Jacob Cooper Interview

Jacob Cooper has just released Circle of Reign, the first book of a planned trilogy entitled The Dying Lands Chronicle. It has also been released as an audiobook narrated by veteran narrator Michael Kramer (Mistborn, The Way of Kings, etc).

First of all can you tell us a bit about your debut novel, Circle of Reign?

COR is the first book in a planned trilogy called The Dying Lands Chronicle. I think of it as epic fantasy but is certainly bordering on dystopian fantasy. The world of Våleira has some unique characteristics in that the lands “cycle”, a process of dying and being reborn centuries later. This does not happen on any particular schedule and is impossible to predict. A cycle might be continent wide or contained to a few hundred miles. This might happen quickly, or over decades; the signs could be readily apparent or subtle. Perhaps your land will enter an isolated ice age, become a barren desert, or overrun with aggressive growth impossible to tame. You can imagine what kind of mindset this would cause in people of this world…while you might be fine today, you know that at some point, your people will have to face very hard decisions eventually as they have had to in the past…and you hope it’s not in your lifetime. When your lands begin to cycle, you only have 3 choices:

1. Stick it out for as long as you can, but you’ll probably not survive

2. Search and hope you can find land somewhere else that is currently fertile and unoccupied…but of course, others are probably doing the same thing

3. Invade

There are really only 3 choices. And the Realm of Senthara, unknown to its inhabitants, is really the only fertile land left as lands stopped being reborn decades ago.

The reader is dropped right into the action of the story without much prelude or build up. There’s no, “It was a calm summer morning and all was right in the world.” All is not right in the world and opposing eternal forces are seeing their conflicts come to a climax. That’s where the book starts. Exposition does happen, but normally only as the characters learn new things. So the reader certainly has to pay attention, gathering clues and insights and he/she goes along.

Can you give us some insight into your main characters?

In COR, we follow three main protagonists: Reign and Hedron Kerr (twins), and Aiden. There are two main antagonists: Rembbran (a Helsyan) and Tyjil, High Duke Wellyn’s advisor.

Reign, Hedron and Aiden are all Arlethians, more commonly called wood-dwellers. Their province, part of Senthara, is heavily forested and the inter-woven root systems provide a unique ability to those who are native to those lands: the ability to sense and feel things through vibrational signatures. Some describe it as a “heartbeat” or “pulse”. When touching a tree, that ability is enhanced, allowing a wood-dweller to judge distance of an emitting vibration, number, velocity, etc.

As the book opens, Reign Kerr, daughter of Lord of the Western Province, Thannuel Kerr, witnesses something she—nor anyone—was meant to. A pact is being made between two very unlikely sides, marking a betrayal whose effects she cannot being to fathom. She is only 9 years-old, under the age of innocence. Despite this, assassins are set loose to track her, setting in motion a chain of events that will threaten all she loves. Her father comes between her and Rembbran, a Helsyan or “ chase-giver”, who has been given a Dahlrak to pursue and eliminate Reign. Though Lord Kerr is highly skilled in battle, a hero of the Orsarian War, he falls to Rembbran but saves Reign…for the time being.  She and Hedron, the heir of the Western Province (Arlethia), are forced to eventually flee far from their homelands to find sanctuary as threats culminate. Reign, as a young girl who believed, like most children do, that her father was essentially immortal will struggle greatly with witnessing him die.

Hedron is a carefree youth who has a hard time taking anything seriously. He’s been promised to Kathryn Hoyt, daughter of Lord Hoyt of the Southern Province. He is deeply loyal to his sister and the reason for her survival after the death of their father. A relentless smear campaign about his father is promulgated by the high duke of the Realm, turning all but the most loyal against his family. In the face of the onslaught, Hedron begins to doubt if he ever really knew his father and thinks that shrugging off his name, who he is, might be the best way to survive.

If there were Navy SEALS in ancient times, Aiden would have been one of them. He is a bonafide, through and through, warrior. As master of the hold guard for House Kerr, he cannot forgive himself for the death of Lord Kerr, a man he saw more as a father than a lord. His past is a little checkered, having wadded through a lot of turmoil and challenges that have left him damaged. As he strives to live the way he has been raised to in House Kerr, coming to them when he was young, he has a constant, nagging voice telling him he’s not one of them and will never be good enough. The guilt compels him, drives him…and he will go through much to try and find redemption.

