Interview with Tabitha Min, author of fantasy book Dawn of Avarice
Interview Transcript
B: Hello and welcome back to author talks I am Bri, and I am here today with Tabitha Min the author behind Dawn of Avarice, and we are so excited to have you here today with us!
T: Thank you it’s good to be here
B: Um, I read your book and I absolutely loved it, it was by far one of the best reads I had last month. So, we’re just going to get to know you a little bit and a little bit about your book um, so we’re just going to go ahead and jump right into it. The first question I have for you is what is something that your readers should know about you?
T: That makes me very happy, thank you
T: Oh something to know about me, so I I am a very tenacious person by nature so and that can often be my determent so and what I mean by that is once I get something in my mind I’ll go for it and nothing will stop me as far as getting that done but I’ll also not do very much planning so i take as I’ll just wing it and see what happens and um there’s a lot of mistakes along the way with that path but I’ve learned a lot so doing that by learning from all my mistakes I’ve actually been able to um help other people avoid those mistakes so it’s it’s been really cool a really awesome experience so.
B: That’s great, um, what was your inspiration for writing Dawn of Avarice?
T: So this was kind of a long process as far as what I wanted to even write my first book about um a lot, a lot of it had to do with my interest in the nature of man or humankind so like what I mean is the complex motivations behind what drives us in our lives So that could be like whether it’s the great or power or even just to survive everyday life each of us have a purpose and a goal in our lives but through that are the choices we make in life can often bleed into other people’s lives and how we make our choices off in the fact that other people and we don’t realize it so when I was using that Foundation I went to actually one of the oldest books in history time and that’s actually the Bible and so if you if you look into the Old Testament it’s actually very dark and it just there the stories in there it’s very gory and it explores the true nature and folly of man so often times man human kind will try and bend the world to our will and that’s often to our folly and so I think that the the Bible very well displays that but it also shows the the more beautiful side of our nature which is you know we can we can find love and compassion and mercy and an honor and that and by taking that choice it can often be the harder of the choices in life but it’s the most rewarding in the end but I mean obviously there’s the overarching theme that there is a God whose present and who’s there who hopes to redeem us through that so it’s actually based off of biblical story which many people wouldn’t know it. So, if you can figure that out let me know.
B: I did not know that I did not put together at all so that’s actually really great to know.
T: mhm, yeah.
B: What can your readers expect from reading Dawn of Avarice?
T: So a lot of things that I’ve gotten was people who are like wow this was not what I was expecting at all they would they I think a lot of people go into it with the idea that there would be a lot of love or things are aspects which revolve around romance story and that I’ll just preface it by saying this is not at all a romance novel so like going back to the the inspiration on the complex decisions of man and and that can be either through interpersonal relationships or just the overarching goal which is to take over if you will so and also this is meant to be a book that so like I was saying it it is based off of a biblical story but this story is actually meant to set the foundation for the main story to come so the next book it’ll actually that’s when the story actually really kicks off this one is kind of meant to just kind of set the foundation and introduce all the main characters and just introducing those characters and setting the stage for the main story to come
B: And there is a little bit of romance in here it’s not a lot but there is a little bit so there is if you are looking for a little bit of romance there is a little bit yes it’s there’s not a lot which is really good for especially for an introductory book so it does definitely there is a little bit but not a lot so if you’re going to read it just be aware this is not a romance book.
T: Yes, exactly. So yup.
B: Um, what’s one piece of advice you would give to an inspiring writer?
T: That’s a good one. I would say to write for yourself a lot of times when we start writing a story we can kind of get bogged down with the idea of like well what do people think are going to think when they read it and there’s always that the anxiety of looking into the future and worrying about how people are going to respond to your story but ultimately I think that when you’re writing the story you’re writing for yourself you have a story to tell and this is like the therapy wait for you as the writer and it’s it’s your art it’s your creation and so do it for yourself and others I think people who discover it will also come to love it as much as you do in the end so but if you don’t write it then you know it’ll never happen and I think you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you’re constantly worrying about the future and what people will think so i would say just start writing it and do it for yourself.
B: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process?
T: Like I said before I just kind of go and head first and see what happens as far as outlines go I I will sort of draw up an outline in my mind I won’t actually physically write anything down but what I’ll do is I’ll come up with the ending first so I know exactly how the book is going to end but how I’m going to get there is a whole other story that’s also comes by my stories are very much character driven so even though I have an idea of where I want to go with that story that could change like just down the road the characters will do something and it’ll shift the story entirely and it’s happened to me multiple times before and but it is actually worked out really well because you have an idea of what you want to write but I think the characters really kind of Drive the story in a way that you never really anticipate but in a fantastic way so yeah.
B: That is great, and can you just let our viewers know where they can get Dawn of Avarice? Like where they can get them?
T: So, you can get them at any major retailer, um, my website tabithamin.com that’s got the links to basically all the websites that you can purchase it at so.
B: Okay oh and this is just a tidbit that I have to share I absolutely love your map print I am a huge nerd when it comes to map print because it gives me an idea of what that world looks like and where they’re going so to have a map print was a bonus for me.
