Author Spotlight: Queer Fantasy Author Avery Carter
Avery Carter (they/them) cannot remember a time where they didn’t want to create stories. They kept wondering what to do with their life, and finally settled on not settling. They are an English teacher and walking art museum, covered in tattoos, ocean blue hair tied out of their face, and square, purple glasses. They proudly proclaim that they are the “coolest person you know” to their students, and spend each day trying to live up to that title. They are a nonbinary queer author living in South Korea with their wife and two dogs. They spend their days writing new stories, and teaching their students to love words as much as they do.
Author Links:
Website: avery-carter.com
Instagram: @my_graceless_heart
Threads: @my_graceless_heart
What drew you to cozy fantasy as a subgenre in particular, and what made you write your novel Spellbound as older YA, and Honorbound set 5 years later?
A lot of my early reading experiences were informed by Tamora Pierce books and the warm, fuzzy feelings I got from reading her books. My first trilogy, the Moon Trilogy, is a lot darker than what I currently write, and I made the pivot when I wrote The Ghost and the Real Girl. Since then, I’ve enjoyed digging into the genre and exploring all of its little niches.
Spellbound and Honorbound are actually both YA! Honorbound is set five years later, but it has a new protagonist and cast, and a new setting. The characters we met in Spellbound are still hard at work, and they do appear in Honorbound, but both novels can be read as a stand-alone. Writing them as YA is a bit of a challenge, since I’m pretty removed from my teen years, but I enjoy the trainwreck aspects of it. Specifically, it’s fun having characters who know when something is messed up, but they don’t have enough knowledge to fix it. It’s a fun bit of drama.
What is your favourite thing about your protagonist in Spellbound, and what did you most enjoy developing about her in Honorbound?
Emily (the protagonist of Spellbound) is very much like myself. I put a lot of my own experiences into writing her. This carries into Honorbound as well. Without spoiling too much, we get the continuation of a loving relationship, the magical equivalent of screaming through a video call, and lots of researching.
Why a fishy sidekick, and is Orpheus making a return in the sequel?
Orpheus is based on a real-life betta fish I had at the time. I enjoyed the concept of Heroes having a Companion that matched their personality, and Emily’s was a betta fish. It was a good way to show that she isn’t like your typical Hero. Sadly, he doesn’t make an appearance in Honorbound, though we do get a few new Companions to love.
Can you tell us more about your worldbuilding; what sort of research did you do for your magical library setting, and can you tell us a little bit about your worldbuilding process in general?
For The Stacks, going in, I knew that I wanted there to be five levels, and that each level would tell stories in a different way. After that, it was just a matter of figuring out which Level had which trait.
My worldbuilding process usually starts with making a map. I love using Inkarnate to put together a map of the world my characters will live in, and then using that map to tease out details of the magic and the world itself. I tend to look at two things: Food, and Money. With those things, I can figure out what kind of landmasses and agriculture that exists, and then the details write themselves from there.
Did you find plotting a sequel a challenge, or did you always conceive Spellbound as part of a series?
Spellbound was supposed to be a standalone, actually. I never had anything extra planned. Then, I had the idea of a girl who has never had anything of her own, not even her own name, and her best friend who left to go become a Hero. Those ideas became Izzy, our antagonist/love interest in Honorbound, and Gwyn, our protagonist.
What is your favourite reader response to your work so far, and why?
Anyone who tells me they feel seen or understood by my characters or my writing. I tend to put a lot of my own experiences in my books, and it’s very validating and nice to see that other people relate to these experiences too.
Also, everyone who told me the end of chapter 16 of Spellbound made them cry. That was a nice response too haha.
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