Benedict Jacka Interview - Forged ~ JeanBookNerd

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Benedict Jacka is half Australian, half Armenian, and grew up in London. He’s worked as a teacher, bouncer, and civil servant, and spends his spare time skating and playing tabletop games. He’s the author of the Alex Verus series, including Bound, Burned, Veiled, Hidden, and Chosen. He can be found online at benedictjacka.co.uk.

Who has influenced your writing the most, and in what way?
I don’t think any one author has influenced my writing very strongly. I’ll pull ideas and little details from lots and lots of places, but I don’t really consciously model anything I write on any author very often (and when I do, it never lasts!)

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
A bunch of personal events that don’t have much to do with publishing! Sorry, not the answer you’re looking for, I know. I do really enjoy being a writer, but the biggest events in my life have to do with the other people I know and my family.

What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
Right now I’m busy finishing up Alex Verus #12, the last in the series. It’s about 85% complete and I’m expecting it to be done by Christmas. After that, I’m going to have to get down to the work of figuring out what to write next! I’m leaning towards something else in the urban fantasy ballpark, and it’ll probably be another series, but beyond that I don’t have many hard details figured out yet.

In your newest book, FORGED (Alex Verus #11); can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about the novel?
It’s the second-to-last in the series. Alex has grown into his full power, but his lover, Anne, has gained just as much and more and is most of the way to getting possessed by the creature she’s made a pact with. Alex is trying to end his war with the Light Council before that happens.

Which of your characters do you feel has grown the most since book one and in what way have they changed?
Probably the one who’s changed the most is Luna. At the start of the series she was an adept with a curse, and over the books she became Alex’s friend, then his apprentice, then a journeyman mage, and finally Alex’s successor at the shop. In books 1-2 I found it really hard to write her but around books 3-4 something clicked and nowadays she’s one of my favourite characters.

What do you hope for readers to be thinking when they read FORGED?
I’m hoping they like the book and that they’re glad they bought it and read it. No higher ambition than that, really!

Your Journey to Publication
This would take way, WAY too long to tell in full (it took me a very long time and a huge amount of work to get where I am now), but one small but interesting part of the story is how I got my agent, which I wrote about HERE It’s from 2012, but still holds up.

Alex Verus faces his dark side in this return to the bestselling urban fantasy series about a London-based mage.

To protect his friends, Mage Alex Verus has had to change--and embrace his dark side. But the life mage Anne has changed too, and made a bond with a dangerous power. She's going after everyone she's got a grudge against--and it's a long list.

In the meantime, Alex has to deal with his arch-enemy, Levistus. The Council's death squads are hunting Alex as well as Anne, and the only way for Alex to stop them is to end his long war with Levistus and the Council, by whatever means necessary. It will take everything Alex has to stay a step ahead of the Council and stop Anne from letting the world burn

You can purchase Forged (Alex Verus #11) at the following Retailers: