Ask The Author: Julia Suzuki

By Vikki Patis

Julia Suzuki, British author of children's literature, spoke to me about her writing process.

Suzuki grew up in Staffordshire, listening to the magical sounds of fair rides and animals from a theme park across the stream at the bottom of her garden.

Through working with a Disney licensing company and working with entrepreneur David Lloyd in an international resorts business, Suzuki visited many beautiful places, inspiring the setting for her literature.

Suzuki’s love of reading, of nature and of the outdoors fed her colourful imagination and inspired her to become an author. I wanted to know more about her inspiration, and discuss her novel, The Gift of Charms, which was published in September 2014 by John Blake Publishing.

“Here Be Dragons...Hidden in a mist-filled valley, far away from the habitation of man, live the last of the world's dragons”

Hailed as a beautifully presented, wonderfully unique debut, The Gift of Charms is an award-winning fantasy novel perfect for readers of any age. Royal Commentator and Sunday Express Journalist Phil Dampier describes it as a "mythical magical fable in the tradition of Tolkein and JK Rowling", instantly charming and magically enticing. Full of rich description, beautiful landscapes and fascinating characters, The Gift of Charms is perfect for losing yourself in. And who doesn’t love dragons?

A self-described “fairytale/Disney fangirl”, Suzuki set out to write what she felt readers wanted.

‘The basic idea for a new series of books came to me, that I believed would appeal to people like myself as well as a wider audience. Once I started I felt like writing was my place in life, and then, step by step, Dragor came to life.’

Although the beautiful places she has visited inspired the setting for Dragor, her ideas come from deep in her subconscious.

‘Ideas come to me in day and night dreams, and hit me sometimes like a little bolt of energy; making me feel it is the right plot or character or event to engage the reader.’

Persistence is key to the modern author. Few authors, if any, make it easily into the literary world, according to Suzuki.

‘Authors also need to be marketers these days, or at least understand the principles and employ the necessary services. Writing is only one part of what is necessary. Being able to promote yourself is paramount: to agents, publishers and the world at large.’

 Suzuki wishes she’d started to build an online presence earlier. Promotion takes time and effort, and she now realises the importance of online promotion:

‘Social media is an important promotional vehicle, and a quality following takes time to accumulate.’

Due to working hard on her own novels, Suzuki currently has little time to read.

‘But I do have eight books on my book table that I dip in and out of! Two of the titles I am reading are a children's fairytale 'Fire' by Kirsten Cashmore and a thriller 'Revenge' by Martina Cole. My reading is thus very diverse.’

Suzuki is currently working on the next novel in The Land of Dragor series:

'The Gift of Charms sets the scene but the real adventure comes next!’

She will be visiting many schools and stores in the run-up to Christmas. For more information, check out her website, https://www.juliasuzuki.com/. You can also find her on Twitter, @JuliaSuzuki_uk.