Book Tour Q&A: Sea of Souls by N. C. Scrimgeour

Today we're taking part in the book tour organized by Escapist Book Company for Sea of Souls by N. C. Scrimgeour! Continue reading for the book blurb and a Q&A with the author.

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About the book

Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within…

Free-spirited Isla Blackwood has never accepted the shackles of her family’s nobility. Instead, she sails the open waters, searching for belonging on the waves.

But when tragedy calls Isla home, she realises she can no longer escape the duty she’s been running from. Selkie raiders have been terrorising the island’s coasts, and when they strike at Blackwood Estate, Isla is forced to flee with her hot-headed brother and brooding swordmaster.

To avenge her family and reclaim her home, Isla will have to set aside old grudges and join forces with an exiled selkie searching for a lost pelt. The heirloom might be the key to stopping the bloody conflict—but only if they can steal it from the island’s most notorious selkie hunter, the Grand Admiral himself.

Caught between a promise to the brother she once left behind and an unlikely friendship with the selkie who should have been her enemy, Isla soon realises the open seas aren’t the only treacherous waters she’ll need to navigate.

As enemies close in on all sides, she must decide once and for all where her loyalties lie if she wants to save what’s left of her family—and find the belonging she’s been searching for.

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On to the interview...!

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.

It has to be coming in as runner-up in the second annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC). I had no idea when I entered a year ago that my book (Those Left Behind) would get as far as it did, and being part of the competition was an amazing experience. To come second is a fantastic achievement, and I can’t keep the smile off my face!

What are you currently reading or what’s up next on your TBR? What made you pick up this book?

I’ve been eyeing up Dark Water Daughter by H. M. Long for a while now, so that’s definitely next on my list. I love a good nautical/pirate story and when you throw in some weather magic and a wintry atmosphere, I can’t think of anything that’s more up my street!

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start writing?

I’m a communications officer by day and self-published SFF author by night/weekend! I’ve been writing pretty much ever since I can remember. When I was growing up, I always enjoyed making up imaginary worlds and characters in my head, and that quickly led to me starting to write them down.

It wasn’t until my mid-20s that I really started to take writing seriously in terms of trying to pursue getting published. I got an agent shortly after finishing my first novel, but after a few books failing on submission, I swapped from trad to self-publishing and haven’t looked back since! I’ve released four books so far, and I’m really excited for Sea of Souls to join the list as number five!

How do you spend your free time when you’re not reading or writing? Do you have any hobbies or interests that you can talk to us about?

I’m an avid consumer of all things science fiction and fantasy, so when I’m not writing, you can usually find me reading, watching a TV show, or playing a video game! Away from that, I really enjoy watching Formula 1 and rugby union, and I find that sport is a nice little break away from the SFF bubble that sometimes consumes me!

Who are your favorite current writers and who are your greatest influences

Too many to mention! There are a whole host of writers that I’ll instantly buy from: R. F. Kuang, Tamsyn Muir, Pierce Brown, Robin Hobb, to name but a few. I’ve also really enjoyed recent books by Arkady Martine, Fonda Lee and Linden A. Lewis, so I’m keeping an eye out for future books from them!

I don’t know that I have any one kind of influence on me as a writer—I try to just absorb and learn through reading different authors and hope that it rubs off on me!

What are your favorite types of stories? Of characters?

I like discovering new places I can get lost in, so any kind of secondary world setting is a big draw for me, whether it’s science fiction or fantasy. When it comes to stories, I don’t mind whether they’re large-scale, saving-the-world epics or smaller, quieter stories with more personal stakes—as long as the characters are interesting and I feel invested in them, I’ll enjoy it regardless.

How much do you plan when you write? What’s your writing process like?

I plan a lot, and the more books I’ve written, the more solid a plan I’ve put in place. I always like to know my ending before I begin. If I know where the book is going, that informs my writing in terms of getting there. I’m flexible enough to change things around and incorporate new ideas or changes in direction, but I feel having a solid ending in mind helps me keep things focused.

