A #WyrdAndWonder Author Interview | Conversing with K.J. Taylor [author of “The Shadow of the Skytree”] talks with Jorie about dwarves, gnomes & elves!

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Today marks my second guest author feature for my Odyssey Books showcases for Wyrd And Wonder! The beauty of hosting a variety of authors from this Indie Publisher is the ability to find new voices in Fantasy I am desiring to read myself whilst opening the door of possibility to my fellow readers who are following the feeds for #WyrdAndWonder!

I love being able to share my journey of discovery – this is partially what inspired me to become a social reader – sharing my thoughts directly on my blog as I read and review the stories whilst I can converse and offer guest posts to authors who want to tuck closer to their stories, their characters and how they’ve built their worlds for us to explore. Guest features allow all of us to go a bit past the cursory viewing of a story – to pull back the layers of its context and seek out the heart – the part of the story which will last with us long after we’ve reached the final chapter.

What inspired me to host Ms Taylor and feature “The Shadow of the Skytree” is the heart of the story – rooted in the mythological roots of dwarves, gnomes and elves – this rather contemporary parallel story involves a pandemic of its own (though not intentional to parlay into our current living reality; simply well-timed!) whilst an author chooses to explore creatures mostly known for living in either one of Tolkien’s Classics and/or a Tolkien variant of a world by another author.

I understood her need to breakaway from the traditional ‘voice’ and ‘presence’ of dwarves – as not too many are broaching into this area of Fantasy wherein to perceive them differently than they’ve been voiced previously. One author I came across I gave full respect for how he conceived of his dwarves within the sphere of his novel “The Brotherhood of the Dwarves” (by D.A. Adams). It wasn’t a good fit for me as a reader to move further into his series but I shared why I was surprisingly happy to find at the heart of his narrative why loyalty, friendship and forgiveness are ever so important for everyone. I also talked a bit more about his dwarves and how he approached writing the story – what took me out of the context directly was the level of violence – as I’m a more sensitive reader than most when it comes to overt violence and bloodshed which can be rampant in Fantasy.

I’ve had held an open eye out for new stories involving dwarves all of these years – however, I never could quite get as excited about reading one of those stories as I have now with “The Shadow of the Skytree”. Something about this story and how Taylor approached writing it seemed to speak to me as a reader. This is why it was a special blessing to be able to interview her and to dive closer into how she built this world!

I didn’t get a chance to gather a copy of this novel during #WyrdAndWonder – however, after putting together this conversation – reading through the author’s replies and getting a solid feel for the storyline – I am definitely wicked curious to know ‘what comes’ next as soon as my eyes lock onto the chapters! 

Brew yourself a cuppa and enjoy what I have to share with you,…

The Shadow of the Skytree
by K.J. Taylor

The reserved elf Lyell Blackfletch is an ambassador for his people – and the holder of a dark secret. Plague is spreading among the human race, with the fire-loving dwarves already driven to the edge of extinction. Only the human Fiorella is close to finding a cure for the sickness, and with her death it is up to her friend Lavender the gnome to deliver it to her people in the steam-powered city of Vaporcitta.

Naïve but rebellious, Lavender chooses to place her trust in Lyell – but is her confidence in the cold-hearted elf misplaced? With the cure stolen and a secret genocide uncovered, they must both make a choice – but it may already be too late.

Genres: Australian Lit, Fantasy Fiction, YA Fantasy

Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781925652796

Published by Odyssey Books

on 25th November, 2019

Published by: Odyssey Books (@OdysseyBooks)

Converse via: #YAFantasy, #ShadowOfTheSkyTree
as well as #OdysseyBooks & #WyrdAndWonder

Whilst co-hosting Wyrd And Wonder one of my favourite questions to ask the authors I’m featuring is what inspired them to create their own fantastical worlds and how they started to develop their own style within the realm of Fantasy. Through my research I uncovered you’ve taken an alternative route into Fantasy as its not a genre you regularly read – can you explain what inspired your own writerly path into writing stories of Fantasy?

