We chat with writer Lindsey Byrd about The Sun Blessed Prince, which follows a prince whose contact creates life meets a soldier chosen by loss of life. However can they forge a future collectively, from reverse sides of an amazing battle?
Hello, Lindsey! Are you able to inform our readers a bit about your self?
Hello, thanks for having me right here! I’m an writer and a historian who presently works on the historical past of antibiotics and tuberculosis in my day job. I’m a proud canine guardian and I presently run a YouTube Channel and Spotify Podcast entitled Lindsey Byrd in Writing is Laborious the place I interview
When did you first uncover your love for writing and tales?
I’ve been writing since childhood, making up explanations and looking for sense and motive in my life. Every time I couldn’t clarify one thing, I had a narrative for why it was so. All of it continued from there!
Fast lightning spherical! Inform us:
- The primary e-book you ever bear in mind studying: Chicka Chicka Growth Growth
- The one which made you need to turn into an writer: I don’t assume there was a selected e-book that made me need to be an writer, it was a collective effort!
- The one that you would be able to’t cease fascinated about: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke – the thought of studying my characters out of my e-book or studying myself right into a e-book captivated my childhood and creativeness and it’ll at all times stick with me.
Your debut novel, The Solar Blessed Prince, is out now! For those who might solely describe it in 5 phrases, what would they be?
Glacially sluggish burn political fantasy
What can readers count on?
Don’t count on a romance! There’s a sluggish burn on this e-book, however it’s the primary of a duology and the primary couple must take time to get right into a place the place a relationship is even on the desk for both of them. There may be affection, and craving, and fondness between them for sure – however this e-book just isn’t about them coming collectively. What it does as a substitute is delve into the political machinations between two international locations at battle, in addition to the non secular and cultures stress surrounding what life and loss of life actually imply. The principle characters are every coping with completely different flash factors of stress – coming to phrases with the horrors of their very own nation’s ruling occasion, going through bigotry in addition to internalized disgrace, and confronting their very own trauma that has come on the type of each damaged households and damaged politics. There’s a discovered household right here, and the top purpose message – each life is sacred and deserves to be protected resonates all through. However it may take some time for a few of these characters to really consider that, and dream of a future the place one thing like love may even be an possibility for them.
The place did the inspiration for The Solar Blessed Prince come from?
I used to be impressed by the Netflix film The Outdated Guard which follows the story of a bunch of immortal warriors attempting to make the world a greater place. I actually appreciated the character dynamics, and (particularly because it was launched throughout Covid) I started questioning what it is perhaps prefer to dwell endlessly. From there, I fell right into a rabbit gap of: for those who might dwell endlessly, what would your relationship with life even be? What is life with out loss of life? Does it maintain any worth? After which if somebody might affect one other individual’s life or loss of life, how would that take form? The tireless efforts of our medical employees throughout the pandemic led me to query: for those who had a bunch of people that might heal something at a contact, would they be exploited by society to maintain it perpetually evergreen? The remainder simply fell into place afterwards.
Have been there any moments or characters you actually loved writing or exploring?
A lot of this e-book follows extraordinarily flawed characters which might be attempting their finest to do the very best they will. Elician, the Solar Blessed Prince, suffers from deep nervousness over ever being found as greater than he’s. Cat is so used to issues by no means going his manner that he merely doesn’t count on good issues to occur. Fenlia, the third POV character, desires so badly to slot in however appears like she is such a failure at all the pieces she is predicted to try this she’ll by no means correctly succeed. They’re all so sophisticated and diversified, however what I loved essentially the most is the moments the place they discovered sparks of validation. On this e-book specifically, the ending is one thing I feel will at all times stand out to me. The ultimate moments of the e-book the place two characters lastly have a much-needed dialog – no mendacity or obfuscating, no masks or shields, simply really speaking to 1 one other and being up entrance about what they genuinely need out of the world was a scene that I feel I’ll maintain onto from this e-book. And to me, it’s the right arrange for all the pieces that transpires within the second.
Did you face any challenges while writing? How did you overcome them?
I began penning this e-book whereas I used to be ending my MA, and I instantly began on the sequel. Nevertheless, I then started my PhD research and moved to France. Between the transfer, the brand new life experiences, and looking for a stability – I needed to put the collection to the facet of the road for some time. It took perhaps a full 12 months earlier than I lastly returned to it, and I did so primarily as a result of I beloved it a lot and simply wished it performed. As soon as I dedicated myself to ending the story, it went fast, however I wanted to stability all my instructional commitments on the identical time which was actually a problem. Actually, I don’t advocate individuals attempt to publish a e-book and do a PhD on the identical time. It’s actually onerous, and really anxious. I solely overcame it as a result of I beloved the story a lot and writing helped me not take into consideration my thesis for some time.
