Curious what goes into building a fantasy novel? Meet Night Nook Books' newest author, Ciera Miller, who explains her writing style and everything in between in our latest interview.
1. Who or what inspired you to become an author?
When I was around twelve years old, I had these little notebooks where I would scribble stories. Mom found what I was doing and connected me with my grandmother, who has written a few books of her own. My grandmother helped me learn how to take the passion of storytelling and turn it into a polished, finished product.
2. How have your life experiences influenced your writing?
I had a multi-cultural upbringing and spent most of my life living in the Philippines, where my parents do charity work. The differences of cultures and what it takes to find your own identity and destiny has always been a huge theme for me, which I fully integrated into Alexis’ story. I also visited Japan many times when I was a kid and lived there for a short time on my own after college. Naturally, the inspiration for Meg Knightley also stemmed from those experiences.
I also noticed that many times in modern storytelling, the default is to give the heroine a romance in the end. With Alexis, I wanted to show that it’s fully possible to become who you are and live out your own adventure without a romantic subplot.
3. What is your writing process like, from idea to finished manuscript?
I typically latch onto an idea or a question (What if there was a female dragonslayer? What if the heroine had a happy ending without needing a romance?) and that stirs up excitement for new ideas. I usually start with a character or a concept and build the rest of my writing world around that. For the Realm, I had to do a lot of tracking to keep up with each empire’s politics and make sure that I mapped out locations and travel times accurately.
4. How do you come up with the characters you created for The Realm?
I’m a reader as well as an author, and I like having characters I can relate to. I found that a lot of stories I enjoyed kept the ages of characters limited between sixteen and twenty. When I originally started, Alexis and the other characters were much younger. Then I was like, " Why am I putting everyone in their late teens and early twenties just because it’s the norm? I know there are a lot of people out there in their late twenties who are still figuring life out, and I wanted to start normalizing that. So, I went ahead and made Alexis 27.
5. Which character do you relate to the most, and why?
I think Alexis represents my journey of bridging the gap between cultural expectations and the person I can only become. Alexis has to learn to not only fight a dragon threatening to destroy life in the Realm but to trust those around her to help her on her journey.
6. What came first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
Honestly, what I have now barely looks like what I originally envisioned. I had a college assignment to write a short story a few years ago. The story wasn’t that good, but something about it sparked a journey of writing and rewriting drafts for about a year or two before I finally stopped scrapping my work and decided I was ready to share what I’d come up with.
Overall, it was good that the writing and rewriting process took so long, because the frustrations and challenges of life between college and career started to spill into the world I was creating. The stakes for each character grew higher, and suddenly the story was way more exciting and alive. I wasn’t just writing a story. I was trying to help myself envision a future where everything I’d dreamed was possible, and that made Alexis’ story turn into something bigger than I’d imagined.
7. What’s your favorite scene you’ve written, and why?
I’m big on my empowered female characters but writing the Trial of Kings was definitely one of my favorite scenes. James’ character was inspired by all the best traits of guys I’ve seen (my brothers included), because I wanted to show what it looks like when a guy has no problem empowering and fighting alongside women. I also wanted to show that guys who empower women aren’t less masculine for doing so.
8. Are there specific people who have shaped your storytelling style?
I remember one of the biggest things I learned in college was how to write with simple, easy-to-understand language instead of something flowery. We can enrich ourselves as readers by growing in our understanding of the English language, but I’d like to think that a reader can get through my book and understand its content very simply without needing to look up word meanings. For my particular style, I’d rather direct readers’ focus to looking at the symbolism and understanding the characters than include a lot of vocabulary barely used in everyday life.
9. What’s your favorite and least favorite part of publishing?
Like any indie author, our biggest successes come from our ability to build connections with other authors and readers. I love meeting people at events like book festivals or even through bookstagram. My least favorite part is trying to articulate 60,000 words into a thirty-second pitch that accurately describes what my work is about.
10. What hobbies or interests influence your writing?
Alexis’ enhanced abilities include being faster than a normal human being, which pretty much stems from my love of running. When I’m running, I also get a lot of time to clear my head and daydream scenarios that could end up in my next book. Some of my best ideas have come while doing a running workout outdoors.
11. What advice would you give to first-time authors?
Just get the story down and let the editing happen later. Even if a scene feels cringeworthy at first, getting it down on paper gives you something to work with. You can always cut things out later that don’t fit with the overall vibe. The biggest step you’ll take starting out is being brave enough to put that story down on paper (or type it up) and not overthink whether or not it’s going to look like a bestseller yet.
12. What motivates you to keep writing, even on tough days?
Writing and running are very similar. They both take time, and I don’t always want to show up and get work done. What I’ve learned, though, is knowing when I need to take a break so that I will do better and when I need to push through. If I can balance the need for rest and the need to push just a little more, that’s the happy spot where results start to show up. I also write for myself, and I don’t write things that I’m not passionate about.
We’d love to hear what you have learned from Ciera through this interview. Please leave a response in the comments below. If you’d like to learn more about Ciera, check out her newest book with us, The Realm, or keep up with her on social media for sneak peeks of her current and upcoming work.
Instagram: @cierathewriter, @therealm416
