Fantasy Book Critic: SPFBO Finalist Interview: Olivia Atwater

AUTHOR INFO: Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn't what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repair person.

Publisher: Starwatch Press (May 6, 2022) Page Count:286 Formats: ebook, audiobook, paperback, hardback

Q&A

Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Before we start, tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Montreal with my husband and two cats, all of whom help me with my writing in their own way. Unlike most Canadians, I love the snow, and I can’t get enough of it. I’ve played Dungeons & Dragons my entire life; I’m told my parents had me roll their d20s for them as a baby, since I was a lucky kid.

Do you have a day job? If so, what is it?

I am currently a full-time author, but I used to be… gosh, so many things. Most recently, I was a back-end web developer with a speciality in information security. I still love programming, and I’ve continued my personal projects on the side, even if I don’t do it for work anymore.

Who are some of your favorite writers, and why is their work important to you?

Small Miracles is a super obvious homage to Good Omens, and that’s not an accident. I love Terry Pratchett’s writing—his heart, his humour, and his ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms. I was feeling awfully wistful about him when I wrote Small Miracles.

What do you think characterizes your writing style?

Based on reviews, I suspect I’ve slowly become known for my banter. But from a craft perspective, I work very hard to keep my writing short, clear, and easy to read. And let me tell you, none of that is easy! As Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” My editing process often involves deleting whole chapters I’ve already written, specifically because I realise they’re not core to the story I’m trying to tell and therefore likely to interrupt the flow of things. At the end of the day, I am a brutal reaper of words.

What made you decide to self-publish Small Miracles as opposed to traditional publishing?

Maybe this is a boring answer, but it was mostly a matter of financial stability. Obviously, I love Small Miracles, and I was going to write it either way. But traditional publishing is a very slow payment model, and I really prefer having a stable, predictable income that I personally control. Is that a strange thing to say, that self-publishing feels more stable than traditional publishing? I don’t know why, but it’s true.

What do you think the greatest advantage of self-publishing is?

The greatest advantage of self-publishing is the data. Full stop. Once you sign your books over to a traditional publisher, you no longer get to see daily sales data on those books. You can’t test different ads and see the change in sales. You also can’t easily arrange to put your book on sale—any potential promotions have to go through other people first.

On the other hand, is there anything you feel self-published authors may miss out on?

It is very difficult to get paperbacks into traditional bookstores as a self-published author. It’s not impossible, mind you, but most self-published authors miss out on that huge segment of the market. Just about everything else is something you can do yourself, I think, if you’re determined enough and resourceful enough.

Contrary to many self-published authors, you went wide instead of being kindle exclusive. Why? Did it pay off?

I started off in Kindle Unlimited, actually, but Amazon chased me off themselves. One month, they decided overnight that my banking details—which had not changed in over a year—were suddenly incorrect. I re-entered the exact same details, but they continued withholding my money for the entire month because they couldn’t be bothered to re-send it after their own mistake. At that point, I realised it was far too dangerous to rely on a single retailer—this is part of why I diversified into traditional publishing, in fact.

The switch to wide was so successful for me that I’ve never considered going back. I immediately discovered that Kindle Unlimited had been cannibalising my sales all along. People were willing to pay for my books outright, but hadn’t been doing so because they could get them through the program. My Amazon income alone doubled basically overnight, and suddenly all of my ad metrics were far more accurate, since they were based on sales and not invisible borrows. I think if your book is written to-market and you have an idea of what you’re doing with advertising, wide is honestly the better strategy for a multitude of reasons, including Amazon’s inherent instability and the hostile automated environment it’s created for independent authors.

Why did you enter SPFBO?

This is my third year entering SPFBO. I started here before I ever got a traditional publishing deal, and I still love being a part of it. I’m really hoping to read through a bunch of the other finalists once my life calms down a little bit.

What would you do if you won the SPFBO?

Well, if we’re going by pattern, I’d wake up bleary and exhausted, discover a bunch of messages congratulating me, and down several cups of coffee while I try to process my feelings! Through sheer bad luck, I’ve been under the weather for both my semi-finalist announcement and my finalist announcement this time around. But hey, it seems to be granting me good luck in the contest, so bring on the flu this winter! (No, don’t really, please. I can do without it.)

How would you describe the plot of Small Miracles if you had to do so in just one or two sentences?

