I think I’ve always had a fascination for stories of people sent to alternate worlds, going back as far as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Through the Looking Glass” when I was young. So I think it just came naturally out of wanting to do something interesting in that vein.
David Scidmore – 26 October 2023
The Back Flap
Megan had always lived life on her own terms, but faced with an impossible prophecy that threatened everything she loved, her choices no longer seemed to be her own. Aylun’s world revolved around serving oracles and protecting prophecy, so his insights could be the key to explaining the impossible. Yet how could she force herself to work with the heartless tyrant who had so brutally abducted her?
Megan was always good at solving puzzles. For years, she used that aptitude in a physics lab as an assistant to her best friend, Jon. In the midst of a chaotic day, an accident thrusts them both into a terrifying alternate world. Almost at once, Aylun tears Megan from her best friend’s side.
Born and raised to be Shou, Aylun had always been as an agent of the enigmatic home of all prophecy, the Augury. His life had always been dedicated to serving as the invisible hand that carried out the will of Great Oracles, past and present. Still struggling with the death of his sister and friends, a mission gone wrong results in his expulsion from the only home he has ever known.
In search of answers, Megan and Aylun are compelled to undertake a mission into a place of unthinkable peril. As they struggle to find answers, Jon and his new friends, Dellia, Garris, and Kayleen, are drawn into a conflict with a dark and ancient menace that could obliterate everything and everyone they care about. As the puzzles deepen, the horrors multiply, and their situation grows more desperate, Megan’s best hope to save them all and return her and Jon to their home world lies with the very tyrant who abducted her, Aylun.
An epic high-fantasy romance about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, Aylun blends alternate worlds, action, adventure, and dire peril, with political intrigue and a pinch of humor.
About the book
What is the book about?
It’s an epic fantasy about two people who accidentally get sent to an alternate world. Dellia, the first book in the series, follows Jon as he tries to get back home. Aylun, the second book, follows Megan as she tries to protect them both from a prophecy that threatens them.
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing Dellia in 2017. I started Aylun in 2019 after releasing Dellia.
How long did it take you to write it?
Dellia took a year and a half. I did a lot of revision while writing it because I was still learning new things and trying to incorporate them into the book. I sent the manuscript for Aylun to the editor in December of 2021, so it took just a bit more than two years to write. There were delays in editing that pushed out the publication until now.
Where did you get the idea from?
I think I’ve always had a fascination for stories of people sent to alternate worlds, going back as far as The Wizard of Oz and Through the Looking Glass when I was young. So I think it just came naturally out of wanting to do something interesting in that vein.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Of course. I’m not fortunate enough to be one of those people for whom it all comes easy. For me, learning, growing, and expanding my horizons as a storyteller is an ongoing struggle. If it wasn’t, I’d question whether I was giving it my best effort. In Dellia, I spent a lot of time considering things like how stories work, how story and character are related, what makes a great group of allies, and even how cinematographers think and how the visual world interacts with the action in a scene to detract from it or enhance it. In Aylun, I wanted to strengthen the mystery aspects of the story, so Megan becomes a bit of a sleuth and Aylun a bit of a spy. In the next book, I want to develop my ability to tease things in one direction, then head them in a different one. There are many areas for improvement and things that don’t flow naturally for me, so it’s a bit of a struggle to nurture them and become better. Even so, it’s important to me that each effort is better than that last in some way.
What came easily?
Dialog. I love putting people with differing values in a scene and having them hash it out. I love having them each give their best case for their own point of view. In a sense, I think it seems easy because it doesn’t feel like it comes from me. It’s like it’s coming from the characters, and I’m just there to write it down.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
They are entirely fictitious. Even if they were borrowed or rooted in real world people, that wouldn’t last long. When I start planning in earnest, the personality, values and beliefs of the characters become driven by the needs of the story. I think that’s important if you want the story to have the most dramatic potential. You have to abandon preconceived notions of who the characters are or what you want them to be and let them become the person that is perfect for the story.
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?
