Life keeps interrupting me when I try to write my post about K.R.R. Lockhaven’s new book, The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon, the first in his new trilogy, The Azure Archipelago. So, I’m going to post this today just to get a little something up about the book. Hopefully, I can get my post up tomorrow, so check back if you’re curious (or just to help my pageview count).

We did a similar Q&A for his first novel, The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex: The Self-Proclaimed Greatest Dragon in the Multiverse last year–and Lockhaven interviewed me for his series on Humor in Books, and Other Places, Too!. Some of what he says here echoes and/or builds off of things he’s said in those.

Talk about the genesis of this novel a little bit. Can you pinpoint where it came from? What was it about the idea that grabbed your focus?
I’ve been thinking about trying a nautical fantasy for quite a while. I’m fascinated by pirates, sailing ships, and tropical locales, and I’ve been wanting to create my own fantasy world, so I made my own little magical archipelago.

The idea for the main plot is very personal. Unfortunately, the relationship between my dad and I has been really rocky for the past several years because of a deep political divide. He became obsessed with…a certain political figure, and it made dealing with him very difficult. We’re in a much better place now, and I feel that writing this book may have helped me in that regard. But anyway, the basic plotline involves a tumultuous relationship between the main character, Azure, and her father. The split between the two ends up sending her on a mission across the islands to ultimately try to save his life. I wanted to focus on the difficulties that an ideological divide can create in families, as I know A LOT of us have been there. My goal was to show that love can heal damn near anything, and that common ground can be found with the right treasure map (okay, that was extremely cheesy, but I’m leaving it in!)

When talking about writing The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex, you said the floodgates opened and you embraced the silliness. The tone of The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon is very different from TCoZA. Yes, the humor is still there—and frequently juvenile—but this isn’t a comedy. There’s an earnestness to the characters and plot, the story and characters are more important than the laughs. Is that more natural for you or did you have to reign it in a little? Or given the subject, did that not really enter your mind?
Thank you for this question! I’d love to talk about this real quick. The subject is something I’ve thought about a lot.

When I’m reading, I’m really drawn to moments that resonate emotionally. I haven’t always trusted myself as an author to make that kind of thing work, though. I did a lot of time thinking about where I wanted to go with my writing, and came to the conclusion that I needed to go in a more earnest, and hopefully emotionally resonant, direction. I trusted myself to do that effectively this time because the subject matter of this book was so emotionally meaningful to me. I still fully embrace the silliness, but it’s no longer the main point. Many of my (favorite) characters have mirthful spirits, and that kind of joyous levity is very important to me. I’ll probably always have an element of that in my writing. Maybe it’s just semantics, but I like to think of myself as having traded in humorous fantasy for fantasy with humor.

Where did Elijah come from? Is he your attempt to bring Marvin the Paranoid Android into Fantasy, or was that just me reading into things? His demeanor is so different from everyone else’s—Pratt is confident, driven, and full of bluster; Azure has that determined optimism; the Marauders are full of their intentional romanticism; and then there’s Elijah’s defeatist outlook. He really stands out.
That wasn’t exactly my intention, but there are undeniable similarities between Elijah and Marvin. Elijah is more hopeful, though, and his negativity is directed only at himself. I’m not really sure where the idea came from, to tell the truth. I knew I wanted a reanimated skeleton character, as it’s such a cliché part of pirate-themed entertainment, but I wanted him to be completely different than people might expect him to be. I went with self-deprecating because I always find that to be endearing in people I know in real life.

A sidekick named Robin, really? Did you have your shame surgically removed?
Shame? What’s that?

I actually didn’t think of that angle until quite a few chapters were written. face palm Robin’s origin story started in a different book that will likely never see the light of day. After The Conjuring of Zoth-Avarex, I wrote two sequels, but I ended up deeming both of them not good enough to put out there. They had their moments, and I actually like them quite a bit, but they were just more non-stop silliness and references. Anyway, Robin was a very minor character in these little snippets from other worlds that I wrote. I loved her so much that I eventually transported her into the MD&D world. And she’s more of a sister than a sidekick, anyway. If she heard you call her a sidekick she would probably threaten to peck out your eye 🙂

Setting aside the tone/tenor/etc. idea for a moment, how was the process of writing The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon different from TCoZA? Did having that under your belt give you a confidence boost? Or did you find a whole new batch of issues/problems to work through?
The writing flowed fantastically. I loved writing in this new world, and the subject matter just poured out of me. There were challenges in regard to creating a new fantasy world, but those are fun challenges. Everything one would take for granted in a book set on Earth has to be created and thought through. It was also challenging to strike a balance between the emotional through line and the humor. I wanted the main plot to feel serious and urgent, but not so much so that fun along the way would feel out of place.

Since this book is so different from TCoZA, let’s play “Online Bookstore Algorithm” again: What are 3-5 books whose readers may like The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon?
This is always the hardest question to answer! I feel like it’s almost obligatory when talking about fantasy books with humor, but I do think that readers of Terry Pratchett might enjoy the spirit of my book. I’m not completely sure about this next one, but possibly readers of The Princess Bride, too? Again, I believe it shares the same spirit of adventure and fun. Also The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson and Duckett and Dyer: Dicks For Hire by G.M. Nair.

How’s the rest of the trilogy going for you? Any word on when we can expect that? Have you decided what’s next, or are you too deep in the weeds on The Azure Archipelago to get serious about that?
I’m sending in Book 2 for the first round of edits in a few days! It is due to be published January 20th, 2023. I think I’m going to put the title out into the world for the first time right here… It will be called (with 93% certainty) The Foundling, the Heist, and the Volcano. These titles are wordy! Book 3 will be out a few months after that.

I actually have become way too serious about what’s next, as I’m currently trying to write Book 3 and this new project at the same time. another face palm My new idea was heavily inspired by Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. It’s a standalone cozy fantasy set in the same world as my trilogy, but having almost nothing to do with it. I’m very excited about it, and I love it already.

Thanks for your time—and thanks for The Marauders, the Daughter, and the Dragon, I can’t wait to see what’s next and hope it finds its audience.
Thank you! These questions were challenging and fantastic! It’s so cool to talk about my little world with someone who has really dived into it! Your support means a lot to me 🙂