Interview With Author Joanna Mazurkiewicz

Thanks for letting me interview you and for stopping by The Cotton Patch. And also for offering such a great giveaway. Up for grabs are 10 ecopies of Whispers of the Sprite in your choice of formats being given away internationally.

Thank you!

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Joanna and I am originally from Poland. I have been living in the UK for over seven years now. I work as an employment advisor and in spare time I write books. I live in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with my boyfriend Bruce. I enjoy cycling around Welsh countryside and read classic and paranormal romance novels.

How long have you been writing and have you always been interested in science fiction/ fantasy? Do you write other genre?

I started writing when I was in school I wrote few children books which weren’t very good. Then I had a huge gap in my writing career and when I went to University all my ideas hit me again and I started writing ‘The Whispers of the Sprite’ I always wanted to create a fantasy novel. My next series will still be paranormal but the book after that may be more contemporary fiction.

Is there a certain place that you prefer to write? Or draw inspiration for your writing?

I like to write at home without any noise. I need to have a quiet space. Other books, films and dreams inspire me to write. I got so many ideas that just pop to my head all the time.

Do you listen to music when you write?

Sometimes but If I have to concentrate I prefer to write in silence.

What writers have influenced you?

J K Rowling was the first author that influenced me the most, then Margaret Mitchell and Franz Kafka

Please tell us a bit about The Whispers of the Sprite.
My book is set in Wales in Swansea. It’s about Ania a Russian girl that lives in

London but needs to move to Wales to study. Her life changes after taking a quiet walk in the evening, someone attacks her. Since that day her life changes forever. I try to transmit a mixture of contemporary society with myths and folklore. I don’t want to give too much away but this paranormal romance is filled with unexpected twist and turns and romantic scenes.

Is this the first of a series or a stand alone novel?

It the first book of ‘The Whispers series’

What kind of research went into The Whispers of the Sprite?

I had an idea in my mind but I wanted to have an original paranormal creatures. I started to research British folklore, Welsh and Scottish legends. Back in 2009 when I read a few fairy legends and I knew that I will use the idea of changelings in my novels. I wanted to use fairies but I found a different name – Sprite and I decided to use it.

How long did it take to write this book?

I started writing it in 2009 when I had a break from University but then I left it for few months. It took me over 3 years to finally finish it.

The cover art for this book is beautiful, can you tell us who designs them?

I picked up the stock picture and then a friend designed the font. I went through thousands of pictures but this was the one that stood out the most.

Do you have any other projects in mind at this time?

I am currently wiring the follow up for ‘The Whispers of the Sprite’ I am almost in the end but I still have a lot of editing to do. The next book will be titled ‘The Dark Night Whispers’

If you could have supper with any one person from history who would it be and why?

I wouldn’t mind having dinner with Chaucer. I think he wrote the most amazing tales in the history although I don’t know if I could understand the way people talked back then.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Yes, more updated about the next book will be coming out on my blog
Thanks again for letting me do this interview.

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