Our SPFBOX interviews continue with Paul Sating, author of Thornbane the Lost.
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 PAUL SATING
Tell us a little about yourself and let our readers know which blog you’ve been assigned to for SPFBOX!
My childhood dream of being an author was squashed by twenty years of military service. Once I hung up the uniform for the last time the creative fire was rekindled. In the five years I’ve been a full-time author, I’ve published twenty-seven novels, and I’m currently writing my twenty-eighth across too many genres to be commercially successful. After leaving the military, I moved to the US’s Pacific Northwest so I can hunt Bigfoot (in a non-violent way). My entry, Thornbane the Lost, book one of a high fantasy trilogy, has been assigned to Kitty G.
What inspired you to write this book?
My deep, enduring love for high fantasy and the tales (like the Dragonlance books) that first got me into the genre. Stories of heroes forming a party and going off on adventure has a deep, sentimental place in my creative soul. Though I have plenty of those characteristics in my other novels, I didn’t yet have a series focused on that theme. With the trilogy now complete, I do. In fact, of my five open series, this was the most recently written and first completed. I had THAT much fun with Thornbane and her friends.
I am NOT a plot-plot-plot author (where ‘stuff’ just happens for the sake of ‘action’ and moving the story). I love deep characters. Complex characters. I want the world going to the dogs around them, but only at a pace where the reader actually cares what happens.
Can you tell us a little bit about your writing or editing process? What’s most exciting to you about writing or editing?
I’m a Planner. While not exhaustive, my outline-to-novel wordcount is roughly 1,000:10,000. So, with the final Thornbane book being 150,000-ish words, my outline would be roughly 15,000 words–give or take. I didn’t start that way when I was writing fiction podcasts. Then, I was a Pantser and it showed. Only when I forced myself to commit to outlining first did I begin not only finishing projects, but complex stories. I am NOT a plot-plot-plot author (where ‘stuff’ just happens for the sake of ‘action’ and moving the story). I love deep characters. Complex characters. I want the world going to the dogs around them, but only at a pace where the reader actually cares what happens. In fact, the outlining might be the most enjoyable to me now. I hate editing. Always have. I love the discovery process of writing that first draft, but after having so many novels under my belt, I only get excited when a character does something I didn’t expect. For me, I’ve already experienced the story during outlining. It’s where I tickle myself exploring all the ‘what ifs’ along the way. Don’t get me wrong; I love writing. Outlining is just where all the fun happens for me. Strange, for someone who wouldn’t have thought to outline five-and-a-half years ago.
Who or what have been your major literary influences?
What makes your SPFBOX book unique?
Do you have a favourite character from your SPFBOX entry? Tell us about them!
It’s too easy to say Thornbane is my favorite. She is the story. This is her fall and rise. So that’d be the easy pick. Being a contrarian with an irreverent worldview, I can’t say her, even out of principle. Putting her to the side, the choice is easy for me. My favorite character was Brorm, an outcast goblin sidekick. Booted from her tribe BECAUSE she detests violence, Brorm has a sharp tongue and sharper blades. She’s the comedic element to the story and I love everything about her—especially having her get drunk in a scene and stumbling into the side of a cask.
Stories of heroes forming a party and going off on adventure has a deep, sentimental place in my creative soul.
How does your work fit into (or challenge) its genre?
What do you hope readers take away from your SPFBOX entry?
I’ve been reading fantasy since the mid-90s. I’ve seen readers begging for a female lead in a high fantasy filled with adventure and grit. One with no-to-little romance. A true fantasy adventure. I’ve given the world that with Thornbane. To watch her grow into her magic and kick ass was one of the most satisfying things I’ve done as an author, and I hope that resonates with readers across the spectrum who are looking for a badass female fantasy hero without her devolving into a romance story. (For those who want some romance, take heart. She does develop a romantic relationship, but this is a very, very minor thread seen in glimpses here and there.)
What are you currently working on?
The third and final book in my “Brad the Impaler” LitRPG series, published by Aethon Books. I’m currently at 95,000 words and only about 1/3 of the way through the outlined chapters! Can you tell I grew up on epic fantasy?
Thornbane the Lost
A kingdom plunged into chaos. A woman branded a demon. A power she didn’t choose becomes her only hope.
When Cynn Jade awakens to find her world in ruins, she’s thrust into a realm of ancient magic and deadly intrigue. Unfairly exiled from everything she knows, Cynn must embrace a cursed power to reclaim her rightful place and save her people. But in a land where shadows whisper and allies harbor dark secrets, will Cynn’s newfound abilities be her salvation… or her downfall?
Will Cynn save her people, or will the demon within destroy everything she loves?
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Paul Sating is a fantasy author and podcaster who spends most of his time traveling the Pacific Northwest in search of elusive monsters everyone claims aren’t real. Paul began adapting many of those scripts to novel form and published his first three books in 2018. He is now fooling around with his first love–darker fantasy. He writes epic, urban, and even LitRPG (a true jack of all trades and master of none). He stays grounded by rooting for bad soccer teams, traveling around his beautiful corner of the world, and spending every moment he can with the three people who don’t let him think too highly of himself–his wife and daughters.
