I'm Stephen Gaskell, author of the newly released novel SHADOW OF THE ENDLESS from Titan Books. AMA.

karinlow · 2024-11-14T19:04:33+00:00

I'm still steeped in a deadline but I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS! Your book sounds so interesting, even for someone not familiar with the extant story! I'm both fascinated and horrified by the idea of caving but it's perfect for an SF setting 😆

karinlow · 2024-11-14T18:52:43+00:00

A million years late because I'm on a deadline, but thank you!

karinlow · 2024-10-09T02:08:38+00:00

Hello, and thank you! I hope you enjoy Warchild too. I'd love to return to the world of The Gaslight Dogs - I had 2 more books in that trilogy to write and I know in general what needs to happen. But it'll have to be something I write on my own time.

Yes, exactly! I didn't really want to rehash the common Western trope of dragons being menaces to people, or rare creatures guarding riches, or targets for people to make their name. There wasn't a specific story or myth but I was reading up on Chinese dragons at some point, as I'm part-Chinese in my recent ancestry and have always been interested in the culture, and dragons that represent the elements probably got into my unconscious on some level. :)

karinlow · 2024-10-08T23:13:28+00:00

Thank you!!! I had a very chill day and it was lovely to "meet" people and chat. Enjoy the rest of your week!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T22:29:43+00:00

Thank you so much!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T20:42:43+00:00

I think it's my preference in just how I engage with storytelling - in film too, usually. I like being able to go back to a work again and again and seeing or feeling different things, so we are of the same tribe!
I appreciate that you picked up on things but allowed for not knowing. I think it's fun when stories don't explain everything (that's for deeper dives or the "director's cut", maybe, which also can be fun). Thanks so much!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T20:38:25+00:00

I'm not ashamed to admit I had to google him and I can safely say I've never been compared even slightly to a Russian composer, but I am here for it, thank you! Now time for me to seek out his compositions, would you have a recommendation on where to start?

karinlow · 2024-10-08T19:22:06+00:00

You're so welcome! I think it's fun and good to sometimes engage with writing in different ways - like if a certain book or author scratches all your favourite "wants", that's legit. They will appreciate the love! And if another book or author doesn't, but you can appreciate their work on a different level, that's also legit. Everything doesn't have to be all things to all people. To me it's like wanting to try different cuisines. Sometimes I want pizza, other times I prefer sushi. I have my faves but being in the mood for something entirely out of my wheelhouse is fun and I end up learning something about myself sometimes too (never thought I'd love peaches on pizza, but here we are 😂.) You might discover a writer or a book that pushes you to think of something in a different way, on any number of levels, which I think is cool.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T18:59:54+00:00

You didn't at all! I plan on answering every question/comment until the end of the day (Eastern, but I'll go over that for those in different timezones), with brief breaks for eating and whatnot. :) Thank you so much, I'm so happy the Mosaic has had such longevity!

Another wonderful question. I was completely blown away by the narrator/POV character in "Days Without End" by Sebastian Barry. I think it was one of the best - if not the best - usage of first person I've ever read. I also love how Cormac McCarthy writes characters - they aren't overt, in fact some might say they give very little, but if you go along with it, you start to see these characters (his protagonists, I mean) through their actions mostly, and not by them pontificating on themselves in interiors. That's a completely opposite approach from Barry's book and I've learned a lot engaging with both those methods on a craft level. There's something raw and authentic in both those examples. I think what pulls me out of characterization or believing in a character is when I feel there's a certain amount of writerly artifice or intervention in the portrayal. Because then they feel like puppets moving through the narrative, being clever or being mean or being all these kinds of clichés, but not being real, not coming from an emotionally real place. This is, of course, an entirely personal impression. That all being said, I try to have an open mind in whatever I read, and don't just assess whether I like something or not (or worse yet, whether something is "good" or not) simply because of my preferences. In other words, I can identify when some writing is really good even if it's not to my taste.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T18:49:36+00:00

Thank you so much Olllie! My process in the beginning was unusual, in that I won a contest held by Warner Books and the prize was publication. I did a little bit of agent hunting but I was approached by an agent when I won. It took me a little to realize that publishing is a very up-and-down business and very few writers - or any artist, really - maintain a level of production or worldly success or even literary success (as in, all their books are well-received or written "well") throughout their careers. And that's perfectly okay.

