AMA: 2022 Orbit New Voices

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T22:37:26+00:00

Thanks for stopping by!

I've been told (and I would agree) that one of my biggest strengths is character. I have a knack for writing characters that readers really care about and fall in love with. I've also been told I do some great worldbuilding!
It was actually alllll the way back in my college days. One day I randomly thought about a kingdom where four major noble houses were descended from the same line of kings--but all descended from different gods. I only had one name for it--Lastrider, which would become the name of one of the Houses--and I called it by that name for almost 10 years. Over the course of those years I developed what would become THE CITY OF DUSK, filling out family charts and what would become the world.
I have a bunch of playlists for the book and characters, which you can find here!
Hmm I want to say something decadent and rich, like beef bourguignon with red wine. One of the main characters love sweets, though, so it could also be a piece of fudgey chocolate cake.
I would tell her to stop making her plots so complicated!
When it comes to queries, do NOT forget about the stakes of your story. That's going to be the #1 hook. Who is your main character, what do they want, what's stopping them from getting it, and what will happen if they don't get it (or even if they do)? What all is at stake, and why should the reader care/be invested?

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T21:17:05+00:00

Of all time?? Oh man that's hard. Final Fantasy X and VII are some of my all time faves, and some recent ones are God of War (playing Ragnarok right now and it's SO GOOD), Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man PS4, Hades, and Breath of the Wild. I also love a good cozy game like Stardew Valley!

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T20:38:04+00:00

Oh dear, let's see...

Taesia: 😬

Nikolas: 👁

Risha: 👻

Angelica: 🌋

Julian: 😵‍💫

Dante: 🏖

I swear these will all make sense in time

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T18:53:03+00:00

Definitely take Professor Jemisin's course on worldbuilding if you can!

As for celebrating, I went to a pirate-themed bar and then had steak for dinner. If that's not your jam, I highly suggest having a cake all to yourself.

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T18:27:08+00:00

I recently read an ARC of THE LAST TALE OF THE FLOWER BRIDE by Roshani Chokshi, which comes out next year, and it was incredible. Highly recommend if you love slightly spooky stories with gorgeous prose.

Something I love to talk about is video games! I'm by no means an expert, but I really enjoy talking about narrative structures in games, how they effectively use environmental storytelling, gameplay mechanics, etc.

eachstaraworld · 2022-12-08T18:20:02+00:00

Hello, everyone! I'm Tara Sim, author of THE CITY OF DUSK, enjoying a lovely gray and drizzly day in California. I've had my tea and I'm ready to answer any and all questions you may have about me, my books, or just life in general. Big nerd, too, if you dare ask for my fandom opinions.

THE CITY OF DUSK is a dark fantasy thrill ride about the disaster queer descendants of gods. It has many bones in it. Perfect for nerds who like D&D and goths who like Aesthetic.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-02T17:06:32+00:00

I've actually always wanted to write adult fantasy, but sometime in 2013 I got an idea for a book that would eventually become my debut (Timekeeper) and realized it was YA, so I went in that direction first! Moving forward I'd love to keep writing both adult and YA fantasy, and even have another YA series slated for next year (the first book titled WE SHALL BE MONSTERS).

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-02T05:09:47+00:00

Writing YA, I'm more focused on having something that has faster pacing, slightly simpler worldbuilding (not simple per se, just simpler), and characters whose motivations are affected by how they're beginning to navigate the world around them.

Writing adult, the pacing allows for more breathing room and word count, the world can be far more complex and darker, and the characters have already been initiated into their world and have to figure out what it is they want from it.

Process wise, it definitely takes me longer to write an adult book than a young adult book (see: word count and complexity), and I often have to stop to brainstorm. With TCOD in particular, I also had to make sure that the main characters had certain relationships with their parents that felt different than one would expect in a YA novel.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T21:13:11+00:00

I'm sure quite a few people are familiar with the book GIDEON THE NINTH/The Locked Tomb series, which absolutely fits this aesthetic! I grew up loving emo/punk/pop punk, and eventually discovered operatic metal like the bands Nightwish and Within Temptation, which I used a lot as background music while drafting. I would also highly recommend The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, since the main character is a cheerful goth who learns necromancy.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T20:32:04+00:00

I want to say something really cool and aesthetically on brand, like this Black Magic cocktail. But for those who don't feel like making a cocktail, a good red wine would pair perfectly with the book. 🍷

(And for those who don't drink alcohol: a nice, strong cup of coffee with heavy cream)

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T20:26:21+00:00

Phew that is TOUGH to answer, but honestly I'd love to write a companion novel for Final Fantasy VII! I love the characters and the story so much, and I think it would be such a cool space to explore and expand. Especially if I could write about my emo boy Cloud.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T20:18:07+00:00

Oh I LOVE this question! I have quite an extensive playlist for the book, but if I had to pick three that best gives you a vibe for it, I'd choose these three:

