When I was asked to write down my “author journey,” I didn’t know what to do at first. I mean, have you ever been asked, “When and how did you get interested in doing what you do, and how’d you get here?” If you were to ask most people this question, they’d give you some shallow or disingenuous answer. My first thought was, “Well...life happened.”

That seems like a brush-off, but it’s absolutely true. Life happened. It tends to do that.

I suppose I’ve always had an interest in writing, because I’ve always been a voracious reader. I enjoyed reading all kinds of things: science fiction, history, religious texts, sagas and epics, and even poems. Once I found myth and legend – particularly Greek and Norse – I had found my “niche.” I loved the idea that an entire nation of people could come up with stories, agree on them (mostly), and shape their whole culture and future around them. It eventually made me take a closer look at religion.

When I was 19, I converted from Christianity to Norse paganism, sometimes called Odinism or Asatru. I learned quite a lot about the differences between spirituality and religion, as well as myself. Mostly, I learned that the biggest, most poignant difference between pagan paths and Christianity is religion: the structure of beliefs and rules and rituals. Paganism is about shared experience and thoughts and beliefs. It’s a clique. Christianity is about a shared experience beyond the personal.

I returned to Christianity in my late thirties, around the same time I wrote my first novel, The Ravens’ Song. That book is all about my personal experience in Norse paganism. It’s weird to admit, but I have a hard time reading that book. It’s a huge portion of my life (nearly half) poured out onto pages. It’s stylized and a few characters are personified thoughts/ideals/beliefs, but it’s real life, too. It’s awesome and it’s painful. I had to write it down to free myself of it. If you’re at all interested, please give it a read. I’m hopeful that my hard experience can benefit others.

My “author journey” started with The Ravens’ Song, but it’s far from over. I have other stories bouncing around in my skull, science fiction stuff, and I’m diligently working on writing them down. Join me as I travel down this bumpy, twisty road!

~ Jim