An Interview with AJ Martinez, author of Scarlet Quest

ByLinda Parkinson-Hardman

AJ Martinez is the author visiting with me on today’s Thursday Throng author interview. AJ is based in Connecticut USA and his aim “to write fantasy stories that will make one soar with the wings of Icarus. To write heart pounding stories to make one wish that the pages will never end.”

scarlet questThe Review

I used to read a lot of fantasy novels when I was younger. I don’t read so many these days except when they happen across my desk as this one did.

One of the things that I always liked was the fact that you pretty much knew what you were going to get with a fantasy novel. Boy meets girl, has a run in with a bunch of baddies who get everyone mixed up in some sort of mess that requires sorting out by the hero and heroine. Usually, the boy and girl are evenly matched and the girl is almost always a strong female character, giving a great role model to younger readers today. This book didn’t disappoint in that respect. My only real criticism was that the author had a habit of changing tense and style mid paragraph, which could be very disconcerting at times.

AJ MartinezThe AJ Martinez Interview

What is one thing that no-one would usually know about you?

I dropped out of college in the second year. I truly didn’t start writing until 2011

Are the names of your characters important to you?

Yes I would say so. I had picked the names for my characters years before I started writing. Since I was in the seventh grade

Have you ever wished that you could be or do anything else instead of writing, and if so what?

No really, except maybe drawing or writing self help books instead.

What is the single biggest challenge you faced when writing your book?

Starting the story is always difficult for some reason. I don’t always know how to start but once I get started its game on.

Where do you find your inspiration?

RPG games, astrology, Japanese culture, European history.

Tea, Coffee, Water, Juice, Wine or Beer … which do you prefer when writing?

Usually natural fruit juice. I don’t like beer but when I do drink alcohol I drink wine.

If you could commit the perfect murder where would you hide the body?

In the water.

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Where can you find out more about AJ and his book?

You can find Scarlet Quest in Kindle format here:

You can also meet him:

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Why ‘The Thursday Throng’?

These posts are called The Thursday Throng in honour of the throng that waits eagerly outside the book store when a new author is doing a book signing event or appearance. On this website it takes the form of a ‘Meet the Author‘ online event with some information about our author’s latest book and an interview. If you would like to take part in the Thursday Throng then why not visit Thursday Throng Author Interview Guidelines to find out more.

If you would like to see all the Authors who have been featured on The Thursday Throng you can click here: womanontheedgeofreality.com/2012/06/17/the-thursday-throng/.

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4 Comments

  4. what a beautiful image – that metaphor could be true of anyone trying to sail outside the norm – I love this: “to write fantasy stories that will make one soar with the wings of Icarus.”

    On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 10:52 AM, The Blog of Linda Parkinson-Hardman wrote:

    > Linda Parkinson-Hardman posted: “AJ Martinez is the author visiting > with me on today’s Thursday Throng author interview. AJ is based in > Connecticut USA and his aim “to write fantasy stories that will make one > soar with the wings of Icarus. To write heart pounding stories to make one > wish”