As March 23rd gets closer, The Unbroken is shaping up to be an epic military fantasy like no other! And while you wait patiently for its release, you can get to know the author a little more here.
We chat with author C.L. Clark about the making of The Unbroken, writing politics and relationship dynamics, and upcoming projects!
Hi Cherae! Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Hi! I’m Cherae, itinerant author of The Unbroken, French fry aficionado, and something of a new runner.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Ahhh, probably Little Miss and Little Mister? Or something like that? And the one that made me want to become an author was probably The Wheel of Time, but the first books I was mimicking were Goosebumps, I would tell my friends horror stories. Now I’m too scared to write horror. I can’t stop thinking about–oh. Geez. So many. Uh. She Who Became the Sun.
The Unbroken is out March 23rd! Can you describe it in five words for those who are curious about the book?
Every empire demands a revolution. (Can’t take credit for it, that goes to Angeline Rodriguez over at Orbit, but that’s it, that’s the book.)
How did the story take shape? What urged you or inspired you to write this story?
I was urged by…a necessity to flip a few scripts in fantasy. Flip the conquest narrative, flip the gender balance, flip the gender roles. Trouble the romantic pairing here, stabilize a romantic pairing there, and deal with the dead mothers trope.
One of the things I loved about The Unbroken is the intimate knowledge of messy politics and military tactics. Did you have to do extensive research for this?
Oh, wow, I’m glad you did. Writing politics is a struggle for me. I did do a lot of research, actually. I read two books in particular that were fascinating because they’re excellent for writing fiction, but I think they’re meant to be self-help books and wow, does it want to create some awful people. They’re The 48 Laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War. They’re excellent for imagining how characters would enter into conflict–physical battles, social altercations, romantic rivalries–but I do not recommend them as guides to life.
Touraine and Luca together is such an interesting dynamic! How did you go about writing their characters and building their chemistry?
Way back in the first draft, I started with a more traditional bodyguard/royal dynamic because I am pretty weak for that trope, I’ll be honest. But the more I thought about how their dynamic would play out in practice, I really started to struggled as I tried to figure out–could this romance have a happy ending? So there were a few different versions where the relationship was even worse–yes, worse–than it is and there wasn’t even a question of hope between them. But that wasn’t quite where I wanted to go. There was a lot of dial turning, but ultimately, I wanted to let these two react honestly to each other–to how each felt being seen by the other–they see each other differently than other people have, and that’s part of their mutual draw. But the power difference and the experiences that have shaped them are pretty hard to surmount and not something that can be managed in one book. I wish I’d had time for more scenes of them to really show the conflict of their feelings in The Unbroken, but more of that in Book 2 hopefully.
The Unbroken is an intense book, one that will surely keep readers on their toes as they read. How did you build this kind intensity or suspense throughout the story?
It’s hard to say…I’m not sure I really know, because you never know how people will feel reading something. I could do a deep dive on the craft choices I made, but that would be longer than this interview. Mostly, I tried to write scenes that made sense for the moment and the characters but also were interesting for me to write. If I got bored writing, I scrapped a scene or tried to draw out the tension inherent in the interaction.
Any chance you can tell us a little bit about the second book?
In addition to getting more of Luca and Touraine, you’ll get introduced to a few more characters I absolutely love, including a couple new points of view. (Technically, they’ve all been mentioned in The Unbroken, so I’m excited to see people connect them.) For some tongue-in-cheek previews with mild spoilers, you can read these “Incorrect Quotes.” Other than that, we’ve got a nation to rebuild and a crown to win, neither of which are especially easy tasks.
What’s next for you? Any new projects coming along? Please share it with us! (Unless it’s top secret of course!)
I’ve got ideas in my head for next-next books outside of the Magic of the Lost trilogy. I’ve been craving some sort of very gay battle-buddy lovers story, so possibly something like that. I’m also working with Charles Payseur and Neon Hemlock Press on a Queer Best Of anthology, which will come out hopefully later this year.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Always! Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of the new books for this year early so people should definitely look forward to She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan and The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri. I’m also hoping to revisit some favorites, like Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar. Also, I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and so I’m excited to read The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. I’m also looking forward to my agent sibling Veronica Henry’s book Bacchanal. And–and–and–really, I could go on forever.
