A Chat with J.J. Fischer

I have a double feature for you all today, so hang around.

For my second author, I have a new author to The Back Porch. Meet J.J. Fischer. She is the author of the adult fantasy novel Memoria.

Welcome to Back Porch Reads, J.J. Since you are new to us, please share a little bit about your writing journey.

Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a published author?

I didn’t choose the writer life, the writer life chose me 😉. But in all seriousness, it feels like it did choose me. I’ve been writing seriously since I was fourteen years old, but I trained as a clinical psychologist and worked in that space for a while until I got sick (years ago now). I had to give up my job basically overnight due to illness, which gave me time to finish the book I’d been writing for over twelve years. Then I wrote the sequel, then another duology, then…well, you get the idea. I’m currently working on my fourteenth book. I freelance edit during the day (English Literature and Creative Writing was actually my first degree) and write to my heart’s content whenever I can. I don’t miss psychology much at all!

I bet your psychology degree helps you tap into to the mind of your characters though.

And bravo on having 14 titles under your name.

How do you typically approach the writing process? Do you have a specific routine or ritual?

It’s taken years to get into good habits, but I’m quite a disciplined writer. I’m usually at my desk every day, 9-5 or longer, with breaks for stretching and cups of tea and naps, if I need to. I freelance edit for work, so I usually work on editing projects in the first part of the day, then sometimes take the afternoons for creative writing. It works really well for me, because the analytical part of my brain gets exhausted, then I get to indulge the creative side.

I am glad to hear you take time to stretch your legs. Not getting enough mobility, I think, is a writers worst health issue.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are just starting out?

The most valuable piece of advice I’ve been given about writing (and which I frequently give out to other writers) is that if you want to be a writer, you need to read, read, read. Read inside your favorite genre, read outside your genre, read simple books and challenging books, read fiction and non-fiction. As the saying goes, “Reading is like breathing in; writing is like breathing out” (Pam Allyn).

Oooo! I like that. I think I will put that on my desk.

Are there any particular themes or messages that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Hope, the nature of true/authentic love, sacrifice, forgiveness, what it means to be a hero, cherishing the real rather than the imitation…each book/series usually deals with different themes, but there is definitely some overlap!

Amen to that!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Ahh, too many to name! But definitely C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Tracy Higley, Francine Rivers, Tamera Alexander, Cathy McCrumb, Lyndsey Lewellen, Megan Schaulis, John White, Juliet Marillier, Suzanne Collins, J. K. Rowling, and many more!

You have some fantastic authors on that list.

J.J., thank you again for joining us today. It was such a blessing to have you with us. I hope this tour is a blessing to you and your book.

Readers, please continue to read about Memoria and J.J. Fisher. Then be sure to enter the giveaway at the end.

Merry Christmas,

Melissa

About the Book

Book: Memoria (The Nightingale Trilogy Book Three)

Author: J. J. Fischer

Genre: Adult Fantasy

Release date: December 10, 2024

Would you save a life if you knew it would destroy another?

In the deeply divided world of Caldera, nothing is as it seems. Taken captive by a faceless enemy, Sephone Winter fights to reclaim her soul as her gift pirals out of control and the deadly poison coursing through her veins begins to exact its terrible vengeance.

Meanwhile, Dorian and Cass are forced into an uneasy alliance in order to find the woman they both love . . . a woman who has all but vanished from the face of the earth, along with the Reliquary. Finding her becomes impossible as the identity of their greatest adversary continues to elude them.

When Caldera’s past catches up with the trio’s future, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass are forced to make decisions that threaten everything and everyone they care about. Each of them is offered a chance to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of the other—but will they take it? And what will it cost them in the end?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

J.J. Fischer’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals shepainstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five. Jasmine began writing her first proper novel at age fourteen, which eventually became her debut fantasy series, The Darcentaria Duology, which was published in 2021. She is a qualified psychologist with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical psychology. When Jasmine isn’t killing defenseless house plants, she enjoys devouring books, dabbling in floristry, playing the piano, and wishing it rained more often. Jasmine is married to David, and together they make their home a couple of hours north of Sydney, Australia.

More from J.J.

Have you ever felt God’s comfort in the midst of a horrific trial?

In 2021, midway through writing Memoria (Book 3 of The Nightingale Trilogy), my husband Dave and I were blindsided by his discovery of several sizable lumps on his neck. Those lumps turned out to be lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), requiring immediate treatment.

2021 had already been a shocking year for us (and everyone else!). I’d lost both my remaining grandparents in the space of a few months. We were in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and one of the harshest lockdowns my state of New South Wales (Australia) had yet seen—which would necessitate going into further isolation while Dave underwent chemotherapy. And while I’d just received a diagnosis for my chronic illness, my recurring migraines (sometimes multiple a week) made it difficult for me to reliably drive Dave to and from his chemotherapy sessions.

But in one of the hardest times of our lives thus far, God provided. Dave made it through his chemo and has been in remission for some time now (though we’re still dealing with the consequences of the treatment in regards to fertility). I was able to drive him to all but two of his chemo sessions, and family and friends supported us in incredible ways. I’ve now received treatment for my chronic illness, which has helped me significantly and allowed me to take on more work as a freelance editor.

Eventually, I got back to Memoria, and wrote the second half of the story. And now, in hindsight, I can see the importance of God’s timing. Because Memoria is a story about pain—how we respond to it, what we do with it, and how it can poison our soul, if we let it. And ultimately, this book points to Jesus, the only one who can handle that pain, that poison, without succumbing Himself.

Are you struggling with a well of pain and suffering (and/or sin) in your own life? Perhaps not just things that you’ve done, but things that have been done to you? Are you struggling to keep your head above the raging waters, feeling swamped and pummeled by all God’s waves and breakers (Psalm 42:7)?

For starters, I want you to know that God keeps track of all your sorrows, every tear you cry (Psalm 56:8). You might feel invisible to the world, but you are not invisible to God. He knows everything about you, even the things you’ve never shared with anyone before. Even the pain you might not yourself have acknowledged.

The second piece of encouragement I want to share is that God promises to one day wipe all those tears from your eyes (Revelation 21:4). He won’t let those tears fall endlessly into eternity, ruining the perfect future He has in store for you. He will comfort you. He will bring you into his house, rejoicing over you. He can handle your pain (even the poison) without succumbing. Even your death is not the end of the story, because death was not the end of His.

I wrote The Nightingale Trilogy partly to deal with the pain of things in my own life. But as this series draws to a close, I hope it is a blessing to you in whatever season you’re going through right now (or will go through in future). I hope it reminds you of Eternity, and that you are greatly loved by the God who died to reclaim your soul.

God bless,

J. J. Fischer