I knew what highlights I wanted and the imagery I wanted to invoke.  I also knew that I wanted to twist history on its head and create more empowered characters than you would have seen during the time.

J.R. Martin – 20 June 2023

The Back Flap

In 1860s Dallas, TX, Issa Obasi is a master engineer looking for an apprentice.  No one wants to be apprenticed to the black engineer except Annie Sakdavong, a recent graduate who can’t find a teacher in the male dominated steam engineering world.  Issa takes on Annie as his apprentice who then goes on to design automatons based off Issa’s research into magic steam power.

When their work is taken and an unknown threat begins stealing, kidnaping, and murdering, Issa and Annie must learn to accept their pasts to protect their future and the people they care for before Issa’s research is used to start a war in the west.

About the book

What is the book about?

The novel at it’s heart is about a master engineer, Issa Obasi, and his apprentice Aniie Sakdavong.  After a thief appears in their community the two must investigate the crimes themselves before someone uses their research for evil.  There are elements of steampunk, magic, and mystery woven throughout the story.  The two learn to rely on each other and skills they wanted to ignore to stop the crimes and save their friends.

When did you start writing the book?

This book started off as a steampunk short story in 2010.  I decided that I wanted to create a black detective story and make him a steam engineer early on.  My beta readers kept asking for more and more details and eventually the story turned into this epic novel.  Now, I’ve envisioned a five-book series for the characters starting with The Engineer’s Apprentice.

How long did it take you to write it?

I’ve been working on this story for so long.  I finally finished in 2018 and that’s when I began editing the novel.  My first edits were just to flesh out the story before beta readers got a chance to look at it.  After they provided notes, I added additional scenes to flesh things out and removed things that didn’t make sense.  I had to take a break from the story and work on some different projects after that.

In 2020 I finally buckled down and finished the second and third drafts.  In all honesty the third draft ended up being a nearly total rewrite of the entire novel.  At that point, I felt a lot better about it and began going through more drafts.  After the sixth draft I was able to find an editor,  C. L. Clark.  The rest is history.

Where did you get the idea from?

I decided to write this story because one, I love steampunk, it’s an amazing sub-genre of science-fiction. Two, I wanted to see more black characters in stories.  I loved seeing Geordi La Forge or Benjamin Sisko on tv screens and wanted to read about characters like them in books.  After the writing bug had nearly become all-consuming, I decided that instead of waiting for those characters to show up, it would be better for me to write them myself.  That’s how the character of Issa Obasi was born.

I also love going beyond the norm and decided that I would add a little magic to this steampunk world and see how it works.  After doing it in this story, I’ve been inspired to produce more mashups.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

I’m a very technical person and one thing I did was give more weight to the steam engineer.  It took a while to figure out a way to create steampunk terminology for the actual hardware and processes.  Since Issa and Annie actually build steam works, they would need to have jargon unique to the industry.

Another struggle was understanding what the world was like in the 1800s.  It’s amazing to think how far technology has come in 200 years, but it’s even more amazing to see how fast tech can spread in 20 years.  Creating this alternate history with a resource that landed and then actually explaining, in a reasonable time, how much life and the world could change was a challenge.

What came easily?

Creating the diverse group of characters.  The scenes were fairly simple as well.  I knew what highlights I wanted and the imagery I wanted to invoke.  I also knew that I wanted to twist history on its head and create more empowered characters than you would have seen during the time.

I also got a chance to go wild with my ideas and anything that didn’t make it into this book will be in the next one.  That was also an amazing part of this.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Although the characters are all fictitious, I think all writers use personalities and people they know in real life to form the base of a character.  I had a few people in mind for the Annie character and that is honestly how she got her name.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I think R. A. Salvatore would be my first major influence.  I have almost every book he’s ever written.  Drizzt Do’urden was an amazing character and I loved that he was this super cool Drow.  C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony, Tananarive Due, Stephen King, and Octavia E. Butler are all story tellers I love.  I loved how they wrote with purpose and you could see it on the pages.  There were ideas there that I’d never thought about before and would sometimes leave me thinking about the world’s inner workings long after the story was over.