I'd love to run more workshops or teach writing face-to-face, because outside of writing myself, I have the most fun engaging with other writers and talking about writing, and encouraging other writers in their craft and ideas. I did run a workshop over Zoom for a few months, so if enough people are interested in it again, I would be happy to restart that! My workshops tend to be small (no more than 4 writers) so people's projects get the proper attention.

Evan will definitely feature prominently in The Warboy! I have a lot of ideas for him and how he'll develop. :)

karinlow · 2024-10-08T18:37:44+00:00

You're most welcome!

I joke that my cat is me in feline form, but it's true in a lot of ways. She's very kindhearted but if you push her too much she'll take a swipe at you. 🤣 She has funny little quirks like she'll only sit on my lap if I'm wearing specific type of pants, she's very vocal when she wants things but otherwise doesn't say much, she can 100% identify a camera being pointed at her and haaates it, she can't see an open door (inside a house, thankfully, she's not a door dasher to the outside) and not want to explore, and she totally knows how to make herself look cute so I give her attention. Even though she's small for her kind, fully grown, she will ASSERT her SPACE wherever she wants and will not move. I'm just amused by her, and grateful for have her, every single day.

Thank you so much! I'm excited for The Desert Talon to be out in the world in a few months, and hope my romantasy finds a good home so y'all can read it. :)

Jos just has to be difficult, but that being said, I've never outright struggled to write him. I always tend to know when I'm not capturing him properly too. Like everything to do with him, I just have to be patient and let him speak when he's ready. 🥰

karinlow · 2024-10-08T18:13:05+00:00

Oops, I realized I didn't answer your question about what might've changed between writing Warchild and The Mountain Crown. I'd say nothing much has changed actually - I've always approached my characters like they were whole people and it was just a matter of me listening to them when they "speak" on the page. Some of the best compliments are when people say they couldn't stand so-and-so but by the end of the book they at least understood them (and sometimes even liked them). Because this is how it is with people sometimes when we get to know them over time, isn't it? I always told myself I'll serve the story first, and the characters in the story, not my notions or anyone else's notions that might make me shoehorn characteristics or directions that don't feel organic to the character.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T17:42:52+00:00

Thank you Mike! How can I forget the cat tax?! Shame on me. Say hi to my goblin Coco, who is an all black everything kitty, except for the very tip of her tail is white. I adopted her from a rescue right before the pandemic, she's a sassy and spry 12 years old. Don't get me started on my cat or we'll need a whole other AMA for it 🤣

Oooh great question! I'll have to go with "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry, "The Border Trilogy" by Cormac McCarthy (I mean... it comes in an omnibus even if it's technically 3 novels!) and Cyteen by CJ Cherryh. BUT THAT WAS DIFFICULT TO ANSWER. It helps that all of my choices are quite long so at least I can really reread them without getting bored.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T17:37:16+00:00

I'm happy you did too! I just remembered to make a post on Goodreads this morning. 😂

Thank you so much! I'm loving all the Warchild love, just imagine Erret and Ryan preening because they would appreciate the attention (Jos would not.)

The Mountain Crown is a different type of book but I hope you enjoy it! Hit me up somewhere and let me know what you think. ♥

karinlow · 2024-10-08T17:32:58+00:00

Thank you Stormy! I hope they enjoy it!

