In his second novel, First, Become Ashes, K.M. Szpara once again shows readers how far the bounds of modern speculative fiction can be stretched. This time exploring the world of a cult—the fall-out of what happens when believers are extracted from the only life they’ve ever known and forced to face the outside world— Szpara has created a thrilling narrative filled with unforgettable characters.
Read on below to learn more about this fantastic story, how Szpara blurred the line between magic and reality, his hopes for a future where exchanging pronouns is just another part of an everyday introduction to someone, and what has helped him make it through the last year.
Hi Kellan and thanks so much for returning to talk with The Nerd Daily about your latest novel! Before we get into the book, tell our readers a little bit about what you’ve been up to since we last chatted a year ago and how you’ve been managing through the unprecedented year we’ve had with the pandemic.
It has been quite a year, hasn’t it?! So far, I’ve managed by playing a lot of video games and adopting a kitten. Highly suggest both—though neither particularly helps with the writing. They are worthy distractions!
Your new novel, First, Become Ashes, will be out April 6, 2021. Give our readers a brief synopsis of what to expect from your latest work.
First, Become Ashes is the story of a cult’s undoing from the points of view of three survivors and one outsider. Kane and Lark are Anointed within the Fellowship, trained in magic and combat to slay the monsters that have corrupted those outside the fence. But when Kane, having long doubted their teachings, betrays their leader’s harmful practices to the FBI, Lark doesn’t feel liberated. With the help of a cosplayer who is desperate to believe in magic, Lark sets off across the country on his righteous quest, pursued by family, friends, and the Feds, in a hatchback full of weapons, to slay a monster.
I’m always interested in what sparks ideas for writers, particularly when it comes to SFF because anything goes! When and how did you develop the concept for First, Become Ashes? How long did it take you to complete the book?
I wish I had a good answer for where this one came from but it’s one of those ideas that just hit me the way a good comeback does three hours too late. As someone who’s studied religion and spirituality, who’s experienced several incarnations of the same in my own life, I’ve always been interested in cults and belief. What if that story started at the end, though? At the moment when everything you were raised to believe has been declared not only wrong but dangerous. That what you love most has hurt you? And what if I painted that story with magic and monsters and a gay road trip? It’s complicated to unravel, and I love grey areas. Love showing people processing conflicted and unexpected emotions in the wake of trauma.
As to how long it took me to complete, Ashes was the first book I wrote start to finish on deadline! So… six-ish months to drafts and three to revise! It’s a different manner of writing. I would describe myself as a slow writer and I have a dayjob, as well, so getting that first draft out timely is an act of will. By which I mean a lot of working in coffee shops until 2:00 a.m.—when it was safe to do that sort of thing!
Stories about cults seem to be gaining popularity with readers over the past few years. Did you do any research into real-life cults to prepare for writing your book? Were there aspects that you pulled from or wanted to avoid in the novel, based on your knowledge of or popular conceptions of cults?
I think cults are so popular because they’re micro-societies. They’re closed and secretive—none of us think we’re naïve enough to be drawn in, and yet people are. People like you and me, like our family and friends and coworkers. Before Ashes was even a pitch, I was listening to podcasts like Oh No! Ross and Carrie, in which the hosts investigate “spirituality, fringe science and claims of the paranormal” which has often included organizations that feel cultlike. I was also listening to a podcast aptly named Cults, in which each episode delves into the history and psychology of a different cult. I don’t have much sit-down time for research and reading, so I absorb as much as I can via podcasts and audiobooks. I’ve also watched movies and documentaries about both real and fake cults. Inventing one is trickier than it sounds!
A cult has to be alluring and have mechanisms to keep people in, keep them controlled, and believing, while also appearing outlandish and dangerous to those on the outside. I knew I wanted to integrate magic because, besides being a speculative fiction author, magic is alluring! It’s a thing so many of us wish was real. Imagine having that—then having it taken away?
Much like Docile, your debut novel First, Become Ashes has been creating quite the buzz due to the explicit nature of the subject matter. In fact, there is a content warning to give readers advance notice that the novel contains “explicit sadomasochism and sexual content, as well as abuse and consent violations, including rape.” Could you talk a bit about handling such controversial and delicate topics in your writing and why you feel these components are integral to the story you are telling in this novel?
Other novels contain those elements, but usually the marketing, publisher, and/or author are not forthright about them. Consent is a frequent theme in my work, and by putting a content warning in the opening matter, readers are better able to consent to the story they’re about to engage. This, of course, makes it more visible, but I don’t think of these topics as controversial while I’m writing them. The Fellowship is a cult. Its leader and her ideology have harmed its members, psychologically and physically. Some authors and readers think the horrifying details should be left out or skimmed or implied, but I have always confronted the hard stuff head-on. Even though I make stuff up as an author, I aim for emotional truth. Ashes depicts Lark processing his experiences and belief while questing across the country. And those experiences are illuminated in Kane’s point of view, as he describes his arc of doubt and disbelief. It would be a disservice to these characters to gloss over what’s happened to them, to sanitize their realities.
