Meet our SFF Indie author of the Month, Louise Holland. A voracious reader, writer and lover of all things fantasy, Louise has played Dungeons & Dragons for many years and uses her table’s adventures as inspiration for her works. She currently lives in Adelaide, Australia, where she spends most of her time wearing an obscene amount of pink, playing (heavily modded) Skyrim, and listening to a completely normal amount of Taylor Swift.
- To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
Hi hello! I’m Australian, but I was born halfway around the world in Malmo, Sweden. My father was working for the Submarine Corps and was contracted there for a year right as my mother got pregnant with me. Unfortunately I don’t have anything cool to show for it (like an accent or dual citizenship), just a pain in the ass to get any documentation since my 80’s birth certificate is in Swedish.
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
At twelve I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist, as was the style at the time, or of course a pop star like Britney Spears. Eighteen was journalism; I did one semester of university before dropping out due to a combination of undiagnosed ADHD and my mother’s chemotherapy (she’s fine now). Thirty? I had no idea. I just wanted to make enough money to support doing what I really love, which is writing, being with my family, and playing tabletop games with my beloved idiot friends. Holds true now more than ever.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you do not have now?
Oh gods, this is a bit early in the interview to be getting existential don’t you think? I was very naive when I was younger. I’d say I believed that if you were nice and did whatever anyone asked of you then you’d automatically be loved and respected. I don’t believe that now – the world is a much darker place than it was in 2006, but also I think I’ve learned to stop giving people my energy who simply don’t deserve it. I’ve stopped trying to make everyone like me and no longer tolerate bad behaviour.
4. What were three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – you can now say had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
Music is incredibly important to me, I couldn’t live without it. Seeing Moulin Rouge when I was 12-13 (objectively WAY too young lol) opened me up to a world of musicals and theatre I’ve only fallen further in love with as time goes by (don’t get me started on Wicked!). Telling story through song is beautiful in such a unique way – you’re limited in time, so the words have to count. Anyone who’s spent more than 6 seconds in my presence will know I am a massive fan of Taylor Swift, who is a master storytelling craft in songwriting. I recommend those not sure of her sound to listen to the indie-folk album folklore in particular. Lyrics like “They told me all of my cages were mental/so I got wasted like all my potential” “the greatest films of all time were never made” “is it romantic how all my elegies eulogise me?” are poignant and inspire me to find not only the words, but to be mindful of the cadence and feel of sentences. Reading should be a joy; the writing should sing to you.
5. Considering the innumerable artistic avenues open to you, why did you choose to write a novel?
I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I used to write awful Harry Potter fanfiction on my parent’s windows 95 cream monstrosity of a computer. I also used to write these dorky fake news articles about myself as a grown up pop singer/movie star, usually filled with dating rumours of whatever celebrity I was obsessed with at the time. My blog on MySpace was filled with short stories and poetic musings (all terrible, thank god they’re lost to the ages). A novel was a natural progression.
6. Please tell us about your novel, Spark of the Divine.
Spark of the Divine is a love letter to all the fantasy experiences I’ve ever had. You might already know it was originally a real-life Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but that’s an oversimplification. Adapting the journey my friends and I had into a novel soon transformed into a renewed passion for the written word, and before long I was weaving scenes, characters and stories that never appeared on the table.
Spark of the Divine follows a group of adventurers attempting to restore stolen godpower, and along the way they have to face the parts of themselves they’d rather keep buried. There’s warring countries, realm-hopping, shape-shifting, religious guilt, romance, betrayal, espionage, gunfire & sword fights, and a masked ball to top it all off.
Spark of the Divine is what I’d call a romantic adventure fantasy. Sure, there’s a big long quest to save the gods and all the chaos of battles and action that come with it – but it’s really the story of a group of people learning to trust each other. Spark’s real strength is its characters. A book could have the most interesting plot in the world, but it isn’t worth much if nobody cares about who it’s happening to.
