Fallen Shards by Michael S. Jackson
Welcome back! How have you changed as a writer since your last authorinterview?
Assuredness. Stubbornness. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realised that sometimes picking a lane is one of the more important parts of creating. My lecturers said it, my clients said it…now I finally understand it. Styles are there to be appreciated but you have choose who you are and what you’re going to do amongst an ocean of possibility. It’s those choices that ultimately help you become the writer you want to be. And as someone who is generally very scatter-brained this was a difficult lesson to comes to terms with. Once I did though, my writing and ideas became more focused. FALLEN SHARDS, as a sequel, was a chance to put that lesson into action. Sequels have to be focused—you’ve introduced the characters and the world, but now the reader wants to know what happens next, so get on with it Mike!
What lessons have you learned from the publishing industry?
I’ve been self published since day one, so I’ve been doing everything myself. Marketing, mailing lists, writing… Put it this way, I fully understand why authors get agents, so they can focus on the job in hand. There are so many distractions that pull you away from the craft of actually writing, but that is, as they say, life I suppose. Agents are hard to get, publishing deals even harder…
Saying that, I do adore the non-writing side of it all. I’m two people, one who wants to sit with a coffee and do nothing but write, then the other who wants to play and get involved and meet people. As the owner of Author Interviews (and other multiple projects) that side of myself is very easily satisfied, but it’s often at the expense of the other guy. My writing output, unfortunately, is not as prolific as I would like it to be for that reason.
Would an agent make it easier? I don’t know.
What is it about your genre that drew you to it?
Because it’s the best genre. I mean seriously, fantasy has everything. It’s a playground for how the world could be, but with freaking dragons and magic!
What tools do you favour while writing?
THE PATH AND THE WAY (Ringlander book 1) was originally written in Evernote (I wrote a blog post about it here), but now I use MS Word. Word’s linear way does have its charm and as someone who is prone to flights of fancy I think it helps me stay linear too. I used kanban boards like Miro to take notes because they are completely unlinear. Is that a word? And they also offer iPad pencil compatibility so I can scrawl.
I wish I had a more consistent way about the way I write and research, but I just don’t. Some days it’s post-its, other days it’s handwritten, other days I’m frantically taking notes in my phone. Then again, it’s hard to do a single anything when you’re a parent!
Pinterest is another tool that I use, predominantly in the research phase, and its algorithm baffles me with it’s greatness. It’s become a bit taken over with AI slop recently, but it has provided me with so many sources of inspiration. I’d love to visit a lot of the places I see there, taste the foods and meet the people.
Are you a Seat-of-your-pantser or an Outliner?
Both. (Dammit)
I outline the scaffold of the story, the acts, the incidents and the arcs (partly), then I leave the rest as a treat to my future self.
What is the least writer thing you do in your life?
Drums. I’ve been playing since I was 16, which is a while now and I’ve gotten alright at it. Metal is usually my thing, but not metalcore (although I do appreciate it). I can often be found playing Tool, Karnivool and Mars Volta between meetings. Favourite tunes to play:
I also bake a lot. I got into bread-making during covid because what else was there to do really? I got sort of obsessive about it and make bread almost daily now. It’s cheap, tasty and cheap. Check out my instagram for breads and pizzas that I make.
Tell us about your journey finding your voice
Actually, one of the main authors who inspired me to consider my voice was Joe Abercrombie. I’d read a lot of classic fantasy before that but the Lord of Grimdark opened my eyes to a more unapologetic stance that is heavily character driven. Once inside the character’s head everything and anything is (and should be) possible, and as a writer it is absolutely my responsibility to honour that character—if they’re mean making them really fucking mean. If they’re virtuous then have them make mistakes. Understanding that opened up a world of possibility that unlocked an approach to writing that I have not found through any other source of inspiration.
What are some of your most important literary influences? (This can be as wide-ranging as you like, including various genres and films.)
