The Lost Amulet Chronicles: Interview with Katie Lynn Johnson

It's been awhile since I've had an author interview, thankfully I could reach out to one that had asked me to review her books.

So first an introductory about Katie,


Katie Lynn Johnson was an Air Force brat growing up, and has lived in California, Germany, New Mexico, Texas, and Idaho. In college she studied fine art and marketing, all the while taking far more English classes than were necessary for her degree. By day she works as a writer, copyeditor, and graphic designer for a magazine publisher, and by night she writes novels just for kicks. Katie lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and two children. 






Her books

Before the Storm (The Lost Amulet Chronicles, #0.5)
Amulet of Elusion (The Lost Amulet Chronicles, #1)
Amulet of Power (The Lost Amulet Chronicles, #2)
The Cursed Existence of Jessalyn Bell

Upcoming Books
Amulet of Destiny (The Lost Amulet Chronicles, #3)
The (Still) Cursed Existence of Jessalyn Bell (Jessalyn Bell, #2)

 

Where did you get your ideas for The Lost Amulet Chronicles?

I first came up with the basic concept of the story in junior high school (yeah, it was that long ago), so, unsurprisingly, a lot of my first ideas came from Disney movies like Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I'm there right now, working on a WIP that actually came off an idea I had in High School but more mature, modern and Urban Fantasy. I'm still working on it but the changes and new ideas I have went like a forest fire! I'm hoping this will be the one to make it out there somewhere :-)

Was there anything that inspired you to write The Lost Amulet Chronicles? Places, Music, etc.

Definitely! When I was young, I visited a city in Germany called Rothenburg. It was hundreds of years old, with a lot of cobblestone and a wall surrounding the entire city--this is where I came up with the idea for Alvair. San Lucero, on the other hand, is based on San Juan, Puerto Rico. I've never been there but I saw a documentary on the Travel Channel and fell in love with it. A couple of songs that inspired the story are Lie to Me by 12 Stones and The Fake Sound of Progress by Lostprophets.

Music is always a big influence to me when writing, it's almost impossible to write without it! I would love to visit foreign countries someday!

In Amulet of Power, you had Caleb and Alexa loses their memory did you plan that to bring in a greater threat such as Dante for a twist? 

This was actually one of my first ideas for the series--that at some point Alexa would be bound by a spell and be working for Queen Jada. Dante was one of my first ideas, too. I liked the idea of an attractive bad guy who tries to steal Alexa away from Caleb.

 Who doens't like an attractive bad boy?

Dante seemed nice in the beginning but then something clicked inside his head when Alexa started granting him powers. Was he as evil as he is before obtaining that power? 

Yes and no. Dante knew all along that he wanted to gain Alexa's trust so that she would grant him power. What he didn't expect is that he would genuinely fall in love with her. He also did not anticipate that the first taste of real power would make him hungrier for more.

Mmm . . . now I really can't wait to see what happen in book three

Also the sword fight between Alexa and Caleb? My mind was just spinning, praying and hoping that it wouldn't end horribly. That was really scary and I'm sure it was for Caleb.

This was also an early idea I had. I always liked the twist in stories where good guys turn bad and unintentionally try to hurt people they care about (e.g. when Indiana Jones was under a spell in Temple of Doom).

I love Indiana Jones :-)

How many more books will you write for The Lost Amulet Chronicles?

There are three books in The Lost Amulet Chronicles series.

When is the next one scheduled to come out? 

Book Three, Amulet of Destiny, is scheduled to be released in June 2014.


Ooh :-) June is going to be a busy month for me, attending my first ever big book blogger/author event in Nashville UTopYA Con in case you're wondering. So I might not have time in June to read your book, but we'll see :-)

Thanks Katie for answering my questions! And I'll take up on some of your suggestions of Fantasy books :-)