Author Interview: The Path From Regret by J.G. Gardner
- Fiction Fans
- Feb 6, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 7, 2024
Thank you so much for joining us for this Q&A! We’ll start off with one of our standard podcast opening questions–tell us something great that’s happened recently.
I don’t get a lot of snow in the winter where I live (mid-Atlantic), but we recently got 5-6 inches of snow and it was a lot of fun to play with my family outside. My kids are still small and snow is a real novelty, so to go out and make snow angels and forts was a blast. Everyone came back inside with wind-burned cheeks and wet socks, but after a mug of hot chocolate everyone agreed it was a great way to spend an afternoon. A couple days later it was warm and rainy and the snow melted quickly so I’m glad we were able to go out and play while it lasted.
What are you currently reading or what’s up next on your TBR? What made you pick up this book?
I’m currently reading a SFF anthology, Shapers of Worlds Volume IV. All of the stories come from writers who were guests on the podcast The Worldshapers, hosted by Edward Willett. I was a guest myself on the podcast back in May 2023, and was recently invited to contribute a story to planned Volume V. I’m very excited to be part of the upcoming anthology, so I wanted to see what types of stories other authors are contributing (and to support the anthology series). As for my TBR, I am looking forward to picking up an urban fantasy novel called The Ghosts of Glenn Dale by Mark Reefe that is slated to be released in May 2024.
What is one book you want to shout about to the world? What about it makes you love it so much?
That’s an easy one: Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. His series of Culture novels are nothing short of amazing, and his name is not brought up enough when people discuss science fiction stories with incredible scope and extremely vivid story-telling. There are lots of things I love about all the Culture novels, but Player of Games was the first one I read, so it’s special to me. Specifically, the conversations between the sentient AI starships in the story really made me pause and think about the vastness and mind-boggling age of deep space.
What are your favorite types of stories? Of characters?
This might be a bit of a downer, but I like the stories where the hero dies after doing something awesome. I think this might be because too much SFF is bloated by overly long series where the story just seems to keep going, the heroes keep getting incrementally stronger, and there’s never any real question if they’ll win. I like the fatalistic stories because there is a clear end, and if the character truly stays dead, then there is a real feeling of sacrifice and loss. As for characters, I like those that have a unique code of conduct. Too often in modern SFF you either get the “stoic tough protagonist/antagonist,” or the “snarky smart protagonist/antagonist,” and both of those just aren’t interesting to me. Anti-heroes are kind of boring too. What I like are characters that act according to their own moral compass, because that just feels more authentic and like a real person and not a trope or archetype.
How much do you plan when you write? What’s your writing process like?
So in the “plotter vs pantser” discussion, I am firmly in the plotter camp. I plan extensively and outline my entire novel before I write in earnest. I typically write about a 10-page single-spaced outline that has all of the major plot beats, and maybe a bit of dialogue or action that I think is really important to the story. I call that outline v.0 and then start fleshing out each chapter. I don’t jump around, but just bash my way through from start to finish and increase the version number on my manuscript by one. I let it sit for several weeks and then go back and revise and try to get some beta-reader feedback. I keep polishing until I think it’s as shiny as I can make it before an attempt at submission.
Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? What are your favorite kinds of characters to write?
I can share a bit about one of the side-characters I like quite a bit. Early on in the novel you meet a mercenary named Amos. He’s violent and foul-mouthed, smokes and drinks, and in a former life was a corsair. With a description like that, you’d think he was a shifty henchman-like character, but in fact is one of the protagonist’s strongest allies. Among other things, Amos is caring, loyal, wise, and has an even temperament. I like him because he makes no excuses for his past and doesn’t let it define who he is at present. In a similar way, I like writing characters that are at times contradictions. For example, there are several instances when one of the protagonists does the right thing, but for the wrong reason.
What was your favorite part of writing this book?