Rembbran, a chase-giver or Helsyan, is part of a clandestine brotherhood of assassins. He, and all Helsyans, are controlled by High Duke Wellyn. They have a unique ability to smell emotional scent, and can track their prey easily in this manner. When given a Dahlrak, or “Charged” with prey, they can never be released from that Charge until they succeed in killing their mark or perish themselves. It’s an urge within all chase-givers that cannot be ignored, making them relentless and ruthless. Rembbran does indeed fail to kill Reign in the beginning, and the pain of the unfilled Dahlrak will drive him nearly insane…but opportunities for redemption will arise for him. Helsyans are covered with glyphs and runes that appear as colorless tattoos, carved into their flesh from birth. No one can read the ancient symbols, and they are exactly the same on every Helsyan with one variation: a unique glyph between the shoulder blades. This is the only variation from one Helsyan to another.

Tyjil is perhaps the most complex character. As the high duke’s most trusted advisor, he sees and is part of all. As we get to know him, we find out that he has had many walks of life, reinventing himself whenever necessary. You can’t underestimate him, thinking he’s just the high duke’s lackey.

Something else about the characters of the book: the world, Våleira, I see as a character as well. With a world that is physically changing constantly, the dynamic element this brings is crucial to the plot and developments within the world.

Do you feel you’ve been able to bring something new to the fantasy genre with this story?

I hope so. Much of fantasy encompassing some kind of magic system. It’s cliché for the genre, to say the least, but what’s important to me is the execution and reasoning behind a magic system. For example, I think Sanderson did an amazing job with the magic system in the Mistborn series. It was scientific almost, based in laws of the world that the reader could follow. It made sense, once you understand the laws of that world. But of course, it still maintains the important air of something fantastical, as not all can employ the magic. I enjoy systems like that, rather than, per se, someone simply has powers.

In COR, some races have natural abilities simply due to their race, but this really isn’t magic. Heck, I was too scared to call anything “magic,” instead calling it “Influence”. There are eternal forces at play, and, depending which one chooses to conform his/her life to, is granted enhanced abilities. So, it’s more of tapping into a power rather than having powers. That leaves a lot of possibilities open.

One unique idea, perhaps, is the concept that all emotions create energy (remember that Helsyans can smell emotions). I call this energy created from emotion, friction. Actually, I got the idea from a band called 10 Years and their song,Fix Me. I love the acoustic version especially. Anyway, if someone can harness that emotional energy and learn to direct it (recycle it), that person can enhance their speed, strength, flexibility, mental fortitude, etc.

Circle of Reign has also been released as an audiobook narrated by Michael Kramer. How did that come about?

Michael Kramer is my favorite all around narrator, especially for fantasy. He is referred to in our circles as THE Michael Kramer. I found his Facebook page and sent him a message, inquiring how I would go about hiring him to narrate my book. I was not sure if I could since I was self-publishing and he is a member of a union. But, turns out I could. He did a pre-read to make sure it was something he felt was a match, and came back to me with an excited positive response. In fact, in one phone conversation, he said he had to employ the “Sanderson rule,” to my book, which is, basically, “don’t start reading late at night because you’ll be up until 3 am”. From someone who reads a lot (understatement) and narrates some of my favorite books, I can’t tell you how much that meant to me, especially as a self-published author doing all of the heavy lifting and funding. 

Not to be overlooked is another great talent I was honored to have produce the project, John McElroy. John is a super-professional and 4-time-Grammy winner for his audiobook productions. I felt very blessed to have him onboard. Both have been working hard on my next release, Altar of Influence, a prelude to The Dying Lands Chronicle.

Can you tell us a bit about the experience of self-publishing?

Wow…it’s a lot of work. You have to do all the heavy lifting as well as foot every cost…and there definitely are costs. It’s an investment, to be sure. I went through CreateSpace/Amazon for the paperback and Kindle conversion. That process was fairly easy, although I’ve learned you do have to proofread what Amazon sends you. It’s not just about formatting…unfortunately I found several errors after the book was released that were typos not in the manuscript I sent them. That was a little frustrating but ultimately my fault…I just didn’t think typos would be incurred by CreateSpace as they formatted the book. The good news is that you can resubmit and they’ll fix them.

For me, it was critical to find a good coach. I’ve never taken a writing class. I’m a college dropout. Having a full time career outside of writing and four kids, finding time to write often meant losing sleep. I was introduced to Michele Scott, a mystery and thriller writer, from a business coach. Although not the same genre, she started me down the path of elevating my writing, challenging me to give more depth…to put the reader in the story as a character, not just a witness. After working with her for a short time, she turned me over to her editor, Mike Sirota, who has been writing fantasy and other genres since the 70’s. Mike is an amazing story editor, and truly brought my book to a much higher level. I still remember getting his first evaluation—about 30 pages—where he tore the manuscript apart. I really needed that. There were some gems, he told me, and believed in the story, but the execution at present needed a lot more work than I had thought. A good coach is like that…showing you where you are weak but also letting you know he/she believes that it is a strength in disguise if you work at it.