Taylor responds: I actually grew up reading fantasy, and that was the genre I first tried to write in. For a period though I became disenchanted with it, because I couldn’t seem to find any fantasy novels aimed at adults which really grabbed me and I was growing bored with the common clichés I kept coming across. I then decided (bear with me; I was a sulky teenager at the time) that the whole genre was just stupid and not worth my time. But after this someone recommended A Song of Ice and Fire to me, and not only did I love it but it inspired me by showing me that no, fantasy doesn’t have to be all prophecies and magic swords and destined heroes going up against cackling villains. I shook off my disenchantment and started writing fantasy again, and this time I started making efforts to avoid all the played-out tropes I’d gotten so sick of reading about. As to not reading fantasy nowadays, the truth is I don’t read much fiction in general these days. Mostly I re-read old favourites or stick to non-fiction.

I can relate to what your stating about Fantasy as a genre and as a pursuit of an adult reader. My gateway series was the Crown of Stars Saga (which I’ll be blogging about this final week of #WyrdAndWonder) – by Kate Elliott. I hadn’t ever come across something quite like “King’s Dragon” and I must admit, I was beyond smitten with it! The layers of how she built her world, the back-histories of the characters and just the way the world was assembled – for a seventeen year old reader thirsty for Fantasy and/or Science Fiction – it was a wonderful discovery! 

Since then, my path into Fantasy has been a bit harder to pin down – it wasn’t til I started co-hosting #WyrdAndWonder with my partners Imyril and Lisa wherein I started to find more authors writing the stories I most desire to be reading myself. I had found several Fantasy novelists over the years on my own – either crossing paths on Twitter and/or hosting blog tours – however, since Wyrd And Wonder, I notice Fantasy seems to be finding ‘me’ more directly than I was finding ‘it’. If that makes sense? I tend to thrive on Indie Fantasy novelists moreso than Major Trade – not to knock authors who publish that way, only that in my own wanderings, the Indies are curating the stories I am seeking and thereby most of my beloved Fantasy novelists are Indie Authors (either on their own or through an Indie publisher).

So I can definitely relate to this dance you’ve had with the genre – of feeling disappointed and not finding your niche as easily as you had hoped. Mine was a harder road as I don’t want to read about overt violence and/or have a story so darkly lit the Light cannot shine through. In regards to what you read – I think you have the right approach – if you were too saturated in your own field of choice, it might not stay as fresh as it is right now to write. You have to do what is right for you as a writer as much as a reader – generally speaking, sometimes the hats we wear as both become blurred! Triple for me, as I’m also a social reader – as a book blogger, joyful tweeter and chat host who just happens to also be a reader and writer!

As your novel “The Shadow of the Skytree” has both elves and dwarves inclusive to the world – how would you describe both of them to a first-time reader who hasn’t read too much Fantasy outside of Tolkien and has limited knowledge of elves and dwarves? What is uniquely different about them compared to your gnomes like Lavendar?

Taylor responds: Speaking of avoiding tropes, one I was particularly tired of is elves written in imitation of Tolkien but with all the flaws removed so you end up with an obnoxiously perfect race of superbeings who are the best at everything. I wanted to explore the idea of what a functionally immortal people would more realistically be like, and especially when they’re so cut off from the rest of the world. Which is why my elves are hunter-gatherers with no technology. Their magic means they never needed to develop any, and their longevity makes them so slow to change that they found themselves incapable of adapting to a world that was changing around them and became insular and extremely xenophobic. And I gave them a darker skin tone because you’d realistically expect a race of people who spend their lives mostly outdoors to have adapted accordingly.

