Author Interview – Linda Hamonou – The Demon Series

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, author Linda Hamonou shares what inspired her to write her fantasy book series, The Demon Series, that follows Brownie as she deals with learning to control powerful magic and the raising of a demon baby.

 

Written by JJ Barnes

www.jjbarnes.co.uk

I interviewed Linda Hamonou about her life and career, what inspired her to write The Demon Series, and her creative writing process.

Tell me a bit about who you are.

I’m a full time writer, former atomic physicist living in Japan. I like to travel, study, especially languages, and try different hobbies.

When did you first WANT to write a book?

I always wanted to write books. My first memory of verbalising it was in my grandmother’s living room. I was maybe 8 years old. I was reading a book, I don’t even remember the title and I said:

“Oh, I want to write a book like that.”

To which my mother answered:

“Nobody write books. It’s too hard. It takes too much time. There are too many words.”

I think she was worried about having to edit them. She was already typing my stories on a typewriter while correcting my child level grammar. Lol.

When did you take a step to start writing?

I wrote all the way through primary to high school. Then I stopped when I reached university and had to study physics full time. I think my mother telling me nobody wrote books somehow pushed me in a strange direction. If writing books was too hard and I had to do something easy, quantum physics was the way to go. Lol.

I went back to writing when a friend invited me to do NaNoWriMo with her. I haven’t stopped since. That was 15 years ago.

How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?

I would say a few months, maybe half a year. When the first idea came I was just playing with it, I didn’t know it was going to be a book. I was finishing my PhD at the time, I wasn’t thinking about writing fiction or publishing.

How long did it take you to complete your latest book from the first idea to release?

That’s a difficult question. Years. Lol. The truth is, I have multiple drafts in various states of completion toward publication. I had a long period of time where I didn’t touch the book at all. I was still writing more stories but not publishing anything.

Focusing on your latest release. What made you want to write Demon World?

It’s part of a series. So I wanted to get to the end of the story, which didn’t happen, there are more books coming. The motivation behind this one was to get to know one particular character we heard of but hadn’t met yet. The series is created around a bad break up and we only saw one of the character in the couple so far. The problem is how do you get to know a character that doesn’t know anything about himself.

What were your biggest challenges with writing Demon World?

I’m always experimenting. This time I tried multiple POVs. I wanted the POVs to be ballanced. My characters always misbehave, it’s as if they are all competing to be the main character.

I had to make choices:

• which characters were going to be the main focus,
• which character was going to be the character who bore the reader to death,
• which character was going to grow on the reader because of how he felt,
• which characters were going to be mysterious and deserve their own little place in the sun in further books…

I gave up on developing the villains too much and decided to give them their own series, which cut down a lot of chapters but writing the first book of the villain series was so much fun: the guy has a pet cockroach, his role is to stop apocalypses so he can create his own. Villains are fun.

Who or what inspired you when creating your Protagonist?

I wanted Brownie to be just your normal every day girl placed in an unbelievable situation. She would decide to do whatever it took to help herself  and become extraordinary in the process without realising it. This book is the part when she finally realised that she isn’t herself anymore but something greater.

Who or what inspired you when creating your Antagonist?

The antagonists symbolise the hidden parts of the love interest. They represent the baggage that you take on when you enter a relationship with someone, all the extra problems they bring with them.

What is the inciting incident of Demon World?

There are several, because there are so many POVs. Everybody’s problems keep on piling up. It’s very character oriented.

We have Brownie who has been playing with Magic to the point where she does magic unconsciously. She is trying to find a way to control the Magic.

We have Sahel discovering that the enemy has a new destructive power that creates life or death situations.

We have a bunch of demons wanting to turn into gods…

Every character in this book has their own personal quest.

What is the main conflict of Demon World?

The witch. Everybody wants her or they want something from her. And they are all ready to fight for her even when they don’t know why. She’s also her main problem even if she won’t admit it.

Did you plot Demon World in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?

I know where I start. I know where I want things to end and a few key points. But I mostly tell myself the story for the first time when I write it.

Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did Demon World need?

I got multiple people doing basic edits but the heavy lifting was done on my own as I needed to make sure that the book is consistent with the previous books and the following books that are already written. That’s too much side reading for an editor to take on.

What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?

Write as much as you can, as badly as you can. It’s a lot easier to cut off parts of the story than to add them. Don’t edit until you have your first draft. Don’t get lost in the middle.

Can you give me a hint about any further books you’re planning to write?

I have more in the same universe, either in the same series or in side series.  

For example: I have a series more focused on Brownie where she travels alone.

I have a series with a book for each of the main three villains…

I also have plans for a series with travels in parallel universe, book one is already written.

And, finally, are your proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?

There was a point where I was very depressed. A side effect of depression is that you can’t feel your achievements anymore. You do something, everybody is telling you that it’s amazing.  Intellectually, you know it should be but somehow, there are no feelings there.

I’m recovering and I managed to feel the rush of pride and happiness when I completed my last draft. It’s far in the series and won’t come up any time soon but it was definitely worth it to keep going through all the challenges to get to the point where I know my “feeling” brain is working properly again.

Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:

Demon Soul (The Demon Series Book 1)

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4gPXZ4U

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Proem4

Demon and Fairy (The Demon Series Book 2)

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4fNOrG7

Harajuku Kiss

Kindle: https://amzn.to/426LUnc

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4h3Arck

Attic Mirror

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4a7B16w

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4ageSDi

Contact

https://crazypuce.blogspot.com/

https://www.instagram.com/crazypuce/

https://www.facebook.com/Linda.Hamonou.Writing.Corner/

https://x.com/crazypuce

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/crazypuce

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcKMcKuEl-9UakyyIgNLQEQ

https://linktr.ee/crazypuce

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