Do you love fantasy based on folktales?
Georgina Jeffrey, today's Author Spotlight, might have just the book you need!
What's your latest release?
The Jack Hansard Series: Season One
Can you start out by telling us a little about your latest work?
Jack Hansard is the man who can sell you anything. Luck in a bottle, fame in a box, dreams on a leash . . . if you want the impossible, he's the man to go to.
As a travelling salesman of the occult Black Market, Jack is used to living dangerously. He's also used to scamming people - NOT being asked for help. So when Ang (a two-and-a-half-foot tall coblyn right out of Welsh folklore) buys his help to find her missing kin, Jack is catapulted way out of his depth and lands squarely under the gaze of someone that even monsters are afraid of.
Season One contains the first fifteen episodes in the series.
Where did you get the inspiration to write this story?
I draw a lot of inspiration from British folklore, and I'm constantly researching creatures and folktales to find a good fit. I especially like to find lesser-known creatures and reimagine them in a modern setting. Take the character of Ang, and her little society of coblynau: in Welsh folktales these goblin-like beings lived in coal mines and worked alongside the humans there. But now the mines are all closed, so Ang and her kind are grasping for a new way to live their lives.
Another favourite creature of mine is the Scottish shellycoat: a river-dwelling creature who wears a coat of click-clacking shells. The shellycoat that Jack and Ang meet has had his coat stolen, so the poor thing has tried to replace it with rubbish dredged from the river. Less a shellycoat now, and more a crisp-packet-and-plastic-coat.
What was more important to you when you were writing: character development or plot?
I would be lying if I said I knew the plot of Season One before I started writing. My original aim was to write a few short stories about this strange occult merchant man, and so Hansard's character guided everything from there. The story then found its overarching plot when Ang slunk into the picture, driving the story in new directions with her motivations.
I definitely find that focusing on character development tends to develop the plot right alongside it. A character has a realisation about themselves or about the world they inhabit, and the way they react is both part of their inner development and advancing the story . . .
A great example is when Hansard is called a 'little fish' by a rival trader. He stews on this comment and the truth of his own inadequacies - his desire to be something MORE is what fuels the majority of his decisions and in turn drives the plot towards a truly epic showdown. I didn't plan for Hansard to punch that guy. But it was the only thing his character could possibly have done, in the circumstances.
What's one of your favorite words?
'Igam-ogam' which is Welsh for 'zigzag', often used to describe the swaying walk of someone who is drunk. I ended up learning a lot of individual Welsh words (mostly insults...) while writing Ang. I get a lot of joy from trying to reference a character's heritage in their speech.
What is something about the genre that annoys you?
I wish there was a recognised genre called 'rural fantasy'. Although my work IS urban fantasy, I feel like I don't always meet the full expectations of the 'urban' label. I like my settings to bounce around - from the booming heart of London to the isolated depths of the Lake District.
The next closest genre labels are 'low fantasy' and 'contemporary fantasy' - but readers often don't know what the first one is, and find the second one to be a mouthful to say! But they have the same essence as urban fantasy: they contain magical or fantastical elements within our own 'normal' modern world.
Are you on social media and can your readers interact with you? What are your links?
Please do! Let's make this a quick and handy list:
My Website: https://georginajeffery.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GJefferyAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GJefferyAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gjefferyauthor/
Do you have a WIP? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
Season Two is in the works!
I'm experimenting with a free-to-read beta model where the draft episodes are published online so readers can comment and help me shape the story as I write it. Then when a beta Season finishes I give it an editing overhaul, and publish it in ebook and paperback.
I won't bombard you with more links, but you can find more info on my website and Wattpad profile if you want to check it out. =)
Any last words?
The Jack Hansard Series: Season One launches on Sunday 27th September - and I'm holding a 12 hour virtual Launch Party to celebrate! Everyone is invited, whether you want to pop in for a few minutes or hang out for several hours. There will be games, sneak peaks, author Q&A, and a competition to win free copies of the ebook as well as a special cameo spot in Season 2! You can find the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/
Hope to see you there!
Hope to see you there!
Georgina Jeffery lives in Shropshire with her husband and daughter. She writes in frenetic sprints during her daughter’s naptimes, or very late into the night. Her fiction often blends elements of fantasy, humour, and horror, and tends to reflect her penchant for mythology and folklore.
Her work can also be found in the urban fantasy anthology The San Cicaro Experience from Thunderbird Studios, which features her short story ‘The Hub’.