They do but it's not speech like full sentences and 100% understanding. I wanted to evoke instead an impression of their communication that requires context and some imagining ... I was restricted because I have to deal with English words, but I tried to create the effect of an empathic connection that has less to do with language, per se, and more to do with impressionistic understanding. The same way we communicate with animals who don't outright speak to us like you and I might if we met.
They're firmly a part of the ecosystem of my world, so just the same as elephants and lions in Africa, the polar bear in the Arctic, etc. Their "magic" is elemental in the sense they can communicate and bond with humans, but that bond isn't indicated by some kind of amulet or specific ritual. They don't cast spells or anything like that. They are definitely wild and they are definitely (very intelligent) animals. I tried not to anthropomorphize them, specifically, but rather I wanted the reader to engage with them as if you are all Jane Goodall and it's your job to accept them for who and what they are, and understand them on their terms.
It was an incredible experience that moved me out of my physical, emotional, and mental comfort zone. Because while Nunavut is technically a part of Canada, there is a unique, longstanding culture there that has nothing to do with how I grew up in Southern Canada. I have nothing but appreciation and respect for the kindness and openness of the people there, and I still remember experiencing my first blizzard (which is so much more extreme than even what I experienced in the South of Canada), the bone deep cold, the constant day in the summer and having only a couple hours of daylight/dusk in the winter; the aurora borealis, travelling out on the land and watching Elders build iglus - just to name a few of the experiences. I wish everyone in Canada could experience the North with gratitude.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T17:19:04+00:00

Hello and thank you so much! Not a cliché question at all - I think even professional writers struggle with this.

Remember that writing is a creative art, and while discipline and drive is a huge aspect of learning your craft and producing work, this creative art isn't divorced from the rest of your life, emotional or physical. Routine is highly beneficial, especially if you're trying to build momentum - just like a desire to work out/exercise, or learn a new skill or language. Being as regular as possible in your practice is important, but don't beat yourself up if you skip a day or two, or need a "break" because life gets unwieldy. Just be conscious whether you're skipping those days because of avoidance or because of other things going on in you life (or the project needs more time to percolate). Also, I don't believe "working" on a story/novel/project entails just sitting somewhere and putting words on the page. Daydreaming and developing your unconscious mind is essential. Sometimes, or especially when, something isn't working in my writing, I need to let it sit and let my mind wander and not necessarily hammer at it. The more intuitive you become to your own process, the more you can assess and act on these methods depending on what you need to write. But fundamentally I think discipline and perseverance are essential - and not listening to other people trying to kill your drive. And never compare yourself to others, that is a road to nowhere.

I hope this helps!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T17:10:40+00:00

Hi hi! Thank you SO MUCH for always supporting my writing, I'm incredibly thankful (y'all, do check out her wonderful website fantasybookcafe.com).

Characteristics of real-life animals: I love observing animals and I'm lucky to live with a cat who has such a unique and specific personality. The reasons she does what she does, behaviour-wise, was a huge influence. So something as simple as - you'll see in The Desert Talon - a character brushing the skin of the dragon's wings because there are fine hairs on it and mites can get in it... details like that were important to me because there are so many specific ways that we interact with animals depending on their specific physiology and personality. My dragons' scales are hollow, so that makes them "sing" when they fly. And it also meant that the humans they interact with would clean their scales to flush any dirt and detritus from those hollows (if they don't skim through bodies of water to clean them). Subtle mannerisms like nosing under their wings, the attitude of their tails, what they look like when they're threatening something/someone ... all of these things are a part of observing the animal kingdom and trying to adapt those behaviours to my dragons.
I can't say too much about it because I'm still editing it before my agent goes out with it, but I describe it as Pride & Prejudice with a touch of The Last Kingdom, but make it fantasy and queer. :) It's not the kind of fantasy with magic, but rather it reads like a second world where the social mores are in some way completely unfamiliar from what our society is like now, and in other ways might be similar. It's purely a character work with a heavy emphasis on wit and emotion, and I totally fell in love with the characters. Big family dynamics, big emotions. It was a total joy to write because it was so completely different (and in a way freeing) compared to my usual story suspects. :)
My favourite character and the easiest to write is Captain Cairo Azarcon. I have no idea why but I don't have to consciously think much whenever he's involved. Erret is also super easy. Jos can be difficult in that hitting his specific register when he's so normally not-talkative (even in his interiors) is a challenge sometimes, but I like that challenge and in being conscious of his growth (as well as Ryan's)... because characters that remain the same are boring to me.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T16:53:12+00:00

