Travis interviews fantasy author Anna Stephens about The Stone Knife, the first book in The Songs of the Drowned trilogy from Harper Voyager. It’s set in a Central American inspired jungle world where a magical empire is attempting to conquer its neighboring tribes, who happen to be a bit busy fighting the reptilian siren monsters lurking in the water.
Anna and Travis discuss dealing with imposter syndrome, historical Italian longsword fighting, and why grimdark fantasy books should never be shelved in the children’s section of the book store.
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About Anna Stephens
Anna is a UK-based author of gritty epic fantasy. Her debut novel, Godblind, was published through Harper Voyager in June 2017, with the sequels coming in 2018 and 2019. You can sign up to her newsletter here: https://anna-stephens.com/get-in-touch/
Anna has a BA (Hons) in Literature from the Open University and has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She much prefers the worlds she makes up to the real thing, even if most of her characters meet sticky ends.
Anna lives with her husband, a huge book, music and movie collection, and no pets. She intends to remedy this lack of furry friends as soon as fame and fortune strike.
You can help her realise her twin dreams of being an author and a proud dog-walker by buying her book. Thanks.
Find Anna Stephens on Twitter, Instagram, or at her website anna-stephens.com/. Check out her Patreon at patreon.com/annastephenswordseeker.
The Stone Knife
A fantasy epic of freedom and empire, gods and monsters, love, loyalty, honour, and betrayal, from the acclaimed author of GODBLIND.
For generations, the forests of Ixachipan have echoed with the clash of weapons, as nation after nation has fallen to the Empire of Songs – and to the unending, magical music that binds its people together. Now, only two free tribes remain.
The Empire is not their only enemy. Monstrous, scaled predators lurk in rivers and streams, with a deadly music of their own.
As battle looms, fighters on both sides must decide how far they will go for their beliefs and for the ones they love – a veteran general seeks peace through war, a warrior and a shaman set out to understand their enemies, and an ambitious noble tries to bend ancient magic to her will.
Transcript:
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