by Diana Crandall
“I want to make a book so good, it’s hard to walk away from.” In September, fantasy author J.E. Hopkins released his latest addition to the Transition Magic series.
The novel, titled “The Saffron Falcon,” is built upon his debut novel “The Scarlet Crane.” “Falcon” delves into a world where magic and death intertwine, and malevolent forces collide, leaving society dangling on the brink of collapse.
Penned after a lifetime working as an engineer and chemist, Hopkins retired and turned to writing. The basis of the Transition Magic series was birthed during a basic online creative writing course that focused on short stories.
“The first course was really one to get me jumpstarted,” Hopkins said. “The first half focused on this process for ideation – how do you come up with an idea? Then I thought, ‘What if kids could do magic?’ It was an idea interesting enough to explore.”
After building upon the idea for two to three weeks, Hopkins spent three months shaping and molding the premise of the book.
“I enjoy writing too much [to stop and walk away]. It was hard work, but it was a lot of fun.”
Written for adults, Hopkins employs a darker element in his work. “When major characters die, or get killed – I like the tension that creates,” Hopkins said. “I want the freedom to be able to do that. I don’t want the reader to be confident that every character will make it.”
Published by Unseen Worlds Publishing, Hopkins admits that certain aspects of becoming a writer can be difficult.
“I do read reviews; it’s hard to read criticism, but I want to know, what worked for people?” Hopkins said. “What didn’t work for people? In my career, I was reasonably comfortable – feedback in the business world comes indirectly at best, very carefully cloaked. Writing is not like that.”
“You’re very exposed as a writer. I don’t know that writers ever will be isolated from critical feedback,” Hopkins continues. “The things that you write – sometimes it’ll hit the mark, other times, it won’t even be on the same planet.”
Hopkins encourages students to pick up his novel and reach out to him both on social media and by email.
“Kids still in college are looking forward to living life, and the world today has a lot more uncertainty than it is used to,” Hopkins said. “[The novel] explores concepts relevant to college students – how might their future children be affected by an evolving world? How will differences in social economic groups, education, and parental support impact people down the road?”
Passionate about writing, Hopkins encourages assiduous students who love to write to put that passion into action.
“Do it for yourself,” Hopkins said. “Do it because you enjoy it. Without having excitement about it, I think that your writing is going to be mediocre.”
If you want to make a living as a writer, it works much better if it’s coming from something you enjoy doing.
dcrandal@capital.edu
