Hello folks! Welcome to my Friday Five Series. I started this series in 2016, but it’s been on a *gasp* five year hiatus. I’m so glad to now resume the Friday Fives. On most Fridays of the year, I invite one author to answer five questions about their book, what their reading, and/or the writing life. So let’s start it off with fantasy author M.J. Kuhn!
Her debut fantasy novel releases, Among Thieves, releases on September 7, 2021. It is a thrilling fantasy debut—a high-stakes heist novel set in a gritty world of magic and malice, and perfect for fans of Six of Crows! You can pre-order it now by clicking here.
Friday Five Questions
What are some of your favorite novels (or your favorite novelists) and why?
I have read and adored SO many books in my lifetime, but there are a few that stand out.
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones and the Redwall series by Brian Jacques are the stories that, in childhood, inspired my love of fantasy.
Other favorites over the years have been Watership Down by Richard Adams, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab, and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
For me as a reader, it’s all about the voice and the world building. If the voice sucks me in and the world feels like a real place that I can fully inhabit as I read, I am sold.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
The advice I would give my younger self is a dose of tough love. It consists of three words. “You’re not special.” That sounds HARSH, I know. But I wasted probably the first year of my serious writing career thinking that because my high school English teachers thought I was a good writer, I didn’t need to learn how to write a novel.
About a billion agent rejections and a LOT of tears later, I finally woke the heck up and realized I needed to actually read some books and some blogs on craft and learn how to write a novel.
I would also tell my younger self to seek out writer friends sooner than I did.
I’ve been in the writing game for about seven years now, and I have only really made a solid group of writer friends in the last year or two. Writing feels like a very solitary activity – and it can be! But man, is it lonely if you don’t have friends to commiserate and celebrate with.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received for writing?
Most of the best advice I have seen for writing hasn’t been given directly to me, but is rather advice I’ve read in blogs.
The first that I’ll mention was around character building, and the importance of giving your character a lie that they believe in the beginning of the story, so that overcoming that internalized lie can fuel their character arc. This one came from K. M. Weiland’s blog, Helping Writers Become Authors, which is one of the blogs I basically lived on for the entirety of 2015 and 2016 when I was really figuring out my own writing style and learning how to structure my novels.
Another great piece of advice I saw was with regard to weathering the publishing process and all the rejection and heartbreak it holds. It comes from Chuck Wendig’s blog, and the advice is simple. “Harden the fuck up, Care Bear.”
I actually made a graphic of that quote and kept it as my cell phone background image while I was querying, as a reminder that I needed to keep my skin thick and my backbone strong while the parade of “no’s” rolled in.
How do you balance writing and the rest of life?
Whooooof, this one is a bit of a doozy. Aside from writing, I also work a fairly demanding full-time job as a mid-level administrator at a local university. While it is really nice to have a steady paycheck coming in, there are definitely days/weeks/months/always where it feels like TOO MUCH. Because, of course, it’s not just writing and work.
I have a house and yard to maintain. I have to still make time to be a good wife/daughter/sister/friend. I have two furbabies that need love and attention and care.
I think one of the main reasons why I’m able to make it all work is because I have a partner who is RIDICULOUSLY supportive.
My husband, Ryan, has viewed my writing as a job since before I even had an agent. If I need him to take care of the dog, or do the grocery shopping, etc. because I need time to write, he is always game to step up and take on the lion’s share of that work so I can focus.
Ultimately, the name of the game here is sacrifice. I have RSVP’d “no” to social events I wanted to attend because I knew I had a deadline coming up. I have burned vacation days at my job in order to work on edits all day. I have definitely sacrificed a lot of sleep over the years. Moral of the story, it’s possible to fit it all in! But you have to really want it.
Are you an introvert or extrovert? What’s that best thing about being an (introvert or extrovert)?
I am a HARDCORE introvert. So much so that when I grew up and moved out of the house, my mom joked that she knew she was never going to see me again. I definitely have friends and I love to see my family… but I also really love just being at home and knowing I don’t have to see anyone at all. I honestly wish I was more extroverted.
Our entire world is built around extroverts – I often think life would be so much easier if social interactions gave me energy rather than sapping the life from me. But, who knows, if I was more social, maybe I would never have had the discipline to lock myself in a room alone for hours on end and write that first novel of mine (and all the ones I’ve written since)!
Of course, I know there are extroverted writers too, but I guess my point here is, there’s no use trying to jam yourself into a mold you don’t fit into. The introvert life is not a glamorous one, but it’s the one for me!
Thank you so much for joining us today, M.J. And be sure to check out her novel Among Thieves which is available for pre-order now. Click here to buy your copy.
About M.J. Kuhn
M.J. Kuhn is a fantasy writer by night and a mild-mannered university employee by day. She lives in the metro Detroit area with her husband Ryan, a dog named Wrex, and the very spoiled cat Thorin Oakenshield.
Ways to Connect with M.J. Kuhn
