Today, I am happy to be bringing you an interview with author P.L. He was born in Toronto, Canada. He holds a university degree in English, specializing in Medieval Literature. P.L. is an assistant editor with 'Before We Go Blog' blogging Team.
He is the author of 'The Drowned Kingdom Series'. Lets find out a bit more !
Tell me about yourself
I am an avid supporter of fellow creatives and a proud member of the greater writing community, which includes readers, writers, bloggers, editors, literary agents, and more. I currently live in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. I am married, and my wife Debbie and I have seven children, and one precocious grandchild between us. I hold a university degree in English, specializing in Medieval Literature. I am an assistant editor, along with the awesome Brianna Snider, with the 'Before We Go Blog' blogging Team, headed by the fabulous Beth Tabler. I also work in Federal Law Enforcement. How long have you been writing? I've been writing stories since I was a young boy, but did not seriously write with an aim to publish until my late 40s, and finally publishing A Drowned Kingdom, my first novel, in my 50s. Just goes to show you, while there's life, inspiration, ability, dedication, and sacrifice, there's hope to publish. What inspired you to write your chosen genre? For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to write an epic high fantasy book, about an interesting main character. My favourite books growing up, and now into mid-life, are fantasy books by far. Amazing authors that I have read over the years have inspired me to write my own tale. Some of them, such as N.K. Jemisin, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Bernard Cornwell, John Gwynne, P.J. Djeli Clark, were the ones who made me want to write in the first place. Now ones I have read in recent years, like Bjorn Larssen, T.L. Coughlin, Lucien Telford, Sean R. Bell, H.L. Tinsley, Tim Hardie, Krystle Matar, Angela Boord, Eve Koguce, R.P. Lauer, A.R. Mirabal, and others make me want to keep writing, and strive for continuous improvement in the craft. What do you enjoy about writing your chosen genre? Fantasy is such a special genre because it can teach, inspire, or simply entertain. I try to do all three, and more, with my writing, but that's up to the reader how they interpret mine or any book. I love reading fantasy because, in the end, it's all made up, and one can escape in a completely fabricated universe for a while, when they read the genre. I love writing it for the same reasons. Tell me about your Drowned Kingdom Series. The Drowned Kingdom Saga is a seven-book planned series that centres on a flawed and bigoted Prince named Othrun, second-in-line to the throne of what was widely considered the greatest civilization in the known world. Othrun is the leader of the last survivors of my version of Atlantis, which has been sunk beneath the waves. Othrun manages to take his exiles across the Shimmering Sea to a new continent, filled with hostile warlords, and mages who seem to wield the power of Elemental, pagan magic. Othrun tries to establish a foothold for his people, while trying to bring his monothesitc religion to the continent, forge alliances, face his long-held beliefs when they are challenged, and simply survive. The series is filled with compelling and difficult themes, such as religious intolerance, racism, sexism and misogyny, homophobia, colonialism, and more. As the series progresses, the central issue becomes can Othrun change his bigotted ways, to what degree, and even if he does, if it's too late for him to be considered redeemable. The series also features lots of political intrigue, stirring battle scenes, love, and hope. A brilliant fellow author, Bjron Larssen, labels my book 'moral grimdark' (he writes the same kind of book) to give readers an idea what to expect from reading The Drowned Kingdom Saga. Are you working on anything at the moment? Now that the release of Book Two in The Drowned Kingdom Saga, called The Last of the Atalanteans, is imminent - within the next two months - no rest for the wicked. I am hard at work on Book Three of The Drowned Kingdom Saga, entitled Lord and King. This book will take Othrun's journey to a whole new level, and I believe readers will find it full of action, lots of romance, intense drama, plenty of twists, and some shocking developments at the end of the book which I hope will leave a few jaws dropped! The anticipated release for Lord and King is early in 2023. If you could tell your younger writing self-anything, what would it be? I would tell my younger self that the journey will be long and fraught with challenges, but it will all be worth it. What does literary success look like to you? It's so hard to define. I think if I had to quantify it: a long writing career, writing into my 70s or 80s, writing books that people continue to enjoy, hopefully some decent sales along the way, perhaps a writing award or two, and most importantly a continued sense of immense satisfaction in writing quality fantasy, that makes people think, and makes them want to keep reading more. What advice would you give a new author? Don't give up, publish anyway you can, as much as you can, for as long as you can. Write, write, write, and keep writing, and read, read, read, and keep reading, because that is one of the biggest factors in making you a better writer. What do you like to do when not writing? In my down time from writing, I love spending time with family, in particular my lovely wife, Debbie, trying to get some exercise time in, reading, and watching the occasional show on Netflix. The Witcher, The Crown, The Last Kingdom, and Bridgerton are among my recent Netflix faves.
A big thank you to P.L. Stuart for sharing with us today. If a much needed escape into an epic fantasy is your jam, check out the links below.
