TJ: Hello! Welcome to Author Spotlight where both new and veteran authors share a little about themselves and their work. Today we have author D. Gabrielle Jensen. Let’s get into it. Care to tell readers us about yourself?
Jensen: Hi, thank you for having me. I am never quite sure how to answer this but I guess I am a Colorado native and mom to a fifteen year old cat. I crochet, make jewelry, and I am an intermediate amateur photographer. And I love music and I love to travel.
TJ: What inspired you to become a writer?
Jensen: My brain? No, really, though, I’ve been telling stories for as long as I could string words into sentences and I’ve always just known that no matter what I did, I would end up writing either as a career or a hobby.
T.J.: If you could meet any person dead or alive, who would it be and why:
Jensen: Everyone always says, “never meet your heroes,” but I’ve had the incredible fortune of meeting several–musicians I’ve admired, mostly–and they have all been wonderful. One I never had the opportunity to meet was Chester Bennington and I will always wish I had. Linkin Park started out as something I listened to when I wanted to get my adrenaline up but somewhere along the way the music they were putting out, and specifically Chester’s lyrics, became very important to me, something I didn’t fully realize until I saw them perform live in 2014. It would have meant a lot to me to be able to tell him that.
T.J: Now, is my favorite part of the interview, hearing all about your work. Can you tell readers about (the Fia Drake Soul Hunter series)?
Jensen: Fiammetta “Fia” Drake was borne out of a challenge in a writing group back in 2018. The goal was pretty tame in comparison to what a lot of authors hold themselves to every November but for this challenge, we were writing a complete, from scratch, short story of 5000 words. It could be anything as long as it was some form of speculative fiction and featured a human/human-like female with dragon-like characteristics. My interpretation was maybe looser than some, but I started out looking for a name that fit the criteria. Fiammetta means “Little Flame,” in Italian and a drake is a kind of dragon. I gave her red hair and burn scars that resembled scales and the rest just fell into place. I knew she was a hunter–that was the first place I met her–but I didn’t know of what until later. That’s my process, always has been; write out the bones until things make sense. Before too long I learned she wasn’t hunting zombies (as I had originally thought) but human vessels piloted by fugitive souls from the underworld. Which was convenient because zombies have never been a big deal for me but religious mythology? Especially stories of angels and demons, Heaven and Hell, Milton and Dante kinds of stores, those have always fascinated me.
The series is a trilogy in which all three books work together in their own kind of three-act structure where the first book, Drummers and Demons, is the establishment of what is normal for the world, or at least for Fia’s world. As Drummers and Demons comes to a close, we find Fia at a low point leading us into act two, Whiskey and Ink. And I am finishing up act three, Rage and Release, for publication in September. Like any proper third act, Rage and Release throws everything into the fire before tying everything up in the end. There is room for continuation but if I don’t elect to further pursue the adventures of these characters, readers should still be satisfied. They may curse my name and hurl their books at the wall in their satisfaction, but they shouldn’t feel cheated. Truthfully, if I have set all of this up properly, they will curse my name, but in a way that makes them come back for whatever comes down the pike next.
TJ: Thank you for visiting my blog. Hope to have you back again!
Jensen: Thank you again for this opportunity.
Where to follow D. Gabrielle Jensen:
Website/blog: https://dgabriellejensen.com
Facebook Fan Group: The Fia Drake Faction | Facebook
Instagram: https://instagram.com/writerdgabrielleTiktok: https://tiktok.com/@writerdgabrielle
Where to buy D. Gabrielle Jensen’s books:
https://books2read.com/DrummersAndDemons