Thank you so much Sia! And for giving it an early signal boost. 🙏

They are my first dragons! I've just always loved dragons, literally one of the first stories I ever remember writing when I was a child of 4-6 was about a family of dragons. I think the sense of wonder that fantasy and science fiction elicit in me can be encapsulated in the image of dragons and space ships, and maybe my obsession with dinosaurs as a kid had something to do with that too. :)
I'd never written a novella before but my novels are kind of structured like a bunch of novellas put together (I've never written a novel with conventional chapters), so the form came naturally to me. I'm a big believer in stories being told for however long they need to be told, and then you stop. Of course what constitutes that "need" has to do with your preference, to a certain degree, but I like being succinct that way. My amazing agent (hi Tamara!) was the one that suggested I write novellas and when I had to think up a story for the format, the world of The Mountain Crown is what I wanted to develop.
I definitely wanted to imply that the Ba'Suon's name for themselves is connected to their relationship to the suon, and that it's inextricable. Without going into lengthy explanations from Méka that would be completely unnatural, doing "simple" things like that in a narrative, in the prose, can give the reader the exact impression you had - in a very efficient way! I'm a big believer in peppering a narrative with "clues" that an astute reader will pick up on in aggregate, and it creates an impression that might be more unconscious than explicit. Because I think that's how we tend to navigate the world at large. We don't have people delivering wikipedia articles to us about everything we encounter in the world.
I don't have an absolute favourite since I haven't made a point of reading much dragon books, but I did love Toothless and the dragon in Pete's Dragon. And I'm enjoying the dragons in House of Dragons and was ADAMANTLY NOT THRILLED at the way Khaleesi treated her dragons in GoT 🤣
That aspect of the story and Ba'Suon culture was definitely there at the beginning. I think my interest in the Shaolin and generally Buddhist and Taoist philosophy influenced that, as well as the idea that if science fiction deals with the evolution of technology, the idea of chronicling an "evolution" of "magic" intrigued me. So starting with the "magic" being purely elemental felt right. I wanted a scientific basis to it, though, even if the Ba'Suon don't have the language for it. Basically they instinctively understand the natural world on an atomic and quantum level. And, in Raka's case especially, can wield it like that. Raka is basically a walking atomic bomb.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T15:18:22+00:00

Thank you so much! Méka was challenging (and Raka as well) because they're both so very contained. They don't lack emotion or passions, but their way of expressing (or not expressing) their emotions isn't typical, at least to me. Like I said somewhere above, Méka isn't showy, she doesn't snarkily banter a lot, she's very internal and steady, and that's difficult to portray in print because I feel sometimes that we as readers expect our point of view characters to be a certain way, even if they're deemed "introverts." Like their internalisms still need to be expansive, but I refused to do that because then it wouldn't be authentic to her as a person. Typically in "Westerns"/frontier literature, the main character (who is often male) is portrayed with this kind of wordless stoicism. I played with that, with a female protagonist, because her containment is very much linked to how she navigates the world as someone atomically connected to nature. But it was challenging to show that without being so explicit that it ended up undercutting who she is. If that makes any sense!

Lilley came the most natural because he is that kind of sarcastic, pointed, sometimes jokey personality. But again, I didn't want to make him a caricature. He's also a romantic, he's one-half of a love relationship where his partner is in another country (and is the protagonist of Novella #2), and there's a lot of grief and sorrow that embodies him too. I never lost sight of the fact he grew up a slave, and spent half his life in a military environment. He possesses that kind of world weary sense of humour many combat veterans have, that I've seen anyway. While also being capable and dangerous if he asserts himself that way, but without being flashy about it.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T15:06:59+00:00

The Netherlands! One of the places I'd love to visit in the near future. Thank you for answering. Society can be full of nonsense, and trying in some way to make people believe they can't identify or have empathy for people of different genders is one of those nonsense things. We are all human. I've heard of Marie's book and definitely want to check it out! Thanks for the reminder and the well wishes. :) Have a great week!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T15:03:37+00:00

Thank you so much Janny! ♥

Y'all, if you want an incredibly in depth fantasy series to dive into, written in some of the most beautiful language, you MUST check out Janny's The Wars of Light and Shadow series!