Non-binary angels and demons quibble over sin and chocolate.

What was your initial inspiration for Small Miracles? How long have you been working on it? Has it evolved from its original idea?

I was actually sitting in a hospital waiting for test results when I came up with the idea for Small Miracles. Though things came back less serious than they could have done, it was a scary time. I had people tagging in and out with me as I waited though, so I was literally never alone in the waiting room. I really wanted to write something which captured that feeling—the knowledge that even if everything is really awful at the moment, just having the people you love present to make bad jokes and play card games at three in the morning still really matters.

If you had to describe it in 3 adjectives, which would you choose?

Sweet. Ironic. Chocolate. Wait, chocolate is a noun. I’m a writer, I know this. Uh. Chocolatey.

Is it part of the series or a standalone? If series, how many books have you planned for it?

Small Miracles is definitely a standalone. I briefly considered writing other books in the same setting which might focus on beings from other mythologies, but at the end of the day, I think it stands best on its own.

Who are the key players in this story? Could you introduce us to Small Miracles’ protagonists/antagonists?

Small Miracles is mostly told from the perspective of Gadriel, the Fallen Angel of Petty Temptations. Gadriel isn’t really out to hurt people—they just think everyone should indulge themselves a little more often, especially with chocolate. Because of a bad card hand, Gadriel has been asked to tempt a woman named Holly Harker into twenty points of sin. Well, that’s what Gadriel’s been told, anyway. But following around Holly Harker brings Gadriel into conflict with an antagonist who’s entirely above their weight-class, and they’re forced to get extremely creative in a hurry. Other than that, I think I’d prefer not to spoil anything.

How did you select the names of your characters?

Gadriel, Barachiel, and some of the other angels named in the book are real angels from different holy texts. I believe Gadriel is from the Book of Enoch, but I changed an awful lot about them. Frankly, all of the different versions of Abrahamic texts love to contradict each other anyway, so it’s easy to just pick something and go with it. Entertainingly, however, Barachiel really is both the Chief of Guardian Angels and the Angel of Gamblers, and I loved exploring that dynamic.

There are two human sisters named Holly and Ivy, which is a reference to the Christmas carol “The Holly and the Ivy”, but that’s really just a small laugh.

Does your book feature a magic/magic system? If yes, can you describe it?

Small Miracles takes place in a world where humans are all metaphysically governed by the rules of their chosen religion, whatever those may be. Hindus are harrassed by nagas, Wiccans have to worry about the threefold law, and Christians have angels meddling in their affairs. There’s a whole complicated system as to which creatures are allowed to bother which human beings, along with the occasional jurisdictional snarl.

The Christians in the book have a Cumulative Sin Metric which keeps track of their sins and virtues. Gadriel spends much of the book desperately trying to add twenty points of sin to Holly’s total.

Cover art is always an important factor in book sales. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of Small Miracles and the artist?

I did the cover of Small Miracles myself, actually! And wow, it went through so many iterations. I drafted a very complicated silhouette of a fallen angel at one point, and even had a version where Gadriel showed up in all three of their forms—so it was terribly irritating when I drafted the current, painfully simple version of the cover with a few feathers from a fallen angel and realised it was the best option yet. I suppose it’s very similar to the way my books grow shorter and shorter as I edit them.

Which question about the book do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

I wish people would ask more questions about Lady Xian! She’s a real figure from Chinese history and mythology, and I just think she’s neat. The part where she constantly talks about her imperial gifts is also real; the stories say she displayed all of her gifts from various emperors in the yard during festivals to remind her grandchildren of the benefits of loyalty. It’s such a hilarious grandmotherly thing to do, and I can’t get over it.

What’s your publishing Schedule for 2022/2023?

I am trying so hard to finish editing the epic steampunk fantasy I wrote with my husband, Echoes of the Imperium. We have had simply the worst luck with editors for this book, though. Our favourite sensitivity reader has had serious health issues this year, and we might well need to find another, so we’ll see. I’ve entirely finished an outline for a short medieval faerie tale, so that might see daylight in 2023. Other than that, I’ve yet to sort through which of my several ideas I want to focus on first. I have… a lot.

Thank you for taking the time to answer all the questions. In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers.

Good lord, I’d better not. I think I have a fever. Things could get strange.