This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Pomotions. Z. Lindsey will award a randomly drawn winner a $25 Amazon/BN gift card + a digital copy of the book via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
I’ve loved fantasy since I was little. My mom is a huge fantasy fan also, and when I was little she used to read me pretty advanced books. But she read me science fiction too, and while I like science fiction, I think fantasy has always felt a little more freeing to me as a writer. I get very self-conscious about the creation of aliens. I know that in real life if we ever met aliens, they probably would not be humanoid, and they might even be in a form that our brains can't even comprehend. So when I sit down and try to write sci-fi, all I can think is that my aliens aren't alien enough.
The same is true in historical fiction. I study ancient Maya hieroglyphs, and I'm pretty knowledgeable about some of the royalty of the ancient Maya era. I could probably write a historical fiction about them, and I've considered it, but I get too hung up on the idea of making some kind of small but important mistake. What if I make K’inich Yo’nal Ahk a jerk in my book, and it turns out that in real life he was, like, constantly giving to orphans and stuff?
The minutiae in fantasy can be solved quickly and without research. If I want my goblins to be descended from the shark God for some reason, I don't have to think about the logistics of that. It just is. That allows me to focus more on the story and the characters.
What world-building is required?
I mentioned this a bit in my last answer, but with fantasy, I like to be recursive. I always start my world building from the characters. I think about who the characters are and what will happen to them over the course of the story, and I try to build a world that successfully allows them to have that experience. I'm very interested in how my characters look at my world, and what they think of the people, and the politicians, and the art, and the systems, but I'm not so interested in developing things that exist outside of their understanding. That helps in eliminating info dumps, because I frankly don't know much about my world besides what my characters know. The longer I write in the same world, the more in-depth my understanding of it is. But when it starts off I'm really interested in how the character perceives it and not much else.
Being recursive is a good way of dealing with the issues with this kind of worldbuilding. I use the information I’ve already laid down to flesh out new information in the world. For example, my book has creatures called duendes. They're kind of like goblins, and one thing I say about them in the first book Is that they have multiple rows of teeth. I didn't think about what that meant for them, I just thought it sounded fun to write. I also mentioned that they were created by the god Aro out of pond scum, but the person who says this is... well… a racist. I didn't actually think that was the real way they were created.
As these stories have gone on and when the characters have played certain specific roles, I did have to figure out where they came from. so that's when the recursive thing comes into play. I already had the answer, because I knew there was a god of sharks, I knew duendes tend to be seafarers, and I knew they have lots of teeth. The answer was obvious. They’re the shark god’s babies. He loves them very much. But I only figured that out when my character needed to know it too.
Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.
Essie Darkenchyl is based on my wife, so I would say I learned the same things from my hero that I learned from my wife. She's the kind of person who is compelled to do the right thing, and she does not keep her voice silent when she sees injustice.
One thing I really like about Essie is that she never tries to go on an adventure, but she never says no to one either. When I was editing the first book, somebody commented that they struggled with Essie's need. And that’s because I think it’s not a need you see very often in literature, but it’s a real-freaking-life need. Essie’s ‘need’ is to relax on a hammock on a sunny day. She’s not after power, or fame, or glory, or any of that. She’s got a simple need, really--it’s just not one we see much in fiction.
I think we’re too used to heroes who are obsessed with the pursuit of power and glory. I really like that Essie doesn’t crave those things. She’ll always help her friends when she can, and she travels halfway across the world when her family’s in danger. But at her heart, she’s just a simple girl--she wants a freaking nap. And I personally find that to be a very compelling motivation for our time. She needs to rest, and the world won’t let her.
Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
I’m going to answer your next question, which was whether I’m a plotter or a pantser, here too because I think it’s relevant. I think one odd quirk that I have when it comes to writing is I love to play around with tropes and methodology. I'm never really happy with, like, a standard hero’s journey style plot. I like to subvert certain tropes and bring new aspects to other tropes. Usually, if I’ve used one trope in a work recently, I try to use something different, even opposite, in the next work.
To keep it fresh for myself, and to try to stay limber enough to do weird stuff like that in a compelling way, I also vary up the way that I approach writing projects. So the question, “Are you a plotter or a pantser?” really depends on the project. I try to write a book for National Novel Writing Month, and when you do that, it's good, in my opinion, to have a well-plotted book. That way, all you have to do is sit down and work on the prose. You don't have to worry about any plot issues coming up. But for the rest of the year, I try to approach every project slightly differently, and usually one of the ways that I do that is by thinking, well I pantsed the last book. Time to plot this one.
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
A heap of my daughter’s toys. She’s six, so they’re everywhere.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
I’m working on Liars in the House, which is the incredible true story of a Seelie huntress and an Unseelie bard who team up to rob the dragon king. The whole thing is set in a smoggy, industrial hellhole full of kobolds, eel pies, and trash fairies. I like to think of it as A Court of Thorns and Roses meets The Muppets Christmas Carol.
I’m very proud of it so far. It’s definitely the funniest thing I’ve ever written, and the worldbuilding is like nothing I’ve ever tried before. It’s also got a steamy romantasy side, as the Seelie huntress falls for the mysterious and dangerous leader of the House of Lies, a thief’s guild. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, so expect a lot of aggressive flirting.
Do you have a question for our readers?
If you’re on this page, you’re probably a lover of good fiction. The cool thing about indie fiction is, really, anyone can publish a work if they’ve got a story they really want to tell. So my question is, when are we going to see your book on this site?
Devil bureaucrat Essie Darkenchyl and her friends barely survived the jungle, but now they're going straight to Hell--AKA her hometown!
Read an Excerpt
“You nicked me in the dance, remember? The council might be scandalized if we slept in the same tent.”
She laughed, remembering how embarrassed she’d been as the other girls gasped and the doctors swarmed him. Her dad said, ‘Essie, if you didn’t want Vashon to be eligible to marry you, you just had to poke him! You didn’t have to stab so deep!’ But she did like him. It wasn’t her fault he couldn’t block. And it had been nice to think the one boy she liked couldn’t marry her. There had been more important things than boys. Like Gossen’s Guide to Shipping Law.
“Nicked you?” she asked as she stood and walked for the tent. “Sir, I stabbed so deep they had to use medical magic to get the knife out.”
Vashon touched his shoulder where the knife had been.
“Yeah, like I said, you nicked me. I’ll sleep outside.”
Essie put a hand on her hip.
“It’s too cold, Vashon.” She crouched and crawled into the tent. “It’s not like you’re proposing. If you keep your underwear on, I’m sure the council will forgive us.”
“I’m not wearing underwear,” he said.
“Oh.”
Vashon cleared his throat.
“It’s not part of the cossetter’s ritual outfit.”
Essie bit her lip and looked away.
“Of course.”
“The first cossetters practiced naked to be closer to essential—”
“Okay, I get it!”
“So—I should sleep out here?” he asked.
“Get in here,” she said, then blurted, “but stay on your side.”
About the Author: Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist and a linguist who focuses on the Maya people of Quintana Roo. Since childhood, he's had a not-so-secret love of weird, silly, and well-structured fantasy. When other people's parents were reading them picture books, his mom was reading him Terry Brooks. He typically writes hopeful and character-driven fantasy.
Today, he lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico with his wife, daughter, and various stray cats.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/z.lindsey_fiction
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550498257222
Amazon link to the first book: https://www.amazon.com/River-Against-Sea-Z-Lindsey-ebook/dp/B0CH3TW3YD/ref=sr_1_1
B&N link to the first book (for paperback): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-against-the-sea-z-lindsey/1144077772
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