Interview with James Summers

Hello, friends! Today I'm back with another interview for you all, and this one is with James Summers! I did this interview a whileee back, and it then completely slipped my mind until a few weeks ago. My bad 😅. But that all said, let's get started!

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1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hey y'all. My name is James Summers, and I am a young writer from the Southern United States! I love writing, and have finished a full-length project, albeit rather recently. I have had two items of my work published: a non-fiction article in the local newspaper, and a copy of a poem I wrote, published in a nationally read children's magazine, Spider. I have been writing poetry as long as I can remember, but I first started writing prose for something other than school about five or six years ago. I also love to read, especially fantasy and dystopian, visit friends and family, and play board games, as well as some other assorted activities!

2. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I've been writing in some form or fashion for as long as I can remember, mostly poetry, but I would have to say the first time I began to desire writing and publication seriously was about five years ago, when I started my first novel project. And yes, that project is still in progress!

3. Tell us about your main WIP!

My main project is currently a secret (*wink*), but I am also editing a realistic fiction novella to be published hopefully sometime soon, as well as wrapping up the first draft of a realistic fiction survival novel called Beneath A Savage Sky, set in the islands of Indonesia.

4. What genre do you typically write in?

I have written in almost every genre except romance, but I write mostly in the fantasy, dystopian, and hard science fiction genres. My two current (secret) main projects are a low fantasy novel and science fiction that is actually possible, not things like aliens and laser guns (which falls under soft science fiction). Jules Verne wrote hard science fiction for his time.

5. Who are your top three favorite authors, and why?

My top three authors would have to be:

1. Christopher Paolini

I absolutely love the fantasy writings of Mr. Christopher Paolini, the author of the Inheritance Cycle and holder of the Guinness World Record for youngest author of a best-selling series. I love his fantasy for three main reasons: (1) I love how detailed his world-building is, as I really enjoy to learn about new worlds, (2) I like the way he writes, with his combination of detailed prose and description and vivid, fast-paced action scenes, and (3) the storyline of the book felt so fresh and original, especially since he was able to take several well-known, usually cliched tropes, and remake them into a fully new story.

2. Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games trilogy, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and the Gregor the Overlander series, is also one of my favorite authors. Once again, I like her writing style and how imaginative she is in all of the things that she writes. I would highly recommend both the Hunger Games and the Gregor the Overlander books to anyone who even remotely likes dystopian, thriller, or adventure literature.

3. Katherine Applegate

As I have not read everything she has written, I cannot vouch for a lot of her work; however, that which I have read I have really enjoyed. I especially love her science fiction series Animorphs and her fantasy trilogy Endling. Both are fantastic examples of fiction in their genres, which I would highly recommend.

Honorable mentions include Margaret Peterson Haddix, Joelle Charbonneau (for her Testing trilogy. I haven't read her other works, but that one is a huge influence over my current WIP), and I also love the book Gamer Army by Trent Reedy.

6. What does your writing routine typically look like?

Typically, I write whenever I can fit in in between school and other activities. However, I usually write a bit (or heavily) every school day, and sometimes some on the weekends as well, though not as often. I write mostly in the afternoon, and I love my music while I do so.

7. In what ways have you grown since you first started writing seriously?

I believe I have become much better at getting words on paper even when I don't feel like it, and rarely suffer from writer's block nowadays. I also have an easier time coming up with cool ideas and characters, though I still rely on my family for many character name ideas!

8. Is there anywhere readers can reach out to you? (Blog, email list, etc.)

Unfortunately, at this time, no. I have not yet published a book, so I don't have any sort of platform yet. However, keep your eye out for one, as I plan to start something in the future. However, at the time of this interview's publication, I am on the Young Writer's Workshop community, so I can be reached there by any fellow YDubbers. I also have hosted and have a guesting episode that came out on a podcast called the Inked, hosted by Reilly Smith, that launched May 1st!

9. Morning bird or night owl?

Hm, probably neither, to be honest. My mind doesn't work great in the morning when I first get up, but I also kind of stop functioning after a certain point at night. So, maybe more like a daylight dickcissel? Yes, I just googled bird names that start with a d!

10. Alright, last question! What's one piece of advice you'd like to give to other young writers like yourself?

I believe it would have to be this: Read. As author C.S. Lewis said, "Read all the good books you can-" I can think of nothing that has helped me more in all of my writing than reading; it helps with everything from inspiration to research to better understanding genres. Even if you're not a big reader, the best way to write great stories is to start by reading great stories!

I added this myself, but just a quick shout-out to Maya Pawley for inviting me to interview on this blog, and I thank her for allowing me to do this. Thank you all, and keep on writing!

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ABOUT JAMES:

James Summers is a 17-year-old homeschooled writer from Mississippi who loves writing, books, and all things with words. He writes mostly fantasy, dystopian, and hard science fiction as well as poetry, songs, articles, and small amounts of non-fiction. He is a huge worldbuilder in his writing, and has created multiple complex worlds, a multitude of unique creatures, and even created a complete language, which is both writable and speakable. He is extremely motivated in his writing by the lack of good, clean young adult books, and hopes to one day be a published author everyone can trust for good, clean stories with excellent plots and deep themes.

Over the course of his writing journey, he has had two items of his work published: a non-fiction article entitled Social Media: Help or Harm for Today's Youth? in the local newspaper, and a copy of a poem he wrote published in a nationally read children's magazine, Spider. He has also written the academic paper Rats in Tanks?: On The Use of Rodents in Warfare, which he adapted into an award-winning speech, and Adam Zinell and the Duel of Destiny, a piece of alphabetical flash fiction that took first place in the White County Writer's Contest From Point A to Point Z, a worldwide writing contest.

When James isn't writing, he also loves to read, especially fantasy and dystopian. His favorite authors include Suzanna Collins, author of the Hunger Games trilogy, and Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle, though he also really likes Katherine Applegate's Animorphs and Endling series and loves the book Gamer Army by Trent Reedy. He also enjoys visiting friends and family, and playing board games, as well as some other assorted activities!