#fantasy-authors — Public Fediverse posts

Author Spotlight: Fantasy Author Dylan Madeley

Dylan Madeley (he/him) lives in the neighbourhood of Mimico by the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario. He was the copy editor of and a frequent contributor to Auxiliary Magazine, an alternative fashion and music zine, from late 2012 until 2022. He has appeared at The Word on the Street Festival in Toronto, Canada’s largest book fair, and at the Ad Astra literary conference. He has released nine fantasy books, of which six remain available on the market.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: dylanmadeley.com

Read a Sample: The Last Gift-Knight (Amazon CA)

Pitch for Readers/Book Clubs:
A troubled wanderer is summoned to serve as the personal guard of a rival family. He follows the route of a heroic ancestor through storied places, the depths of loneliness and suspicion, and a growing question of what he must do.

A bookish princess struggles with grief, responsibilities, and the same conspiracy which accidentally empowered her. Soon she must contend with a troubled wanderer.

Your novel, The Last Gift-Knight, is out now. Where did the idea come from, and can you talk us through your author journey from idea to draft to published novel?

The full journey has taken closer to twenty years. In 2006, close to graduating from York University on a more journalism-oriented Professional Writing degree, I had a couple of ideas. I was unsure of how to bring either of them to a novel’s length without losing personal interest in the work, so I combined them: one of these ideas became Derek’s journey, the other was Chandra’s mystery, and together they formed the main plot of “The Gift-Knight’s Quest” (written 2008, extended and released in 2015).

This was not quite well received, and softer editing attempts around 2018/2019 did little to help. In hindsight, it feels as if I wrote two sequels and four prequels and a novella as a broad learning experience which helped me understand how my first book should always have been.

I have since unpublished it, and its two sequels, and rewritten it entirely. The wider series was restructured, meanwhile, to begin with “Prince Ewald the Brave” so nothing is really a prequel anymore.

“The Last Gift-Knight” has two intended meanings as a title. It refers to a character who could be the last to serve in a particular tradition. It is also about this book being the final version of itself, not to be rewritten again.

What are your main influences in fantasy, and how do they impact your writing?

Early on, I read whatever I could get my hands on, though many classics were abridged.

I liked quest-related fantasy and series like Chronicles of Prydain, and Narnia, and later on some Tolkien, without really appreciating the entirety of what the authors intended; I doubt I had much of a grasp on Frank Herbert which I liked for the similar reason of going away to worlds other than my own in a manner which I believed perfectly safe.

As I grew into an eccentric adult, I went on a big swing of New Wave SFF including Zelazny and Moorcock, with a bit of Angela Carter, and going back a bit to Bradbury and LeGuin.

The complete and extended version of King’s “The Stand” certainly left its mark on my liking for different/disparate points of view and weaving them together into a story. I don’t try to be any of them, but that only means I’m not immediately conscious of the full influence they could have on my work.

Let’s talk about the themes of the book – living up to expectations, imperialism, and dealing with generational wealth & privilege. How do you handle these themes, and did they appear organically or were these topics you set out to write about? 

With the contrast between Derek and Chandra, I wanted to show that legacy could convey burdens as well as privileges, and even those with privileges often feel burdens of their own. And that even the problematic elements to one’s ancestry can be supremely teachable, though it’s critically important which lessons one learns.

These characters are not puppets of fate, nor do they feel free of constraint, but each has choices to make within those parameters. Chandra’s father and stepmother are certainly at odds about the meaning and purpose of having such power.

Revolution/change is certainly a topic. People almost unanimously want something to change, but what and how? Would some of the attempted means spoil the desired ends? This plays itself out more among the minor characters, not all of whom are antagonists.

In “Prince Ewald the Brave”, right from the back cover copy a happy ending is framed as a more compassionate individual wresting the reins from a petty and irresponsible one; now a hundred years have gone by and every problem caused by the underlying system remains unsolved. Sometimes, those who would change the system only agree on doing away with Chandra’s family, and should they succeed they would almost immediately be at war with each other. It’s not wrong to want change but things can go terribly wrong on the way.

Introduce us to your MCs – Derek, a man of action, and Chandra, a bookish princess. Where did the ideas for these characters come from, and can you talk us through your character development process for them both? Were they fully formed before you wrote your draft, or did they evolve on the page, for example?

Derek’s personal woes are inspired by the too-common problem of going through one’s education expecting a particular career, feeling lost at the end of school, and struggling to find regular employment. He still feels drawn to a vaguely defined calling, which is denied him at every turn. This frustration, the disconnect he feels with his community, and the influence of his father, render him highly vulnerable to manipulation even if he tends to have good intentions.

In this last rendition of introducing the character, I felt like I was also creating an analogue to the experience of lost young/new adults today whose insecurity and lack of support render them vulnerable to manipulation from those who would offer them a “quest” – some dubious sense of purpose directed toward malicious ends – but not any genuine healing. It doesn’t take a terrible man to be misled, but Derek always has choices to make and remains entirely responsible for them.

Chandra feels disconnected for a different reason, as if she is not part of a family despite living with its privileges. She is left mostly to her own devices, which is a vast improvement from when a family member in a position of authority treated her with resentment while the other did too little to intervene. Then, unexpectedly, Chandra rules – no one can possibly be more a part of the family than its head. The problematic imperial history of House Kenderley and everything inherited from that is undeniably hers. True, she never chose any of this, but that power is hers regardless. What will she do with it?

Tell us a bit about the world you built for this story. What is your worldbuilding process – are you a world-first or character-first writer, or something else? Which parts of worldbuilding did you really enjoy, and what challenged you?

