Mages Behind the Pages: Steven McKinnon, author of Symphony of the Wind
Welcome to the inaugural Mages Behind the Pages interview!
The point of the Mages Behind the Pages segment is to highlight the great world-building of some of our fellow independent and small-press authors. The first couple of interviews are going to be with my own personal picks, with future picks being drawn from reader suggestions.
Also, during each of these segments, I’ll be giving away a free copy of one of the author’s books (Kindle edition) to one randomly selected commenter: all you need to do is leave a comment to this blog post, telling me that you’re interested in getting started with the author.
Our very first mage behind the page is Steven McKinnon, author of Symphony of the Wind, the first volume in the Raincatcher’s Ballad.
Now let’s get to the interview!
Shawn: Let’s start off with the obligatory “Tell us a little about yourself!” Who is this Steven McKinnon guy?
Steve: I live in Glasgow and work as an administrator at the University of Glasgow. I’ve been writing since forever–being an author is the first thing I ever remember wanting to “be”.
My first short story wasn’t published until 2014, where I entered a really silly piece into a competition run by University of Aberdeen (where I worked at the time). It’s called “Ernest The Hairy Goat-Man With A Leopard’s Face”, and I think it might be the best thing I’ll ever put my name on…
In 2015, I had another two pieces published (The Vividarium, featured in In Memory: A Tribute to Sir Terry Pratchett, and GoogleFuture
, featured in Glasgow-based fanzine called “The High Flight”. I also indie-published my first book, Boldly Going Nowhere in the same year (which includes Ernest as a small bonus).
Other stuff happened in between – none of it interesting.
Shawn: I think those of us who have read Symphony can guess at the answer, but did you take inspiration for your world from real-world historical events or periods?
Steve: The real-world event that influenced some parts of the book the most was “Unit 731”, a covert bio/chemical warfare installation where horrific human experimentation took place in World War II by the Japanese Army. It doesn’t make for happy reading…
Other influences include my native Glasgow, and there will be a mixture of other stuff too that’s less explicit. I wouldn’t classify it as a Steampunk novel, but the Victorian/Renaissance eras inform some of the aesthetic. Oh, and the movie Casablanca – I loved the idea of a melting pot of people from all over the world ended up in Casablanca during World War II, all from different backgrounds and cultures. If you don’t belong anywhere, you belong there. Dalthea is like that–it’s a country formed from the building blocks of other cultures, and thrives because of it. That’s why I like diversity so much in stories–we get to celebrate the multitude of differences between people, characters, races and cultures, while at the same time highlighting the universal struggles, experiences and joys we all share.
Shawn: Do you feel that you learned more about real-world history during your research?
Steve: In some respects–I read up on how easy it was for dictators like Adolf Hitler to manipulate the masses and wrest power. In The Fury Yet To Come (which was written at the same time as Symphony), I read a book called D-Day: By Those Who Were There by Peter Liddle–I definitely learned a lot about soldiers’ mentality from that. Absolutely worth a read.
Shawn: Which came first for you with the world of Symphony of the Wind : story or world?
Steve: The characters, which I guess incorporate both!
Serena came first–she’s based on an existing character I had tucked away from a writing prompt in my Creative Writing class. Then came Gallows and Damien, and everyone else sort of just revolves around the three of them.
Shawn: How much research went into the overall world-building for the setting?
Steve: It’s tough to put a number of hours on it, as I research as I go. So, I’ll have characters running through the confines of a castle or the passageways of an airship, then research the kind of things they’d encounter. Tertiary details evolve from what the characters see and feel, and then some things might overlap with different characters, but they might have a different opinion on them and see them in a different light. The reader might agree or disagree, or use both biases to form their own opinion.
Shawn: Do you feel your story is more character driven or more driven by the history and circumstances of the world it’s set within?
Steve: Definitely character-driven! Of course, there is an overarching plot that bleeds out from the shadows and affects our cast of protagonists…
Shawn: Do you approach continued world-building any differently during the course of writing book 2?
Steve: Not really–much of it is already in place, so book 2 has definitely been a more (I won’t say easy!) fluid writing experience. Again, I’ll research things when I need to (even if not all the details I have make it onto the page. There is one thing I researched and cut from Symphony that has slotted into book 2. Just a minor detail, really, but the kind of detail that brings life to the words).
Shawn: Speaking of continued world-building—has there been a great deal more since Symphony’s release? And do you feel there’s a lot more world-building to come?
Steve: As we delve deeper into the Raincatcher’s Ballad, characters encounter different places, peoples and cultures–so yes, definitely more world-building to come! Both expanding on what we know, showing some of it in a different light, or obliterating what we think we know altogether…
Shawn: What, if anything, do you find to be the most challenging part of world-building?
Steve: Making sure one concept you think is cool doesn’t negate another–such as swords and guns. The world of the Raincatcher’s Ballad is on the cusp of major technological revolution – the theme of out with old and in with the new will continue in that respect, and not every character will be comfortable with where that leaves them. It can be contrasting but should also be congruent.
Shawn: Do you have a favorite aspect of world-building, such as religion, magic, history, sociology, or what have you?
Steve: I like all of it, to be honest! I hope that comes through in the writing. My favourite part is probably setting all the social hierarchies–and then tearing them down.
Shawn: Do you have any final thoughts on your world (or your worldbuilding process) that you’d like to share?
Steve: Yeah, the worldbuilding was a daunting prospect when I started writing Symphony–a lot of it sprung up as I was going, like discovering something that was already there. That might not work for every author, but it made it fun to uncover!
Shawn: Well, I’ll stop badgering you with questions for now, but before we go, what method do you prefer readers use in order to contact/follow you? (Facebook, Twitter, blog, Goodreads, that sort of thing)
Steve: With the reduced reach of Facebook, probably Twitter. I use Goodreads too, though not as much. (Fun fact: I’m useless at writing reviews, I can never find adequate words and I’m all like, “5 Stars! This book was, um, really good! I liked it! …Yeah!”)
Below is my various social media outlets: (links to follow)
