Interview with Jennifer Hartz

Today I would like to welcome Jennifer Hartz to Wonderous Reviews and say a huge thank you to her for her time spent answering these questions (and sending me her wonderful books to review)! She's a fantastic writer and person, with a great sense of humor!

Would you like to tell us a little about yourself?

Thanks so much for having me on your blog… Okay some stuff about me… Oh gosh… where to begin.  I'm a follow of Jesus.  Yep, that's the most important.  Second comes family.  I've been married for nine years to a cool guy named Chris and we have one six-year-old son.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Hanging out with the family.  Reading anything Speculative.  If you can give me a good speculative series with a romantic story line and is also Christian… I'm hooked!  I also enjoy movies; really loving the superhero thing right now.  And I also enjoy studying the Bible.

Family, Bible, Christian stories, superheroes - my kind of gal! What inspired you to become a writer?
I loved writing when I was younger and always hoped to be a writer, but life takes us on crazy twists and turns.  I didn't actually start writing until I was nearly thirty-years-old.  I've had a late start compared to most, but I'm learning so much.

Never to late! How did you come up with ideas for your books? Could you tell a little bit about your writing process?
Well, it all started with the Future Savior Series… once upon a time I used to have an hour and a half commute to work. Three hours in the car everyday!  I started daydreaming about a story and it morphed and took on everything I absolutely love:  fantasy, sci-fi, time travel, love stories, Bible stories.  Everything became crammed into my crazy daydream so I decided to write them down.  That's why the Future Savior Series is so full of awesome!

Three hour car ride - bad news for you great outcome for us! The Future Savior Series is set in magical Meric and the main characters are adults. Heroes of the Horde is set in today's USA with the main characters as teens. Was it hard to switch between the two? Was one series more of a challenge to write?
The switch wasn't too difficult because in many ways the Future Savior Series reads like a YA.  The fantasy, speculative aspect is the same.  I don't think either series was more difficult to write than the other… might be all the crazy personalities I've got running around in my head J

The Future Savior Series has many parallels to the Bible, do you have a favorite Bible story?
Yes - All of them!  I honestly can't pick one favorite Bible story.  It changes depending on what I'm going through in my life at the moment.  I think that's one of the most wonderful things about our love letter from the Lord; we can always find help for whatever we're walking through.  Although, I'm a stickler for a good love story so I guess I'd have to say the book of Ruth ranks high for me.

I couldn't choose either! In the Heroes of the Horde series, Maggie quotes scripture to defeat the demons, do you have a favorite Bible verse?
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ~Isaiah 41:10

Amazing isn't it! Do you have a favorite character and/or one you are most like in both/either of your series?
Drexton from the Future Savior Series has been my favorite for a long time.  I keep thinking I may need to revisit the land of Meric and tell more of Drexton's tales!

Drexton was pretty awesome, I loved his cheerful optimism and faith! I'd love to hear more of his tales! The Future Savior series has wonderfully written cliff hangers that make the readers want more right now! Do you enjoy doing that to your readers? Do you enjoy reading cliff hangers in other books?
Oh, I love cliffhangers.  I know some people hate them and feel cheated, but I love that feeling of desperately wanting to know what will happen next and then being all excited waiting to find out.  Best Star Wars movie - Empire Strikes Back.  Why?  Major cliffhanger ending!

The worst is when you have to wait months and months for the next book, when you really need to know now! In Heroes of the Horde, the six main characters have amazing powers. What power do you wish you could have, and how would you fight off the demons to save the world?
Fun question!  I think I would want telekinesis.  It would be so convenient.  Why get up to get something to eat when you can just move something from the kitchen with your mind?  Although, this might lead to some serious obesity… that might make saving the world difficult J

Totally agree! What do you love most about creating new worlds, and the land of Meric?
It's all imagination!  I hate researching so making the land of Meric was great.  I just made stuff up as I went along!  I've had to do some research -- especially for Heroes of the Horde 3 -- it slows down the writing process.  I love making up stuff.

Imagination rocks! Maybe if I tell my teacher next year that research just slows down the writing process we can do more creative writing. Just kidding ... I guess. Do you have any quirky writing or reading habits?
I don't know about quirky, but I do have a bad writing habit.  I tend to go back and re-read what I've already written far too much.  It takes me a long time to pump out a story because I'm constantly going back to read the first part… although, this can be a good thing.  It helps me add little cookies (little fun details) along the way for the readers to find.

Ooooh! I love cookies in both literature and in the form of chocolate chip!

Rapid fire questions
Favorite animal?
Giraffe

Favorite kind of food?
Sushi

Favorite genre, movie, and/or tv show
Anything speculative: fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, time-travel, paranormal, superhero… all the cool stuff.

Didn't see that one coming!

Outside or inside?
Inside

Favorite place you have been to and one you wish to go to
Favorite place I've been to --- Meric!
I'd love to visit Ireland or Israel someday

That would be so amazing ... take me with you! Could you tell us what writing project you are working on now?
Sure thing! Currently, I'm wrapping up the edits on Heroes of the Horde 3: Realm.  That baby's set to come on in September.  I'm also almost done with a new project called Hunter's Fury.  This is a NA (New Adult) Paranormal Romance.  It's also what I'm calling "Sneaky Speculative Christian."  I write some pretty edge stuff as far as Christian goes and "Sneaky Speculative Christian" will push that envelope.  For example, Hunter's Fury is all secular until you hit the very end of Book 1 and then BAM! there's a major Christian twist at the end.  Book 2 of Hunter's Fury will really dive into the Christian aspect of the tale.  Of course the book will be clean enough for Christians to read, but I'm hoping it will appeal to the secular folks.  Maybe, just maybe, I can reach a few folks with Christ's message through my writing.

Wow! Sounds like you've been super busy. Nothing could be more worth it than touching people with Christ's message! Where can readers find you (on the web - not trying to be a stalker, I promise)?
Not a stalker?  But stalkers can be entertaining.  LOL!
Here's the info on me:
Website: http://jenniferhartz.com
Facebook: Jennifer Hartz
Facebook:  The Future Savior Series
Twitter: @JenniferLHartz

Thanks for having me on your blog!  It rocks here!

Thank you so much for joining us Jennifer! I can't wait to dive back into Meric, and read Realm when it comes out!

Books by Jennifer Hartz (click link to see my review, updated as soon as I read more)
Future Savior Series

Conception 

Resurrection 

Evacuation

Desecration
Revelation

Heroes of the Horde Series

Unleashed

Siege 

The Ghost Runner