We recently had the pleasure of interviewing John Pitts (writing as J.A. Pitts), the writer of the Black Blade books, an urban fantasy series with strong Norse influences. July saw the second book in the series, Honeyed Words, released by Tor US, in both hardback and paperback.
Hello, John, thank you for taking the time to talk to us.
1. Sarah Beauhall, the Doc Marten-wearing heroine of your stories, is an incredibly well written character. She’s strong, she’s troubled, but she’s determined and above all, she’s compelling. Did you find yourself struggling to write her at times, and if so, how did you overcome those problems?
Ah, Sarah. What a complex creation she is. I did struggle, as a matter of fact. There were dark moments when I was sure my writing her was a bad idea, but then I just listened to her, listened to the voice she had, the story I needed to tell in her voice, and things opened up again. There are scenes that were harder than others, but overall, I tried to put myself in her place. What would she feel in these situations, how would she react, how would her reactions be different from my own, etc. She got under my skin. Sometimes, if I was totally flummoxed, I’d sit and chat with my wife or friends and get their take on a specific situation. Usually, once I had a couple of different opinions, I could move forward. And, of course, my support network is pretty amazing. From my family, to my first readers, my agent and my editors, they all had their eyes on Sarah and company. I guess I did a decent enough job.
2. As a fairly new author coming in to a quickly growing literary market, and on top of that one that has become a very popular market over the past decade or so, you must have found it tough to make your book visible above others. Was there any specific inspiration or thought that lead to the rather unusual meld of Norse mythology and urban fantasy?
Black Blade Blues started out as a short story. You can find it in the DAW anthology, Swordplay. That was a themed anthology where everyone was supposed to write stories about swords of legend.
I spend quite a bit of time researching famous swords and mythology. I’ve always loved mythology and Norse mythos in particular. I kept coming back to Gram, but didn’t want to just write another burly warrior saves the day story. First I decided to pick the blacksmith as the main character as they are usually relegated to a support role, or even window dressing in a lot of stories.
I’m a huge fan of Urban Fantasy. Especially Carrie Vaughn and Patricia Briggs. Also Jim Butcher, but I had to quit reading his work. I can’t have his voice in my head when I write. I stopped reading his books around White Knight, but I make sure and buy all of them. One day, I’ll go back and read his entire series beginning to end. That will be a glorious time.
So, I had Gram, blacksmith and urban fantasy. Next I needed something that pulled it all together, made it a cohesive unit, and that’s where Sarah came to me. She appeared in my head this tough and flawed woman who wanted desperately to live a happy productive life, but struggled with things outside of her control. It wasn’t until I wrote the scene where she is re-forging the sword did I fully understand her. Only after she’d created a couple of blades, and had worked up a sweat, did I realize Katie was more than a friend. At that moment, Sarah’s voice became clear as a bell in my head and I knew I had something powerful.
You and your readers will judge how well I managed to sew it all together, of course. In the end, I strove to create a world that was different enough to give that sense of wonder, but familiar enough to keep the audience in their comfort zone. Most of the time, anyway.
3. Continuing with the writing theme, how long would you say the books have taken to write, and do you structure them or write more organically?
I outline. This is a very detailed process which takes about six weeks. Once I have the outline in place, I take another six weeks to get to a first draft of the manuscript. Then it’s time for a second pass, beta readers, third pass and then off to agent and editor. The way I outline is quite a bit different from your traditional method. I believe the outline is a road map, but I will frequently take side trips as the terrain evolves.
4. Going back to the Norse influence on your books, how did you find the information you used? Did you have this knowledge from experience, or was there a lot of research and reading involved? Even if you didn’t read up on the mythologies, would you be able to suggest a few books that interested fans of your work could pick up and explore?
I read constantly. Mostly in genre these days, but I’ve read a ton of folk lore, folk tales, mythology, etc. For Norse mythology, here are the books on my shelf:
Mythology, Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, by Edith Hamilton (ISBN 0-451-62803-9)
Popular Tales from Norse Mythology, by George Webbe Dasent (ISBN 0-486-41812-X)
The Children of Odin, Nordic Gods and Heroes, by Padraic Colum (ISBN-13: 978-0-7607-8331-3)
Nordic Gods and Heroes, by Padraic Colum (ISBN 0-486-28912-5)
All can be purchased used, I’m sure. Honestly, I’m not sure if all of them are still in print.
I’d also suggest the opera Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner) and of course, this culturally significant take on Norse Mythology!
5. Would you be able to give us any hints as to where the series will lead from the end of Honeyed Words? Is there a fixed number of books, or will you end it when you see fit?
Oh, I have big plans for Sarah and her cohorts. We need to explore a ton of things about the world, the secret societies, dragons, and lots of other interesting things. Right now, I have a three book contract with Tor. Book 3 is in New York as we speak. I have a couple other projects to wrap up, then I’ll start outlining book 4. I just have to assume there will be another contract. Sarah is just too damn awesome to leave at 3 books.
Of course, I’m a bit biased.
I have tons of stories in mind for Sarah and this world. I know the overall plot structure for the next three books and a vague idea for the three after that. As for ending the series… I know how I want to wrap it. We’ll see how the universe allows things to unfold.
6. When can we expect to see the next book, and will you be making an appearance in any anthologies in the future?
Forged in Fire should come out July 2012. I’m currently in the editorial stage with Tor. Quite loving it. This may be my favorite part. That will likely evolve as my writing process continues to morph.
I will appear in 10Flash.com in either August or September (waiting for a contract) and in the new DAW anthology: Courts of the Fey which comes out on November 1st, 2011.
7. Finally, just out of curiosity, will we see Sarah run anyone down with her new bike?
Berserker, magic sword, smoking hot motorcycle. It could happen. 🙂
Thanks, John.
Kathryn A. Ryan, July 2011