I build my stories from characters today, through their lives and development. It’s also true that I keep reusing the same world that I built before a single book had been published, and I have so far been unwilling to create any other. What used to challenge me most was names. You can find a couple of names throughout the series that remain from the old days, where I tried to create them. These days, I open baby naming websites and try to keep things culturally consistent, though vaguely at that.

Kensrik is an empire, and empires tend to contain multitudes, though not necessarily for nice reasons. Bayrock, capital of Kensrik, is also the greatest port city and trade destination in its world. In any case, I have owned the fact that aesthetic and cultural aspects of our world have inspired and will continue to inspire this one instead of pretending even for a second that I created it all from nothing.

Of the side characters, which ones do readers connect with or love to hate, and were these the characters you expected? 

I had one friend say they really liked the guard captain, Jan Donde, because he just seemed loyal and steadfast no matter the odds. He is otherwise rough around the edges and seems easily provoked. The question in the long term might be the true object of his loyalty: to Chandra, to her family name, to the empire…?

Can you share some of your favourite reviews and reader comments about the book so far?

“At every level, the author takes common settings and tropes and reworks them in subtle ways that made the story feel particularly rich.” M.C. Burnell, who left a nice review on Goodreads.

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Most fantasy worlds look cool.
Very few feel real.
Here’s how to create an immersive world your readers can truly experience—using the Greystar Universe as an example. 🧵
#FantasyWriting #Worldbuilding #Fantasy #FantasyAuthors #WritingTips #CreativeWriting #FantasyWorld #BookWriting #WritersLife

https://bmallane.com/how-to-build-a-fantasy-world-that-feels-real-greystar-universe-guide/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Fantasy worlds have histories too. Creating a timeline can keep your worldbuilding consistent and your story free of plot holes. Learn why timelines matter in fantasy writing. #FantasyWriting #Worldbuilding #FantasyAuthors #WritingCommunity #WritingTips #FantasyWorld #CreativeWriting

https://bmallane.com/does-creating-a-timeline-of-events-make-sense-when-writing-fantasy/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

A great fantasy story isn’t built on magic alone—it’s built on the world behind the magic. 🌍✨
Discover why setting is one of the most powerful tools in fantasy writing.
Read the full article:👉 bmallane.com
#FantasyWriting #Worldbuilding #AmWritingFantasy #FantasyAuthors #WritingTips #Worldbuilding

https://bmallane.com/why-setting-in-fantasy-writing-matters-more-than-you-realize/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Looking for a quick-read low fantasy in a Renaissance-inspired setting? While We Bleed is #FREE on many platforms and 99¢ on Kindle!

https://books2read.com/u/4Ae2kK

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Looking for a quick-read low fantasy in a Renaissance-inspired setting? While We Bleed is #FREE on many platforms and 99¢ on Kindle!

https://books2read.com/u/4Ae2kK

#writingcommunity #books #bookstodon #indieauthor #grimdark #booktok #writers #fantasyauthors #writerslife #Fantasylit #sff #writing #fantasy

Can't wait! #SongsOfChaos #SongsOfChaos4 #fantasy #fantasyauthor #fantasyauthors #dragonriders #epicfantasy #highfantasy #MichaelRMiller

#MichaelRMiller #SongsOfChaos #fantasyseries #dragonrider #dragonriders #dragonriderseries #SongsOfChaos4 #fantasyauthors #fantasyauthor I feel nostalgic thinking about how, back in 2023, I read my first novel in English – Ascendant, from the Songs of Chaos series.

#MichaelRMiller #SongsOfChaos #fantasyseries #dragonrider #dragonriders #dragonriderseries #SongsOfChaos4 #fantasyauthors #fantasyauthor Soon

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I would love some #BookRecommendations if anyone knows any!

I'm specifically after #fantasy #books with male #Queer protagonists, which are NOT romance focused (a little is fine, but I don't want to read a Romance™️ book). Incidental queerness.

I'd really like to read books by men or other queer writers. Women authors are great, but I struggle to find representation from a male perspective, if that makes sense

#Authors #FantasyWriters #FantasyAuthors #QueerSFF #LGBTAuthors #QueerAuthors

I would love some #BookRecommendations if anyone knows any!

I'm specifically after #fantasy #books with male #Queer protagonists, which are NOT romance focused (a little is fine, but I don't want to read a Romance™️ book). Incidental queerness.

I'd really like to read books by men or other queer writers. Women authors are great, but I struggle to find representation from a male perspective, if that makes sense

#Authors #FantasyWriters #FantasyAuthors #QueerSFF #LGBTAuthors #QueerAuthors

I finished the first big pass on the kiss/stab fantasy romance book. Fixed all the big problems, but now it’s time to look for the little problems. And also remove about 5k so I can put in a proper epilogue.

I really love editing. It’s where I get to make myself look smarter than I am! It’s like working with clay—the shape is there, but now I’ve got to score it and glaze it and fire it. #writingcommunity #bookstodon #fantasyauthors

I finished the first big pass on the kiss/stab fantasy romance book. Fixed all the big problems, but now it’s time to look for the little problems. And also remove about 5k so I can put in a proper epilogue.

I really love editing. It’s where I get to make myself look smarter than I am! It’s like working with clay—the shape is there, but now I’ve got to score it and glaze it and fire it. #writingcommunity #bookstodon #fantasyauthors

Hi #fantasywriters #writers #fantasy #readers ! Got any good recommendations for great books for the new year?

#fantasy #fantasybook #recommendations #authors #fantasyauthors

Hi #fantasywriters #writers #fantasy #readers ! Got any good recommendations for great books for the new year?

#fantasy #fantasybook #recommendations #authors #fantasyauthors