Wednesday, August 1, 2018

My Interview with J. Agombar



What is your name and/or pen name? 

J. Agombar 

What genre do you write? 

A mixture. I mainly write dark fantasy and speculative crime and supernatural stories, but I have also had some travel writing published. 

What made you want to be a writer? 

As I say, I started out with travel writing. In 2008 I started journals which ended up becoming ritual across Asia and developed a writing style as well as cultural experiences. There are now several journals covering various continents; a few pieces have since been published. I was always a fan of writing stories as a kid at school and found ways of blending fiction with the descriptions of real places I had visited. 

How do you feel about the writing community as a whole? 

It’s great that the community is thriving with writers. Once you start looking to see how many local authors there are in your own area it can be a surprise, but the amount of decent material that doesn’t make it off the ground is equally as shocking. Unfortunately getting noticed is the hard part. It’s about advertising and who you know these days, not always necessarily how well you can write. 

Have you or will you be willing to collaborate with other authors in the future? 

Sure. I’m willing to team up. I have already worked with a couple of local artists to help with cover designs, but talking/working with other authors can be vital at certain stages. 

Tell us about your book and if it’s upcoming or already published. 

Crimes & Apparitions was released in June 2018 and is a short story anthology which mixes crime and supernatural fantasy. It’s inspired by stylistic trends set by H.P Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and Richard Matheson. The stories differ in tone but some have elements of horror and fantasy based on ancient myth and folklore whilst others evoke a realistic, modern day whodunit? narrative. 

The blurb is as follows:
A mixture of strange and unsettling circumstances are ahead of you as the vision of James Agombar pulls the strings of dark fantasy and harrowing reality. 
Criminal minds manifest in different ways as you will see in the post-war trauma of a soldier trying to deal with modern life, a jealous lover set on revenge, or the aftermath caused by the crimes of a government that didn’t do enough. New parallels of fear also await you in the form of witchcraft with unpredictable intent – an angry fire goddess – a devil who watches from the fields of a corrupt landowner – unusual demons on a remote island – and a séance with consequences that will haunt its attendees forever. 
Nowhere is safe as your journey of crime and terror will take you worldwide through the American rust belt to the streets of London, the Indonesian jungle to Avant-Garde Paris, isolated villages and Pacific islands. Based on mythological elements and folklore, the extraordinary narratives found in Crimes & Apparitions will stay with you through a new voice of the short fiction form. 

Is your book or upcoming book an eBook, paperback, or both? 

Available in both. 

Is this your first book? 

Not exactly. It’s my first anthology, but I wrote a travel novel (part fiction, part fact) in 2011 under a pseudonym which was a bit of a car crash due to a bad publisher. I think I also took on too much too early. 

Are you planning to write more? 

Yeah! The ideas keep coming. I have already written two steampunk novellas which are planned to become a trilogy, maybe four. There will also likely be some more speculative short stories in between. 

Is there anything you would say to other writers, that want to write and publish a book? 

For me, the ideas are everything. If you have great ideas, take your time and get it right. Don’t rush it out. People believe your story is real when you write from real experiences too, even if it’s just the surroundings. Also, research your publisher before taking ANY offers from them. Even self-publishing can be a minefield. 

Where can my readers find your book and how they can follow you on social media? Leave only links that you want open to the public. 

All versions are available from Amazon worldwide. Paperback and Ebook and free on Kindle Unlimited.


Thanks so much for sharing with us. The process of becoming a publish author is a learning experience and it’s nice to hear other authors stories to learn from them. Thanks again J. Agombar.
As Always, Happy Reading and Writing Everyone
G. D. Talbot

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