In my opinion, it’s not possible to avoid being influenced in some way by everything you enjoy reading. I’ve read a lot of Heinlein, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, and many others. I never read much Steven King in the past, but recently I read The Stand and was struck by how masterful he is at capturing your interest from the sheer way he describes things. It certainly made me try harder to be engaging in the way I present the story.
Do you have a target reader?
Not really. I have long believed that great art in any form, be it music, painting, sculpture, or literature, is created by artists who are striving to be the best they can at what they do. To target an audience doesn’t really make sense in that paradigm.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Absolutely. I’m fairly structured in how I do things. It’s my way of handling the complexity of an undertaking like writing a novel. I start by focusing on the individual characters and the situation each faces. My goal is to build a framework within which the character’s actions are an inevitable consequence of who they are and the events around them. I do this for each character, then focus on critical events that impact them. While it sounds highly organized, I’m not very disciplined, so it’s a bit messy in practice. I tend to jump around, do things out of order, or leave entire scenes undescribed until I’m near writing them.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
For me, the outcome of the plotting process is a scene list. It gives a few sentences about what happens in that scene and maybe an idea of what might be said or done. The thing is, while I do a lot of planning, I don’t really use the plan that much when I write. It’s important to me that the characters be able to be themselves in a scene. So I tend to let them go and see what comes out. I often write four or five chapters without looking at the plan, then go back and review the plan and adjust it so it matches what I’ve written.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I revise constantly as I write. I may re-read and tweak each chapter a half dozen times before I put it to rest for the time being.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes. I use Noel Editorial. Christopher Noel is fantastic at looking at the overall story and helping find ways to strengthen it. He’s also great at pointing out where I’m not making sense or haven’t really explained things well. Susannah Noel is brilliant with copy editing and I have to say, neither book would be as good without their care and attention.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Not as I’m putting words down on the page. That would be distracting. However, I do use it extensively beforehand and while I’m plotting. I even make playlists of songs that seem related to the book in some way. Sometimes, ideas in a songs work their way into the plot. For example, in the chapter Hiding Out, Megan hides in a former den of thieves. The idea for the scene came directly from the lyrics of a Spock’s Beard song of the same name. Sometimes I just run across a song that captures the spirit of what I’m already doing, such as the Flower Kings song The Final Deal whose lyrics talk about there being “no such thing as blank and total darkness.” Most of the time, though, I just find a song whose mood matches what I’m trying to capture in the book, such as the song Ice by Camel, which captures the mood of the prologue to the next book.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No.
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 don’t know the publishing world, but I do know the music world and when record companies get involved the artist usually loses a great deal of control. Whether or not that’s true in publishing, I don’t know, but I didn’t want to spend my time and energy in that direction only to find out that I’ve lost a lot of autonomy. As a result, I never even contemplated it. Because I don’t have a publisher, I have control over everything that you see and read. Of course, that’s a double-edged sword, though, because it also means I do a lot of things a publisher would do for you, and that takes time away from writing.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I was lucky to find a very talented artist, Elena Dudina, to do the artwork for the cover. I also wanted a very clean and professional-looking layout so I looked around and found Jane Dixon-Smith, who I contracted for that part of it. I’m very pleased with how the covers turned out.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
On the first book, I didn’t and that was a mistake. I still don’t so much have a plan as I’ve hired Books Forward to do that part of it for me. I just don’t have the contacts or insight to do properly market a book.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
I don’t know that I’m in a position to give advice, so all I can do is parcel out some rather generic advice. Writing is a crowded field. Anyone, including me, can publish a book, so it’s hard to get noticed. Expect it. Your best investment is in you. Improve your knowledge and skills. Learn what you can about how stories work. Think about them. What got your interest? What made a particular scene powerful? It’s also an essential part of improving to enjoy stories. So don’t get so analytical that you can’t just relax and take in a good tale. Unless you’re superhuman, mistakes are a part of any significant endeavor, so don’t let them stop you. It’s okay to be discouraged. Once you get over it, pick yourself up, learn from it and persevere.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Madison, WI
Where do you live now?
Verona, WI
What would you like readers to know about you?
There’s just not that much to know.
What are you working on now?
The next book in the Ever-Branching Tree series.
End of Interview: