Fantasy Book Critic: SPFBO Finalists Interview - Dewey Conway & Bill Adams, Co-Authors of The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword

Bill: When not writing, Bill is a product manager for a company that tests food using analytical chemistry and microbiology. Bill currently lives in the greater Chicago, IL area with his wife, goblin (aka toddler) son, & daughter.

Dewey: When Dewey isn’t heads down into drawing or writing, he works as an instructional designer for a major learning management systems company developing online courses. Dewey lives north of Houston, TX with his wife and two dogs while his adult children are off on their own.

Find them online: The Willow Wraiths

The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword links: Amazon, Goodreads

Hello guys, thanks so much for joining us! Would you tell us a little about yourselves, and what made you want to start working together?

Bill: Hallo! Thanks for having us. Not only are we super grateful to even be named a finalist in SPFBOX (and the first ever middle grade book!), we are thankful y’all even want to chat with little ol’ us.

But to answer your question, I’m Bill Adams and I’m a middle grade and adult SFF writer. Aside from The Tenacious Tale, I have an adult dark fantasy series called The Divine Godsqueen Coda that I’ve been working on for mannnny years, and just released the first book, The Godsblood Tragedy, this past summer.

Dewey: Hello, I’m Dewey Conway and I’m a middle grade writer and illustrator. TTToTTT is my first book, but I also illustrate a little on the side and have been starting to branch out into commissioned art.

Bill: It’s an interesting journey we had together. We first started off as critique partners. I sent out the call in 2017 on social media and Dewey was one of the first to answer it. At the time, I was working on a draft of TGT and Dewey was on a first draft of TTToTTT. Not only did we click right away on a writing basis, but on a personal one too. We’ve become very close friends over the years.

Dewey: Arus brought Bill into my life, for sure. We have a dynamic that creatively works really well.

Bill: We really do work together well. I’ll answer it a bit further below, but I truly believed in the story Dewey had started. There was so much there, so many great things about it. I knew that as a middle grade age reader, I would have eaten this story up. I also knew that Dewey was getting a little discouraged by the querying process and seeing as we collaborated really well on altering some of the story over the years, I basically begged him to let me take a crack at an edit of it.

Dewey: I was done. This story and the characters within (especially Galdifort) are shards of my soul, so to have it rejected time after time by agents during querying was discouraging, for sure. I had shelved it for a bit before Bill coaxed me into bringing it back out. We’ll get more into that later.

Bill: It was a journey for sure to get to the self-pub point, but there’s no doubt in my mind, we put out the best story we could, one that would draw in readers not only at middle grade age, but adults too.

Collaborative work is… Well, it’s not for everyone. But you’ve pulled it off. What does it take to successfully co-write a novel? And what was the process for The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword ?

Bill: The key for us was trust. Because we started off as critique partners, we learned each other’s styles. Learned how to give feedback. But most importantly, we learned how to bounce ideas off of each other. For me, trusting in that other person implicitly is the biggest way to be a success, because let me tell you, this self-pub industry is not really set up for co-authorship. The systems/processes in place are difficult enough for one author, let alone two.

Dewey: Collaborative work is actually simple. The issue comes with ego. That’s where collaborative work derails. Bill loved this story, loved all the characters, brought to it elements that were missing, and I knew I could trust his intentions. And he knows he can trust me…we’re in this together, baby!

Bill: Ha! Very true, very true. But to bring it back some, early on, the draft Dewey shared with me had spots where I really thought changes could make it even better, one being that Tanna (a girl) was originally Tanner (a boy). After reading the whole draft, I came to Dewey with the idea of swapping gender because we always see boy heroes in stories, and if he wanted to appeal to a larger audience, I felt having a girl be the hero (while keeping Galdifort the grumpy chronicler a boy), the story would really open up for some excellent character dynamics and growth. And Dewey really seemed to agree. This is what I mean by trust. Dewey knew I had the best interest of the story at heart.