Spark is comforting and uplifting and bittersweet, and at the end of the day, it’s about who you want next to you when you’re trying to stop the world imploding.
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
I hope they feel like they made friends. I hope they carry the message that grief is only love in a heavy coat, and allowing those around you to help shoulder the burden does not make you weak, it makes you loved. I hope they can tell just how much love and care I placed into every word on the pages. Besides a typo or two. I’m human. It happens.
8. Whom do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
Robin Hobb. Discovering she was a woman was what flicked the light bulb in my brain that maybe I could do this, I could be a real fantasy writer.I had the pleasure of listening to her speak at Dragonsteel 2024; her journey is incredibly inspiring.
I especially appreciated her speaking about the balancing act of having to take her kids with her to early cons, missing out on being involved with anthologies set up by other authors in the bar afterwards because she was with her family instead. It’s easy to feel disadvantaged when everyone’s in their own little cliques. Robin’s pioneering of fantasy as a genre women belong in did more for the world (and for me) than I can put into words.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
Short answer: write more books.
I don’t often set specific goals or deadlines, because I’ll wallow in self-loathing if I don’t make them and end up wasting even MORE time. I try to write every 48 hours, but I don’t beat myself up if I can’t. Life is hard. I also used to think about distracting things like crazy special editions and paintings and whatnot, but the truth is none of that matters compared to just writing more books. Write the damn books first!
I do dangle carrots occasionally – I’ve promised myself that when I finish the first Kalaraak Chronicles trilogy I’ll celebrate by commissioning art by the incredible Stephanie Brown (@/offbeatworlds). So expensive art is my motivation.
10. What advice do you give aspiring writers?
I have picked up SO many little isms over the past few years, I’ll share my favourites.
You can’t edit a blank page.
Every book you read is a last draft, their first was probably just as bad as yours.
The first draft’s job is to exist outside your brain.
Criticism is to help you improve, but it shouldn’t be nasty.
Read your dialogue out loud as you’re writing it.
Write the story you want to tell, in a way you’d want your best friend (or dad or whoever) to read. Reading is an experience and you want your readers to enjoy it, so if you want to sell books you do have to consider their perspective. But it’s still YOUR story. Don’t write a story about dragons if you actually think dragons are boring just because ‘The Market said dragons are so hot right now’. Write what you love or it will feel hollow.
If you’re feeling down, read one star reviews of your favourite books. You’ll soon learn it’s impossible to be everyone’s cup of tea. Some people prefer coffee, and others don’t like hot drinks at all. Be patient and you will find your tea drinkers – books don’t expire. I was incredibly lucky to find my tea party on twitter and at local indie author events. Actually, that’s another one: say yes to more things! Unless you’re close to burning out, the only way to put yourself out there is to get out there. (I hate this. I hate that it’s true and I can’t just Suzanne Collins myself into famed obscurity.)
Thank you so much to Mark and Booktopia for giving me the Indie Author Spotlight for May. I appreciate it so much!
–Lou
Thank you for playing, Lou!
Spark of the Divine
SAVE THE GODS. SAVE THEIR REALM.
As a Divine, Mae wields her strange gifts quietly as a mercenary-until a simple rescue job sees the crew uncover a plot to steal divinity from the gods themselves. When the god Mae serves is attacked, she must restore their power before the seven realms are thrown into chaos.
With the kingdom of Altaea already on the edge of war, and the divinity of all gods at stake, the crew must travel beyond their country and their realm to save it. But each member has their own agenda, and secrets of romance and betrayal threaten to break them apart.
Originally inspired by a years-long Dungeons and Dragons campaign; and the first instalment in fantasy series The Kalaraak Chronicles, SPARK OF THE DIVINE follows a group of reluctant heroes on a quest to save a god while the fate of the realms hangs in the balance. Will they each find what they desperately seek, or will the secrets they keep from one another be their undoing? Can they master their fears to defeat an evil their world has never seen?
Is it the strength of the god that matters, or the belief of the Divine?
Comments
No comments