Meet The Authors Showcase Edition #2 (2 of 3)

A showcase with @SarahSchott, author of dark country

1). What inspired the idea of your story?

 I have always been fascinated by the lore around the Wild Hunt. I've always been drawn to death deities and I've had a fascination with the Lord of the Wild Hunt for a good 15 or more years. So, I happened to be listening to the song "Ghost Riders In the Sky" and looked into the actual lore behind the song, which is tied to a real world event in East Texas that took on its own life after the fact. I had the thought that the legend of the Ghost Riders was just an American Western version of the old Norse/Germanic/Welsh/English legends about the Wild Hunt. One thing lead to another and I found myself researching the Welsh versions of the lore, out of which appeared my protagonist, Sheriff Kelyn Ap Gwyn. I had the write his story, and almost a year later, here we are.

2). What is something you struggled constructing with your story?

 I've really wrestled with the finer details of the plot. In fact, the plot has changed in the background several times. I finally had to accept the fact that I was trying to fit too much in one book, and that I have -several- books ahead of me after "Dark Country".

3). What did you enjoy writing most of your story?

 Absolutely. It's the first time in my long life of writing, where I've had an original idea that I can honestly say I'm obsessed with. My protagonists, and all their friends, won't let me go until I've written their stories.

4). What's the overall response of your story from your readers? 

I'd say it's really positive and encouraging. I have a number of genuine followers and I've had many readers indicate that they're invested in the story for the long haul.

5). Is your story a stand alone novel or a piece of a series?

 It's the first book of a six-book series.

6). What would you like your readers to take away from your story? 

First of all, I want my readers to have fun and to fall in as much love with Jayme and Kelyn as I have myself. But I'm a pretty deep thinker and I'm incapable of even writing a romance that's only fluff. So, I'd say that if my readers walked away with any message, it's the very foundational value of the main love story: True love is accepting yourself for who you are, but "love thyself" doesn't happen in a vacuum. We all need someone to believe in us, to take a chance on us, and to help us see that we're better than what we tell we ourselves we are. Jayme and Kelyn have to face some really hard truths about themselves and each other, and some of those truths are really uncomfortable and even dark. The ultimate question that they wrestle with, both individually and as a couple, is ultimately one of belief: have they committed "sins" that are truly unforgiveable?

7). What advice would you provide to fellow writers, when it comes to focusing on their own story? 

You need to be your story's number one fan. If there's a fandom out there that you really pour yourself into and obsess over...you should have the same level of fascination, love, and dedication to your own story. You should feel like you're writing fanfiction for a fandom that only YOU can bring to life. Writing is hard work and I wouldn't exactly say it's "fun". But you should enjoy what you're creating, always.

8). Does your main character share any similarities to yourself? 

I'm of the opinion that the truth of an author is ALWAYS shown somehow, some way, in their characters. So, yes. Both my male and female protagonists share similarities to me. Perhaps most obvious, is that the female protagonist, Jayme, is a Navy veteran (write what you know!). The male protagonist, Kelyn, is probably the most honest representation of my inner dialogue I could have written. He's got my sense of humor; we only differ in that he says what he thinks and I absolutely know better, lol. Jayme also has my sense of seriousness and she struggles with many of the same things I've struggled with as a woman, especially around social expectations and personal authority.

9). What is something about your story you believe would draw in new readers? 

I think "Dark Country" offers some popular tropes and themes: Fae, mythology, dark romance, the whole "fated to be together" thing, the strong female lead character, and so forth. However, I've taken a lot of the tropes and themes I've observed and tried to reimagine them, or redefine them. So, I think new readers who like a certain story, or certain elements in a story, will find them in "Dark Country", but in ways that are a little different, a bit unexpected, and perhaps more realistic.

10). Do you have any future projects?

 I do! As I mentioned already, "Dark Country" is the first book in a six-book series. So, I have five future projects, to be precise, LOL.