All in all, it took me 4 years to write Circle of Reign, and almost another to get it ready for publication, with the production of the audiobook, cover art, formatting, saving up some money, and all the second guessing that goes into releasing a book for others to read.

What sort of challenges, as a writer, might you have faced before your first book was published? Any insights you would be able to share for those aspiring writers seeking advice?

Saul Bellow is credited as saying, “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” For me, that has proven almost 100% true. Often, I’d be lying in bed with my mind spinning a million miles an hour, and something would come. It feels like you’ve tapped into some well of creativity and everything clears. You must get up right then and write. Sometimes I would verbally record the ideas as they came on my phone, and then more would come. Talking out loud and recording your thoughts is a great way to get ideas flushed out. It makes a difference “hearing” those ideas rather than keeping them silently in your head. I even narrated my entire book 3 different times, each time getting new insights to the characters and story lines, both as I physically was recording and as I listened to it, over and over (I’m more of an auditory learner..it’s the musician in me).

The biggest challenge I had was finding time to write. So, when I did, I just wrote. At first, I felt like I was writing a bunch of unrelated stories…I didn’t know the beginning from the end of my book until after 3 years of writing. I had vague ideas and scenes I loved, but knitting them together became to work of the last year of writing. I have tried to outline books before, but for some reason, that never works that well for me. I have to just dive in and trust that inspiration will come. And you know what? After forcing myself to write, even when I didn’t feel like it, something always came…some piece of small brilliance that would make the cut and lead to a whole new storyline or character.

Some other advice I’d share is to have a good support network. For me, family and a couple friends were vital to seeing this project through. They would encourage me onward constantly. Sometimes I wouldn’t write anything for a couple months and they’d say, “Hey, I’m getting withdrawals from not having a new chapter lately. What’s going on, slacker?” You need a few believers, even when your work is in embryo and not very far along.

Lastly, and maybe it’s a little cheesy, but you must believe you have a story worth sharing. If you don’t, no one else will.

Can you tell us a bit about the cover and do you think the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

John Avon is an amazing artist. Maybe best known for his work on Magic The Gathering cards. I was a little too old to get into those when they came around, but his work was always stunning. When it came time to search for a cover artist, I went to some of the book cover websites, such as goonwrite.com. Those work for many people. But in the end, I wanted something very original, something to match the book’s feel of an ominous, threatening overtone. I found several illustrators from a simple google search, but settled on John pretty quickly. He was very busy and initially refused based on his schedule. But, I persisted and invited him to read the free intro I had available on Facebook. He did, and then enthusiastically agreed to be part of the project.

I can tell you, it wasn’t cheap. Again, publishing a book is an investment. However, I have had many people tell me they bought the book on the cover alone; or, that they clicked on the book because of the cover, making them want to read the teaser on the back, then bought it. Either way, I think a cover is vital in playing the role of getting someone to stop their browsing long enough to want to read the teaser and perhaps the prologue. After that initial interest that a great cover can bring, it’s up to you, the writer, to keep the reader involved. Using John Avon was a very wise move. He is currently painting the cover for Altar of Influence.

What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?

Well, I think everyone is going to have a little of both. A Game of Thrones has nearly 800 one star reviews for crying out loud. So far, I’m honored to have predominantly 5 and 4 star reviews. The few negative ones are elevating to me, especially if they give reasons for their criticism. My book is not perfect, no book is. I know I can be better in my writing and look forward to learning those areas. That being said, I am proud of Circle of Reign. I did not have a major publisher or agent helping me. It was just myself and Mike Sirota for the bulk of it, struggling with and agonizing over every page, trying so hard to make it as good as it could possibly be. Sure, there are a few things now I’d like to change here and there, but they are minor. I am proud of this as my freshman effort and look forward to growing.

How do you define success as an author?

That’s a hard one. Obviously sales and positive reviews are what every author hopes for. However, I feel successful in that I believe I’ve released a product that is of the highest quality that I could presently deliver. I took no shortcuts and didn’t compromise. So, when I think about my book, I am satisfied with the effort and sleep well.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

“There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway.

