Conversations - Author Interviews

@IceRequiem

Welcome to Break the Cliches' author interview! Today we will be speaking to IceRequiem about her debut Science Fiction novel, how it has reached success, and how she steered away from the use of cliché storylines.

[Interview taken by Lightning_Stryker]

IceRequiem: Hey! Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk about my book. I'm truly grateful to everyone who's ever supported this story. The community here has contributed in countless ways to help me make Project: Yggdrasil the best that it can be. I've poured my heart and soul into this story, and I'm honored to share a little behind-the-scenes with everyone!

Light: Welcome to the interview IceRequiem ! It's a pleasure to have you here today. Obviously your book Project: Yggdrasil has had a lot of success here on Wattpad. Can you tell us what inspired the unique name for your book?

IceRequiem: If I'm honest, the name of the book was originally just a placeholder. I had the idea for this story and I couldn't wait to start writing it—but to save the file, I needed a file name. So, I typed in Project Yggdrasil because at the time I was (and still am) a fan of Norse mythology, and I really wanted in some way to work mythological beings into the story. As it turned out, there really wasn't room for mythological beings in the story, so their influence was relegated to character/city names only. Eventually I was actually able to incorporate the title into the book as an important story element. Yggdrasil is the tree of life in Norse myth, and in the story, the name refers to a genetic engineering project that gave life to my main characters. So...the title became permanent, and here we are!

Light: Wow, how interesting! Now I have a fun and tricky question for you: If you had only 3 words to describe your story, what would they be?

IceRequiem: Hah, these are always tough. Hopefully I'm not overselling it, but I think I'll go with: innovative, emotional, and thought-provoking.

Light: Your main character, Morrighan, is not your stereotypical damsel-in-distress. As a matter of fact, she's the complete opposite! Did you intentionally write her this way or did her character just seem to develop this way?

IceRequiem: She definitely isn't a damsel! I never intended to create a damsel-in-distress, just because I never liked those types of characters any time I came across them. I think the most "damsel-y" I ever got was actually with Nona's character, but even she can hold her own and get out of a bind. Anyway, I was hugely inspired by Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" and Kevin Hearne's "Iron Druid Chronicles" and I think Morrighan's character was greatly influenced by the protagonists from
those series.

Light: When did you first know you wanted to make Project: Yggdrasil into a full-fledged novel?

IceRequiem: I knew from day one that this would be a full-fledged novel, even if I wasn't sure the direction it would take. PY actually started out extremely differently, and at first I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it a trilogy. Even when I started writing book 2, I still had doubts. But, as I got to the midway point of book 2, things unraveled, and coming up with story material became easier. So, fingers crossed for three novels! (And maybe a prequel.)

Light: I also found it quite interesting that Project: Yggdrasil did not make romance one of its main focuses. It's definitely a great way to break the typical clichés! Why did you choose to focus more on Mori's familial relationships than her romantic relationships?

IceRequiem: It's true, I probably could have stuck Mori with a male character at the beginning and had them fall in love over the course of the journey. But, I think what steered me away from that choice was that I'd read a rash of YA books that did just that—where a male and female character were stuck together, and of course they fall in love. It seemed too convenient, too easy to me. That's not to say there isn't romance in the series. There is, but I wanted it to come about a little more organically. Plus, Mori goes through a lot of guilt and pain as a result of what happened to her family. She's also a bit of a loose cannon, which perhaps makes her more difficult to deal with. I felt that given all this, if someone was going to be her rock, it'd be someone who actually understood her, someone who felt the same loss she has, who fought beside her. Someone who could genuinely say, with no ulterior motive, that she did all she could. Also, I kinda love the tag-team metal-breathing fights, which she wouldn't be able to do with an average Joe!

Light: I also heard that Project: Yggdrasil was featured by Wattpad a bit earlier this year! Congratulations! What was your first reaction when you got the news?

IceRequiem: Thank you! Of course, I was ecstatic to see it on the list! I actually didn't get the news immediately, but I noticed the numbers start going up over a few days prior to getting the news. Then when I was told, I was like "Oh, that explains it!" Cue excited happy dance.

Light: All authors have that one character that they favor a little more than others. Who was that character for you?

IceRequiem: For Project Yggdrasil, it's probably Morrighan. I know that might seem like a typical choice since she's the main character, but actually, in Zion, it's someone else. Surprised me too!

Light: So now that Project: Yggdrasil is complete, you're moving onto the second installment in the Genomics Trilogy. What can the audience expect from Project: Zion?

IceRequiem: Ah, let's see. Yggdrasil did a lot of the set-ups for Zion, so some of the things readers can expect from Project Zion are: more action scenes! Major revelations regarding Zion. Morrighan's other siblings, plus some new secondaries as well(one of which actually turned out to be the favorite from question 7). Tragedy. Emotional turbulence. Some romance, finally! Morrighan's metal-breathing skill expansions. Action again!

Light: Of all genres to write, why were you most comfortable with Science Fiction?

IceRequiem: I've studied the biological sciences pretty extensively throughout my academic career. I'd say microbio/biotech, immunology, and cell bio are my fortes. So, for my first serious writing venture, I guess I wanted to stick with more familiar territory since the story writing process itself was going to be one heck of a learning curve. What better than a sci-fi with heavy bio elements? :)

Light: Now for the random question: Are you more of a potato chip or ice cream kind of person?

IceRequiem: Ice cream, one million percent!

A huge thanks to IceRequiem for participating in this interview! If you're a lover of action, sci-fi, or just love reading books with great grammar, make sure you check out the Genomics Trilogy today!