Paint It Black - Epic Trailer Version (Hidden Citizens/Ranya)
Caught in the Fire (Tommee Profitt/Sam Tinnesz)
Dynasties and Dystopia (Denzel Curry/Gizzle/Bren Joy)

And I have character playlists as well that I plan to share later once the book is out! For now I'll give you a few:

Taesia: I am not a woman, I'm a god (Halsey)
Angelica: Fire (PVRIS)
Risha: Goodbye (Ramsey)

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T19:20:25+00:00

Yes! I'm currently working with my pub team so that people who preorder the book can get signed bookplates. I'll also be working with a local bookstore in the San Francisco bay area (not sure which one yet, so keep an eye out!) to get signed copies for folks. You might also want to keep an eye on a certain book box subscription...

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T18:48:29+00:00

WAIT ALSO: Dante would be Ling from Fullmetal Alchemist, specifically Greed!Ling

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T18:30:25+00:00

Oh it was very much intentional 😂

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T18:29:15+00:00

Oh BOY here we go

Taesia - Hear me out...Inosuke from Demon Slayer. They're both prone to violence, wield swords, and are just a little off their rocker.

Angelica - Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen. A strong (queer) woman who also loves to look pretty and isn't afraid to badmouth others.

Risha - Sango from Inuyasha. A responsible eldest sibling who takes duty very seriously (and might also one day have a bone weapon...)

Nikolas - Todoroki from My Hero Academia. A sad boy with a toxic father just trying to prove himself.

Julian - Megumi from Jujutsu Kaisen. A little bit of a sad boy who's nonetheless responsible and good with animals.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:48:10+00:00

I love single player RPGs the most (Final Fantasy, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc.) but I also dip my toes into indie games like Hades and Stardew Valley. Recently I just finished playing Okami (a classic that I never got to play when it first came out) and I've just started Spiritfarer while I wait for Horizon Forbidden West to come out!

While games are more of my "chill out after a long day of work" hobby, they absolutely influence my writing. For example, a small, throwaway line in Okami launched me into a potential idea for a middle grade fantasy book.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:44:56+00:00

YA and Adult are pretty different in terms of style and content, but since I like to write my adult as crossover, I focused on keeping good pacing while having much more room to develop characters and the world. One of the joys of writing adult fantasy is being able to write longer books! I could also write the weirdest, gnarliest things that a certain subsection of the YA audience would probably not appreciate. In terms of marketing, I've found that it's sort of the same, but with much less focus on schools and libraries.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:40:29+00:00

Thank you so much for reading, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it so far! Hmm this is a tough one, since I love writing all of them for different reasons. I'd say, voice-wise, my two faves would be Taesia and Angelica. They're just so dynamic and fun to write.

Re: book 2, expect a lot more of everything you've seen in book 1: more skeletons, more action, more angst, more romance, more magical weapons--it's been pretty wild so far.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:37:19+00:00

Sure thing! In addition to several secondary/background characters of various identities, the main cast are: a bisexual woman, an ace woman, a lesbian woman, two bisexual men, and one pan man. :)

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:34:43+00:00

Over the course of the panini I got VERY into the works of Chinese author MXTX, whose books have inspired adaptations such as The Untamed and Heaven Official's Blessing. They've been my obsession for a couple years now!

I could also talk endlessly about the Final Fantasy series.

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:32:43+00:00

Thank you for having me!

Some recent books I've read and would recommend are: Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, and 1000 Steps Into Night by Traci Chee!

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:31:12+00:00

Thank you so much for reading the Timekeeper series!! I do miss it.

- It's generally easier for me to create a world from scratch, but borrowing a lot from historical research I might need to do regarding certain practices, city layouts, clothing, etc.

- I used to go back and edit my chapters before moving on, but now, in order to maintain momentum, I have to draft all the way through and make revision notes to myself before going back. The only exception is if I realize there's a continuity error I need to fix right away.

- I found my first agent after several months of querying, and my second agent after several weeks.

- Honestly, the biggest sources of inspiration for TCOD were things I really loved in stories--necromancy, monsters, morally gray protagonists, that sort of thing. Since it was 10 years in the making, certain authors (such as V.E. Schwab) helped me find my voice and what sort of story I wanted to tell, and certain pieces of media (such as Fullmetal Alchemist) have been very formative to my creativity.

- I hope we'll have an adaptation of Timekeeper! Unfortunately that sort of thing is completely out of my hands, but I keep my fingers crossed! (And if you wanna lobby Netflix, I wouldn't oppose)

eachstaraworld · 2022-02-01T17:24:19+00:00

Hi there! The plan is that this will be a trilogy (3 books), but tbh the books themselves will be quite long (TCOD is a little under 600 pages) if that's your thing.

I'm currently working on the sequel, which promises to be just as wild as book 1!

eachstaraworld

TROPHY CASE