To me, the hardest thing about writing is convincing myself that the story can go the distance. I’m very critical of my own work above others. I tend to be more forgiving of other books rather than my own writing. Maybe that’s common among authors. Often, I have to force myself to write even when I now what I’m writing is garbage. That’s pretty tough to want to keep going during those times! But, like I’ve said earlier, you often find something valuable during those times. If truly nothing is coming, I have to go do something completely unrelated…ride the Sea-Doo or take a hike. Wash the dog. Anything. I find that inspiration can come when you’re not engaged in your story…and then Bauer (my Akita) sits outside, soaking wet with shampoo bubbles, patiently waiting for me to remember that I ditched him mid-bath to write something crucial (sorry buddy).

How do you market your book?

Currently, Facebook, a little twitter, my website that just went live (circleofreign.com), and some banner and sidebar ads on Tor.com. I recently hired a publicist to help, so we’ll see how that goes!

For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

I asked this same question on my Facebook page several months back, and the overwhelming response was physical books. However, and I think I knew this would be the case, my sales show completely the opposite. The ratio of ebook/Kindle sales to physical books currently is about 6-1. I’m the same way. I buy a lot more ebooks than physical, but I prefer the paper more. I think it’s really more of a convenience factor than anything as to why that’s true for people who prefer the physical book. Price probably has something to do with that phenomena as well.

But, honestly, I’m an audiobook junkie. I get through far more books by that medium than anything else. And, interestingly, the audio version of Circle of Reign has been doing better than anything else, outselling the Kindle version, by 2.5-1 roughly. I think that’s very telling and I’m glad I made the investment there.

What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?

Obviously I read (listen to) fantasy. Brandon Sanderson’s works have to be my favorite overall. I love Patrick Rothfuss—that guy is unbelievably prolific. A newer discovery for me is Anthony Ryan. I have been through Blood Song, but not yet Tower Lord. Saving that for when I can savor it.

I also really enjoy thrillers and some dystopian. Baldacci, Thor, Flynn…all some of my favorite thriller authors. The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin have been two of my favorite books since I read them. Very few books have made me so vividly imagine the world they are set it like those two. Only The Stormlight Archive has done that more for me.

Also, really a fan of Kevin J. Anderson. Loved the two trilogy prequels to Dune that he and Brian Herbert did. Also, Saga of the 7 Suns was brilliant to me. HIs only stab into fantasy to date, the Terra Incognita series was not that well received, but I loved it, including the accompanying albums released by progressive rock ensemble of starts, Roswell Six. Scott Brick was fantastic as the narrator.

And why not some zombies? J.L. Bourne’s Day By Day Armageddon was fantastic. I’ll admit I have half a book done in that genre, but it’s not on the front burner currently.

It’s interesting to me that I have a really hard time writing fantasy if I’m reading/listening to fantasy. I’m not sure why that is, but I have to step away from the genre as I write in the genre. Strikes me that most people would think the opposite way, but I’m probably a little goofy like that. I did write large portions of Circle of Reign while listening to The Lord of the Rings soundtrack on Pandora, however. Into the West with Annie Lenox on vocals…chills. Every time.

What do you do when you’re not writing, any hobbies?

I love playing and composing music. Percussion and piano are my main instruments. The one year of college I did attend was at Berklee College of Music in Boston with a degree toward film scoring.

I also love power sports on land or sea. A little road and mountain biking find their way into my life. With four daughters, however, if I’m not writing, I’m probably helping with homework, headed to a soccer game, horseback riding competition or a school play. Occasionally, I even get to the “honey-do” list.

What’s next, what are you working on now?

Altar of Influence is scheduled to arrive late in October. Interestingly, this is a prelude to The Dying Lands Chronicle. It was odd, to say the least, to write a prequel mid-series. If one is written, it’s often done after the completion of a series. I get it. I didn’t start out with that in mind.

Someone asked me to write a short story on The Orsarian War, a war that occurred on the Runic Islands of Senthara and mentioned several times throughout Circle of Reign. I thought, “No problem…won’t be more than 50 pages.” Yeah, right. As I continued to write, the story became more and more vast and then I became excited to see where it went as I wrote…I really had no idea. The characters grew on me and it felt like short changing them by not developing it fully. While it’s still only about half the length of Circle of Reign, I believe the book is compelling and will be a great chapter in the world of Våleira.

Song of Night, book 2 of The Dying Lands Chronicle, is due out next summer. I promise to deliver an exciting reading experience, and have no issues with pushing back deadlines to deliver the highest quality I can.

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Interview by Dag Rambraut – SFFWorld.com © 2014

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