AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Jonaxx … ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!

Hi, Readers! 

Before we delve into the interview proper, I would just love to share with you how this interview came to be. Actually, it was a few months back since I sent in the email which includes all of my interview questions for Queen J. Knowing that she’s a very busy person, what with her work and writing our favorite stories, sending it in didn’t mean I’ll really be able to snag an exclusive interview with her and that she’ll immediately be emailing me back with her answers. I took a chance. I was just happy with the thought that I have an email sitting pretty on her inbox. A message that hopefully she would be able to read and reply to once she has some free time.

Months have passed and on …

January 26, 2016.

10:44pm.

I was already lounging in my bed, relaxing and getting ready to continue reading the book that I picked out that afternoon. That’s how my usual night life goes. When a notification suddenly popped on the topmost part of my phone’s screen saying that I have an email coming from Jonahmae Pacala.

Me: ENTERS IN A DREAMLIKE STATE

I found myself abruptly standing up, opening and reading the content of her email. When I saw that she indeed answered all of my questions, I cannot help myself from constantly chanting, “What? Seryoso? Nagreply siya? Sinagutan niya?”.  I was shaking. I was fangirling so hard and I need people to talk to me. I ended up sending messages to some of my friends and sharing the news over the JSL main group and Bicol chapter about this blog interview.

I couldn’t believe it.

It may have taken her some time in replying to my email but it was definitely worth the wait. This surely is going down as one of my surreal blogger and fangirl moments: Interviewing one of my favorite authors. And it truly is a pleasure to share this interview with you, blog readers and Jonaxxstories Lovers.

Since I already formatted my interview questions in a conversation-type of way when I emailed it to Queen J, I won’t be editing it out (just a little tweak here and there) and I would really love to share it with you as it is. My questions, my thoughts and her answers – just out there for you to read. Let’s get started!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Amanda (A): Thank you so much for giving me and my blog this huge opportunity of having you here and at the same time interviewing you. If only I can squeal and be heard by my readers here in this blog just for them to know how I’m reacting to all this.  Seriously, I’m such a big fan of yours so this all seems to be so surreal for me. Enough of me and my fangirl ways, though.

I’ll start off this interview by asking you a little bit about yourself. You’re widely known as The Royal Writer, the Queen or Queen J by your royal readers, but what is it like just being Jonahmae Pacala? What are your favourite: songs, movies and books?  

Jonaxx (J): I have so many favourite songs and movies. Genres like EDM, slow love music, pop, and alternative. It’s difficult to mention it one by one. Haha! For movies, I like the Divergent, the Harry Potter Movies, and all movies with medievalish setting. And for books, I’ve read HP series and it was very nice. I am always amazed by how J.K. did it. She’s a legend. And then I also like Paulo Coehlo. I like books with deeeeeep messages.

A: When you aren’t writing, where would we most likely find you? What are your hobbies aside from writing?

J: Malling, sleeping, going out with friends, roadtrips, beaches… etc.

RAMBLINGS | UNTIL TRILOGY by Jonaxx (Queen J!)

I know that this is quite a late post already since Until Trilogy by Jonaxx ended last week. I’ve just been so busy with real life and I also need time to gather my thoughts about the completion of the three-part story of Klare and Elijah’s journey to love and happiness.

I think, it was a couple of weeks after I read Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews that a friend of mine gave me a heads up about Until He Was Gone. She said that the story contains a cousin falling in love with one of his cousins. That’s new for me, cousins. At first, I was unsure if I’d read it or not because … Come on! I feel like I’m subjecting myself for another round of constant heartache. But then she mentioned that it’s a Wattpad story written by Jonaxx, okay, I’m sold. If you’ve read my previous posts here in my blog, I’ve been a fan of Queen J for quite long time already. But well I got lost in a sea of Young Adult and New Adult books which resulted for me not being able to visit my Wattpad application. Yes, I've been missing in action. Then she further elaborated that it has interesting characters, a pair that I’d definitely fuss over with because of their chemistry and I’d die for wishing and shipping them to be together till the end of the story. But despite everything that she said, I'm more curious as to how Jonaxx is going to handle such a conflict for this book. This is a sensitive topic. Not an easy and common conflict to tackle. You have to brave enough to write it. How is she going to weave and surprise her readers? With those thoughts in my mind, I dropped whatever that I was reading at that time and started my journey. 

Now after several months, it’s done. Klare and Elijah’s story has been written already… How are you, guys? Still reeling over Until Trilogy’s ending? Then that means that I’m not alone. 

BUT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. I'm going to post a HUGE SPOILER HERE. 

THEY WEREN'T REAL COUSINS. I just want to get this out before I went on my merry way of gushing about my feels. If you're curious as to how it happened, then read the entire trilogy and don't just stop until you've finished Book 1 or Book2. Though if you've been a keen observer, I'm sure you've correctly pieced together some of the suspicious things that happened in the first book. 

Now, I can resume. Thank you so much, Queen J for sharing this trilogy to us. Thank you for this beautiful roller coaster ride that we’ve been riding for the most part of year. Every tear we’ve shed, every heartache and anger we’ve felt and just about any emotion that you’ve gotten out of us, were unquestionably worth it. Until Trilogy isn’t something we’re going to forget any time soon. Right?

Fandomly Bookish Recommends ... | Wattpad Authors and Stories [1]

I read Wattpad stories. Yes, you've read that right. I actually started reading stories from Wattpad way back when I was still a college student. Sophomore or Junior year, I think. It was around that time when Wattpad stories was selling like hotcakes in the online Filipino reader community. So you know, I just have to try and know what the fuss is all about.

I think some Filipino readers tend to shy away from Wattpad stories because of the previous experiences they had with some stories written and published on that site. It could be because some stories isn't up to par with their taste, the quality of how it was written and how some story lines get clichéd and all. Take a hint here, it's actually a hit and miss in Wattpad when it comes to the stories you'll find in there. You just have to be very patient in looking  for a writer (and stories) that'll really suit you when it comes to his/her writing style, on how he/she narrates and wrap up the story and how she treats her characters. It's like looking for a gold in a dark and scary gold mine. 

Photo grabbed from: Jonaxxstories Facebook Page

To help you out with your Wattpad dilemma, I've decided to make this feature in this blog wherein from time to time I will share names of authors and title of stories that I immensely enjoyed reading. This feature aims to promote Wattpad worthy-read stories to my fellow Filipino readers. 

Here's my first recommended Wattpad author: She's known as Queen J by her avid readers or Jonaxx in the entire Wattpad community. Queen J, wohoo! She wasn't the first author that I came across in Wattpad and her works weren't the first ones that I've read. But (I think) she's the only author that I constantly and consistently looked forward to on what she's going to lay down the table next. And yes, I've read every single bit of her works. Even her tweets and posts in Facebook. LOL!

I can still perfectly remember the first story that I've read coming from this author and it was her work entitled, DOWNFALL CHRONICLES. At first, I was undecided if I'll push through reading it because I've also had my fair share of stumbling across stories that scared the heck out of my braincells. But I'm very glad that I continued to read it because I didn't expect it to be like that. It turned out to be a very emotional read and a story that I'll forever remember.