?

Jodi: It all started while I was researching a scene. I found a picture of Geralt carrying a grown-up Ciri on his back. The combination of the scars, the armor, the twin swords, and those viper eyes captured my imagination. I hunted down more information and started to watch the gorgeously rendered cut scene videos on YouTube of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It seems like attracts like, the story of Geralt of Rivia is a close mirror to the story of one of my main characters. All the emotional notes that I’d been working to reach were played out in Geralt’s story so I was riveted. After obsessing over the videos, I wanted to read the books and see if they lived up to my expectations, because if they did, they’d easily become new favorites. So far, I’m not disappointed (although I could do with a touch less politics, and a little more Geralt fighting monsters).

Growing up, Jodi L. Milner wanted to be a superhero and a doctor. When she discovered she couldn’t fly, she did what any reasonable introvert would do and escaped into the wonderful hero-filled world of fiction and the occasional medical journal. She’s lived there ever since.

These days, when she’s not folding the children or feeding the laundry, she creates her own noble heroes on the page. Her speculative short stories explore the fabric of dreams and have appeared in anthologies and magazines, while her novels weave magic into what it means to be human.

She still dreams of flying.

Jodi can be found online at http://jodilmilnerauthor.wordpress.com, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JodiLMilner, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JodilMilnerAuthor/

Stonebearer’s Betrayal will be released on November 13th at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

 

 

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