...JUSTIN ROSE!
Fellow author and fantasy aficionado has something really cool cooking with his latest audio drama project, "The Fall of Ingway." In these 7 Questions, he provides some great insight into some of the biggest fantasy series out there and shares his passion of his latest release.
Here are his answers to the 7 Questions:
1. Let’s start with something a bit controversial: Which is the best fantasy series? Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Mistborn, or A Song of Fire and Ice?
Oh, goodness, you’re putting me on the spot. Can I politically maneuver through this by adding notes to each because I adore all four for different reasons?
1. Lord of the Rings is my go-to answer because of its themes and majesty, the beauty of what it says about the world and about heroism and kindness and mercy and eucatastrophe. Tolkien gives us things to strive for, truths to cling to, and beauties to value and yearn to protect.
2. Wheel of Time is the only one of these stories that I’ve read through multiple times. And I’ve cried while reading it both times. It is . . . incredible to see multiple characters grow so naturally and beautifully across such a vast span of story.
I think Rand is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read. The way that Jordan lets you view him less and less through his own eyes as the story progresses, the way you get mixed perspectives, filtered thoughts, and flawed narratives about him that you have to cobble together all on your own even as Rand’s own narrative voice becomes less reliable due to his madness—it results in a complexity that could be studied and argued over indefinitely. And I love it.
Also, the emotional catharsis moments of the last books are second to none.
That said, Jordan has certain tropes and tendencies in his writing that drive me up the wall and make me want to tear my hair out. Highest highs and lowest lows. So, I can’t quite give him first billing.
3. Mistborn is my least favorite of these four by a mile. Even though I love Sanderson and especially adore his Stormlight Archives, I did not actually enjoy Mistborn all that much. The prose, which is always simple with Sanderson, at times fell into downright dullness in Mistborn.
The quality of characters was very mixed. I never cared half a penny for Elend from start to finish of the series and felt … nothing when he died. But other characters, like Vin and Kelcier, were brilliant.
And lastly, his magic system was lovely, but his need to explain its mechanics ad nauseum every single time it was used got very old very fast. I read how each component functioned over and over and over throughout that series, and every time after the second explanation I read, I felt like I was being treated like a child. He could have probably shaved ten thousand words out of those books just with unneeded explanations. So, yeah, Mistborn was a pretty mixed bag for me. (I can hear the fans sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches, so I reiterate, Sanderson is a genius. Stormlight Archives are going to be enduring classics of fantasy literature. It’s just… Mistborn didn’t do it for me).
4. And lastly, A Song of Ice and Fire wins for scope and thought. The way Martin tells the story of the main characters in parallel with slowly revealing the stories of the previous generation is beautiful. The way he uses misinformation without ever cheating or cheapening his work, always keeping track of what is true and why he wants you temporarily deceived, I love that.
He also makes the largest and most immersive world, not by size, perhaps, but by complexity and richness in the areas he explores.
So, yeah, no real answer to your question, but those are my thoughts. Okay, fine. Lord of the Rings. I’m a sucker for the classics.
2. What motivates you to write and gets you running to the writing desk eager to spill words onto the page?
The hope of leaving something behind that lasts longer than I do and touches more people. I’ve always loved stories. Stories are what made me, and they are what continue to shape me. Growing up, I never even considered not writing. It’s what I’ve done since I was a child and what I’ll still be doing when I die.
In the moment, when I feel inspiration hit hard, it’s usually because of a scene that will come into my mind as an image and a feeling and then swiftly morph into a narrative for that individual moment. Those are the impulses that will make me look around and make sure my boss isn’t around and then type a bunch of notes into my phone while my welder rolls his eyes and reminds me I need to fit up his next pipe.
3. Outside of books, what is your favorite form of media? TV, movies, live theater, music, video games, tabletop games…?
Probably audio dramas. I grew up on The Shadow and X Minus One, Suspense and Escape, The Creaking Door, Lights Out, all of those.
That’s why my own work “The Fall of Ingway” is so important to me. It’s my contribution to an art form I never thought I’d be able to be part of.
The synergy of music, sound effects, script, and acting all working together to instill emotion, while still holding back any visuals and letting the reader create those in their own mind—love it.
4. As a player in Squid Games, which childhood game would you choose to play that would guarantee you win and survive till the next round?
Probably something word related. I’m pretty good at word games. But I can’t think of any specific childhood games I’d excel at well enough to guarantee survival.
5. You have a novel coming out! Tell us about “The Fall of Ingway.”
Yeah, absolutely! The Fall of Ingway released a few days ago, and it is . . . a lot. It’s a full cast fantasy audio drama also published as an illustrated script. And this project has been like nothing else I’ve ever done.
