Hi, I’m Jonathan D. Lambert.
I’m an American author. My love for fantasy, science fiction, and compelling sagas of this world or imaginary encouraged me to write my own.
After being an avid reader since I could hold a book, I set out to tell my own tale. One of characters—people—who face challenges as any of us do, and despite the cataclysmic nature of their circumstances, feel relatable and real. My recommendations page is full of books and authors that I’ve long admired and aspired to; their styles, prose, and structure molding and influencing my own.
Writing is a passion-project for me, with my goal being for you to enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoyed creating it. Check out my books page to see what’s available and what’s planned for the future!
WORLDBUILDING
INSPIRATIONS
The list of authors who’ve inspired my own works is long: from devouring the Redwall series by Brian Jacques and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter as a youth, to snagging my father’s spy novels as a teen and ripping through them as I explored other genres. But I always find myself coming back to science-fiction and fantasy, and so I read through the Enders Game series by Orson Scott Card and Herbert’s Dune, and then consumed Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, just to name a few. I’ve endeavored to list out some of the foundational cores of any fantasy story and who has left the greatest impression on me. I suspect that if you’ve made it to this page, you’ll recognize most, if not all, of these names, but if you haven’t then go and check out their work!
voice
PROSE
Most recently, and I remember this as strikingly surprising, I was left impressed and considering the excellence of conveying a story through, primarily, dialog while reading The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. I read it on a whim, and his ability to describe the scene—and stakes—through his character’s interactions gave me pause, and elevated my view of how to properly layer a conversation in my own writing.
dialogue
characters
There are two names that come to the forefront of my mind, the first being Brandon Sanderson. My favorite author, he has created worlds and magic systems that are almost unrivaled, and the way he structures and plans leads to revelations in his stories that leave you in awe. He has great writing classes posted on his YouTube. They should be mandatory learning material for aspiring creative writers.
The second name that brings worldbuilding to mind is Frank Herbert. His Dune series not only creates a complex world of politics, economy, and environment, but does it so efficiently. There isn’t a superfluous word in his work, and yet you’re left understanding every nuance and associated implication. Truly brilliant.
The greatest example of mastering character voice that I’ve read would have to be Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series. While grimdark isn’t my normal genre of choice, this one pulled you in while feeling as though you were inside the head of the characters you were reading. When someone spoke, there was no question as to who it was, nearly to the point that dialogue tags seemed unnecessary. You can see the effort and passion he put into each of them, and it’s what convinced me to read through the series.
Robin Hobb, and I would think it insulting to consider any other book in my collection as competition. Her Farseer Trilogy and subsequent series left me appreciating each page like the work of art that it was. I wish for even a fraction of that level of talent.
This is, honestly, an amalgamation of everyone listed above and in the recommended page. It takes considerable effort to write a character and have them make their own choices, rather than the one you’d make. To prevent this bleeding, I consider the acts of characters from my favorite novels, shows, or video games that have shocked me, and then I try to put my own’s motivations at the forefront of the decisions they make.
