{"id":27784,"date":"2025-07-27T21:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T21:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/27784\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T21:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T21:36:08","slug":"qa-joshua-phillip-johnson-author-of-the-bloodless-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/27784\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Joshua Phillip Johnson, Author of ‘The Bloodless Queen’"},"content":{"rendered":"

We chat with author Joshua Phillip Johnson<\/a> about\u00a0The Bloodless Queen<\/a>, which is part ecological Orpheus and Eurydice myth and part gothic thriller in this atmospheric near-future sci-fi novel about fae mysteries deep within strange nature preserves<\/p>\n

Hi, Joshua! Welcome back! We last spoke for the release of The Forever Sea<\/a> four years ago. How have you been and what have you been up to?<\/p>\n

Hiya! It\u2019s nice to be back, and wow, I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been four years! Jeez. Thanks for having me back. Since the release of The Forever Sea, I\u2019ve published its sequel, The Endless Song, and now this new book, The Bloodless Queen. I guess I\u2019ve revealed myself to be a \u201cThe Adjective Noun\u201d kind of writer. Outside of writing, I\u2019ve spent the last four years teaching at my small liberal arts university and goofing around with my partner and our child. Oh! And we added to our family about four years ago with a Newfoundland named Mabel. She is the biggest, bestest doofus.<\/p>\n

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no time I can remember where I didn\u2019t love stories. Reading was my favorite activity from a young age, and libraries were always my favorite places. But I can very distinctly remember being 10 or 11 years old, fresh off the high of playing Pokemon Blue, and I had the thought that I wanted to write a story about a young boy (and did he look like me? perhaps) whose family didn\u2019t understand him and who struck out into the wide world with only his pokemon companion at his side. This young boy (and was he named Josh? perhaps) went on many grand adventures and lived happy ever after.<\/p>\n

I saved that bit of literary brilliance on a floppy disk my mother thankfully tossed out, but writing that story taught me a few things: 1) Writing can be really fun! 2) Writing can be really hard! 3) Writing can be a way of processing and understanding the world.<\/p>\n

I have continued to learn the truth of those lessons ever since.<\/p>\n

Quick lightning round! Tell us:<\/p>\n

The first book you ever remember reading: Where the Red Fern Grows
\nThe one that made you want to become an author: Redwall
\nThe one that you can\u2019t stop thinking about: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell<\/p>\n

Your latest novel, The Bloodless Queen, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?<\/p>\n

Math! Religion! Family! Weird faeries!<\/p>\n

What can readers expect?<\/p>\n

Although the world of the novel is strange and magical and sometimes scary, the heart of the story is a simple, personal one: a small family navigates life and loss while the world around them falls apart. Around that, there are historical bits\u2014some true and most fictional\u2014as well as rogue mathematicians, odd religions, magical prime number tattoos, and a very grumpy man named Oddry.<\/p>\n

Where did the inspiration for The Bloodless Queen come from?<\/p>\n

About 10 years ago, my wife had a miscarriage, and I couldn\u2019t really stop worrying about losing a child after that. When our daughter was born afterward (happy and healthy and shouting her displeasure), the anxiety and fear didn\u2019t really go away. They tell writers to \u201cwrite what you know,\u201d so I did that, and out popped a book about two parents who lose a child.<\/p>\n

As for the worldbuilding bits, I was inspired by prime numbers and their weirdness, Ronald Reagan and his badness, climate activism and its extremities, and religion and its oddities.<\/p>\n

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s cheating to say it, but I had a blast with all of the characters in this book. Oddry, who is a curmudgeonly softie, was particularly fun. The book starts with a sort-of prologue featuring a terrible, arrogant man named Arthur Miracle\u2014I really enjoyed writing him for at least a little bit.<\/p>\n

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?<\/p>\n

The book takes some emotionally heavy turns, and those were challenging\u2014it\u2019s hard to see what you\u2019re doing on the screen when you\u2019re crying! My cure for those challenges was to take a break, play with my daughter, forget the book for a bit, and then try, try again.<\/p>\n

The other big challenge with this book sprung from my deep desire to include every bit of errant exposition and worldbuilding that has ever flutter through my head. Thankfully, I had a great editor who talked me down from several exposition-heavy ledges, and the book is much better for it. We can all thank Leah Spann for that!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for you?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m working on a few projects right now\u2014one is a middle-grade novel about death (apparently I can\u2019t let go of that particularly topic) and the other is a big epic fantasy about silent gods, books, fantastical baseball, and fog.<\/p>\n

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you\u2019re looking forward to picking up?<\/p>\n

So many! I\u2019ve had a really good year for reading. Favorites include:<\/p>\n

Ok, I have lots more I could list, but I\u2019ll stop there. Some of those were delightful rereads and some of those were first-time wonders.<\/p>\n

See also<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As for books I\u2019m looking forward to, I\u2019m bad about staying in the loop with upcoming releases, which means some of the books I\u2019m planning to read next are a little old\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks again for having me back! Readers interested in keeping up with me can watch my intermittently updated website: joshuaphillipjohnson.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

Will you be picking up\u00a0The Bloodless Queen? Tell us in the comments below!
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