Happy Friday, friends! Today's blog is another interview with a fellow indie author: M.A. Vice, author of The Impavidus Cycle. Read on for my chat with Meg from last week!
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Talli: I’ll start by asking for a little intro! Tell me a little about your book; what’s the genre, what’s your elevator pitch, and what do you love most about it?
Meg: My novel Birthright is a new adult dark fantasy sort of coming of age tale. It's about a young daemon who is guided by the voice of his father, the progenitor of all daemons, to cut down all the humans he can to gather the power of their souls so his father can create a body for himself. But when he runs across and is taken in by an ancient Order of immortals who show him his father's corruption, his worldview crumbles and he begins to doubt everything he was taught.
The thing I love most about my book are my characters. They're like old friends, they've been with me a long time, and I hope readers feel the same!
Talli: The concept of Birthright sounds so freakin' cool. I haven't yet finished the book, but I'm enjoying what I've read so far!
I can already see how much you care about your characters, and I absolutely understand the feeling of them being like friends!! I feel the same way about mine. How long have these characters and their story been with you? What first gave you the idea for them?
Meg: My characters originated from a fanfiction I started working on around 2009. I won't say what it was... a lot of my readers know already, but I've been told it's unrecognizable now, haha. Some of the characters who appear in my book actually date all the way back to around 2002, if you can believe it!
Talli: Omg I love that!! I've had so many stories originate with fanfics. Wow, so this story has been with you for a long time, then!! That's awesome. How much of it has changed, and how much has stayed the same?
Meg: Almost nothing is the same from where I began. Character personalities have done a complete 180, many don't have the same names, and the story was originally supposed to transition from fantasy to post-apocalyptic sci-fi! I've since learned that I don't have to cram every possible idea into my stories, and Birthright has been in its current form more or less for the past five years, with only minor changes since then.
Talli: Oh wow!! that'd be such an interesting shift of genres in the same book, but I can see why that didn't make it to the final version haha. That'd certainly be a huge project. And omg yes, I had to learn the same thing about my books too; one story doesn't have to be a million things! And that def makes the writing process easier too lol
So Birthright as it is has been around for 5 years! Did you ever consider traditionally publishing it, or did you aim for self publishing from the beginning? What made you choose that path?
Meg: I did briefly consider trad pub, but after learning about the way the whole process works I ultimately decided that I'd rather have complete freedom over the way I tell my story, the cover design (I do my own cover art and design, by the way), all those things! I found the self publishing process to be difficult, but ultimately worth it to have total control over my story. Once I've completed the series I may try for trad pub, who knows! I do plan to traditionally publish a YA Victorian Gothic once this series is done, though.
Talli: Ahaha yeaaah the trad pub process is a hot mess, so I don't blame you. I kinda have a foot in each door; I went with self pub for my first book for similar reasons to yours -- I wanted control, and I didn't want to force that book into an industry mold. But I still have hopes to trad pub a trilogy in the future! I wish you all the luck with all your publishing goals!!
Your Victorian gothic book sounds neat!! What else have you got brewing, and what can we look forward to next from you?
Meg: My work is cut out for me for the next few years with finishing The Impavidus Cycle, and book two, Nightfall, will be out on November 5th! After that, I've got a lot of ideas for new stories - but I think I'll always keep writing in this universe. It's special to me.
Talli: Ahhh that's so soon!! Excitingggg!!! How many books do you have planned for the Impavidus Cycle?
Meg: The main series will be 3 books, but I have at least 3 spin offs and prequels planned as well!
Talli: NICE yay!! Thank you so much for chatting :D
Meg: Thank you!
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I've not finished Birthright quite yet -- it requires me to not be tired when I read it, so that doesn't happen super often lol -- but based on what I've read so far, I can tell you that Meg is exceptionally skilled at worldbuilding and characterization. I'm definitely looking forward to continuing this epic book!
If you want to check out Birthright, you can find it here! And find Meg on Twitter to catch updates about the upcoming sequel, Nightfall.
Thanks for reading, and I'll catch y'all next week!
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