Author Interview: Logan D. Irons
What inspired you to write in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, and how does that inspiration reflect in your stories?
I’ve been reading the fantasy genre since I was a kid. I’m an only child so I had plenty of time. I think like many, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy were some of my first exposures to the fantasy genre, and I loved it. So much so, that on my first day of sixth grade, I wore my Bilbo Baggins sweatshirt (it was a bar in Alexandria, Virginia – which closed its doors during COVID) to school so everyone knew how awesome I was…those tastes developed as I read more within the genre and grew older. I moved on to The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and another one of my favorites George R.R. Martin. More recently, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Joe Abercrombie, John Gwynne, Brian McClellan, with historical fiction influences from Bernard Cornwell and Steven Pressfield.
History has always been a passion of mine. You’ll find it layered throughout my work. I managed to convince my parents that majoring in history at university was a great idea, and now they have to read the historical fantasy novels I create. As I research, I am constantly jotting down notes and finding events that make for dynamic stories. But what drove me to write the Oaths of Blood Saga was the idea of a secret history of a shadow war that is happening in the background of real events. A story that is immersed enough within the historical record that should make the reader question, did it happen like it was written in the history books, or did it happen the way Logan wrote it?
Why did you choose the indie author route to publication?
As an indie, you have the ultimate flexibility. It’s a choose your own adventure. You must decide on cover art, editors, marketing, ads, launch dates, sequels, etc. Your promotion falls upon you and your network. It can be daunting to wear so many “hats”, but in the end, it offers the author the most control over their work.
Can you share a bit about the world-building process in your series or novel? How do you balance creativity with consistency?
As a historical fantasy writer, I approach my world-building as I would historical research. I scour history books as I seek first- and second-hand descriptions of architecture, armaments, battle tactics, clothing, regional foods, and culture. In my heavily historical based setting, I want the reader to feel as if they’ve gone back in time, and that everything in real life could have happened the way I wrote it. The main way to stay consistent in your writing is taking good notes. Each faction in my series gets its own document. Characters and their descriptions including deaths – the year, the place, if it’s important who killed them, as well as historical members of said faction. The documents have hierarchies, tactics, unit descriptions, and histories, as well as lexicon used by the group. As far as plotting goes, I have a basic outline with pivotal must have scenes which graduates to a chapter by chapter as I get further into the writing process.
Who are your favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors or works, and in what ways have they influenced your writing?
I think you go through phases the more you read. As you discover more and read more, you settle into authors and styles you like. I loved J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan and Tad Williams as a young adult, and I really enjoyed George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series as I got a little older. I think what clicks with me with Martin’s writing, is the way he makes a strategic conflict for a throne so personal through several interesting and different POVs stretching across continents. That and while irritating at times, the fact, he isn’t afraid to off his characters was a game-changer to me. It just felt like it hadn’t been done at least at that level before. Today, we see this quite a bit, at least you do if you read my work. Now if only we could get the last book? Or two? For what it’s worth, I enjoyed most seasons of the television show, so much so, that a few years back my girlfriend (I asked her to marry me the next day) and I took a tour of the Game of Thrones filming locations while visiting Northern Ireland. So impressed with my weapon handling skills and knowledge of the GoT lore, she said yes.
While not fantasy, I thoroughly enjoy Bernard Cornwell, in particular, his Saxon Chronicles and the Grail series. Cornwell draws you into history through tumultuous times, war, rebellion, collapse of empires. His stories tend to be single character focused, but he has a way of painting an amazing picture of the conflict and players around the main character that makes you feel like you are there.
Recently, I’ve been loving A Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan. His writing feels personal, each POV is dynamic, his magic system unique, and I’ve found myself unable to put his books down. Then there is John Gwynne. I love Vikings and his Nordic-themed worlds. His action sequences are top notch, and the intensity in his novels just grips you and won’t let go. Lastly, I’ve been into one of the kings of grimdark Joe Abercrombie. I love the morally ambiguous characters he writes, and there is a certain grim humor that imbeds his work.
How do you develop your characters, and who is your favorite character from your works? Why?
I like to bring the reader in close to the point of view characters I write. I’m not one for lengthy backstories, I want you to see who these people are by the way they speak, the actions they take, and enemies or allies they interact with.
Having an author pick their favorite character is a cruel jest. It’s like picking a favorite child. So, I’ll name a few.
Robert Cutnose, the eternal mercenary, so to speak. He has a grim humor to him and plenty of vices, but he has some hidden honor in him somewhere. He’s one of my favorite’s because for the most part he is self-centered, yet he finds fate forcing him to be a better man than he is.
Ulf Bodvarsson, the ancient king, he is vicious, even cruel on the battlefield and protective of his people. He is bound by both honor and survival of his race. I think the reason I really like him is that he’s like a warrior poet berserker, capable of giving you wisdom or ripping you in half in the same breath.
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?
