What’re some things that inspired you to write your Luckless books?
Initially, I had set out to write something to submit to an open call for novellas that Tor Books had been doing. The very, very early concept idea was "What if the opposite of The Last Unicorn?" where I was trying to imagine what kind of problems might be caused if you had too many unicorns. The Last Unicorn is one of my favorite movies/books of all time, so it was obviously a big influence on me and the tone of the story.
Gradually, it evolved into something a bit bigger than just that story seed. I think I wanted to tell a story about someone who goes through a lifetime of bad luck and to have it feel both like it was all for a reason AND to highlight that things could always be worse. Sort of a way to process tragedy and horror through an optimistic lens that doesn't outright dismiss how much it sucks to live through it all. That's how Bailey, my poor luckless son, came to be the protagonist. He's just out there doing his best but the world has other plans, and he does sometimes let that get him down but never lets it stop him, and I think that makes him heroic.
I'm sure anyone that knows me and my own life story would understand why I'd relate to writing about someone who is constantly assailed by bad luck but keeps on truckin' XD
I wanted to write something that was fun but heartfelt, that was fantasy but pointed out the absurdity of some of the common tropes, and that broke convention from the genre in other places. I wanted to build a world where the conflicts didn't have to rely on being overly gritty or bogged down with real world foils like racism and sexism and bigotry, but still pack emotional punch. I also wanted it to be diverse and character-focused, so that the personalities involved in the story drove it forward more than anything else.
lol and of course once I started worldbuilding, I built a nice sandbox to write not just Unlucky in, but a much longer saga. I like worldbuilding a LOT so there's a ton of lore for Skael that we haven't even scratched the surface on, and I look forward to getting more of the stories out there so I can share it. :) It's slow going, but I can always be encouraged to work a little faster if people show an interest ;)
You can buy a copy of Unlucky here, if you're interested in absurdity, sincerity, disaster gays, and murderous unicorns. <3