Dewey: This was a huge change, and I had to really mull it over, but it just made sense. Tanna was Tanner, but when we shifted him over to Tanna, everything just clicked. The dynamic we needed between Galdifort, who is perpetually grumpy and doubting, with a girl who was genuinely, over-the-top optimistic about everything in life was what the story needed.

Bill: Fast forward to Dewey agreeing to share his creation, we began to outline what we would need to do, not only changes, but how we can successfully launch this story.

Over the years of my writing journey, I really honed my editing skills, so I took our draft and ideas and went to work doing a full-blown edit from the ground up. I aimed to maintain the middle grade voice Dewey is amazing at, plus his penchant for humor and inherent grumpiness in Galdifort, and meld it with a more streamlined story arc, elevating the prose just a smidge so it would also draw in adult readers, while ironing out any kinks.

I’m also a project manager by trade, so I’m very diligent on timelines, on organization, etc. I may dislike it, but I also had been quite active on social media (but really love the indie community there!), so I took on a more ‘business’ role while Dewey remained fully on the ‘creative’ side.

Dewey: This story would not have happened without Bill. 100%. It would be living in my files somewhere under a folder title “Oh Well…”. Bill says he “honed [his] editing skills”...let me clarify. He is THE editor of editors. His eye for story, sense, emotion, and what feels right are beyond scope. BUT the more important part of this is his delivery. He edits with the objective of making the story the best it can be. And, to be honest, I’m a 100% sensitive creative soul, so taking criticism of my work is hard sometimes. I think Bill is one of 3 people that I can take authentic criticism from and listen to that, even if it fundamentally changes the outcome of the work. He is authentic, and this authenticity is a key to our collaborative success.

When Bill finished that final edit sweep, and I re-read it, I went to work on the illustrations and cover. I love drawing, and these characters have always had a certain feel to them that I love to illustrate. Bill had a plan, and we decided to publish on my birthday (April 2) back in January of this year, so I had to get to work on the illustrations, which was a challenge to complete. But nothing has been more satisfying than getting the book out, having it received well, and (most importantly) read by young readers who may now go on to read more fantasy!

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

Bill: As mentioned, I’m a project manager, and I work for a company that does food chemistry on food and beverage products. I also had a teaching license in ages past.

Dewey: I am currently an Instructional Designer for a major Learning Management platform, but before this, I taught 5th and 6th grade students for a gazillion years.

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

Bill: First and foremost is Richard Adams (no relation sadly) and his seminal work Watership Down. It is the first ‘big’ book I ever read, and he once said something along the lines of ‘a good book is one that is enjoyed when you are six and when you are sixty’ and this really rang home for me as an aspiring writer, especially in the middle grade level. I’m also a huge Terry Brooks fan, as his Shannara books are what got me into fantasy as a teenager in the 90s. Yes, Tolkien is the king, but without Brooks, I don’t think I’d be as big a fantasy fan as I am (I also met him a couple years back and he is one of the nicest people ever!)

Dewey: Well, I have to mention Tolkien. The Hobbit was my first fantasy book I read (I actually played Bill the Troll in a school play haha). This really got me interested in fantasy, but I tend to go for the safe fantasy, the kind that makes me wonder and isn’t necessarily filled with violence and gore. I also love Terry Brooks, but I started with his Kingdom For Sale series as well as the Krondor series by Raymond Feist. I am a huge fan of graphic novels, and Jeff Smith’s Bone is a big influence on me as an artist and author.

What do you like most about the act of writing?

Bill: Writing, and creating fantasy worlds, is my source of joy. I just love the creation part, just that feeling that anything can be done. It’s also an escape from the real world. It’s tough out there, especially now that I’m a parent, so I find solace in these made-up characters/worlds. I also weirdly enjoy the editing phase. I know most people loathe editing and prefer drafting, but I like being able to put meat on the bones and really make scenes pop.

