Q: When did
you first decide that you wanted to be a writer? What moved you
in that direction?
A: Fairy tales populated my brain when I was very young. But my
imagination nearly exploded when I discovered both The Hobbit
and Star Wars in the same year. At age seven, I began
writing similar stories, typing them with one finger on a shiny
black Royal typewriter.
Q: . How did you come up with the idea for
Auralia's Colors?
A: During a hike near Flathead Lake, Montana,
my wife asked me, "Isn't it strange how some people reach
an age where they take their imaginations, fold them up, and put
them in a closet?" I started imagining a society that suppressed
color and art. And then I met Auralia, whose colors could save
them. Her world's a lot like Flathead Lake.
Q: What sets this book apart from other fantasy
fiction books?
A: Don't you get tired of the same old fantasy epics about dragons,
battlefields, and quests to find magical swords? I tried to avoid
the familiar fantasy formulas. This is a story about a dangerous
mystery that challenges, humbles, and transforms kings, queens,
crooks, and monsters. It's also meant to be read out loud—my
favorite stories always have musical language.
Q: If you were a book, which one would you want
to be, and why?
A: The adventure-loving kid in me wants to be The Lord of the
Rings, enthralling readers with adventure, mystery, and glory.
But I also like the secretive silence of an empty journal, every
page so full of possibility.
Read
Jeffrey’s first novel Auralia’s Colors!
