Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #3 (3 of 3)

A showcase with @SmokeAndOranges, author of Dreamcatcher

1. What inspired the idea of your story?

Dreamcatcher was written in 2020 for Wattpad's Open Novella Contest, which starts with a long list of contest prompts. Two in particular caught my eye:

"The ship be cursed, lad; ye'll no return."

I scoffed at the hag and continued aboard.

And...

Eight days after the storm, they sighted land. Unidentifiable land.

A third prompt that referenced a city in the sky also inspired me, and between those three ideas, Dreamcatcher was born.

2. What is something you struggled constructing with your story?

The setting was an excellent challenge. Dreamcatcher's genre is technically Steampunk, but most Steampunk books (at least that I've seen) are set in Victorian England. That didn't interest me at all, so I set the idea in the tropics instead, in a Fantasy world with strong Indian inspiration. That raised all kinds of new questions. Can airships fly in a monsoon rain? What materials should they be made of to withstand the humidity? What is the cultural value of an airship career? For such a short novella, I asked a lot of those types of questions.

3. What did you enjoy writing most of your story?

Oh, no, I have to pick?

I'd say "everything," but two things really stand out: the character development, and the setting. Watching Rav (the main character) find his feet and come into his own was hugely satisfying. And the setting... well. I feel like I'm exploring cool settings alongside my characters, and sky-islands made entirely of floating plants are about as cool as it gets.

4. What's the overall response of your story from your readers?

This is easily the most-loved book on my profile. I think a lot people see themselves in Rav, or at very least want good things for him. It's also the book that taught me how much readers love an emotional roller coaster. Besides those two, though, people respond to all kinds of different aspects: the setting, the writing style and descriptions, the casual ace rep, the companion Rav finds. It's very varied!

My readers also love to hate the captain Rav works for. That's pretty universal.

5. Is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series ?

It's a standalone, but the reader response was so overwhelming (and I loved the book so much) that there's a sequel on the way! Stormrunner will be a full-length novel featuring the same main character, a few years later. It will also be a standalone, so while the two are obviously connected, readers will be able to read either one on its own.

6. What would you like your readers to take away from your story?

Whatever is valuable to them about it. Mostly, I just hope they enjoy it, and that it lets them escape to a different world for a while.

7. What advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story?

Sometimes writing will be easy. And sometimes writing will be hard. Sometimes you'll rattle off two chapters in a day; other times, a single sentence will take three hours of research to write properly. If you want to finish the book, you really have to remember why you love it, why you started it, what gave you that spark... and if you can't remember, maybe it's time to reevaluate that book, or why you're writing at all.

If you know what drives you and your book(s), though—even if it's just "It's fun"—then hold onto those things and never let go.

8. Does your main character share any similarities to yourself?

Yes—Rav shares a lot of traits and interests with a younger me. I've grown out of some of them since I was his age, but it was still very easy to look back and find all the inspiration I needed for his character arc.

We're also the same kind of queer :)

9. What is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers?

Baby dragons.

Kidding, kidding (not)! A unique tropical-Steampunk world to explore. Sky-islands. Airships. Casual queer and POC representation—something I'm told is rare in Fantasy. And a main character who is and experiences all those things, and who's also just fumbling his way out from the shadow of a controlling parent, and learning to stand and fight on his own.

10. Do you have any future projects?

Do I ever.

I never stop writing. I've got future books lined up for the next 5+ years, and I plan to start and finish all of them!