Are you able to inform us a bit about your course of in creating the world that The Solar Blessed Prince is ready in?
The magic system for The Solar Blessed Prince got here in a short time. I knew I wished to have life and loss of life and folks with opposing powers managing to manage both. What took extra time to flush out was how the cultures themselves reacted to them. If somebody had the flexibility to heal any wound – in our world they might in a short time be exploited. Anybody with a sick beloved one would rush to the Giver as quickly as potential. At any second, in the event that they stopped therapeutic – the guilt and rush of “why can’t you save me too” would come up. We noticed a few of this with important employees throughout Covid, the place there was nothing that these employees might do proper. They had been continually on the entrance traces and blamed for any deaths that occurred of their care. I spent a very long time agonizing over learn how to design this tradition and the way individuals would react to Givers consequently.
The inverse is true for the Reapers – and for them I appeared largely at how society treats these with illness. Worry, rejection, and abandonment. A must cowl up or be eliminated fully from society so they can’t inflict their sickness on others. Masking their pores and skin, carrying bells – these are all issues that we’ve got seen in historical past with those that confirmed bodily indicators of sickness that terrified populations. However, inside ailing populations are assist teams and inside communities of those that have all skilled the identical prejudice. The Reapers thus have their very own group and communication that units them other than those that othered them from the outset.
All of this can be a actually long-winded manner of claiming that my course of is basically about absolutely understanding the tradition and impression of who these characters are and what their lives would seem like past the narrative I’m particularly telling. I then constructed the world round that tradition and used these key factors to develop the plot.
That is your debut novel! What was the highway to changing into a broadcast writer like for you?
I completed my first e-book after I was a young person after which wrote numerous others in between. I attempted on and off to search out an agent. I printed “On the Topic of Griffons” by way of the indie press: Riptide Publishing in 2019 however then bought swept up in my MA work and set an try at a writing profession to the facet for a bit as I centered on my graduate research. I by no means stopped writing although, and at one level had over 2 million phrases of fanfiction posted on my A03 account. I began writing The Solar Blessed Prince in 2020, and by 2022 felt fairly assured with it and its sequel. I started to question brokers once more, and truthfully it was a really quick expertise. I began querying in about February 2023. By March I had two full requests, and by Could I had signed my contract with my Agent – Maddy Belton.
We did a number of editorial edits previous to going out on submission in September 2023, and as soon as we submitted…I used to be ready to attend a very long time to listen to again. Inside a number of weeks although I had gotten the provide from Bella Pagan at Tor UK. Tor has lengthy been my dream writer and I used to be ecstatic.
In October we bought the interpretation rights for the Italian model, and in December I heard that somebody at Random Home Canada was within the e-book however had in the end determined to cross. I wasn’t sure I might get North American protection at that time and my agent prompt we anticipate a bit earlier than going again on submission in North America to see if perceptions may change as soon as we had a very edited e-book with a canopy.
See additionally
I left for a piece convention in January 2024, and after I bought again my agent contacted me and mentioned she had some attention-grabbing information. The editor at Random Home Canada, Amanda Ferreira, couldn’t cease fascinated about my e-book, introduced it again to her crew and requested them to rethink their place. They supplied me a contract, and I very fortunately accepted.
Bella and Amanda have been large champions for this e-book, and I used to be so completely happy I set to work with each of them on bringing it to life.
What’s subsequent for you?
Proper now, I’m making ready to work on the edits for the sequel to The Solar Blessed Prince. We hope to have the quilt reveal later this summer season. I’ll be heading to Worldcon in August and I’m trying ahead to speaking to everybody there.
I’ve a number of writing initiatives which might be within the works, however I’m ending up my PhD dissertation and transitioning into a brand new educational work scenario, so issues are a bit sluggish in the meanwhile as I attempt to juggle profession paths. I hope I’ll be capable of get it out on submission by the top of the 12 months, however we’ll see the way it goes!
Lastly, what books are you trying ahead to choosing up this 12 months?
I’m actually trying ahead to Katabasis by RF Kuang – that feels very cathartic on the finish of my PhD journey!
I’m additionally trying ahead to getting my fingers on: M. Stevenson’s Behooved, Brittney Enviornment’s A Dance of Lies, Shalini Abeysekara’s This Monster of Mine, and Alexandra Kennington’s Blood Beneath the Snow.