It’s a mythic story, telling a tale of a God of Death grown weary, corrupted by mercy, feeling for those he’s meant to reap. It’s my favorite thing I’ve written.
I learned so much in the process and sank years into making it happen. I had to learn to write in the format of a script, losing the narrative voice, having to show almost everything through dialogue alone. The subtle tricks to cue in the reader to who is addressing whom, what’s occurring in the scene, and how people are reacting—all of those things were critical.
Also, I had to write instructions that were clear and precise for how each actor should interpret a scene so that actors recording solo could have their recordings matched smoothly with other actors and make it seamless. Learning what to emphasize and what to leave to interpretation was crucial. I really learned how to trust the skill of my actors while not leaving them hanging without enough direction.
I had to learn how to communicate with the composer, how to explain with my limited musical knowledge, exactly what I needed from every track of the soundtrack and why.
I lucked out on the sound designer, getting someone very personally invested in the format and the story who was also professionally proficient and willing to work together.
So, anyway, The Fall of Ingway is available pretty much wherever ebooks and audiobooks are sold. And it’s available in print on my own store and amazon. There’s also a special edition from Kickstarter that will be available on my site soon.
6. Any blogs, podcasts, articles, or nonfiction works you’d like to mention?
Sure. I’d like to give a shout-out to my friends at Ink Mages podcast and Read Between the Lines podcast. Both have interviewed me before, and they’re wonderful people creating wonderful things.
Also, if you’re interested in local fantasy writing in our region or in wonderful fantasy in general, I’m currently compiling the first issue of an anthology of Epic Fantasy from authors in our beautiful Midwest region. It will be called Midwest Fantasy Sampler. Please, keep an eye out for that or follow one of my socials for updates about its progress. I have 11 lovely authors providing work for it. And I expect it to be something truly special.
7. Where can we find what you write?
The best place would be to follow this link and subscribe to my newsletter or follow whichever social media you like best. https://linktr.ee/justin_rose_author
Most of my work is on amazon in print and ebook. My First Immortals Series is available in single books and will be available as an omnibus later this month. Hammer of Gath is available there as well.
The Fall of Ingway is available pretty much everywhere that books and audiobooks are sold online.
And, of course, you can always find me selling my physical books at many of the comic cons and book festivals in WI, MN, and IL. If you know Joe’s events, you’ll probably see me at a lot of them.
Here are his answers to the 7 Questions:
1. Let’s start with something a bit controversial: Which is the best fantasy series? Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, Mistborn, or A Song of Fire and Ice?
Oh, goodness, you’re putting me on the spot. Can I politically maneuver through this by adding notes to each because I adore all four for different reasons?
1. Lord of the Rings is my go-to answer because of its themes and majesty, the beauty of what it says about the world and about heroism and kindness and mercy and eucatastrophe. Tolkien gives us things to strive for, truths to cling to, and beauties to value and yearn to protect.
2. Wheel of Time is the only one of these stories that I’ve read through multiple times. And I’ve cried while reading it both times. It is . . . incredible to see multiple characters grow so naturally and beautifully across such a vast span of story.
I think Rand is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read. The way that Jordan lets you view him less and less through his own eyes as the story progresses, the way you get mixed perspectives, filtered thoughts, and flawed narratives about him that you have to cobble together all on your own even as Rand’s own narrative voice becomes less reliable due to his madness—it results in a complexity that could be studied and argued over indefinitely. And I love it.
Also, the emotional catharsis moments of the last books are second to none.
That said, Jordan has certain tropes and tendencies in his writing that drive me up the wall and make me want to tear my hair out. Highest highs and lowest lows. So, I can’t quite give him first billing.
3. Mistborn is my least favorite of these four by a mile. Even though I love Sanderson and especially adore his Stormlight Archives, I did not actually enjoy Mistborn all that much. The prose, which is always simple with Sanderson, at times fell into downright dullness in Mistborn.
The quality of characters was very mixed. I never cared half a penny for Elend from start to finish of the series and felt … nothing when he died. But other characters, like Vin and Kelcier, were brilliant.
And lastly, his magic system was lovely, but his need to explain its mechanics ad nauseum every single time it was used got very old very fast. I read how each component functioned over and over and over throughout that series, and every time after the second explanation I read, I felt like I was being treated like a child. He could have probably shaved ten thousand words out of those books just with unneeded explanations. So, yeah, Mistborn was a pretty mixed bag for me. (I can hear the fans sharpening pitchforks and lighting torches, so I reiterate, Sanderson is a genius. Stormlight Archives are going to be enduring classics of fantasy literature. It’s just… Mistborn didn’t do it for me).
