Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Sarah and thank you for your time. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a self-published writer? 

SL: Hi, thanks for having me! I'm Sarah Lin and I've been writing different types of fiction for many years, but currently I'm following my passions in various subgenres of fantasy.

Q] The cover art for A Hollow Mountain by Miha Brumec is very eye-catching. Can you reveal how you worked with him to create it? Did you give them an outline to work off on or did you leave them to their own choices after revealing your thoughts?

SL: Miha had previously drawn the cover that won the contest for the first book in the series, so I was glad he was available when I approached him again. I had a clear vision in mind for the themes of the book: Tani looking back, mist off the sides of the path, the tower in the distance. I provided some details and a reference picture of a particular type of mountain pass. But the composition of the piece, how those pieces fit together, I left to his discretion. He sent a few rough sketches and we figured out the one we liked best, then it was a matter of color balance and detailing. There were actually quite a large number of alternate coloring schemes bandied about before we settled on final polish, such as versions where the lone mountain was much whiter or golder.

SL: Though my reactions were spread out over many drafts, overall I felt like it captured multiple sentiments appropriate to the book. Tani is looking backward toward her home as she ventures into the mountains, and the concept of leaving home is central to the whole book. My idea with the misty path was to give a sense of lonely mystery, while the mountain is obviously central to the book (if not necessarily the eponymous mountain).

SL: This series has many points of inspiration. I wanted to merge my loves for classical wuxia and western fantasy, for one. I wanted to do a deconstruction of tropes of heroism that doesn't critique specific models of heroes as much as what the core desire for heroism means. It's the most multi-threaded and multi-layered of my books, so I'm committed to showing my complete vision, as many elements have purposes that won't be clear until the core themes progress over the series.

SL: I've tried to do something different with each series I've written, and this was especially true for TBS. I was aiming for an entirely different sort of pacing and structure than some of my previous work. Though I hope I've worked my way up to being able to pull this off, it honestly isn't a good idea to change brand so much, since your audience doesn't necessary follow through the different shifts.

SL: It actually wasn't so different, because the characters are encountering new cultures that didn't appear in the first book. The difference is that I've already established their own cultures, so hopefully the unreliable lenses through which they view the new introductions are clearer. As for length, this one is about 10% shorter than the first. I'm plotting for huge doorstoppers, but ultimately I try to edit down to the right length.

SL: I've been toying with ideas for this world for over a decade. It's my grand attempt to create a world that draws heavily from Asian inspirations without feeling like reskinned cultures or a monolithic world. Of course the characters are the window through which the world matters, from Tani's warm-hearted idealism to Slaten's open-minded cynicism.

As for mysteries of the world... there are some obvious ones central to the premise, such as the existence of two sentient species or all of the ancient ruins giving alternates takes on the Hero. One curiosity that hasn't received as much attention, from the text or from readers, is that the world is filled with strange deposits of dark stone. Like the kopjes of the Serengeti, they're remnants that have endured from a past age. What they mean is an entirely different question...

SL: Definitely nine. This is my big swing at an epic, with a cast of hundreds over decades. It's divided into three trilogies, each of which has a separate theme and follows the characters through a different stage in their lives.

SL: Rebecca Roanhorse has done a good job with broad worldbuilding not drawing from European inspirations in Black Sun. I've been reading some Silvia Moreno-Garcia lately. For self-published books, John Bierce has been consistently improving and his most recent Mage Errant book really stands out. For those interested in the Chinese elements in my work but wanting something more traditionally accurate, JC Kang and Tao Wong have written some recent books that draw deeper on those concepts.

SL: I'm immensely grateful to be able to write these stories that have been in my mind for so long. As much as this is a passion project, it's a pleasure to reveal my plans to others. Please take a look if you're interested!

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