Jaimie N. Schock

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Jaimie N. Schock is an author, editor, and journalist with nearly two decades of professional experience. She has been published in newspapers and magazines and has released nine fiction novels, including The Talisman War fantasy series (The Pyre Starter, The Fired Gun, The Circus Crown, The Queen’s Pain, The Crystal Call, The Magic Pact, and The Burning Key) and the sci-fi books Visions of Iotan and The Wasteland Kings.

---

Welcome to Authors Spotlight. Do you mind telling us how are you doing today, and, what you’re currently writing?

Hi there! I’ve been very busy lately planning a book tour for my most recent novel, The Wasteland Kings. With that said, I am currently working on a new book in my free time that features an unconventional queer romance with vampires. The main character is a 40-year-old construction worker. I’m always happiest when I’m writing.

Great. I’d love to know a bit more about how you come up with the ideas for your novels.

The ideas often start as a dream or a simple thought that I then build on and develop into a story. I also use personal experiences to create characters. For instance, in my first book, The Pyre Starter, Dakota’s struggles with mental health were based on my own issues with PTSD. In my untitled vampire book, the idea came from a vivid dream.

Fascinating. Do you mind telling us how your experience as a journalist influences your fictional writing?

It has helped me significantly in knowing how to research a subject and how to edit the story after I’ve finished writing. I also have a good understanding of how people talk, thanks to all the interviews I conducted. My work as an editor has been essential in putting out a polished story. Being an established print journalist has also helped me feel more confident in my writing.

So far, you have written in three genres: Sci-Fi, Post-apocalyptic, and Fantasy. Do you plan to continue in one or all of these genres? Or do you want to move onto different genres?

I love trying out new genres and seeing where my writing will take me. I am currently working on a vampire book, so that’s a bit different from the others. I would also enjoy writing a horror book someday. With that said, I love all the genres I’ve written in and would be glad to write in them again.

I always ask an out-there question, and this is today’s? Do any of your main characters smell bad, and why? If not, do you mention how they maintain hygiene in them?

Oh, that’s an interesting question! There are definitely times in my books when the main characters smell bad because they are on the road or out in the wilderness with little chance to bathe. Gabriel in The Wasteland Kings spends a significant amount of time traveling across the barren parts of the U.S. He is very dirty and probably quite smelly when he arrives at the town. Similarly, Kenna travels by horseback across the U.S. in book six of my series, The Talisman War. She, at best, smells like horses during that time, but since it’s the winter, she isn’t bathing pretty much at all, so the smell is probably not very good. I do like to talk about hygiene in my stories, however, and whenever available, my characters bathe regularly.

How does travel and/or experience of cities influence your world-building?

I love traveling and have repeatedly included places I’ve visited in my stories. Notably, I use New Orleans quite a bit in my book series and Chicago in Visions of Iotan. I’ve also visited Philadelphia many times, and that is featured in The Wasteland Kings. City life, in general, gets incorporated almost as often as rural life, which I am familiar with because of where I grew up in Pennsylvania.

Are LGBTQ+ characters central to any of your novels, contributing to the growing literature for underrepresented readers?

Absolutely. Every main character and love interest in my books is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Most of them are gay or bisexual. I also have many side characters, including trans and non-binary ones. I write characters that are like me, and I’m bisexual. It’s very important to me that people reading my books experience positive representations of these characters.

Thanks for sharing. How do you connect and interact with other writing professionals?

I like to go to conventions and book festivals, typically as a vendor, as well as hold book talks and attend panels. Additionally, I constantly chat with other writers online, especially on Twitter/X. I read what they post, and I interact as often as possible.

It was my pleasure to spend a little time with you. Is there anything you’d like to add before we go?

Sure! I like to help up-and-coming writers with advice from time to time, typically when asked. My biggest and most popular one is about writer’s block. For me, I only get writer’s block when something I have recently written doesn’t work well in the story. If I go back and fix it, and maybe even change the direction the story is going, that block goes away. Try that if you’re ever stuck, and remember to write the story you want to read!

---

Highlighted Works

The Wasteland Kings

Visions of Iotan

The Pyre Starter