Author Interview : J M Hofer

 INTERVIEW OF J M HOFER, AUTHOR OF THE BOOK’ ISLANDS IN THE MIST’  

Where do you get your inspiration? What prompted you to write your books?

All my novels have roots in Celtic myth or folklore. I like having a structure or history to wind my story around, rather than building a world completely out of ether. I've always been drawn to the Iron Age and the Old Religions of the ancient world. These are the wellsprings for my narratives. I can’t get enough. I actually don’t read much fantasy, ironicall. Most of my reading diet consists of folklore, mythology and historical research.

How do you approach writing a novel?

All of my novels have started with an idea that captures my imagination and just won’t let go. From that spark, a particular scene might emerge, or a character—and then it’s off! Everything grows out of planting that seed.

Do you outline your novels before you write?

So far, in the five I’ve written, I never have—not at first. I feel too much structure right out of the gate suffocates my creativity. Instead, I follow my inspiration (whatever scene or character is calling to me), write myself into it, and see where it leads. Once the story gets too large or complex for me to hold it all in my head, that’s when I start plotting and organizing.

How do you ‘follow the inspiration’? What does that mean, exactly?

I quiet my mind and start writing myself into whatever scene or character comes to me (I routinely use 3^rd person limited so that I can inhabit every major character’s inner thought world). As I write down what my character is seeing or feeling, the world inevitably comes alive around me, and things start happening. As I write them down, the story gains momentum, each event or thought having a cause and effect, as in life. Eventually, or sometimes immediately, other characters show up and interact with the character I’m inhabiting. Sometimes they are fully formed with strong personalities, and I’m simply taking dictation when they start to speak. Other times, I have only the vaguest idea of who they are—and need to get to know them through my chosen character as I would get to know someone “in real life.” 

Following the inspiration means to let your intuition rule almost exclusively when writing, and only letting your logical mind get involved when you’re in editing mode.

If you could go back and give yourself some advice regarding the self-publishing journey, what would it be?

Wait to publish that first novel! Don’t hit publish until you’ve had it professionally edited, gotten some ARCs and pre-orders lined up, have a website, and done some promotion for the book. This was my biggest mistake. I didn’t have the money at the time and just couldn’t wait to get that first book into the world. I was frankly shocked I’d managed to finish it. I felt this uncontrollable urge to click that “publish” button just to prove to myself it wasn’t just a dream.

What’s the hardest aspect of being a self-published author?

The cold truth is, no matter how good your book is, it won’t sell itself. If you want to be successful as a self-published author, you have to embrace self-promotion. I suppose this goes for any artist out there. Especially today, when the average attention span has receded to a few seconds. Stay visible and relevant requires daily attention, and most of it does NOT come easily for introverts (which, unfortunately, most writers are). I’m only now, after ten years, settling into this.

Have you ever had writer’s block?

Yes. It stayed with me for a horribly long time, too - 2021 until the summer of 2025, in fact. The craziest thing is that I didn’t even know what the source of the writer’s block was until recently. I knew my desire to write had disappeared, but I realized I’d been telling myself all kinds of lies (that I truly believed) about why: that my day job was too demanding, that I felt called to do visual art instead, that writing was ‘just a hobby’ and I shouldn’t take it seriously, that I just ‘didn’t feel like it,’ and on and on. The truth was that something happened back in 2021 that triggered a paralyzing sense of “imposter syndrome” in me. I buried the pain of it so deeply that my conscious mind became unaware of anything being wrong. I suspect the pain of giving up on it was slowly building up, drop by drop, until I could no longer ignore it and the truth emerged. I’m so glad it did, too. It wasn’t fun to deal with, but until I summoned the courage to face it, I knew the well would remain dry. Now, the waters have started flowing again.