Author Interview: James Downe
What inspired you to write in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and how does that inspiration reflect in your stories?
I’ve always loved fantasy/sci-fi. Spec fic is the best! Dragons, aliens, time-travel, super heroes, knights on daring quests, villains on diabolical crusades – I love it all. It’s exciting. It’s imaginative. But above all I love the way we can use stories of impossible things to analyze and understand important human issues.
I grew up long ago in a small town called Keswick where finding good reading material could have been scarce, but my school and the town had great libraries. My mom made sure I read The Hobbit at a young age, and always encouraged my reading habits. Whenever I could join her on a trip to library I did, and I remember there always being a decent selection of sci-fi and fantasy for me to sink my teeth into. I found Ursula K. Le Guin, Susan Cooper, and Terry Brooks. I devoured any Star Wars books I could find. And it was amazing.
That for sure rubbed off on me –laying down the foundations – while movies, TV, and games played the second half of that inspiration. Movies like Willow and The Neverending Story combined with a healthy dose of He-Man and Thundercats, and then compounded with Final Fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons all collided in my little imaginative brain to create the mess of person I am today.
Why did you choose the indie author route to publication?
In addition to writing, I’m an artist. I don’t paint quite as much (or at all, if I’m being honest) as I once did, but I think in a very visual manner. (That probably doesn’t make sense, but I’m sticking to it!) I’m a graphic designer by day and have most of the tools needed to go the indie route. I am also very fussy with things like cover art and interiors, and I wanted to keep that control.
I had tested the waters of indie publishing a few years earlier with some short stories, and after many, many sessions sharing stories with my writing group I decided to just go for it and release a short story collection.
I had seven short stories when I made this decision, so after rounding it up and writing three more, I got to work on all the other stuff that comes with an indie publication and pretty soon I was ready to go. I had a book (set in the same world as the collection) mostly finished and plans for two more books laid out.
Now, I know this isn’t for everyone. It’s expensive. Cover art. Interior setup. Editing. I have the tools I need to do this exactly the way I wanted, but even still it is a big deal to put out a book on your own. I wouldn’t be where I am without the support of a group called Toronto Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers. They’re some of my beta readers and support network. It’s a great group, with a broad range of writers at different levels, and I don’t think I would’ve had the courage to do this without them.
Can you share a bit about the world-building process in your series or novel? How do you balance creativity with consistency?
Wooo... okay. So I’ve got three books out currently, with a fourth to be released in 2024. They’re all part of the Legacy of Rukara, but the world of Rukara has a history that goes back a fair bit longer that the stories.
Several years ago, my good friend Aesc and I played a fair bit of D&D. This was like... 3rd Ed? 3.5? Planescape mostly, if anyone’s interested. (It’s still the best setting, and I’m super excited to see it’s back but haven’t play the new stuff yet.) We gamed a lot, and eventually moved to from D&D to Pathfinder where we came up with our own setting. He developed one continent and I did another, both becoming DM for each others’ characters as we started fleshing out the world.
We gamed in this playground for a while (and always had aspiration for using it as a setting for stories), but as often happens life happened and I moved away. We were both writers, and decided instead of letting it fade away we would take our respective continents and run with it.
That was the beginning of what has become the Legacy of Rukara.
So, we’ve got a lot of history already in place. I’ve been a little loose and lax with events that happened while gaming, but we’re able to make it work. Honestly, wiring is a very different animal than gaming (and I really didn’t want my stories to feel overtly like people playing a tabletop RPG), but that initial set-up for the world just helped everything fall into place, laying down the bones to create consistency while the creativity freely flowed.
What unique challenges do you face as an indie author in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and how do you overcome them?
Getting noticed is the absolute worst. I’m shit at social media, and I’m a horrible salesman on a good day, so trying to peddle my own wares is a bloody nightmare.
The other big challenge is just... imposter syndrome, I suppose. I’ve spent a lifetime reading and writing and developing my imagination and inner artist brain to do this, but I still feel like a fraud. I’ve been writing all my life, but when you sit down to a blank page and that stupid blinking cursor... that’s daunting.
So, how do we overcome this sinking pit? Gah... if anyone knows, please let me know. I don’t really have a handle on this one, and I think it will forever linger over my head!
Who are your favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors or works, and in what ways have they influenced your writing?
I mentioned Terry Brooks earlier. (Really, I mention a bunch of stuff earlier, and all of it inspired little kid me.) The Shannara books were 100% instrumental in the first few stories I tried to write, and they inspire me still.
As I got older I found Robert Jordan, Sara Douglas, and GRRM. James Barclay and China Miéville. I got hooked on Thieves’ World and Fritz Leiber. Generally, I’m drawn to fantasy over sci-fi, and working in several bookstores in my 20’s opened an endless world for me to get lost in.
I suppose the biggest influence on me was Malazan. Two authors writing in a shared world they created while gaming? Epic stories, compelling dialogue, original races, and some of the best characters I’ve ever read. Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Do the books have their problems? Of course, but reading those first 5 Malazan books by Steven Erikson blew my mind and made me rethink a lot of what I thought fantasy could be. For my personal tastes, Erikson goes a little too hard into the philosophical discussions in his writing, and I mostly prefer Esslemont’s books, but both of their latest books are their absolute bests so far.
How do you develop your characters, and who is your favorite character from your works? Why?
In Sisters of Jade, the characters are critical to how the plot unfolds. I created the Sisters first, and then developed the plot around them. (And I may or may not have loosely based each on the ninja turtles.)
