This week’s Small but Mighty attention turns to Kristell Ink whose publications are finding their way to award shortlists. The Sky Slayer is Joel Cornah’s fourth publication to be released by Kristell Ink and is the sequel to The Sea-Stone Sword.
Welcome to SFFWorld Joel! Can you tell us a little about The Sky Slayer without quoting the publisher’s blurb?
Where The Sea-Stone Sword was influenced by Jason and the Argonauts, The Sky Slayer has much more of a Blake’s 7 feel. The cast of seven fugitives fleeing an empire on a ship unlike any other, a hero who is more curse than cure, and a dry, sardonic second-in-command who has all the best lines. But I wanted to tackle some drastically different themes than Terry Nation’s classic series, and eventually subvert expectations in the process.
There is a boy who could have been a hero. To some, he is a hero. He killed the great and malicious Air King. But Rob Sardan was cursed with nightmares that will haunt him forever. He can break the curse by finding a Sky Slayer’s pendant. The only problem is he’s been locked in a prison of ice and crystal at the South Pole. A prison run by pengs (sort of human-penguin hybrids).
The story revolves around Rob and his gang of rebels as they escape to the high seas. There is Alya, the strategist with a sharp tongue and boundless wits, Gorm the chef with her deep wisdom and superior strength, Vann the thief with his ridiculous puns, and Ilma the doctor with her world-weary but shrewd observations.
They flee across the grinding ice and head to the Tomb of the Dead God, perused by the chaotic pirate Skagra, who seeks the ending of the world.
It’s action, adventure, philosophy, and puns all rolled into one amazing story!
Tell us a little about Rob Sardan, your protagonist?
Rob Sardan has all the makings of your average brooding anti-hero with a dark past. Pain, loss, and isolation – not to mention a supernatural curse – plague him and in so many fantasy novels we would see such a figure become bitter, full of pessimism and bleak of humour. I didn’t want that. I wanted Rob to defy the universe, to defy fate, and the gods themselves by being… optimistic.
His mother was a hero, a famous pirate who did incredible and terrible things. He wants to make his own legacy, to forge his own legend in the world. He was so obsessed with this dream that he did some pretty nasty things without really thinking it through. Now he’s more cautious, but he struggles against his better nature. Should he go out into the world seeking adventure, or play it safe? Should he make his great story in history, or retreat into the ice and cold? The book asks what makes someone a hero, their deeds, their motivations, or is it something else
Kristell Ink believes that all good books have to have passion, what are you passionate about?
I love lore, and building characters to inhabit worlds. I really love making characters who have lived in the world and I really love sending them out to grow. I often have an idea of where I want to take a character, how I want them to grow and change, what I want them to learn and why. I want them to ask questions of their world, and of themselves.
I also really like dinosaurs. So, there’s lots of dinosaurs in the book. And puns.
What surprises you most about your writing?
That I can do it at all is frankly surprising! I’m dyslexic and grew up with plenty of teachers who tried to push me away from literature. They often told me I would find it easier to follow a different path, to try something that would come a little more naturally than reading and writing. But I stubbornly decided to be a writer instead.
Granted, I did spend quite a while believing that I couldn’t do it, that I’d never achieve anything because of my dyslexia. But I loved it too much to stop. I grew up telling stories to my younger brothers about their favourite dinosaurs, and about the people that met them. I told stories about penguins and dragons having a great war, and stories about a young boy who wanted to be a hero.
Dyslexia or not, I was going to write these stories. That they get published is a bonus! I’m always happy to be open about my dyslexia, hopefully attitudes towards students with it have changed since I was in school.
Recommend a book you’ve enjoyed from a different publisher (including their imprints!)
Just one? I fell in love with A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. I’m not usually a sci-fi fan, but this book blew me away. I’m easily lost in technical talk of space ships and technobabble. But this book isn’t really about those things; it’s more about the characters and the universe they inhabit.
While not perfect, it certainly had enough of what I love to keep me interested and wanting more. The world building (or worlds-building?) is exactly the kind of thing that gets me intrigued and wanting to learn and see more. The expansive and unafraid gender exploration makes for much more interesting reading than the stagnant heteronormativity one sees all too often. It’s an unapologetically optimistic view of the future of humanity in many ways, though not without problems, cultural and class divides, there’s a breath of hope and a desire for better things that rides with the crew of the Wayfarer.
Who edited The Sky Slayer and who was responsible for the cover?
The book was edited by Carol Powney, with cover art by Evelinn Enoksen.
Evelinn did an absolutely stellar job and really outdid herself. The Tower of Bron’Halla, which you see in the cover image, is something that’s existed only in my imagination for years and years, so to see if finally realised by an artist made me quite emotional. Love her work, and feel ridiculously privileged to have her working on my books!
Where can we buy The Sky Slayer?
Everywhere that sells books! Amazon, Waterstone’s, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, that independent bookshop in your local town!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Slayer-Joel-Cornah-ebook/dp/B01HIXW07C/
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-sky-slayer/joel-cornah/9781911497103
I also sell signed copies on my website.
http://www.Joelcornah.com/store
So, you know, try that, too!
And just one more thing, where can we find out more about you and your work?
Website: www.Joelcornah.com
Twitter: @JoelCornah
Facebook: facebook.com/JoelKCornah/
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