Dewey: I love the creative process as a whole, but sometimes it can be frustrating. It’s a water well that, when it’s full, it’s go go go! I love to sit and just type it all out (more about that below), and the peaceful solitude of writing is so nice. The problem is often finding time for that peaceful solitude.

Can you lead us through your creative process? What works and doesn’t work for you? How long do you need to finish a book?

Bill: Ha, this is where Dewey and I are complete opposites. I’ll let him talk about his process, but let’s just say he’s a planner and I’m a pantster. My outlines are literally a couple of key ideas/concepts/outcomes that take place in each chapter. That’s it. I am a full-on ‘let the characters lead me’ type of writer. I know where things are meant to go, but I have to let my characters do as they will.

Dewey: I do like to plan things out. I like outlines…big chonky outlines with details and asides and rabbit holes into the arcane. I like scribbles on the side of the paper and post-it notes scattered from random thoughts during the day. I want to know the direction my characters are going, every step they’ll take to get there, the motivational arcs outlined, etc. All the stuff. Which, of course, makes this a tedious process.

Bill: When I am in the throes of writing, I can churn out 2k or more words a day and string those back-to-back. If all things are going smooth, I’ve finished 150k drafts of my adult series in a couple of months. However, life isn’t always perfect, so I’d say for me, it would take me about 6 months to have a complete first draft. But again, that’s for my adult books. I think I did the edit of Tanna in little under than 3 weeks, and that’s starting from scratch. It’ll be interesting to dive into book 2 (which we have just started recently) as it will be an all-new ballgame for both of us!

Dewey: Book 2 will be interesting to be sure. I’m super excited about it. I’m not as prolific as Bill, but I get the job done. Eventually.

What made you decide to self-publish The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword as opposed to traditional publishing?

Bill: Oh, we tried traditional publishing… To be honest, I still don’t know how we didn’t get a single partial request on this story. It baffles me because we queried for well over a year. Well, let’s be honest, I queried and tried to keep all the rejections away from Dewey’s ears, haha. But I think I queried over 50 agents in that time and I lost count of how many manuscript wishlists had something akin to this story. Truly baffling, but hey, that’s life, right?

But I was in the same boat with my adult series, and one of my other long-time critique partners (also found from that same call out on social media) went the self-pub route, so I had a brain to pick. It just seemed like the right thing to do because I really wanted people to read more stories. So, when Tanna didn’t get a sniff from agents, Dewey and I came to the conclusion we just had to do it ourselves. I think that worked out pretty well?

Dewey: And I’m a control freak. Did Bill say that already? Haha. Bill is so good to me. He did keep the rejections hidden, which is so annoying. But back to control freak, I like to have my hands on every step of the process. Bill and I have a vision in mind, and by golly I’m not going to have someone tell me my illustration doesn’t work, the chapter font is too big, or I need to change a character’s motivation. Nope. If we’re going to do this, we tell and present the story our way.

What’s your favorite and least favorite parts of self-publishing?

Bill: Marketing, plain and simple, is my least favorite. It’s such a creative drain having to feed those algorithms just to hope that someone likes your story enough to read it, maybe give it a review/rating. It destroys my creative well. After releasing Tanna, I had my adult release to look toward, so I didn’t really notice it as much because I was editing, formatting, etc. But post release of my adult in the summer (Tanna was in the spring), I just felt so empty, so devoid of wanting to write. And that was frustrating because writing is my happy place (my favorite part of self-pub because I make the deadlines). I just knew I had to keep going each day with a post or whatever just to remain relevant when all I wanted to do was crawl into the fetal position and burrow my way out of post release blues and write.

Dewey: My favorite part of all this is when we get a review that someone’s child loved it! That makes this grumpy little heart just happy as a clam. My least favorite has to be all the technical aspects of publishing. I realize it has become simpler, but there’s a lot to it.

Why did you enter SPFBO?