When the story starts, the Sisters have been together several years and are at each others’ throats. I wanted to tell a story with older, experienced characters. You don’t see them young and fresh. Only one is under 30. They’ve been together a long time and have already had years of adventurers. This isn’t an origin story. These characters are at the height of their careers – or maybe just past the peak and on their way down.
With four main characters, it’s hard to pick a favorite. It changes day to day...
Kylan Tier is the leader of the four. She’s a fighter, an ex-mercenary, and really is trying her best to keep her Sisters together. Despite her efforts, she knows they’re drifting apart. (Yep, she’s Leo.)
Quite is the hot head. (Raphael for sure.) The temper. The fire. She’s a swordswoman and damn great at it, but she’s got a long history of failure and trauma that she’s never figured out how to handle. Quite is probably the easiest for me to write, and I have the most fun with her dialogue and personality.
Feren Sind is the wildcard of the group, but she’s got a dark side she can’t control. While Feren is harder to write, she might be my favorite, and has a character arc I’m very proud of. Of all four, Feren might be the one I identify most with. (She’s Donatello, though this is the loosest turtle comparison and doesn’t really hold up too well...)
Finally there is Somhae, a priestess of decay who can use her faith to rust metal and rot flesh. She’s the youngest of the four (Michelangelo), and seems to be the most relatable to most readers for some strange reason...
Could you discuss the role of magic/science or fantastical/sci-fi elements in your stories? How do you create rules and limitations for them?
Magic is integral to the Legacy of Rukara. It’s in the foundations of the world, flowing deep within the oceans, soaked into the soil, and embedded in the tallest mountains.
The basis for my magic mostly stems from many years of tabletop RPGs. There are two (mainly) sides to magic: the arcane and the divine. Wizards and mages are on one side. They tap into arcane powers and use their own bodies to fuel their abilities. Priests are on the other side, using divine powers gifted to them from the gods.
In the Sisters of Jade trilogy, Somhae is a priestess of decay. She believes in the goddess Sinest and the power of decay, knowing that no matter what, everything in the universe will one day crumble and fade. She can’t throw fireballs or summon demons, so there is a set of rules for me as the writer to follow, but I never sit down and list off all the things she can and can’t do.
My other magic users are much the same. The Silstrani necromancers in Sorrow & Shroud are limited in what they can do, but the scope of what they can within those constraints do is broad.
All that said, I hate it when a power comes out of the blue at the last second and saves the day. No deus ex machine. That’s the worst. As much as I don’t enjoy hard magic systems, I do feel it’s necessary to lay the groundwork of your plot leading up to any pivotal scenes. If a character has a power or skill that could/will save the day at the end of the book, makes sure the reader knows this is a thing early on.
How do you approach the plotting and planning of your series or novels? Do you prefer to map everything out beforehand or let the story evolve as you write?
I’m one of those inbetween writers. Yay plantsters! (Damn, what a horrible word to write... plantsters...)
I like a loosely plotted out road map, but I need room to play as the story unfolds. For the Sisters of Jade trilogy, I had book 2 nearly done when I released book 1. And book 3 was completely plotted out, so I knew everything I needed to set up for the finale was already in place. If it’s too rigid I start to push my characters to do things they might not actually do, and the writing then feels forced. There’s a certain amount of balance between the two, and I just hope I nail it every once in a while.
What is a theme or message you hope readers take away from your work?
Hhhhmm... I’m not sure about this one. The one constant in Sisters of Jade is that “all things wither, and all things fade”. It is Somhae’s core belief, and integral to the story. Sooner or later, everything ends. That isn’t something we should fear. It’s sad, yeah, but inevitable, so celebrate the life lived, the memories made. But is that something I want people to walk away from my writing thinking about? I guess so, sure.
In what ways do you connect with your readers, and how has their feedback influenced your writing?
I have a great group of beta readers, and I love hearing their comments and feedback. I’ve done a few in-person events and gotten to talk to readers about what they loved or hated in the stories. That influence has definitely influenced the writing. Little things in the prose, getting to see more of a character that maybe didn’t get enough time on the page. It’s still a little unreal for me, knowing people have read my books and care enough to talk about them after, but I love it.
As an indie author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers wanting to publish in the fantasy/sci-fi genre?
Read. Read everything you can. In the genre you love. Out of the genre you love. Read the classics. Read new stuff. Trad. Indie. See how other people craft stories, and learn your own voice through that.
And... I know it’s hard for some people, but find a group of like-minded writers. Just a couple people to grow with. To bounce ideas off. People who get your genre, who understand what you want to write and will be even a little bit critical of your work.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an indie author?
Getting noticed is a big one. There are sooooo many books out there, and that number is only growing. Just expecting your books to be found on Amazon doesn’t cut it. I’ve lived in Canada all my life, and over the years I’ve learned us Canadians haven’t really accepted indie books and ebooks the way some other countries have. Getting books into their hands is much harder, and it’s easier if you’re face to face.
Links here –
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/jamesdowne
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/james_downe_author/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/legacyofrukara
Blog:
https://legacyofrukara.wordpress.com
Sisters of Jade direct link:
https://www.amazon.com/Sisters-Legacy-Rukara-James-Downe-ebook/dp/B09PX3G65C
Thank you!
Thank you, too! I must say the indie community is a wonderful group to be a part of. I’ve met some truly amazing people both online and in person, and places like this with people like you to help us share our stories really makes a difference. Cheers!