Is this your first book? If so, what lessons have you learned from writing it? If not, what lessons did you learn from writing earlier books that you brought into this one?

This is book number five for me! You’d think it would get easier, but I think the more experience you have, the better you want to do, so for me I constantly want to improve my writing and storytelling and put out something better than I did before. Looking back on my sci-fi trilogy, I know I had some issues with structure and pacing, so that’s something I tried to work on for this book.

What do you think characterizes your writing style?

It’s not something I’ve necessarily picked up on myself, but a few readers have described my writing as quite vivid/cinematic/visual in terms of being able to imagine the world and what’s happening in it. So I think that’s definitely a compliment, as one thing I love as a reader is being able to escape into worlds that are completely different from our own and feel so immersed in the story that it feels like you’re there.

What comes first to you when you’re writing, the world, the characters, or the storyline?

Usually the first thing that comes to mind is a high-level concept—maybe something to do with the world or setting, or a particular conflict or idea I want to explore. But the characters follow very quickly after that. They’re the vessels through which the story is told, so for me it’s important to get a good sense of them early on in the process. The detailed worldbuilding usually follows later and develops more as I write.

They say to never judge a book by its cover, but a cover is still a marketing tool that helps sell books. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of your book?

I wanted people to feel cold just looking at it! Sea of Souls is a dark fantasy set in a Scottish-inspired world, so I really wanted to get across a darker tone with bleak, stormy weather and a rugged kind of landscape. The sea is a key part of the story, so I knew that had to feature front and centre, while the compass is more symbolic of the main character and her journey through the book.

Can you give us an elevator pitch for your book?

A runaway noble and exiled selkie join forces to track down a stolen pelt guarded by the island’s most notorious selkie hunter, the Grand Admiral himself.

How different is the final version of this book from the first draft?

They’re pretty similar, actually. I didn’t really make any major changes to the story—it was more about developing certain character relationships and plot points to make sure all the right beats hit home. I think because I plan so extensively, not much changes in terms of the structure or plot. For me, editing is more about polishing as much as possible and making sure the writing flows.

Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? What are your favorite kinds of characters to write?

I love writing characters that lend themselves to interesting dynamics, conflicts or relationships with the other characters in the book. I don’t want them to exist in a vacuum—I want them to play off each other and see how their relationships evolve and cause them to change over the course of the book.

In Sea of Souls, we have a sibling relationship that plays a significant part in the story, and it has probably been my favourite character dynamic to write as an author so far. There’s a lot of bittersweet moments—family secrets, sibling rivalry, shared grief—and it was such a satisfying relationship to explore.

If you could choose one worldbuilding detail (a place, ability, or creature, for example) from your book to exist in the real world, what would it be and why?

I love the sea, so being able to turn into a seal like the selkies in the book would be pretty fun. But the prospect of having your sealskin stolen and suffering a long, painful death because of it…maybe not so much!

In your opinion, what kind of reader would like this book?

This book is for readers who like their fantasy full of folklore, magic and mythical creatures in a world so cold and wild it will (hopefully!) chill you to the bone. Throw in some gunpowder, high seas adventure and characters struggling to find their place in the world, and you’ve got Sea of Souls!

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?

The first line from the prologue is: “Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within.” I love this line because it sets the tone and atmosphere for what is to come, and it really gets across the sense of horror about what is out there under the waves…

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?

Thank you for having me! The indie community is so unbelievably welcoming and supportive, and it’s always nice to be able to chat about my writing and books. And a huge thank you to every reader who supports independent and self-published authors—it makes such a difference!

And finally, where can you be found on the internet if our readers want to hear more from you?

You can keep up to date by signing up for my newsletter on my website at ncscrimgeour.com, or follow me on various social media platforms at @scrimscribes

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Where to buy the book:

Universal Link: https://mybook.to/SeaOfSouls