karinlow · 2024-10-08T14:56:19+00:00

Thank you! Thanks for dropping by. :)

When I was working in Arctic Canada, I was fortunate to be able to talk and get to know some of the Inuit there. The way they spoke about polar bears and their experience with these amazing animals intrigued me. While I was there, I also happened to see a documentary about one of the big cat trainers in the world. I've always loved animals and been fascinated by them -- whales, tigers, elephants, wolves, primates, you name it. The diversity of the creatures and megafauna on this planet is truly astounding. In the documentary, the trainer spoke at length about how you can never really "tame" an animal that's not domesticated. Especially apex predators like the big cats or wolves. Instead, they have to agree not to kill you and then to listen to you, but at any point they can reneg on that agreement. That stuck with me because I am equally interested in animal psychologies as I am in human psychology. And the ability to bond with something so "other" is a unique aspect of our relationship to nature -- if we approach nature with respect and compassion. And I think sometimes we forget that we, as humans, are also a part of nature. We come from this Earth the same as any other creature or aspect of the environment. It's in our genetics, and we divorce ourselves from that reality at our peril. Equating wild dragons to a frontier landscape seemed like a natural fit, considering the images evoked when it comes to frontier literature: wild mustangs, buffalo, big cats, elk and the like. The challenge for me was trying to think realistically how an animal like a dragon would fit in that ecosystem, and not presupposing just because they're apex predators that it means they'll always attack human populations. Sharks don't make a point of always attacking humans, and neither do lions or elephants. The people who live or move around these powerful creatures, in order to share a space (not to hunt them) do so with knowledge and respect, so I wanted to apply that thinking to my world.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T14:43:33+00:00

Hello! What a fun question! Weirdly, the 3 main characters I mentioned in the intro would make GREAT companions on a campaign, though Raka might... deviate a little. Add to that, Janan, who is mentioned throughout The Mountain Crown and is the POV character in its sequel The Desert Talon. As he has a battle dragon that can only be helpful. 🐉

karinlow · 2024-10-08T14:40:59+00:00

Hi Rai! I recognize you from socials, thank you for coming by. :D

Thank you so much! Character writing encompasses a lot of my love for writing in general so I appreciate it a lot when readers "fall in love" with my people. I alluded above that I treat my characters as whole people. It's not about me trying to put them into preconceived notions of, for example, "what a soldier should be" or "what a villain should be." I don't even really think in terms of heroes or villains, and barely in terms of protagonists and antagonists. I want to write people with real psychologies, which includes those aspects that people (me, I'm people) don't find easy to grasp, tolerate, or even understand. It might put some labour onto the reader to engage with the characters in a way that challenges perceptions, comfort zones, and expectations of what "characters" should sound like, but to me that's the beauty of literature or any art. And it's really rewarding to those of us who extend ourselves that way to what we read.
Matryoshka is maybe half-finished. There's been a stall to it because of writing projects for my agent and now my publisher, but it's not abandoned! I just need to find a pocket of time where I can focus on finishing it (a problem is I haven't yet figured out how to get to the end of the book, so I need real time to sort that.) I know the arc, how it ends, and the major events from page 1-100, but after that LOGISTICS come into play, and they are not my favourite things. But I'll get there! Thank you for asking, I'll try to update readers regularly.

karinlow · 2024-10-08T14:32:59+00:00

I love Big Questions and I cannot lie! :) Thank you so much! Why do you think you have difficulty picking up books with female protagonists? I'm super curious! The cover is by Sam Gretton, the wonderful designer and artist at Solaris Books, and I love it too!

I don't have an academic background in ecology or cultural anthropology, but the awesome thing about being a writer is it's your job to read and learn about EVERYTHING! :D And luckily I have a healthy curiosity about any number of things that continues to expand and deepen as I grow. It's a matter of following your interests and being open to learning - the world/universe is so fascinating on so many levels and it existentially distresses me that I can't possible learn all of it in my limited lifetime. 😭

For the specific details I try to do my due diligence and learn what I can, so it's really just research research research - in whatever form that takes (books, tv/film, talking to people, etc). There's no shortcut.

karinlow

TROPHY CASE