4. And lastly, A Song of Ice and Fire wins for scope and thought. The way Martin tells the story of the main characters in parallel with slowly revealing the stories of the previous generation is beautiful. The way he uses misinformation without ever cheating or cheapening his work, always keeping track of what is true and why he wants you temporarily deceived, I love that.
He also makes the largest and most immersive world, not by size, perhaps, but by complexity and richness in the areas he explores.
So, yeah, no real answer to your question, but those are my thoughts. Okay, fine. Lord of the Rings. I’m a sucker for the classics.
2. What motivates you to write and gets you running to the writing desk eager to spill words onto the page?
The hope of leaving something behind that lasts longer than I do and touches more people. I’ve always loved stories. Stories are what made me, and they are what continue to shape me. Growing up, I never even considered not writing. It’s what I’ve done since I was a child and what I’ll still be doing when I die.
In the moment, when I feel inspiration hit hard, it’s usually because of a scene that will come into my mind as an image and a feeling and then swiftly morph into a narrative for that individual moment. Those are the impulses that will make me look around and make sure my boss isn’t around and then type a bunch of notes into my phone while my welder rolls his eyes and reminds me I need to fit up his next pipe.
3. Outside of books, what is your favorite form of media? TV, movies, live theater, music, video games, tabletop games…?
Probably audio dramas. I grew up on The Shadow and X Minus One, Suspense and Escape, The Creaking Door, Lights Out, all of those.
That’s why my own work “The Fall of Ingway” is so important to me. It’s my contribution to an art form I never thought I’d be able to be part of.
The synergy of music, sound effects, script, and acting all working together to instill emotion, while still holding back any visuals and letting the reader create those in their own mind—love it.
4. As a player in Squid Games, which childhood game would you choose to play that would guarantee you win and survive till the next round?
Probably something word related. I’m pretty good at word games. But I can’t think of any specific childhood games I’d excel at well enough to guarantee survival.
5. You have a novel coming out! Tell us about “The Fall of Ingway.”
Yeah, absolutely! The Fall of Ingway released a few days ago, and it is . . . a lot. It’s a full cast fantasy audio drama also published as an illustrated script. And this project has been like nothing else I’ve ever done.
It’s a mythic story, telling a tale of a God of Death grown weary, corrupted by mercy, feeling for those he’s meant to reap. It’s my favorite thing I’ve written.
I learned so much in the process and sank years into making it happen. I had to learn to write in the format of a script, losing the narrative voice, having to show almost everything through dialogue alone. The subtle tricks to cue in the reader to who is addressing whom, what’s occurring in the scene, and how people are reacting—all of those things were critical.
Also, I had to write instructions that were clear and precise for how each actor should interpret a scene so that actors recording solo could have their recordings matched smoothly with other actors and make it seamless. Learning what to emphasize and what to leave to interpretation was crucial. I really learned how to trust the skill of my actors while not leaving them hanging without enough direction.
I had to learn how to communicate with the composer, how to explain with my limited musical knowledge, exactly what I needed from every track of the soundtrack and why.
I lucked out on the sound designer, getting someone very personally invested in the format and the story who was also professionally proficient and willing to work together.
So, anyway, The Fall of Ingway is available pretty much wherever ebooks and audiobooks are sold. And it’s available in print on my own store and amazon. There’s also a special edition from Kickstarter that will be available on my site soon.
6. Any blogs, podcasts, articles, or nonfiction works you’d like to mention?
Sure. I’d like to give a shout-out to my friends at Ink Mages podcast and Read Between the Lines podcast. Both have interviewed me before, and they’re wonderful people creating wonderful things.
Also, if you’re interested in local fantasy writing in our region or in wonderful fantasy in general, I’m currently compiling the first issue of an anthology of Epic Fantasy from authors in our beautiful Midwest region. It will be called Midwest Fantasy Sampler. Please, keep an eye out for that or follow one of my socials for updates about its progress. I have 11 lovely authors providing work for it. And I expect it to be something truly special.
7. Where can we find what you write?
The best place would be to follow this link and subscribe to my newsletter or follow whichever social media you like best. https://linktr.ee/justin_rose_author
Most of my work is on amazon in print and ebook. My First Immortals Series is available in single books and will be available as an omnibus later this month. Hammer of Gath is available there as well.
The Fall of Ingway is available pretty much everywhere that books and audiobooks are sold online.
And, of course, you can always find me selling my physical books at many of the comic cons and book festivals in WI, MN, and IL. If you know Joe’s events, you’ll probably see me at a lot of them.