Bill: I’ve been following SPFBO for about 5 years or so when I read Senlin Ascends. I had learned it was originally self-pubbed and part of this comp. When the decision was made in 2020-21 to go the self-pub route, I decided to really dive into indie books, and now, I almost exclusively read self-pubbed books. And I used this comp as a source to find good indie reads. Dewey can add something if he likes, but I was the driver of entering as he wasn’t familiar with it at the time. I knew having a middle grade book in the comp, where middle grade and YA to an extent are usually overlooked, would help get eyes on our story. I figured why the heck not.

Dewey: Bill has his finger on the pulse of the indie community. I’m not very active with social media, and he has really developed a considerable amount of respect amongst our peers. He knew about this contest, told me he was entering us, and that was it. It was only when we hit the semi-finalist stage that I perked up about it, because, to be honest, I just didn’t know how special this contest was. And it’s hard when you’ve been rejected so many times by traditional agents to have positive thoughts, so I really didn’t think we would go anywhere until I listened to our semi-finalist judge, Brian Bell, talk about Tanna and all the nice things he said about reading it. It made me pause and listen to Bill, who never stopped believing. I am just beyond grateful to think our peers find our little tale a good read.

How would you describe the plot of The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword if you had to do so in just one or two sentences?

Dewey: In The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword, would-be Champion Tanna teams up with her reluctant Chronicler-in-training, Galdifort Quillpen, to secure her first quest in an offbeat, pig-filled town. When an eerie fog and rumors of a dark sorceress threaten the townsfolk, the two—guided by a peg-leg rooster—must embark upon an adventure to gain a first quest and uncover the true dangers awaiting them in a shadowy, haunted forest.

What was your initial inspiration for The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword? How long have you been working on it? Has it evolved from its original idea?

Dewey: I was initially inspired to make the story a graphic novel, way back in the late 90s. It was a tale of 3 monks who were setting out to find the perfect quill. The monks were named Tanner, Galdifort, and Lasser. Over time, that all changed until I created a comic called Monks back in the 2000s, where Tanner was the last of his kind, being pursued by an evil sorcerer’s enclave for the demon he unwittingly was holding at bay. This is the comic that introduced Cobbs and Wink, characters both still in the story. When I began teaching 5th grade students, I was inspired by that age group and the innocence of the stories they read, so I shifted and tried my hand at writing middle grade. From there, it became the backbone of what it is now.

What genre does it belong to?

Dewey: This is middle grade fantasy fiction.

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

Dewey: Heroic

Bill: Heartfelt

Dewey: Humorous

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

Bill: It is the first of a proposed trilogy. Without spoiling much, a Champion (what Tanna is inspired to become) has an item called an Elemstone, which gives a Champion extra powers so to speak. And as the would-be-Champion progresses, they get a piece of the Elemstone, or triad. Kinda like the TriForce in Legend of Zelda. So, three books, three pieces of Elemstone.

Who are the key players in this story? Could you introduce us to The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword’s protagonists/antagonists?

Dewey: Let’s see…

Protagonists:

● Tanna the Tendersword: a bold, optimistic would-be-Champion determined to prove herself by finding her first quest

● Galdifort Quillpen: Tanna’s Chronicler-in-training, he’s pragmatic and grumpy who very reluctantly goes along with Tanna, he’s also our POV

● Peggs the Rooster: a mysterious, peg-legged rooster who acts as an unconventional guide, who may hold a secret himself

Antagonists:

● What’s-Her-Name (Thistle Willow): A mysterious and feared sorceress whose presence brings darkness and the ominous Fog Blight

● The Fog Blight: A supernatural, creeping fog rumored to put people under her control or lure them to their doom

● Fechus, Scratch, and Mulch: A trio of mischievous creatures known as Throgs who appear in the fog, in league with Thistle Willow

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

Dewey: Yes, the magic system in this story is based on time. The gods presented are the Three Scribes, who represent past, present, and future. They are said to provide the Champions of the land of Handover (that’s the name of the kingdom) with magical might, empowered through the Elemstones (Bill mentioned that earlier). There’s also an antithesis magic, represented by our antagonist, Thistle Willow. Our next two books will dive into this a little more.

