It’s July now! In the third month of spotlights for the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off 9 authors! (Yes, we started in May, before the official beginning!) Today, I have Jagged Emerald City by R.K. Brainerd, who wrote before she read! But, first …
Jagged Emerald City
Meet Fairian Leynthall. She’s irreverent, the unwilling heiress of her family’s business empire, and obsessed with learning magic. She’s also got two big problems.
One, there’s evidence the magical being who killed her sister is in town.
Two, there’s this supernatural jerk interfering with her field research. He keeps spouting nonsense about danger, treating her like she matters, and distracting her with big lonely eyes. Not to mention it’s aggravating how much being around him makes her feel like her true self.
Then it turns out that her supernatural jerk, Daimyn, is some kind of lynchpin in the magical community, and people are desperate to control the power he holds. As Fairian struggles to unravel the truth about her sister’s death, a ridiculous rumor of Daimyn’s affection for her spreads, and she becomes a target. Fairian convinces Daimyn to work together to fix it, but she won’t let herself get close to him. Because the last magical being she trusted? Killed her sister.
History threatens to repeat itself as Fairian falls further into the tangled web of supernatural politics. Becoming a pawn would be the easy path. The hard path will mean believing in herself, being vulnerable enough to trust, and take back power to be her own piece on the board.
Jagged Emerald City is the first in the OBSIDIAN DIVDE series, set in an eco-city and following the adventures of Fairian Leynthall as she discovers and finds her place in the magical underworld.
Cheering on Fairian! May she overcome the impulse to become a pawn.
And onto the Questions!
As a Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO) Entrant, you’re not just independently published, but self-published. Can you start by explaining a bit about why you chose that route and how it’s been for you?
At first, I was convinced I would never go the self-published route. I wanted the validation and feedback that I thought would come from being signed with an agent, a publisher, etc. I had plenty of writer friends who self-published, and I researched a lot about it, I just hadn’t seriously considered it for myself.
But as time went on, and I realized my stories don’t *quite* fit into what traditional publishing wants, and are a bit too long, and and and… I realized I could just do it myself and not have to wait on all this approval I thought I would get, but probably wouldn’t even if an agent/publisher did sign me. I actually went and walked through the place where my fantasy city in my book is located (on the coast of Galicia, NW Spain) and it really solidified the decision for me. After that, I just felt at peace with the decision and have had fun/overwhelmed doing it myself.
That’s awesome! I think I can see how walking through the place where your setting comes from could be so solidifying!
Why did you enter the SPFBO contest? How do you expect to find it? Refreshing your blog’s page every five minutes, or sit back and chill?
A writer friend who used to judge it actually pointed it out to me! I was very grateful for the recommendation and was thrilled to be able to make it in. I definitely bounce back and forth between refresh-refresh-refresh and just letting it happen. It helps that there’s a ton going on in my personal life to distract me, ha!
That seems to be working rather well for me, too – distracting myself with FAR too much else!
Book titles. How did you choose the title, Jagged Emerald City?
I suck at naming things. Jagged Emerald City was actually initially named Inner Demons. “JEC” came about because I did briefly sign with a small publisher, though I didn’t publish and we eventually (amicably) split ways. They helped me figure this part out.
First came the series title, actually. The “Obsidian Divide” itself starts out as a subtle inclusion, but (without going into too many spoilers) actually has a huge effect and part to play in the world. Once The Obsidian Divide Series came to me, I got captured by the idea of continuing a gemstone theme.
Not only because I describe the sky in my fantasy city as “emerald” or “black jade” depending on the time of day. “Emerald City” just made sense with the green sky and such, AND it’s a fun little play on Wizard of Oz with Dorothy falling into a magical world. My main character isn’t looking to click her heels to find home, however. She’s finding home in the magical world she’s fallen into.
The “Jagged” part I think came about to add a little angst and better tone. My main character is dealing with trauma and her mental health, and that journey can be quite… jagged. (Ha, I tried)
At the end of the day, I liked the sound of it. I couldn’t find other books with titles that were all that similar, which was a plus. I’m still new to all of this and figuring out what works but for now it works for me!
That sounds awesome! So many things tying together!
I won’t ask for your favourite scene since I know some people don’t have those (like me; I never have favourites), but can you share a (non-spoiler) scene you really like and you just can’t believe how awesome it is every time you go back to re-read it?
The scene that still makes me excited to read it would have to be the one with the shadow snakes where the main character inadvertently becomes a translator.
The scene actually started as something completely different, a way for the character to show off and start building her place in the world. But I got so aggravated with it for various reasons I just threw it out and decided to write just off the cuff—and out came this weird scenario with shadows in the trees and speaking Latin.
Besides polishing and some minor tweaks, it barely needed any editing once I was done. It’s also been brought up as the favorite scene for a few beta-readers, as well. It’s one of those weird moments where I was glad to throw out everything I think I needed to do and just write something fantastical!
Oh, that sounds SO fun!
What are some elements or themes, or combinations thereof, that really make your book stand out to you?
The combination of fantasy and environmentalism in a positive (but not unbelievable) way is something I haven’t encountered a whole lot. I also deal with quite a few difficult subjects (PTSD, complicated families, grief and loss, anxiety and mental illness), but I come out of it on a positive note that doesn’t ignore the reality of how tough all of it is.
Plus, I would like to think that while I have many common tropes (as do we all) in Jagged Emerald City, they’re tweaked enough to be interesting and make a good story!
All of that sounds really neat! I really like stories that can hit that positive note without ignoring how tough things can be (which rather undermines the positive note, I think! If difficulties are ignored, how is the positivity real? :D)
RK Brainerd is the author of the Obsidian Divide series. She wrote before she read, began writing at 12, and hasn’t stopped since. Now, she’s an author of romantic eco punk fantasy, and lives in the green Pacific Northwest of the United States on 6 acres, works in marketing for her day job, and raises goats in her spare time. Her character-driven stories explore themes of mental health and neurodivergence, environmentalism, social justice, and found families.
You can check out R.K. Brainerd’s Website, or find her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Her book can be found on Goodreads, or you can find links for your preferred major retailers here.
Enthralled By Love 