As for the dwarves, I won’t lie – I partly designed them for the sheer coolness factor. Stereotypical dwarves live underground and spend most of their time mining, and I thought – well, what if they were so well adapted to living among minerals that they could literally live off the stuff? They’re pretty much living humanoid versions of the volcano they call home – black on the outside, full of fire on the inside. So it made sense that they’d live off a diet of mostly charcoal; if they don’t keep that internal fire fuelled, they die. And they ride on giant lizards because that’s just metal as hell. (Well, and big reptiles would be attracted to hot places. Horses would quickly sicken and die if they had to live in a volcanic environment with no grass).

Meanwhile the gnomes are naturally underground dwellers who are very in touch with the natural world, but are naturally childlike and simple-minded compared to everyone else. Your average gnome doesn’t have a mean bone in her body and can’t really comprehend wanting to hurt anyone, which is why our heroine, Vender, finds the whole conflict going on around her so bewildering. Why can’t people just say sorry and learn to get along?

I love when I find authors re-invent a creature or species other authors have made famous – either to redirect us onto a different path of understanding them or to entreat into a different viewing of them entirely as a race. As like you said, without flaws and without a way of showing growth – the context of those species can become stagnant and predictable. I could also see why you patterned their beliefs and behaviours as you had – as they were definitely a more exclusive race and have kept to themselves in order to survive. I oft wondered about skin tones – sometimes I read a story (Fantasy or otherwise) and know a character is predominately outside – yet, it is not reflected in their character’s profile or disclosed in their story. Even a heavy tan would make better sense than to give the illusion anyone can spend copious amounts of time in direct sunlight without any affect of that kind of exposure to them.

I had to laugh – about why lizards won out over horses. The laughter was sparked because of how true of a statement this is – and how some might have overlooked its importance! Besides anytime you can use a different animal for a species transportation that is outside the box is one I’m going to enjoy getting introduced too! I also had to smirk about the dwarves diet and why they are attracted to volcanoes! They can definitely have that environment – I live where there is volcanic heat (sans the volcano) and humidity – I melt yearly and hope to live elsewhere eventually. This clime doesn’t work for some but I could see a family of dwarves settling into it as if they found the best ‘vacation’ spot of their kin!

I agree with your assessment about gnomes. Mind, to this day, the only route of understanding them was a children’s programme on tv called “David the Gnome” (does anyone remember that one?) I oft felt they were the innocents of their world and had a very positive outlook on everything round them as well.

What I found interesting about your story is there is an illness which is spreading and affecting such a wide scope of your world’s population – given current events it is almost like the two timelines have co-merged. What I found interesting is your world is known for its steam power – are there other touches of familiarity for readers of Steampunk within the perimeters of how you built the ‘world’ behind your characters? What kind of technology can be found in this world in other worlds and how advanced are the medical sciences?

Taylor responds: I can assure you the pandemic in the book is a coincidence! The humans are the only people in this setting who have advanced technology. Unlike the elves and the dwarves they are – like us – relatively shortlived, breed quickly, and have no magical ability at all. Instead the humans rely on their brains and imaginations and have advanced to about our equivalent of the Victorian Era. Their culture is kind of a mixture of that and Renaissance Italy, as they have Italian names and an appreciation for fine art, but are industrialised on a pretty large scale. So they’ve got factories churning out steam-powered vehicles including trains, and rely on steam-powered robotic horses in warfare. So much of their lives revolve around technology that they use cogwheels as currency and tattoo themselves with cogwheel designs as a mark of rank, and worship a goddess of steam – plus their capital city, “Vaporcitta”, is literally named “steam city”. Their medicine is also quite advanced, which is why they found a cure for the plague much faster than the dwarves managed to. I’m looking forward to exploring more of their culture in a sequel I’ve started playing around with.

I was definitely curious to know more about their cultural heritage myself – especially as not everyone merges the Italian Renaissance with the Victorian steampunked world of industrial progress. I love all of this you’ve disclosed – you truly gave a lovely rounding of what I’d expect to find in your world and how your world is organised. The robotic horses were an interesting addition and a smart one, too!

You’ve paired two unlikely heroes of this story together – I love a wicked good casting of opposites – what made you either smirk or smile whilst seeing how Lavender and Lyell worked through their differences for the common good? What did you find the most curious about their individual personalities?