As writers: Joe Abercrombie [Blade Itself], Robert Jordan [Wheel of time], J.R.R Tolkien [Lord of the Rings], Philip Pullman [His Dark Materials], Mark Lawrence [Broken Empire], Robin Hobb [Farseer], George R.R. Martin [Game of Thrones]. As entertainment: J.J Abrams [Lost/Star Trek/Super 8] , Ridley Scott [Alien/The Martian], Jean Pierre Jeunet [Amelie/Delicatessen], James Cameron [Aliens/Terminator 2/Avatar], Christopher Nolan [Dark Knight/Interstellar] to name but a few. All are bright storytellers with flawed characters in big worlds.
What are some of the real world places, cultures or people that inspired your work?
I’m Scottish and I’m constantly awed by how beautiful the place is. It has so many sides to it, and the people are kind and welcoming. Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland and into Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China for a peek into a rich world that has always interested me. I love Japan, and would live there in a second if my life was not beholden by money and logistics. Cultures that connect with the earth really interested me while researching the world of RINGLANDER.
The people of those cultures: The Sami, Vikings, Mongols, Inuits, Uyghurs inspired my world, but also the aliens of Star Trek Voyager, the Hirogen, the Borg…I fear I may be just a mash-up of popular culture at this point!
One thing rings clear and true. I am a total nerd. That, and the world truly is an incredible place full of wonder and life. There is so much out there to inspire.
What’s your favourite scene in the book you are promoting today?
Oh wow. Favourite scene in FALLEN SHARDS? There’s a chapter called “Evesgiving” which I love because it’s brutal and gives such an insight into the Bohr (the baddies of Ringlander) and their ways. It was also a bit of chance to throw in some smut at the end. I think it was pretty tasteful, but I’ll let you decide, dear reader.
What’s the most useful advice you could give to an aspiring author?
Finish it. You can make it the best book ever written later, but if you can’t get to the end first then might be indicative of another problem. Writing a book is the hardest creative project I have ever undertaken, but it was only with the latest book FALLEN SHARDS that I was able to understand how important focus actually is. Get to the end, celebrate with a dram, and only then will you know what your story is truly about.
What non-writing element of your life affects your writing the most?
My children. I thought I knew myself before children (spoiler alert: I did not.) They are literally chaos embodied, and I have 3! But for every interruption or argument or repeated question there is a little nugget of truth about the human condition that I had not realised before. They’ve taught me so much about myself and I bring that to everything I write.
The biggest effect by far though, is on my time, and daily I wrestle with work vs family life. Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you could give yourself 10 years ago a piece of advice what would it be?
Buy Bitcoin.
In all seriousness, probably to be more patient. It’s not something that comes naturally for me and I wish I’d started working on it sooner. Things take time, and when lots of people are involved it takes even longer.
Saying that, collaboration is one of the best tools at your disposal. It’s tempting, as writers to lock yourself away in a dark room and brood over your story. Whereas if you talk to other people, be it a writing group, a sympathy beta reader or an expert in cartography (don’t ask) opening your world will literally open your world.
Tell us about the book you’re promoting.
FALLEN SHARDS is the 2nd book in the RINGLANDER series, and is available now. You can buy a signed edition from Broken Binding, or you can buy a special Author Edition from me via my shop.
THE SCARS OF A WOUNDED WORLD ARE REOPENING…
War continues to blight the Ringland continents of Rengas, from Nord to Kemen and over the Middle Sea to the shores of Sulitaria. The Forbringrs fight in the heavens, leaving those who dwell unto dust, while the human rebellion struggles on against a unifying Bohr front and the treacherous Order of the White Dragon.
As God’s Gift, Abika can wield Soulfire, a power only possessed by Banèmen, but she’s still the unwanted child struggling to answer why she was left for dead. As she searches for meaning amongst a chaotic land, she discovers that the worlds have other plans for her.
Other interviews with Michael S. Jackson
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