T: Oh nice.
B: I was so excited when I opened the book and saw a map print, I went full-blown head explosion when I saw it yeah, it’s one of my favorite things to find in a book.
T: And if you look at it so when you look at the map um, you noticed that the story itself only takes place in a very small section of the map so like I said it’s just an introduction it’s going to get a lot bigger so for the readers there’s a lot to look forward to absolutely.
B: Yeah, I I love map prints so I’m very excited that there’s a map print so that was like my favorite part.
B: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience about maybe the book, or possibly about anything new that’s going on with you?
T: Yeah, so I’m currently working on the second novel, now I told myself I was going to take a break that never happened. The short break that I did take I still ended up writing short stories and I was writing the entire time but I am working on the second book I’m hoping that to have that out the same time next year and then I’m also working, work-shopping another book which is a completely separate story; a thriller so we’ll see how that goes.
B: Oh, so you’re going from this into a thriller?
B: You’re muted
T: This is a completely separate story, a completely different book I should say. A thriller that takes place in World War II so that’ll be fun we’ll see how that goes so I’m working on two books actually right now.
B: Is like history like your big thing with all your books? Is it like it has to do with history in a way?
T: Yes, I would say so, I love history and I love historical fiction but I and and I but I also love fantasy which is why I went down this route with this book because I could incorporate elements of this story or elements of fantasy within the story that can help me expand the story and characters and stories itself, so.
B: Well, it definitely worked because I’m a huge fantasy nerd. I love reading fantasy so to be able to really see the world build and everything that the characters have to go through in your book.
T: Yeah
B: It’s really watching them grow in this first book and to see that like especially in the first book it’s really different because a lot of the time you don’t see growth until the second or third book so to see that from the first book going into the next book is going to be something that everybody is going to love because.
T: Yeah, there’s definitely a lot that happened in this first book and it’s not even a very big book cause it’s I mean by most fantasy novel standards is comparatively small but like I said it was meant to just an introduction but it was there’s a lot going on and there’s a lot of interpersonal complexity I should say.
B: Well, it’s definitely there and I definitely do think that this is going to be an even bigger series once you get to your second and third book so
T: Yes, yes absolutely and I’m excited to see how the second book unfolds cause like I said I’ve already started this is the first draft and we’ll see how it changes over time, but it should be fun.
B: Is there anything you can tell us about the second book without giving too much away?
T: I would say that there, it’ll be without giving anything away, there will be some pretty big turns as far as Beowyn and his sister go, there’ll be a lot of changes in dynamics for their lives and just to see how that plays out for them I think is going to play major role in this story so this book will mostly focus on the brother and sister.
B: Okay, yeah because in this in Dawn of Avarice they had to grow because they both went on different journeys throughout the first book so they had learn different things so I was just kind of curious about how the second one was kind of going to play into that because I really want to see more of like the brother sister dynamic.
T: Yeah, and I didn’t even start out that way when I first started writing the book but then when I when I reworked it and it turned into what it is now I actually love their characters and they became the central Focus or they will become the central focus of the story so this series will be primarily about Beowyn and Estrith.
B: Okay and is it just going to be a trilogy or are you planning on more than just the three?
T: So, right now it’s just going to be a trilogy. I am thinking about doing a prequel about the story for Ludica’s story itself, so I might do that after that third book is complete but right now it’ll be a three-book series.
B: Okay, and it would be really cool if you did a prequel because then we would kind of figure out like the whole story with the mom and everything that happened with that cause I read that and I was like okay what’s the story and how did that happen?
T: When I was going through that I was like man this could be a whole story in itself and I was like well I got to kind of it’s going to create a whole big complex book so I was like I’m just going to focus on this one for now which is why I thought about doing a prequel later on after the story itself is done the second one the second book will explore a little bit of the history more through Gwenora. So, she will be able to tell a lot of the history behind things for the readers, so it’ll be a little more world building in that one.
B: Well I’m always down for world building cause I can see it when I’m reading it so I’m always down for that that’s one of my favorite things especially being a fantasy reader because a lot of us fantasy readers love the world building because it builds up everything for us and then we get to follow along the characters then we all get upset when we get left on a cliffhanger it’s just our life.
T: Well and I was like well I don’t want to leave this first book on a complete cliffhanger, so the readers don’t have to worry about that as far as I hate being left on a cliffhanger like and you got to wait a whole year or so before the next book comes out that’s just not fair. So, I have no intention of leaving any cliffhangers really for the readers, so they don’t have to worry about that.
B: Oh well that’s a bonus for me causeI’m always worried I’m going to be left on a cliffhanger and then I have to wait longer than I want to.
T: Yup, so.
B: Um, I don’t think I have anything else for you today I do want to say thank you for joining us today and I look forward to your next book!
T: Well, thank you very much for having me I mean this is such an exciting experience and I’ve been learning a lot of feedback that I get from everybody so thank you I’m very honored by this experience
B: Thank you