Taylor responds: I really enjoyed writing Lavender/Vender and Lyell together, and you’re right – they really are an odd pair. Lyell is a deeply, deeply damaged person and has been for most of his life; he keeps his emotions buried to protect himself, and has spent so long doing what he knew deep down was wrong that he has lost most of his capacity for love or happiness. Vender’s simple, loving, happy-go-lucky attitude is a very sharp contrast to his world-weary cynicism, but you see how she slowly brings him out of his shell. Without her, Lyell would never have found the strength to believe in himself again, or the courage to do what’s right.

It is definitely a case of how seemingly opposite personalities can attract each other but more to the point, the people you might overlook as being a good match might be the right person who can not only encourage you when you need it but give the support you need the most. It would be hard to be round someone like Lyell whose fiercely cynicism all the time without the bursts of light and joy from Vender. I only hope she doesn’t feel spent by Lyell’s attitude on things and has a way of re-nourishing herself with energy she might spend round him.

Is this the first story you felt inspired to write based on a dream you had or do you regularly fuse your dreamscapes into your writings? I was curious if other stories you’ve published or have slated to publish next were working theories and storylines you’ve dreamt? Being a think writer myself I can definitely see the advantage of this because you’ve already worked out a lot of the key components of the story itself. (ie. thinking writing is where you let stories percolate in your mind’s eye for a period of time before laying down the bones of the story to paper)

Taylor responds: I’ve gotten ideas from dreams before and since, yes! Sometimes whole novels, sometimes just scenes within novels. For example while I was writing book four of The Drachengott I got a bit stuck. Then I had a dream about massive red bolts of lightning laying waste to a city, and when I woke up I knew this would be the big event that would move things forward into endgame.

Meanwhile the dream that inspired Shadow of the Skytree was a fun, playful little thing. I dreamed that I was a tiny gnome who wanted to ride a dragon, and people laughed at me and said I was too small. So I found an owl to ride, and searched until I found a very small dragon. That’s literally when Vender was born. I put that idea together with a bunch of other concepts I’d been thinking about, and it was the last piece I needed inspiration-wise. After that of course, I sat down and hashed out the cultures and drew a map, and put together a wiki so I could keep notes on everything. (It’s a great way to avoid inconsistencies and having to flip back through the manuscript because you’ve forgotten somebody’s name).

But most of my book ideas were just things that popped into my head during the day the way ideas usually do. You certainly can’t rely on dreams alone to come up with an entire novel, even if you’re an extremely lucid dreamer like I am. Dreams are too illogical and frequently too silly.

I had a good chuckle at the end – yes, that is quite dream. Dreams might not take a logical route of exit and a writer has to pull the threads of what inspired them back together if the dreamer themselves haven’t worked out those particulars whilst dreaming. It is an interesting concept though – to dreamspin story and then write the bones of it whilst awake and then perhaps play a bit with the fuller scope and concept of it again in dreams and/or extend the dream by what you’ve written and take it from there. I love learning about how writers create and write their stories – we all have similar routes and yet, none of them are ever quite the same which I find even more wicked fascinating! 

Champion though of an early variant of Vender not to be told what she could not do and seek out the solution on her own! Love her moxie!

If you could spend a day in Vaporcitta – how would you spend your hours and what would you hope you could accomplish within those hours? Would you do something specific, keep it rather random, meet-up with someone (or others) in particular, eat a specific meal?

Taylor responds: If I went there I’d likely do what I always do when visiting a new city: I’d go check out the art gallery (I don’t think it’s mentioned in the book, but they do have one), explore the temple to Vapora and see the great tree which has mysteriously grown inside it, wander through the marketplace, and go down to the harbour to look at the ocean views (sadly the beaches in that area are too polluted to be any good for swimming). The humans have yet to figure out that it’s a bad idea to pump industrial waste into the sea, or have so far failed to come up with an alternative.

