Debut author Breanna Teintze’s big day is just around the corner! Her debut fantasy novel, Lord of Secrets, is set to publish on August 8th with it blurbed as having “the humour of V.E. Schwab, the scale of Trudi Canavan and the deftness of Naomi Novik”. We had the pleasure of chatting to Breanna about the first instalment in The Empty Gods series, her road to becoming a published author, and even a few book recommendations!
Hi Breanna! Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi! I’m Breanna. I write books with magic and explosions, I love classic adventure movies, I’m very near-sighted, and ironically I have a near-photographic visual memory—which is much less useful in publishing than you’d think. Oh, and I can make a very good gluten-free birthday cake.
Your debut novel, Lord of Secrets, is set to release on August 8th. Can you tell us a little more about it?
It’s a story about trying to save the people you love without destroying the world (or yourself) in the process. The main character is Corcoran Gray, an anxious 26-year-old wizard who is very bad at people. He’s not nearsighted, but he makes up for it by having a knack for spectacularly bad decisions.
Where did the inspiration for Lord of Secrets come from?
From Gray, actually. I tend to write books when characters show up in my head and won’t stop talking, and Gray has this great sarcastic, defensive voice that just wouldn’t leave me alone. I wanted to know more about him, and what had happened in his life to make him the person he is—prickly and lonely, but desperate to do the right thing.
The antagonist, on the other hand, was almost entirely inspired by 70s and 80s glam rock.
Did you have to conduct any research?
I’m a fantasy writer, so I get to play fast and loose with the laws of physics if magic is involved. However, an important part of the book happens in an underground complex of caves. I had to do some research to make sure that the sort of caves I wanted could exist close to an ocean without collapsing or filling with poison gas.
How long have you been working on Lord of Secrets?
When I first got the idea for the book I still had a nursing infant, so I could only work on it in tiny snatches when my kids weren’t glommed onto me. Overall, it took about three years for the book to go from an idea to a finished manuscript. My kids are older now and glom less, so I draft faster these days.
Were there any scenes or characters that you found more difficult to write?
Yes, there was one scene in particular toward the end of the book that I kept trying to get around or alter. That one chapter took me over a month to finish, because I kept arguing with the story. There’s a particular character that I love, and I really wanted them to have a different ending. But I think the version that went to print is the one that’s most true to the character.
Is there anything you hope your readers to take away from your story?
My major goal is to be entertaining—to provide an escape for people who are sitting in an airport or a hospital waiting room or anywhere else that’s sad and stressful and dull. If readers come away from Lord of Secrets feeling a little stronger and a little happier, then I will have done my job.
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
I wrote reams of short stories and novels throughout my teens and college years. As a young mom I joined an online writer’s critique group that was really instrumental in levelling up my skills and challenging me to start submitting my work to agents and editors. As for how Lord of Secrets got picked up, I did it backwards—I submitted the manuscript to Jo Fletcher Books’ slush pile, where my amazing editor found it. Afterwards, I queried my brilliant agent. You’re supposed to query agents first and then go bothering editors. I got very, very lucky–don’t do it the way I did it, kids!
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Besides writing as much as you can, I think the best thing you can do is read a lot and to try very hard to be brave about taking criticism. There’s all kinds of things that go into being published and a lot of them are luck, but one of the things you can control is your own willingness to edit. That doesn’t mean that you have to take out all the stuff you love. It almost means the opposite: you have to take out all the stuff that you don’t love. It’s harder than it sounds.
What’s next for you?
Jo Fletcher Books is publishing a second book in the Empty Gods series in 2020, so I’m working on finishing touches on that. It’s about law, and plagues, and mummies, and the true nastiness of people who think they’re doing things to you for your own good.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Oh gosh, so many; I’ll try to be concise. Last year I had a blast with Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera and Kate Larkindale’s Stumped. Lately I’ve managed to get my hands on a review copy of The Impossible Contract by K.A. Doore and I’m really digging it. It’s not out until November, but if you like Lord of Secrets, I suspect you’ll like The Impossible Contract. It has undead camels!
AUTHOR BIO
Breanna Teintze writes fantasy novels (well) and gardens (badly). She lives in Idaho with her husband, where she homeschools her three kids, polishes swords, and perfects her eyeliner. She is sarcastic when she’s nervous. You can find Breanna on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, along with her website.
