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SPFBOX Interview with Isom Ashe

Steve Hugh Westenra

Our SPFBOX interviews continue with Isom Ashe, author of Tears of an Indifferent God.

SPFBO (the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off) is a free online contest run by author Mark Lawrence. 300 authors compete across ten judging teams to see who will be the winner! You can read more about the contest [HERE]].

INTERVIEW WITH ISOM ASHE

Tell us a little about yourself and let our readers know which blog you’ve been assigned to for SPFBOX!

 

I was assigned to Before We Go Blog. When not creating worlds in my head and slowly getting them into print, I enjoy reading, Lego, escape games, video games, and plenty of nerdy stuff. Beyond an author, I am a history professor and game designer, and my wife and I own a mobile escape room company and a escape room in a box company.

 

 

What inspired you to write this book?

 

Unlike some of my other work, this one was inspired by a DnD campaign I ran over twenty years ago, the stories and myths that the MCs are told throughout the book, or have lived with their whole lives are things I wrote for my friends to slay long ago, some of my players ARE the legends that make the world. So it was a special book to write, as it is an homage to my best friends growing up.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your writing or editing process? What’s most exciting to you about writing or editing?

 

I can write fast… when I have time. I am normally teaching around 12 classes a semester, so I write in blurts when I have time. Editing is something I do 3 or 4 passes before handing it off to my proofer and then my editor. It is laborious process that sucks my soul out! 🙂

 

 

“I tried to write it in levels, fighting and fast fun, a little bit of mystery, and write with a couple themes that I don't think get explored enough.”

Who or what have been your major literary influences?

 

Robert Jordan, Michael Crichton, Neil Gaiman, James Islington, Robert Louis Stevenson, and for this book in particular, Homer and other classic poets.

What makes your SPFBOX book unique?

 

It doesn’t take itself seriously, although it is a serious book at times. My attempt was to capture the absurdity of mythology and what that would look like to the average person living at that time while it also examines the interpretation, perception, and warping of myths historically over time. Also, it may be the only book within a book in the (makes sense after you read the epilogue.)

 

Do you have a favourite character from your SPFBOX entry? Tell us about them!

 

Agda, she is the most fun to write because she is a free spirit. Agda lets the wind take her wherever it may, she seeks out her own pleasures in life, but she also has a decent morale compass and comes to the correct decision most of the time. She is also the other MC’s anchor, although it seems completely unlikely that she could be anyone’s anchor.

 

“This one was inspired by a DnD campaign I ran over twenty years ago . . . So it was a special book to write, as it is an homage to my best friends growing up.”

How does your work fit into (or challenge) its genre?

It is somewhat unique since there isn’t a huge amount of Greek-inspired fantasy that isn’t a retelling of real myths. So I feel it is a bit niche.

 

What do you hope readers take away from your SPFBOX entry?

A good time. I tried to write it in levels, fighting and fast fun, a little bit of mystery, and write with a couple themes that I don’t think get explored enough.

 

What are you currently working on?

The end of this book’s prequel, another 7 series that I started as Vella serials, but likely after the prequel I will be writing Agoric Myths II or finishing the first book in my These Dark Holdings series, which is about a world where undead are the common workforce… until something goes wrong.

 

Tears of an Indifferent God

In Pelesia, quests are abundant, and genuine heroes are few. That doesn’t stop many from trying, though.

From the dusty streets of Petrolix to the perilous peaks guarding the giant Ruk’s nest, Tears of an Indifferent God follows Sola, a sandal-maker driven by a burning need for vengeance. Orphaned at a young age, Sola blames the legendary hero Gordoneus for the untimely deaths of his parents. When fate cruelly throws them together, Sola finds himself banished and reluctantly journeying alongside the very man he has vowed to destroy.

As they traverse a landscape populated with mythical beasts and hostile city-states, Sola’s quest for revenge transforms into one of self-discovery. Amid the dangers of their monumental quest to seize the coveted egg of the giant Ruk, Sola encounters unexpected camaraderie, challenges that test his mettle, and a love that might just redefine his understanding of justice and heroism.

Set in a world inspired by the Bronze Age Mediterranean, full of political intrigue and the whims of unpredictable gods, Tears of an Indifferent God is a tale of action, myth, and transformation, where personal vendettas collide with the destinies shaped by the gods.

ABOUT ISOM ASHE

Isom Ashe is a fantasy and science fiction author from Texas. A storyteller from a young age, he used to recreate “sequels” of his favorite books out of Lego blocks. He probably created about eight gazillion renditions of Treasure Island before he was ten. Growing up, he learned to pen his ideas, finishing his first novel at eighteen. Exploring perception and imagination is one of his favorite activities, whether in his writing, playing D&D with friends, collaborative projects, Lego dioramas, or just making up stories on the fly to tell his son.

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