Interview With Author Zac Lindsey
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an anthropologist by training and a fiction writer for fun. I’ve written lots of manuscripts and one non-fiction book on reading Maya glyphs, but this is the first fiction book I’ve published. When I wrote as a kid, my worlds were often incomprehensible (and usually rip-offs of Neil Gaiman). But thanks to my study of anthropology, I think I’ve developed a compelling, rich setting that makes logical sense. That said, I like fun, entertaining books, so don’t expect to read thirty pages of complex details about how people make stucco in-world or anything. But I know, so if you’re curious, you’re welcome to email me.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The River Against the Sea is my first fiction book. When we had our kid, she seemed to hate sleep with a passion. I told my wife stories so we didn’t need to watch TV. They were stories set in a Caribbean/Mesoamerican fantasy world. All of them featured a young devil bureaucrat who needs to learn to be less uptight to handle the motley crew onboard her ship and the various world-ending monsters she inevitably confronts.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t know if this is all that unusual, but I prefer to stand to write. That way I can pace around and do the character expressions and postures, that sort of thing. A bit of acting seems to help me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Ursula Le Guin’s fantasy world building was a huge inspiration since her father was an anthropologist. I also love Terry Pratchett, Terry Brooks, and Neil Gaiman. I’m a fan of fantasy with strong characters and a sense of hope. I’m less a fan of newer works. While there are certainly contemporary fantasy writers I like, like N.K. Jemisin or Nnedi Okorafor, I don’t click well with the darkness in a lot of contemporary fantasy.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a young adult novel that is set in the same world as my other works but more directly addresses some of the challenges of growing up in a colonized society. Like my other works, it’s mostly silly, and while it has some tense moments, it’s a hopeful story at its heart.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
That, I’m just learning. Hopefully this website! I’ve been using Instagram a lot, and informally promoting it on a Discord group I’ve been in for a while drove a nice little burst of pre-orders. But this is my first time doing this, and my book is still on pre-order, so I won’t know for sure until I’m done.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read your stuff out loud and tell summarized versions of your stories to people you meet. Not elevator pitches, but the story, just as you’d tell a person a story at a party. The first stories were oral, and writers always talk about “voice,” but we forget what that means.
Also, learn to love editing. It’s probably as important as drafting, and it can be just as fun, but many folks dread it. I personally love it. You’ve already done the hard part–now you get to play with your characters.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I used to read books after my mom did. (She said she was making sure they weren’t too violent or sexual, but the truth is she just liked reading fantasy a lot.) I used to come to her when I couldn’t read a character name. “How do you pronounce . . . uh . . . Drizzt?” She’d say, “I don’t know, it’s fantasy, pronounce it however you want.” She didn’t mean this as advice, but it accidentally was. As a reader, my voice had a role. I could take some ownership of stories by reading them. In my books, there are a few characters and places with strange names, and you know what? You can pronounce them however you’d like. I don’t mind. They’re yours to play with.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading a book in Spanish about a Maya radio show host who used to live a few kilometers from where I live now. For a very specific kind of geek, it’s a wonderful book, though I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who’s not interested in recent history of the Yucatan Peninsula. But he’s a radio show host, so his narrative voice is very compelling.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Just write more! I’ve tried, in the past, to plan far ahead. “I’ve written half a chapter–let me plan out the entire twelve-book saga.” But I find that usually leads to failures. If I feel compelled to write more in my current world with my current characters, I will. I’ve got an idea for a story three hundred years in the future of my current books, where the main character is a little old lady, but who knows if I’ll ever get to it. I’m not too concerned if I don’t. I have no doubt I’ll write something.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Once and Future King for sure. I don’t typically read books more than once or twice, but I’ve read that one a dozen times and it makes me cry every time. Nothing better for a desert island than solo crying.
I don’t think the other ones would be novels. I can burn through a novel too fast. The others would be dense and painful academic works. Something that takes at least a month to read. I want to still be working through it on the rescue ship.
Zac Lindsey’s Social Media Links