There is a fantastic blurring between what is real and what is magic in this story … to the point that it is difficult for the reader to know the difference at times throughout the book. What was your motivation for this ambiguity and how did you approach conveying this in your writing?
There was a point during the editing process where my editor was trying to lay out the magic system like an equation, with cause and effect—in a way that made sense. He’s brilliant with fantasy so I had to stop him and explain that whether magic appears to succeed is not based on a formula but rather on the point of view character. For example, there’s a scene where Lark performs healing magic on himself at a roadside motel, while Calvin, who is an outsider, and a half-dozen guests watch. What do each of them see—what do they experience? Lark, a believer, is healed. Calvin, desperate to believe, is unsure what he sees but knows that Lark is healed where he was wounded. And onlookers approach them with suspicion, like maybe they’re two weirdos with candles by the motel pool. Surely, there’s an explanation, Calvin’s friend will tell him.
We all experience the world through lenses shaped by our beliefs. That blurring puts the reader in a place to decide whether they believe and in who and what. One of my pet peeves are stories that feature magic and wonder, but in the end it was all in their head. It robs the protagonist of their experience. But I also didn’t necessarily want an abusive cult leader to be validated. It was a tricky line, so I blurred it!
One thing that really stood out to me while reading was the emphasis you placed on the use of pronouns throughout the novel — how the characters from The Fellowship were clear in identifying their own pronouns and also very vocal about ensuring that outsiders did not misgender them or make assumptions about their gender identity. I don’t think I’ve read anything before which so fully incorporates and centers this! Could you talk a bit about why this is important to you and how you went about making it such a natural part of the story?
Cults are bad because they hurt and take advantage of people, but their survivors often don’t have one hundred percent negative memories from them. That’s part of the abuse and gaslighting. That some aspects seem and feel—and are—good. In the Fellowship of the Anointed, there’s closeness and camaraderie, shared homecooked meals, and the space to discover and be yourself, for that to be default respected. And because their numbers are so small, they can know each other intimately and cultivate a space where pronouns are like names: unique and never assumed. As they find out, once “liberated”, outsiders do not share these values. Lark is offended when people call him “sir” as if they know him.
That’s a bit how I feel, leaving a queer space and navigating the world. Like, even if a stranger gets a term right, how bold of them to guess! I would like to imagine a future where exchanging pronouns, if desired, is not so outside the norm that it is worth mentioning in an interview. But we’re not there, yet. So I work things like this into my work, into the worldbuilding, and hope that readers get some ideas of their own while reading.
Okay, let’s compare protagonists … (Every author’s favorite thing to do, I know!) Elisha from Docile and Lark from First, Become Ashes are both characters that easily draw empathy from the reader for what they have been through. Who stole your heart more during the writing process?
You’re correct that I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of an easy answer! When Elisha registered as a Docile, he knew life was about to get hard for him. That he would do things he didn’t want to and suffer for it. Even though he didn’t predict that he would be brainwashed, he tried to prepare himself. Lark, on the other hand, did not believe himself to be harmed. What outsiders saw as liberation from the Fellowship, he saw as a community destroyed and the safety of the world put in jeopardy. Elisha inspires me to feel angry with an inescapable and hostile system. But Lark makes me feel sad for those who seek something bigger than themselves and are taken advantage of. They’re different kinds of heart-stealing!
And, finally, let’s close with a bit of reflecting on your reading and writing over the past year. What are some of the best books you’ve read recently? Do you feel like you’ve been more or less productive with your writing during the pandemic? And can readers still expect another new novel from you in 2022?!
I consumed almost nothing new during the pandemic and feel awful for it, but isolation has sent me seeking comfort re-reads and re-watches. (Ask me how many times I re-read and re-watched the Jurassic Park series…) That said, I devoured the incredible Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke while driving to and from a weekend getaway with my immediate family. Highly recommend for folks who like stories about people taken advantage of, people who face trauma and an unlearning…
Creating has been even more challenging than consuming, for me. Though I am glad to stay home or get takeaway for the safety of my favorite baristas and bakers and librarians, I was a coffee shop and library writer. Working at home amidst a million distractions—in the same place I also do “office” work!—has been very difficult. Luckily, my third novel features Finley Hall, gay trans millennial vampire from my novelette, “Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time.” The two of us are well acquainted so, during what time I have managed to carve out for myself, we’re having a real romp! Hopefully, he’ll be in a bookstore near you in 2022.
