BooksChatter: ℚ♫ City of Hope and Ruin: Fractured World [1]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Kit Campbell and Siri Paulson to talk about City of Hope and Ruin (11 May 2016, Turtleduck Press, 254 pages), a Fantasy with LGBTQ romance, book one of the Fractured World series.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | About the Authors | Giveaway & Tour Stops

"Hi everyone! Siri here on behalf of Kit and myself…"

Hello Siri; welcome to BooksChatter!

Here at BooksChatter we love music; do you have a music playlist that you used in City of Hope and Ruin, or which inspired you whilst you were writing it?

"My writing music is generally the same for every book – it's a "Classics for Meditation" CD (yes, I'm old) that puts me into the right headspace. Playlist here:"

What was the inspiration for City of Hope and Ruin?

"Our intention was to create a shared world that could then be used by all four of the authors at Turtleduck Press (our small indie co-op press). The four of us brainstormed the initial inspiration for the shared world, based on the concept of a "pocket universe" and Kowloon Walled City. Then Kit and I took it and ran with it."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"The main characters' personalities are nothing like mine, but you can see my philosophy reflected in the themes. For example, Theosophy at the beginning is an angry young woman with unhealthy relationships and no expectations for the future, and she fights her way back to hope and community. That's something I very much believe in – the power of hope."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for City of Hope and Ruin - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"We contracted with Deranged Doctor Design for our cover. We gave them some key themes and images from the book – we wanted both Briony and Theosophy to be represented, but you might need to read the book to find out which images belong to each!

The cover also captures the mood beautifully. Being indie authors, we knew that having a professional-looking cover would be extra important, and we're very happy with the way it turned out."

Why should we read City of Hope and Ruin and the Fractured World series; what sets it apart from the rest?

"It's been called a post-apocalyptic fantasy, and I think that's apt.

Long ago, there was a cataclysmic event that the characters just know as the War, which had a profound effect on the world – both worlds, Theosophy's and Briony's. Although this happened centuries ago, both worlds are still dealing with the consequences in a very concrete way. Theosophy's side in particular used to have a higher level of technology, which they've lost (or lost the knowledge of), and they're now muddling their way through with limited resources. And, really, the war's not over..."

Can you tell us something quirky about City of Hope and Ruin, its story and characters?

"Theosophy's city used to be a university town, so all the characters on that side take their names from science or philosophy, even though much of that knowledge has been lost.

Choosing their names was a lot of fun!"

Who would you recommend City of Hope and Ruin to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"The book would appeal to fans of Elizabeth Bear and Lois McMaster Bujold – basically women fantasy readers looking for unusual settings with secrets, action, a bit of romance, and diverse characters. (Both of the main characters are twentysomething women of colour, and there are two same-sex relationships and a genderqueer side character.)

There's a lot of language (Theosophy in particular has a potty mouth), but other than that, the content is pretty mild."

If you could / wished to turn City of Hope and Ruin and the Fractured World series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Kit and I both have some trouble thinking of our characters and locations that way!

For the forest in Briony's world, we'd shoot on location in the Czech Republic, but don't ask us where we'd shoot the City scenes.

Theosophy would be played by either Zoe Saldana or British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle; Martha's sister in Doctor Who), but don't ask who would play Briony. As for other visuals, have a peek at our Pinterest board."

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I've written in a lot of different corners of science fiction and fantasy – steampunk, secondary worlds, Gothic, YA with spaceships, historical fantasy, contemporary fantasy. These genres have so many different areas and angles to explore, I never get bored!

Same goes for reading – the last three books I read were military SF, near-future SF, and high fantasy. I do occasionally pick up something else, like a classic or a literary novel, just to keep things fresh."

What is your writing process?

"I'm a reformed pantser (seat-of-the-pants writer), so I usually come up with an idea and then a very rough outline, just some characters, the opening situation, and the major turning points. As I write the rough first draft, the specifics fall into place (with luck – I usually get stuck somewhere in the later middle).

Once I get to the end, then the focus and themes of the story become clearer, and I can go back and revise with those in mind, plus smooth out all the logical problems and weak character motivations and the worldbuilding stuff I glossed over in the first draft.

Luckily, Kit's process is pretty similar, so we found working together to be generally smooth. And it was a lot of fun to bounce ideas off each other, help each other through sticking points, and riff off each other's stuff."

What is in store next?

"The subtitle of the novel is A Fractured World novel, so yes, there's more planned! This is the beginning of a shared world that we can play in along with our two partners in crime at Turtleduck Press, Erin Zarro and KD Sarge.

The next stories in that world are a couple of free short stories featuring some of the same characters – you can read one by Kit here, and one by me will be going up on the site on September 1. To keep up with new developments, check the blog on our website, or "like" our Facebook page."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I'm not much for taking photos of myself, so here's the closest thing I've got – cosplaying as Amy Pond from Doctor Who at FanExpo, Toronto's big convention. Enjoy!"