My Oaths of Blood Saga is very much a blend of history and fantasy. It takes place in the historical context during the First Crusade around 1099 CE. Without spoiling the story too much, I created two factions in an eternal war. One, a knightly order, which is heavily based upon the religious military orders that were established during and after the crusades, think Templars and Hospitallars, but a bit darker and a bit older. Their organization had to fit their past so there was a lot of researching hierarchies, military units, and various mythos surrounding the Knights of the Round Table. The other faction, let’s just call them the Hunted, is a much more tribal diaspora of people. They exist among us and thrive on the fringes of society. Depending on their historical culture, they have a more basic hierarchy and are as likely to feud with each other as they are the Order.
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 always spend a good deal of time making notes, researching, and plotting the framework of a novel before I start writing it. I have to see and feel the general picture and where it is going before I can dive into the gritty details. Once that is in place, I let the characters guide me through pivotal points in the story. Sometimes the characters take over and change the framework, that’s okay, I simply adjust or readjust the outline on my second and third rewrites.
I do a solid seven or eight passes on a novel after the rough draft. Each pass I am focusing on a different aspect of the work, structure/plot/plotlines, character details, prose, etc. Obviously, these bleed together often, but it helps me ensure all aspects of the writing get the attention they deserve.
What is a theme or message you hope readers take away from your work?
I write to entertain. My novels tend to be heavily war and external conflict based. There is a gritty realistic feel to them. Characters you love will perish or be maimed in the process because if your heroes always come through unscathed were they ever really in danger? Bad guys win in my work, but not all the time. I think what readers will take away from my books is life is a struggle. It is a war against all manner of things, it can be grim, but even in those grimmest moments there’s some sliver of hope. And if we have hope, however small, there’s a chance we can overcome.
In what ways do you connect with your readers, and how has their feedback influenced your writing?
I am arguably not super active on social media, but I do make myself available on various platforms. I’m going to age myself; I am most active on Instagram and Facebook.
You can learn a lot about your writing from listening to your BETA, ARC, and online reviewers, if you learn how to sift through them. You begin to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer the more you write and publish. When I interact with BETA readers, I make sure to focus them on spots that maybe I as a writer felt weren’t up to snuff. If they feel the same way, I know I must make changes. As far as readers and reviewers go, you have to take the good and bad with a grain of salt. Plenty of people will enjoy your work, use them to build your confidence. Then there are those that won’t. You don’t like every book you read so don’t expect everyone to like yours. Manage your expectation. Hone your craft and put out the next best book you can.
As an indie author, what advice would you give to aspiring writers wanting to publish in the fantasy/sci-fi genre?
There’s a lot of advice out there on publishing, marketing, writing, etc. something that works for me, may not work for you, however, there are some general ideas that may help our newbies.
You’ve got to read what you write. Find the top dogs in your genre and sub-genres and read them. But don’t read them as a reader, read them as a writer. Try to see the craft behind their work. Analyse structure, character, settings, themes, and prose. You don’t want to copy them, but you need to understand how they’re successfully creating something others want to read.
You’ve got to write often. I’m a proponent of the 10,000-hour rule. To master a skill, you must meaningfully practice that skill for 10,000 hours. If you want to hone your craft and be good at it, you must practice. And as with all things, you must practice habitually if you want to perform it at a high level. Sometimes you will make great strides, other times you will struggle to get 500 words on the page. Be intentional. With discipline comes freedom.
I think with the advent of self-publishing, lots of authors are able to release work before they reach this arbitrary master mark, myself included. This isn’t a bad thing, we are all in different phases of our writing journey, but in the past, many of the most famous authors didn’t have the opportunity we have today. They wrote manuscripts and shoved them in a drawer with the rest of their failed pitches. Their first releases were almost always their 20th, 30th, 40th project that they worked on. In other words, they spent years, even decades honing their craft before they were allowed to show the public their work. Be patient, it will take several projects to master your craft.
Find a mentor. Find someone who has done what you want to do. Learn everything they do. Take it and use it to develop your own success. You don’t have to do it their way, but it is a way to do things.
I like to think of reading other authors as passive learning and writing and releasing my own work as active learning. You need both to be successful. Don’t be scared to learn. There’s a lot of people who get stuck in the ultimate editing loop, and never actually publish anything. It may seem like you’re doing your due diligence, rephrasing this, rewriting that, restructuring these chapters, but eventually, you must be done. You must understand why you are writing, and if it is to be read by others, you must let the world have it. It will not be perfect. A reader will call you out on a typo on page 27. Readers won’t like your MC. Okay. Don’t lose your voice. Keep reading. Keep writing. Learn and move forward. We must remind ourselves that everyone starts their journey with a single step. Take what you’ve learned, check your book idea list, and hop back in your writing chair for the next go.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an indie author?
Definitely marketing. Isn’t it for us all? The ideal is to find your super fans while reaching widespread audiences of interested readers. Fantasy is a very popular genre so it is difficult to gain traction and stand out without breaking the bank. It’s a balancing act, but it can be done. Thank you for having me stop by!
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