The second book of your Dark Renaissance series, “Blood Under Water”, has recently been released. What’s it about and who will like it?
Giulia Degarno, former thief and assassin, and her friend Hugh, an aging knight, travel to the city of Averrio to start a new life. When a dissident priest is found dead in a canal, they’re framed for the crime. Giulia has only a few days to solve the killing and clear their names – but a powerful conspiracy opposes them, and they are up against enemies who are more than human.
It will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Up To The Throne, Giulia’s first adventure, and also to fans of dark fantasy and grimdark. It’s also got a strong noir flavour, so if you ever wondered what a private eye story would be like set in a fantasy equivalent of Venice, this is the book for you!
What’s it like writing a sequel? How do you find a balance between relying on what has happened before and telling a new story? And to what extent would you say that the Dark Renaissance books are stories in their own right or one overarching story?
It’s quite tricky, especially when you’re not writing a direct sequel – ie another episode in an ongoing story. There’s always this urge to prime the reader with an explanation of everything that’s gone before, but I don’t think it’s necessary. People are much better at picking up details as they go along than you might expect. Like a lot of background, it’s more effective to slowly drip in the backstory rather than give the reader huge chunks of exposition to read.
The books do tell an overarching story, but in quite a subtle way. Things are changing in the city-states where Giulia lives, and she sees some of the effects – and runs up against some of those responsible. She’s not the person doing the art, or the inventing, or the backstabbing (well, not all the time) but she does find herself getting involved in things much bigger than she is. So in following her, we learn a lot about the overarching narrative.
Without spoiling Up to the Throne (which was excellent and everyone should read), our protagonist Giulia made some rather surprising situations in what was a brilliantly twisty finale. How do you write such a complex character? How do you keep track of character motivations with someone whose motivation is far from simple?
I think the consistency comes from a few things. In Giulia’s case, there are the more superficial elements, such as her interest in books, and her disillusionment with the company of other criminals, that will shape how she acts. More importantly, I think she’s got a sense of basic decency that a lot of other characters lack. I see her rather like a classic private eye in temperament: clever but not intellectual, world-weary but not corrupted, essentially reasonable but capable of violence. I think so long as I’m guided by those rules, I should be able to make her make consistent decisions.
I know world building is something you’ve spoken about elsewhere (click here for Toby’s article for Fantasy Fiction). How did you build your renaissance fantasy world? How important is it that the world is inherently coherent, or is it better to let fly your imagination? Did you start with world or characters, and how did the two grow together?
I think the world’s got to have consistency, in the sense that readers won’t think that you’re pulling rabbits out of hats or damaging the convincingness of the novel in order to make it easier for you to write. It’s important that the gears don’t clash, that there’s nothing that jars the reader out of enjoying the story.
The world started with Giulia – actually, it started with me seeing a picture of a rogue in the 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons manual and thinking “That’s the kind of person I’d like to write about”. I felt that a Renaissance setting was a bit more suited to the intrigue and moral ambiguity of a thief. In fantasy, you’re often riffing off stereotypes, and the image we have of the Renaissance is more “grey” and complex than that of the medieval times.
I’ve built a lot of the world by looking at bits of history and thinking “How can I put a fantastical spin on this?” While I’ll occasionally make something up out of the blue, just because it’s cool, there’s so much interesting detail in the real world that it’s always worth looking at for inspiration. It’s that interaction between reality and fantasy that makes the world-building interesting for me.
Avoiding spoilers, what was your favourite part of Blood Under Water? And what was the hardest to write?
It’s hard to choose a favourite part. Maybe the showdown towards the end, in a castle made of magical glass. There’s also a small section where Giulia goes onto a floating chapel. I don’t know why, but I like the mental image of this strange vessel that’s half ship, half church.
As to the hardest bit, there’s a scene where two good characters nearly come to blows. That was very hard, because I couldn’t quite work out what they would do and how far they’d go, even in the heat of an argument.
Is there another Dark Renaissance book on the way? Can you give us a sneaky hint of what to expect?
There is indeed! It’s in the early stages at present, but it’s about the hunt for Constantin Leth, an ancient and very evil alchemist, who has kept himself alive for over a thousand years and is wanted for crimes against the living and the dead. Giulia is very keen to claim the huge bounty on Leth’s head, but things rapidly become more complex and much more personal. Very soon, she finds herself trapped between the various factions competing to steal Leth’s power – and an army of the living dead.
Finally, where can we buy Blood Under Water?
Right here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Under-Water-Dark-Renaissance/dp/1082227390/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
And a tiny addendum…
Toby was good enough to read a copy of my debut novel, Vile. Here’s what he had to say about it: “With strong characters in a deep and complex setting, Vile is a story of a world standing on a precipice – and the people about to make it fall. Very good work indeed. ”
If you enjoy Toby’s work then there’s a reasonable chance you’ll be interested in mine. The Kickstarter is running until the end of November, where you can get signed copies, special discounted paperback and all sorts of goodies. Check it out!
