Hi fantasy fans! I’ve got a real treat for you today, I sat down to chat with the lovely Becky James, author of The Tenets in the Tattoos, one of the most unique and gripping fantasy books of the last few years!
Keep reading to find out what we chatted about…
LH: Hi Becky! Thanks for joining me. First off, can you tell us a little about yourself?
BJ: I write NA sword and sorcery mashed with contemporary fantasy, about a cocky swordsman and his exasperated friends. I’m also writing something more fantasy-romance themed, it’s shaping up nicely. I like noblebright, with worldbuilding threaded throughout the plot, and anything unexpected. I love it when a story comes full circle and closes off nicely, ready for the next.
I’m from Wales originally, then I moved to Scotland, now I’m trying out living in England. (I’ll do Ireland one day to complete the set). I speak conversational Welsh, French and Japanese and eager to learn more languages. I am a massive extrovert, but nearly all my friends are introverts, so I know how not to energy vampire them. I will still talk your ear off though.
LH: As a card-carrying introvert, we appreciate you! And if it’s about your books, I’ll happily let you talk my ear off for hours. When did you start writing and what inspired you?
BJ: I got into fantasy young, and I’m all for stories that use the settings / events to explore human nature and character-driven storylines. My first “grown up” fantasy writer was Eddings, and I love that balance of humour and heart.
LH: I love a character-driven story too, it’s the characters I fall for more so than the plot, especially when there’s a big group of them and we can really get to know and love each one over the course of a series. Sarah J. Maas is my favourite author for that, introducing lots of new faces slowly over a long series, and making me obsess over every single one. What are some of your favourite books, and why?
BJ: What I love is when characters and their choices drive the story, rather than weathering event after event thrown at them. Fantasy books – I’ve been told my books are like Trudi Canavan’s (what an honour!) I love Eddings, especially The Redemption of Althalus; the banter is absolute mint. T. Kingfisher’s whimsy and rollicking prose is always a good time.
Other books I enjoy are more on the adult romance side – I am a huge fan of Alexis Hall, his portrayal of modern age Britain is so real and visceral, from sullied seaside towns to the dreaming spires of Oxford, and the relationships between the characters are so well done.
LH: It sounds like you have a very eclectic taste, and I can see that coming through in your writing. Tell us a little about your first published book.
BJ: The Tenets in the Tattoos is my debut novel, so it will always be my baby. I do enjoy a delicious comeuppance, especially if I think whoever this is happening to absolutely deserved it. Thorrn starts off as an overconfident swordsman, convinced he’s god’s gift, and you can just bet he’s heading for a wake-up call. So my favourite early scene to write is when Thorrn realises he was wrong about someone and acted rashly. He goes careening around the castle trying to find her to right his mistake, and everyone he meets is telling them how much they have come to like her… it’s just so tasty, I was laughing so hard.
My favourite scene from The Tenets in the Tattoos has to be when they try to convince Aubin they are in a dreamworld. The apothecarist is confused by what’s real and what’s not, and Thorrn hits on the idea of using his tattoos, those small details, to prove to Aubin that he’s in the waking world. Next time you’re in a dream, try looking at your watch. You won’t be able to discern a time, and those details are what will shock Aubin into realising he’s dreaming. So Thorrn designs a tattoo, and he chooses something to represent the group; a sword for him, a book for Evyn, a rock for the stone mage, and then a plant for Aubin. He chooses the spikiest, scariest looking plant he can find, modelled after sea holly. And then Aubin calmly informs him that that plant helps with, ahem, male personal problems. You can feel the wind knocked right out of Thorrn’s sails!
LH: That’s hilarious! I love all of the detail and meaning you’ve woven through the story, it adds so many layers and gives the reader so much more than they expected! Where do you find inspiration for your characters or settings?
BJ: My stories are heavily UK influenced, from the mythology and folklore to the settings (semi-rural British countryside and our canals feature a lot. Slightly obsessed with canals). I’ll feature the dreaming spires of Oxford next to steel-crash impacted Sheffield, and there needs to be more about the laylines influencing Milton Keynes and the real story behind the Magic Roundabout in Swindon.
As for characters, well, Thorrn walked into my head one day and wouldn’t leave me alone. So it goes!
LH: Being from Sheffield, I heavily support this, and my books are similarly filled with British folklore and the realities of life in a Northern ex-mining town. Plus, who doesn’t love canals? Their history is fascinating. I’ll have to pick your brain about them another time! Do you consider yourself a plotter, pantser or plantser?
BJ: I’ll be writing away and have no idea where this is going. The characters have a situation in front of them, and it’s up to them to solve it. I’m hardly ever involved! I guess that makes me a pantser, but I’ll be pantsing along and some item or event from earlier in the book or series suddenly has a role. Maybe that’s a special type of plantser (plant as in planting things there – but utterly by accident). This just supports my theory that we actually just channel stories, like some kind of medium, and that the author has very little to do with the process apart from technical execution!
LH: I know exactly what you mean, the number of times I’ve foreshadowed something without even realising it or meaning to, those are my absolute favourite moments when writing! So, what are you working on right now?
BJ: I am writing a fantasy romance! It will be featured in the Realm of Darkness set.
LH: Ooh, I’m very excited to read this collection! What one piece of advice would you give aspiring authors?
BJ: A popular Welsh saying is, “It never hurts to ask the question. Them that don’t ask don’t want.” Always try, because rather an ‘oops’ than a ‘never was’.
LH: Brilliant advice, and so true, I feel like so many people don’t even try to achieve their dreams because they’re afraid of failing or looking daft. It’s only the ones who are willing to fall flat on their faces, and then pick themselves back up, who succeed.
Thank you so much for chatting with me today, Becky! It’s been a dream. Before I let you go, how can we find out more about you and your books?
That was so much fun, I love chatting with my fellow UK-based indie authors, it’s such a treat to share so much in common. And Becky is just the loveliest. And incredibly talented to boot! I’m not jealous at all…
Go check out The King’s Swordsman series and the Realm of Darkness boxset and enjoy some fabulous fantasy stories, and support an indie author!
Happy reading,
Lyndsey
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Lyndsey Hall | Author 