Fantasy Book Critic: SPFBO X Finalist Interview: K. R. Gangi, the Author of The Oathsworn Legacy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: K.R. Gangi is an independent author from Minnesota who transcribes his daydreams into stories of fantasy. The Light of the New World series is his first step on his writing journey, along with a few short stories and an endless list of projects he hopes to one day complete. There is nothing that brings him more joy than his wife, Melissa, and the books neatly shelved in what's referred to as "The Reading Room." He firmly believes that there is nothing more powerful than a good story.

Find K.R. online: website

The Oathsworn Legacy links: Amazon, Goodreads

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

I’m thirty-four years old, married to my best friend, and live in Minnesota (U.S.). When I’m not reading, I’m playing games, going on poke-walks with my wife, or trying to create stories of my own. My wife and I travel quite a bit, our most recent “big” trips to Ireland and Hawaii.

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

I work full-time as a Professional Coatings Sales Representative for a large paint company. I know. Fun, right? I work directly with small businesses and franchise owners to help grow and maintain their painting businesses. Honestly, that part is fun.

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

That question has always been hard for me to answer. I like authors for various reasons. John Connonlly, because The Book of Lost Things was an absolute gem. Joe Abercrombie, for how raw and real his characters feel. John Gwynne, because he (also like Abercrombie) can make his battles incredibly vivid and engaging. His plots are also just out of this world. Mark Lawrence, because every sentence he writes feels poetic. Michael J. Sullivan, for his protagonist dynamic and how he cleverly threads his plots throughout his entire series. Brandon Sanderson, for his skill in creating a complex plot and complex characters without overcomplicating how it’s written (much like this sentence). Sebastien De Castell, because I’ve never both laughed and teared up for a series before as much as I did reading the Greatcoats. Nicholas Eames, because we all needed Kings of the Wyld/Red Rose.

This is a mighty short list, but these authors are important to me because they’ve truly shown me the power of imagination, the euphoria of getting lost in a great story.

What do you like most about the act of writing?

Part of my editing processing is focusing on “fleshing out” my characters. I enjoy this the most because I can finally solidify their personalities and “build” them the way they’re intended to be. Snarky comments, bad-ass phrases–most of it comes out during this editing phase. It’s surprising how often your characters change throughout the writing process, too. The evolution of your characters is mind boggling by the time your final draft comes around.

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

Honestly, I’ve gone with a different writing process for each of my books. Typically I like to get a few “ideas” out there (characters, plot-points, scenes) and somehow connect them into a story. I’d love to say I plan a lot beforehand but I absolutely don’t. I’ve learned that overplanning deters my creativity, and I often find myself worrying about sticking to my outline rather than letting the story naturally unfold. Then I end up stressing out and hitting road-blocks, which causes major delays and a huge morale dump.

I also work a full-time job, which doesn’t exactly leave me with a ton of time to plan, write, edit, and repeat this process until I’ve accomplished something worth reading.

I’m still trying to find what works for me, but what I’m trying to implement is that, when my story veers off the original determined path, I then consider changing my outline rather than the story itself.

In a nutshell, writing works, but overplanning what I’ll write does not.

What made you decide to self-publish The Oathsworn Legacy as opposed to traditional publishing?

Don’t get me wrong here. If I had the opportunity to traditionally publish TOL, I absolutely would. My dream isn’t to seek fame but to rather see my book sitting on the shelf of a store next to the authors I’ve personally been inspired by. To wake up every morning and sustain a living by writing stories is the absolute dream for me. Personally, I think that’s every author’s dream.

I’ve reached out to a few agents before submitting in SPFBOX, but the struggles that independent authors face is the oversaturation of a lot of great books, and, unfortunately, many bad ones. It’s a very difficult, daunting process to get traditionally published. To be the one book standing out amongst thousands is not an easy task.

So, why did I choose to self-publish instead of grinding every week looking for the right literary agent? Because it allows me to get my story out there. I don’t think my stories are life-changing by any means, but I do think they’re good in their own way. Self-publishing was a way I could share it with others.

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

Advantage would be complete control over your work: timeline, creative process, genre, length, content. You can write a story because you feel that story needs to be written, rather than trying to implement a narrative tailored to what the market “seeks.” I know that sounds cynical, but it’s a bitter truth in some cases.

However, I think that this can also be a disadvantage. No timeline? Maybe that’s why TOL took three years to write/finish. Length? Well…anyone reading or who is going to read TOL will know that it’s not exactly a short tale. I love reading, but even I can feel the slag of a long book, no matter how fantastic it is.

Another disadvantage? Marketing. Traditional publishing includes professional marketers, while self-publishing leaves it entirely up to the author. Personally, I suck at marketing. I understand what I need: website, social media presence, book-talks, interviews, followers, etc. I’m just not good at it, and not everyone is. It makes you wonder how many incredible stories are out there, lost in the ocean of others, simply because an author’s marketing game wasn’t good enough.

Why did you enter SPFBO?

For a few different reasons. For starters, it’s a community which thrives off indie authors. How awesome is that?! Second, it gets your book out there, which can help build momentum on getting your story into another’s hands. Lastly, the culture! SPFBO is a prime example on how great stories can exist without the traditional publishing route. It proves that there’s some incredible authors out there despite having a publisher's brand on the spine of their books. It gives our voices a chance to be heard.

How would you describe the plot of The Oathsworn Legacy if you had to do so in just one or two sentences?