Bill: You’re forgetting song magic, Dewey! Both Thistle Willow and a secondary character named Byrna (Galdifort’s friend and crush) use songs to manipulate the things around them. We plan to explore further with this in the other two books like Dewey mentioned above.

Have you written the book with a particular audience in mind?

Bill: Kids, 100%. Brian Bell (our sub-judge on Team Chase) made a great point, this book is a wonderful gateway for kids to get into fantasy as they grow. That’s exactly what we set out to do! But let’s not forget, this book has a lot for adults to love too. So we like to say it’s for all ages.

What’s new or unique about your book that we don’t see much in speculative fiction these days?

Bill: As I mentioned above, making Tanna (a girl) be the hero and Galdifort (a boy) be the more cautious, bookish type is something you don’t see all that often. We also wanted to show healthy admiration for people not the same as them. Galdifort’s aunt is his idol and she’s the most famous Chronicler in his world. And Tanna wants to be like Cobbs, the famous Champion Galdifort’s aunt chronicled for. We thought it very important for kids to see that you can root for and want to be like people who aren’t like you or don’t look like you.

Dewey: In addition to what Bill said, I think what’s unique or might surprise the reader is that the story is told from Galdifort’s point of view, even though the title is The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword. Tanna is a player in Galdifort’s story as a Chronicler. His grumpy perspective is something I think most would not expect.

Bill: I mean, we also have a peg-legged rooster companion that may or may not have a sword within said peg-leg…

Cover art is always an important factor in book sales. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword and the artist?

Dewey: I did the cover art, and the design came while I was eating dinner one night. I suddenly saw Tanna leaping into action, head on, ready to face whatever perils await her while Galdifort stood behind her, an expression of complete doubt and subtle fear. That image stuck with me and so I sketched it out, placed them square in the Dwimmerleaf Forest (where Thistle Willow dwells), and added Peggs. I wanted them to be front and center for the story, so a prospective reader knew from the start that this tale was all about adventure with a plucky hero. The idea to add the silhouette of Thistle Willow behind them came a little later when I realized I needed to also convey danger. For the lettering of the title, I drew a font that I imagined Galdifort would draw (he is a Chronicler after all) and placed it on a leathery, silver lined plaque.

I think it catches the eye, for sure, but I wanted it to tell the reader what they were in for: a fun adventure with unconventional characters.

What are you currently working on that readers might be interested in learning more about, and when can we expect to see it released?

Bill: I’m currently putting the final touches on book two of The Divine Godsqueen Coda, hoping to reveal the cover in the next month or so, and release around February. I’m also working on a Sci-fi novella that I want to release in December. My guy Dewey is working on my cover as we speak! Then comes my part on Tanna 2!

Dewey: I’ve been doing some illustrations for indie authors lately, but I’m currently working on Bill’s cover for his novella. Tanna part 2 is also on the horizon!

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?

Bill: First off, again, thank you for having us, this has been great! Second, thank you to team Fantasy Book Critic for being judges and championing indie authors! But yeah, I suppose I just want to say to everyone reading this interview, please go out and support the rest of these finalists, all the semi-finalists, all the 300 authors who submitted and made the comp (as well as the almost 300 who didn’t in the lottery), as well as any indie author. I know TBR lists are unfinishable, but support and hype goes a long way for us little authors. Thank you!

Dewey: Yes, thank you! I am excited, thrilled, nervous, and humbled by everything that’s happened. There are so many incredible authors with amazing stories and to even be mentioned in the same breath as them is just unbelievable. I’ve learned the indie community is one of the most welcoming and hard-working group of creatives, so please support them. Again, thank you for reading our interview and being a champion. Smack gobble!