Water is a premium I think in any world – as a resource and as a sustainable component of life – contamination and pollutants naturally will self-destruct even the best organised society because of how quickly that resource can disappear. It does seem odd that they haven’t put two and two together yet to understand why that kind of practice is an ill-advised one – just the stink and the effects of that kind of dumping you’d think would have led them to change their minds? Alas. Progress and change is difficult no matter which world you live on apparently!

The gallery would be a stop for me too but its the tree which held me and I think I might have gone there first because there is something wicked special about that one!

As your story encompasses five distinctive races and/or species – how did you decide on which ones you wanted to have in this world and what makes them uniquely different from one another? I’d love to know what you feel is each races best and worst attributes?

Taylor responds: Like I said before, I chose elves and dwarves because I wanted to include some commentary on how these “stock races” are usually portrayed, and gnomes because that’s what I saw in the dream which inspired it. Meanwhile I wanted to portray us humans as a powerful people in their own right, with strengths the other peoples of their world don’t have. An elf, for example, would not only be unable to invent a wind-up pocket watch but would barely even understand the concept. As for the kobolds, I wanted to put in another twist whereby what first appears to be a generic race of “monster” people are actually perfectly intelligent and are simply being manipulated.

I like how you give your reader things to chew on about your species and races – how what is first observed isn’t always the right answer to a question about them whilst endeavouring to show how their differences allow them to do different things from one another. Almost as if to show how societies have different strengths which they can then share together whilst hoping to show how what you first think about someone doesn’t have to be the limit of what you understand about them.

Of the secondary characters do you have a favourite and why?

Taylor responds: I got to be quite fond of Ferlak the kobold. He might look big and mean but he’s such a sweetheart. I’ve always liked misunderstood characters. And I liked Figaro quite a bit; he’s a recurring human character who befriends Vender on her journey and later shows up among the soldiers. He might not be anything special, but he’s a genuinely decent, good-hearted guy. Characters like that are underrated.

I tend to like the underdogs in stories myself. They tend to have a way of warming up to you and finding you when you least expect them. Plus, I think secondary characters are generally overlooked all the way round which is why I try to highlight them in my conversations and/or in my reviews if they’ve left a strong impression. Thank you for introducing me to Ferlak!

Did you develop the title of this novel or was it given to you by your editor or publisher? I was curious if there was a story behind “The Shadow of the Skytree” as it does evoke quite an interesting portrait of visual reference?

Taylor responds: The original working title, which I don’t think I ever really planned to keep, was “Lavender”. After that I was damned if I could think of a better alternative and it took a lot of brainstorming between myself and a few other people to come up with the current title. I don’t remember exactly who came up with it, but it might have been my friend Josh, who was one of the first to read the manuscript. He always has good suggestions. And it’s a fitting title, I think, because all of the things that happen in this book happen because of the Skytree. The plagues and the war all take place under its shadow, so to speak.

Most brilliant response because I had a feeling the title was more than just a hint towards the heart of the story — something told me it was the key to it all.

Do you have plans to revisit this world by creating a duology, trilogy, quartet or longer series? Or is it strictly meant to be a one-off as you’ve already moved on to writing a new story and world?

Taylor responds: I have been working sparodically on a sequel. The first draft didn’t really go anywhere, but I’ve written the first sentence of a second one, with a different approach in mind. The title right now is Wrath of the Fireleaf.

I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for news of a sequel – with this title or another. First I need to get my hands on the original and dive into this world you’ve made me ache to read!!

What does Fantasy meant to you personally – as its not just evocative of a style of story, a selection of music, a type of game or piece of art or even a style of dress – it came be all of those things and more. How do you feel Fantasy plays a role in your life?