Do you have a target reader?

My target reader are those people 17 to 28.  The ones that are new adults trying to figure out how to make their mark on the world.  I want everyone to read the stories and hopefully come away seeing the world a little differently.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

My writing starts by choosing the right type of music for the story I’m working on.  I have a story, Vagabond Blues, that I wrote while listening to jazz music.  One of the people who read the story commented on how much they felt like the main character improvised like a jazz musician and that the vibe was very cool and slick, which is what I was going for.  I have different playlists I listen to depending on the type of scene I’m working on.

I don’t talk to my characters, but I try to get into their heads like a profiler.  I ask myself, if I were you in this situation what would I do next and go from there.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

My goal is to plot all of my novels.  I already know what key scenes I’m working toward and it’s just finding my way there.  I always think backward from those scenes and ask, “where was my right before this major scene”

I also make sure that I know who the focus is of each chapter and how I need to move forward in that chapter.  I have threads that I plan to bring in and subplots that are moving along with the main story.

With short stories I do the opposite.  I start with the initial idea and follow the path to its conclusion.  Those are the times I’m pantsing and sometimes I try to cram so much into those stories that they become novels.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I do edit as I go but I’ve noticed that for me I write in layers.  First, I layout the bones of the story.  Then I go back and add the meat and after that I lay down the final touches.  From there I go back to edit and adjust as needed.

All of my stories have worked that way and I’ve realized that’s my way now and I’m cool with it.

Did you hire a professional editor?

Yes, my editor was C. L. Clark.  There was a lot that she was able to provide and show me that I feel took the story from good to great.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

It depends on the story.  I find playlists that have great mood music when I’m writing mysteries or adventure stories.  When I write action scenes I listen to rock or rap.  Something that would get you pumped at the gym.  When I plot, I listen to epic music, something that fills a room from a professional orchestra.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

I submitted the work to several agents and received requests for the full manuscript on several occasions.  What I kept getting was that the book would be a hard sale while at the same time getting kudos for the plotlines.  One agent even asked me if a woman had helped me write the book because some of the more romantic scenes are very genuine.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I realized that everyone wants the same cookie cutter stories and that mine was a genre mashup that didn’t fit well in any box.  So, I decided that there had to be a place for me to publish my story and I decided that the best thing to do would be to start a publishing company and publish my stories along with the stories of others.  That’s why I created The Underdog Press.  If you write an amazing story, it shouldn’t be hidden behind the scenes because you don’t check mainstream boxes.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

My book cover was professionally done.  I love it and hope everyone else will like it as well.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I’m working with a marketing company to guide me on the best way to do it.  I want this release to be as good as possible so that I can continue to publish my work and the works of others.  Hopefully you’ll be hearing about other amazing authors from The Underdog Press soon.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Write, write, and write more.  Did not be afraid to tell the story you want to tell.  When writing a novel make sure you find a professional editor.  In my opinion, they can help take your work to the next level, if it is well written. One tool I use when editing myself is The 10% Solution.  Cat Rambo told me about it once and I believe every writer should use it to help polish their stories.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I’m a military brat and grew up all over the world, mostly in Germany.

Where do you live now?

I currently live in Dallas, TX

What would you like readers to know about you?

I’m a family man that loves writing, technology, and working out.  I try to keep life simple and believe that representation in media matters.  I loved watching Benjamin Sisko and Geordi La Forge as a kid and they inspired me to get into tech.

What are you working on now?

Currently I’m working on a short story and the plot for a book in this series I call, The Steam Engineer’s Saga.

End of Interview:

For more from J.R. Martin, visit his website, and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Get your copy of The Engineer’s Apprentice from Amazon US or Amazon UK.