Page 43 - Reader's House Magazine

She is big and muscular and tattooed all over. I love a good woman lead, especially in action. I find it inspiring and empowering but also different, as buff men take up too much of the zeitgeist. When I see these women in movies, they look great. They are fit and clearly trained, but there is an odd body standard that men must be muscular and women must be fit yet petite. Why can’t the women be big and buff? I wanted to give that body representation because there are women who have those bodies and look great. I hope I nailed that because any woman reading the book who has muscles that are too big for society, I want them to see themselves and be proud of their lifestyle and body.
The Huntress and the Trickster features intricate world-building that blends grounded elements
with fantastical elements. Can you tell us more about the process of building this fictional world, and were there any specific influ-
ences or inspirations that guided your world-building efforts?
element that shakes up a seemingly grounded world.
With your background in covering entertain- ment media, how do you see the relationship between literature and other forms of media evolving in the digital age? Do you believe that your experiences in journalism have influenced your approach to storytelling or marketing your novel?
I think all media is in this area that requires everyone to readjust themselves to figure out how to maintain sus- tainability. I am too new to the literary world to have a firm opinion, but from the data and studies I have read, I think it is in a good place. Literature is having a surplus of book sales and book stores opening in the pandemic era. Obviously, the pandemic was horrible, but some po- sitives came out of it, like how the literary industry has been booming for the most part. I guess the big issue for all media is that there is so much, which makes for tough competition to get your work seen by an audience. But I won’t complain. Lots of art is a great thing, whether it be film, video games, literature, or music.
I do think, for other kinds of media like video games and movies, it is in a tough space. It costs so much to make certain things that it makes it hard to profit. If it is hard to make a profit, the business people who make the decisions may skip out on what could be great art. It is about navigating the business and the art sides that make it difficult. I just hope people can figure out a way to make sustainable businesses that still let creatives make the things they want and maintain their truth as artists.
Journalism has influenced me to maintain authenticity. Now, it is less about reporting on facts and more about telling my truth. When I write fiction, I write what I find to be entertaining, thought-provoking, or emotionally evocative. I feel like I hadn’t gained too much from jour- nalism as a fiction author, but it has held me down to tell stories that I find to be important in one way or another.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors who may be navigating the process of writing and publishing their first novel? Are there any lessons or insights from your own journey as an author that you believe would be helpful to share with others?
For the storytelling aspect of it all, tell stories you find entertaining. I can’t remember the exact quote, but Step- hen King said something along those lines about how he writes stories he finds entertaining. If you find the story entertaining, surely someone will find it entertaining, too. Just cross your fingers that the person is someone who can make things happen for you, like a literary agent or publisher.
There are two sides to the world-bu- ilding, some of which I have already
touched on. But for the assassin side, I had to think deeply about how it
would be in real life. There are these different companies, like Hazardous, the one Abigail works for. How
do those companies differentiate
from one another? I love tattoos and incorporated that into the culture of
assassins. They are mostly heavily tattooed people. In John Wick, you see some of that, and I loved that as a visual. The alternative, counter-culture aspect of it all gave my assassin world a personality. I thought
about the legality of it all. How would this conflict with state laws in the U.S. versus federal? What restrictions would there be? Also, the corrupti- on of it all. Power, money, and violence are all
corrosive things. Sure, power and money can be used for good, but this book shows the evil of it. Abigail believes she is doing good, but not many people on the other end of her gun truly deserve to die. That is the corruption of it all. A world
of violence devouring itself. So, there was that element of showcasing this in a political way but also in a compelling thriller story.
The other side is the Norse mythology element. I naturally have a fascination with Scandinavian culture and lore. The recent God of War games gave that interest a major boost. I also read Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. In that book, he has a few pages dedicated to the creative process.
He talked about adhering to the mythology but taking influences from other people’s stories and the fact that much of that part of history is gone. It is gone because of a mixture of factors, which leads to creative freedom. I wanted to make this
My advice on the publishing side is to learn. Read about what other people have to say. Read about pe- ople’s experiences. It is a complicated world that I am still figuring out myself. Take those chances and learn from them if it doesn’t pan out. Life is all about taking action and then learning from the outcome, whether it is a win or loss. Just know that once you get your foot in the door, then some good will come out of it. Oppor- tunities will, hopefully, come along. For me, I got to
believable so that when you get the explanation later on in the book, it comes together in a way
that is digestible. Some of that explanation makes no sense because it is magical. Other
do interviews like this, which is great. Now that I have done something like this, maybe the right person will read it, and I can get another interview or another great opportunity.
parts feel real. I wanted to balance something that readers could have a firm grasp on, like
the characters, but also feel just as confused as Abigail when navigating this fantastical
Tristan Zelden crafts a mesmerizing fusion of urban fantasy and thriller, showcasing meticulous world-building and compelling character dynamics.
Reader’s House II 43
D