Taylor responds: I guess it’s partly that I’ve always been fascinated by history and culture. Fantasy is a genre where you can explore both. Plus I’m one of those people who has trouble thinking “small” – I like to write “big”. Big worlds, big emotions, big things happening. I don’t think I could for example sit down and write one of those family drama stories which take place in a single house with only five characters. I’d get maybe two pages in before losing interest and introducing a war, or an asteroid strike, or some other reason for the characters to get out and do something exciting. Some people say they like to write fantasy because it’s an opportunity to use your imagination, but I don’t really agree with that. All writing requires plenty of imagination. Otherwise it becomes boring. The only real difference lies in what you’re imagining, and people like to imagine different things. It’s only natural.

I love this way of approaching how to write and read Fantasy – mostly how to write it and how to seek out the unlimited plausibilities it encourages out of its writers. I’ve been hearing this lately myself and have been on the fence on it as well – as why is it just Fantasy stories which are getting credit as the genre of where writers fuell their stories with the fusion of their imaginations? It is like you said – all writing thrives on what we can imagine and what we can purport into the crafting of our stories – perhaps it just a misrepresentation of an idea because like you I feel all stories require a deft hand of being able to write down what we envision of a story and how we can transfuse that vision into a readable story for others to see for themselves. 

I write in different genres – but at the heart of what I love to write are stories of heart and soul; which can transport into different textures of genres but I agree with you. If things are too predictable and follow too close to an outcome the reader understands before even getting halfway through the novel the writer didn’t add-in enough to keep them rooted. Irregardless of their style of storycrafting – stories need drama, adversity and engagement to thrive. Plus a healthy dose of humour!

How did you find Odyssey Books and what do you love about being independently published by an Indie publisher?

Taylor responds: Well, I believe I met Michelle – the head of the company – at a convention at least once, but I decided to submit a manuscript with Odyssey after a friend recommended it. Before then I didn’t really have much experience in indie publishing, since all my previous books had been with larger commercial publishers. When circumstances changed (the publishers I was with decided to turn their focus away from fantasy, mostly – it’s a long, boring story), I didn’t know what to do and had to turn to other people for advice. I’ve since worked with multiple indie publishers, and Odyssey is definitely the best in a lot of ways. I’ve found I like the more direct manner of working together with the publisher, and the greater creative freedom.

I am wicked thrilled to know a bit more about Odyssey Books – especially knowing they celebrate creative freedom on behalf of their authors. I was appreciative of how open they were to reaching out to you and the other authors I’ve selected to host this #WyrdAndWonder whilst each of you in turn have been fully receptive to a book blogger wanting to showcase your stories and putting together these guest features which best reflect the stories, the worlds and the heart of joy I’ve had in finding them.

When you’re not researching and writing your stories what uplifts your spirit the most?

Taylor responds: Music, and watching a good movie or TV show. And looking at art. As someone who likes to draw but isn’t all that good at it, I’m fascinated by the truly talented artists out there and how they create their works.

I am as well. I aspire to re-develop my skills as an artist – as I used to dapple in mixed media collages, oil paintings (but will be opting now for watercolour as its more natural) and I’d like to get into either pen/ink or pencil illustrations as well. I don’t want to go digital as an artist – as I’m online enough as a blogger and tweeter; I’d like to keep my art offline which is why I also love being a knitty girl who likes to stalk after patterns and sort out which fibres to use! However, like you I am just as happy binge watching serial tv – as this month alone I’ve gone through “All Rise” via CBSAllAccess and “My Life is Murder” and “Ms Fisher’s Modern Mysteries” via #AcornTV. I could look at art or be out in nature – for hours on end as much as I could entreat into a library or bookstore. We each have to find the places which renew us the most.

This guest author feature is courtesy of: Odyssey Books

I’d like to extend a thank you to Odyssey Books and to Ms Taylor for helping me put together this guest feature during #WyrdAndWonder! It was a gift of joy.

NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.

{SOURCES: Book cover for “The Shadow of the Skytree”, book synopsis, author biography and author photograph of K.J. Taylor were all provided by Odyssey Books and are used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Wyrd And Wonder 2020 banner created by Imyril (Image Credit: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono from 123RF.com) and is used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

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