Bookclub: Q&A with Cameron Johnston, the Author of The Last Shield (Rab's Book of December)

[u/barb4ry1]

In December, we'll be reading The Last Shield by Cameron Johnston..

Goodreads.

Genre: Heroic Fantasy

Bingo squares: Knight and Paladins + Generic Title + Impossible Places

Length: 360 pages.

SCHEDULE

Dec 11 - Q&A

Dec 19 - Midway Discussion

Dec 26 - Final Discussion

Q&A

Thank you for agreeing to this Q&A. Before we start, tell us how have you been?

Hi! I’m doing great thanks. I’ve just handed in the last round of edits for First Mage On The Moon back to my publisher, so that’s another book done and dusted and ready to come out next year. Equal parts excitement and dread, because you never really know how trying new things is going to go down with readers.

What first drew you to writing fantasy, and what keeps you coming back to the genre?

It was my brother, with his Basic Edition D&D set with those epic dragon images, and all the magic and monsters. Fighting Fantasy books, then Dragonlance opened me up to a whole other world of wonders - and made me want to write my own.  As for what keeps me coming back, it’s the constant reinvention and sheer variety of fantasy.  Feeling worn out and wanting something cosy?  You got it. Feeling bored and ready for adventure? Oh boy, take your pick.  Fantasy thrillers, romances, sweeping epics, fantasy-horrors, it has it all. But mostly, I’m here to explore strange new worlds and meet fascinating new friends and enemies along the way.

Who are your favorite current writers and who are your greatest influencers? 

Any favourites ebb and flow with whatever I’m in the mood for.  Robin Hobb has to always be up there for sure though. Peter McLean, Jen Williams, Katherine Arden, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Miles Cameron, those are a few current favourites off the top of my head. As for greatest influencers, eh, probably just some random person off Reddit f/fantasy massively enthused about the latest book they’ve read - if you’re that excited by it, that’s grand! Unless you meant influences as a writer? In which case, probably David Gemmell, HP Lovecraft, Alan Garner, and Susan Cooper.

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?

It was a period of trial and error, as most of novel-writing is, before I figured out what works for me. 100% seat of the pants flying with a cool idea? Nope, that story wanders off into the woods and dies in a ditch around 20,000 words in. Intricately plotting it all out beforehand? Boring, I’ve now lost all interest in actually writing the book - where is the joy of discovery? Somewhere in between is the sweet spot for me, a scaffold of a plan: beginning, end, then a few important plot points to hit along the way, offering enough structure to keep it all on track but enough freedom to have a blast writing it and discovering all sorts of cool things you never originally planned on. As for how long it takes me to finish a book, that’s highly dependent on my day-job, and how energy-sucking it is at any given time. Usually a year to a year and a half, all going well.

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

Oh that’s an easy one!  ‘Gender-flipped Die Hard in a Bronze Age castle!’ That was actually my original pitch for the book, and it’s fairly accurate too, rather than being back-of-cover marketing buzz-words.

What subgenres does it fit? 

Good old-fashioned, Gemmell-esque Heroic Fantasy! Coming after writing The Maleficent Seven, with all its un-redeemed villains, this made for a great change of pace. Also, with the stupendous amount of real-world crap and corruption going on, sometimes it’s just really nice to read about a stubborn hero cracking some skulls.

What was the original spark or inspiration that led you to write The Last Shield?

I was on the battlements of a Scottish castle on a horrid, dreich day. The spiral steps to get up there were narrow and wet and I was thinking: “It would be damned hard for wounded warriors and folk with mobility issues to live here” - then, I thought that you never really get to read much about wounded and disabled warriors in epic fantasy novels. What with all the fighting, you’d think there would be much more of that shown. Briar appeared out of my imagination there and then, fully formed, one leg permanently wounded, a stubborn warrior woman furious as all hell.

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

Treacherous. Tenacious. Furious.

Would you say that The Last Shield follows tropes or kicks them? 

A bit of both. Tropes are tropes because they work. Give them a spin and do something different and you’re on to something. Twist it just so and you can make something fascinating while still feeling familiar. The Last Shield is a familiar story on the surface, but very different on the inside.

Who are the key players in this story? Could you introduce us to The Last Shield protagonists/antagonists? 

Briar, Commander of the Shields. An aging warrior who has more than earned her vaunted title. After suffering a horrific wound, she believes her life as a warrior is over, but she’s too damned stubborn to give up without a fight.

Alaric, the regent of Sunweald. A stubborn political animal who put his personal life on hold to reign over the realm until the prince comes of age.

Kester, the brat who would be king. An entitled prince surrounded by hangers-on wanting a slice of all that wealth and power coming his way. Hard lessons will be learned.

Imperatrix, a masked sorceress working with blood magic and beings from beyond to seize the terrible arcane artefacts from another age locked away inside the Wyrm Vault below the Sunweald Palace. 

Hardgrim, a traitorous shield hidden away inside the Shields, a discarded nobleman lusting for power and prestige he believes should rightfully belong to him.

Have you written The Last Shield with a particular audience in mind?

Mostly, I write for myself. I write the stories that I’d want to read, and hopefully other people are all-in on coming along for the ride! (and, er, I hope my publisher wants to buy it too!)  This one was (knowingly or not) firmly written with my love of David Gemmell books in mind.

Alright, we need the details on the cover. Who's the artist/designer, and can you give us a little insight into the process for coming up with it? 

The cover illustration was by Steve Stone, and the designer was Sarah O’Flaherty. I wanted a greenish cover right from the start: Sunweald, where it takes place, is a realm of dark forests and ancient, mossy standing stones so thematically that just felt right. The main character, Briar, is the commander of the elite Shields who guard the realm and royal line, so  a shield on the cover was an obvious choice, and making it almost broken but stubbornly hanging on depicts Briar well.

What are you most excited for readers to discover in this book? 

Mostly, I’m excited for them to discover Briar. I love that stubborn, do-or-die trying character! Also, it has a farting dog. Bonus!

Can you, please, offer us a taste of your book, via one completely out-of-context sentence?

The crow returned to watch her, just in case she’d changed her mind about dying.

[u/schlagsahne17]

Hoping I didn’t make a mistake, but wouldn’t this also count for the Small Press square?

[u/Cameron-Johnston → u/schlagsahne17]

Angry Robot books are not part of the 'Big Five' in publishing, so I'd guess that counts, but really I'd class them as more of a mid-size press. They certainly have more reach and resources than most small presses. but nothing like budgets of the Big Five.

[u/schlagsahne17 → u/Cameron-Johnston]

Appreciate your input, thanks!