The Oathsworn Legacy is what happens when D&D shakes hands with the TV show Supernatural. It’s full of heroes you’ll love, villains you’ll hate, and you’ll cringe, laugh, cry, and gasp until the very last page.

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

Oh, geeze. What a complicated answer. There’s no short way to explain this, so brace yourselves.

As I’ve noted in my “author notes,” The Oathsworn Legacy was never meant to be a full story. One day, I found an online short-story competition (I think through Grimdark Magazine?) and decided to submit something. I’ve never written a short-story before, but I did have a vision for a narrative that was constantly pestering me.

Well, that story is actually in The Oathsworn Legacy; The Storm on the Horizon, though it turned out entirely different from when I submitted it. Even after its rejection I was very proud of what I’ve done.

Then, after the dust settled, and that story stayed saved in my Scrivener file, I thought, “You know, I really like these guys. I think I want to write a story about them doing this…” And so, I wrote another short-story with Rawley and Baelin, only this time they were wandering through a magical cabin filled with endless doors.

After that, I wrote another. Then another… You can see where this is going, right? Well, after about the fifth short-story, I remember being struck with an idea. I don’t really know how else to explain it; I wrote a sentence that just seemed to fall out of me. And after I typed it, I read it again for the fourth time and thought, “Hold on… Did I just connect all of these?” Then the ideas started bombarding me. “I could change this, and that, and make it this way to convey…” Before I knew it, I'd threaded all of those stories together while a large vision began to unfold before me.

Three years later, I was finished. The Oathsworn Legacy is definitely my most proud work. I fell in love with this story more than I can explain. It was never intended to be a novel but turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever written. I honestly feel like it was buried within me all along and I just needed to take the time to dig it out.

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

Hopeful, passionate, and relentless.

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

The Oathsworn Legacy is a standalone, but it sets the foundation for what comes next, what came before, and what happened in-between.

Who are the key players in this story? Could you introduce us to The Oathsworn Legacy’s protagonists/antagonists?

Rawley and Baelin Terricaut are the main protagonists, two brothers who start out as mere monster hunters then evolve into a force much greater. But the best part of this story is that even the secondary characters play a pivotal role in the story’s narrative. Not to sound arrogant, but part of the fun is seeing who they are and how–and why–they join Rawley and Baelin on their quest. I don’t want to spoil it for you because you really never know who’s going to join the cause.

And antagonists? This could be argued about all day. The thing about The Oathsworn Legacy is that our characters are uncovering an ancient plot from centuries ago, but, as time goes on, they start to see a much, much bigger threat than they thought. As soon as a reader discovers one villain, another comes out of the shadows and says, “Hey, just wanted to let you know that I’m here, and yes, things just got a lot worse for you.” I’ll give you some vague answers; The tyrant; The leech; The Chosen; That-which-hungers.

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

Magic has always been a struggle for me, and I never thought I’d write anything involving magic because, quite honestly, I never used to like reading about it. Magic can often feel too much like a “cheat code” to conflict resolution, which is something I wanted to avoid.

That being said, there’s a lot of magic here, but nothing as complex/intricate as Brandon Sanderson’s. I try to keep it vague enough to leave room for imagination, but specific enough where it doesn't feel “cheap.” There’s a science to it, but nothing where it’s too complicated to understand. I’d compare the magic in TOL similar to what you’d find in a D&D universe. Oh, and there’s science, which can sometimes be just as powerful as magic.

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

I did not. Wow, that was my shortest answer yet.

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

After reading Nicholas Eames, “Kings of the Wyld,” I realized I don’t think we have enough D&D-like adventures with the dark/grim/bloody twist on the narrative. I greatly admired what he did with his stories. I definitely wouldn’t consider The Oathsworn Legacy grim/dark, but it’s something of a nice blend between traditional/dark fantasy.

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

I’ve always loved finishing a book and realising the cover was a scene from the story. Michael J. Sullivan does a great job of this with this “The Legends of the First Empire” series.

Although TOL’s cover isn’t a specific scene, I did want it to resemble something of the story. I wanted someone to finish the book, look at the cover again and think, “Oh, damn. That’s what those are.” The tower in the distance, the shooting stars, the characters on the hillside, these are all relevant things a reader will notice while reading The Oathsworn Legacy.

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

Well, spoiler alert, but I’m currently working (and struggling!) on a novel set within the timeline of The Oathsworn Legacy. If you had to place it in a series, it would be considered “0.5” since it takes place within the same timeline as TOL.

During TOL, we meet a very minor character named Temper, who goes on a quest of his own with a handful of others to a land called Nurand. Out of the handful of Oathsworn who leave on this quest, he is one-of-four that return. Forgotten Shadows (tentative title for my next novel) is their story.

You will not need to have read The Oathsworn Legacy beforehand. It will be a standalone novel which will also be written in a different format. Due to release in…Well, I’m not even done with the first draft yet, and if the editing process will be anything like TOL, don’t expect it by christmas next year.

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?

I would just love to express my gratitude to everyone. This is a very humbling moment for me as I never thought The Oathsworn Legacy would receive as much praise as it’s currently getting. The amount of readers on KDP, the attention on Goodreads, and the shout-outs from other authors is truly an incredible feeling. Thank you all so very, very much.

And for those battling it out in SPFBOX, stay strong. Regardless of the outcome, know that your story matters to someone, which is all that should matter to you.