My favorite part was developing the magic and alchemy systems for the world I’ve created. While the magic users in the story manipulate the four classical elements, what I think is much more interesting are the consequences for using magic. All wizards are afflicted with a chronic disease called the Iron Bane, which among other things, erodes the nerves of a wizard and robs them of their five senses. At the start of the story you learn that Thorne (one of the protagonists) cannot taste or smell anything and that over time, his vision, hearing, and sense of touch will decay until he is unable to sense the external world and his magic kills him. To be a wizard is not awesome, and has a 100% fatal outcome. I liked writing about this magic system because I think it balances the immense power a wizard has with a terrible cost.
Talk to us about your book cover! Can you tell us about the idea behind it?
The cover has three elements that I think give the reader a good idea of what to expect in the novel. The first are the lines of alchemy symbols that are in the background. Magic and alchemy are pervasive throughout the book, used both as a tool and also as a weapon. The second is the hourglass silhouette in the center of the cover. The passage of time and how it changes someone’s perception of an event in their life or of a memory is an important theme in the novel. Finally, the third element is the starfield within the hourglass shape. This is meant to convey the vastness of space and time and provide scale relative to our place in the cosmos.
Can you give us an elevator pitch for your book?
If someone asked me for a one sentence summary of the novel, I would answer: A powerful but despondent wizard attempts to magically erase his memories while racing to stop a rival from inciting rebellion with powerful merchant guilds against provincial nobles.
In your opinion, what kind of reader would like this book?
In general I think readers that enjoy high fantasy stories that have a lot of magic use would enjoy The Path From Regret. More specifically, I think fans of Margaret Weiss, Raymond E. Feist, and maybe Patrick Rothfuss would be interested in checking out the novel.
Do you have a favorite quote from your book that you can share with us? What about this quote in particular makes it your favorite?
My favorite quote from the novel can be found on the cover, which is, “Only some scars fade.” The three major themes of the novel are memory, time, and regret, and I think that quote captures all three themes very well. Everyone can think of at least one memory that makes them wince even if the event happened many years ago. A question I like to think about is, if I could completely erase that memory, would I want to? What would I really be losing?
Is there anything you can tell us about any current projects you’re working on?
My next novel is set 20 years prior to The Path From Regret and I am very excited to share that it is going to be published in May 2024. In addition to preparing for the launch of that book, I am currently outlining the short story that I will contribute to the Shapers of Worlds Volume V anthology. Finally, I am beginning to draft my third novel, but it’s a bit too early in the process for me to talk about it right now.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to leave for our readers?
A small press author like me is grateful for every reader that picks up my book. You might not think it matters much, but leaving a review on any platform of your choosing is a huge deal to me. Big box stores and on-line retailers don’t do a great job of supporting local authors, and I’d encourage you to try to find an author from your area that writes in a genre you enjoy. You might find a hidden gem!
And finally, where can you be found on the internet if our readers want to hear more from you?
For a number of professional and personal reasons, I do not have any social media presence at all. If you’d like to learn more about my writing, then my author website is the best place to find me on-line: jgardnerauthor.com.
About the book:
Thorne is a Paragon, a mage with the rare ability to wield his mana as a weapon.
Despite knowing powerful magic, he lives a life of despair, continually fighting a losing battle against his inner demons and the specters of the people whose lives he could not save. Finally reaching his breaking point, Thorne decides to seek out an old lover, Celeste, who has the power to erase memories.
After a disastrous attempt to find Celeste destroys part of the mages' guild, Thorne tries to make amends by volunteering to find an influential mage that has disappeared. During his investigation Thorne discovers that the missing mage was the victim of a conspiracy led by Reihana, a former Paragon and bitter rival.
Recruiting unlikely allies including a disgraced cavalier, a farmer turned mercenary, and a corsair captain who lost his ship, Thorne chases after Reihana in an attempt to stop her plans for sowing the seeds of rebellion and war across the continent. Along the way Thorne will need to continue his search for Celeste, and perhaps more importantly, decide if wiping his mind clean of past mistakes is really his only option.
