Literary Titan Q&A is part of their book review of The Soul’s Reckoning, a review that gobsmacked me. I like reading readers’ perspectives of my novels, and Literary Titan’s 5-star review made me think.
Their questions for their Q&A not only made me think, but also challenged me.
5-Star Review
Reading this felt like being pulled into someone’s dream and sitting there with my heart in my throat.”
Wow. This sentence is the kind that makes writers sit back in wonder about how their writing — their story, their characters — moved a reader this much. It’s the best kind of compliment.
Reviewers end their reviews with a summary and recommendation. Literary Titan’s reviewer wrote, in part:
“I walked away feeling like I had watched someone peel back the layers of their own soul. The journey is strange in the best way. I would recommend The Soul’s Reckoning to readers who enjoy emotional fantasy, introspective stories about life after death, and character-driven narratives that sit close to the bone.”
Read the entire review here. But before you click on that link, check out their questions for me, the author of The Soul’s Reckoning.
Their first question was a doozy:
“The Soul’s Reckoning follows a woman as she passes through the Barrier into a vivid, confusing, and emotional afterlife where she is forced to confront former relationships and truths she had avoided in life. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?“
I had to reach back into my memory through the chaos of the pandemic and political upheaval of the last 5 years, back back to 2019 when I first began thinking about the Resurrection. But then I realized this novel focuses on relationships and reconciliation, an essential part of one’s Resurrection. That quailed me, for this kind of question excavates one’s own heart to reveal the most intimate of thoughts and experiences. But that’s where stories are birthed, isn’t it?
After the second question, they posed the toughest one for me. Their third question required me to remember my entire novel. Well…I know it sounds strange, but I remember my novels in the big picture not detailed in the whole. When asked about one of my novels, individual scenes elude me while a few pop into my mind right away. And so my answer to this question was brief since I didn’t want to flip through my novel to remind myself of all the chapters.
Their last question asked about novel three in The Q’Zam’Ta Trilogy. I’m excited about this novel, which I’m titling The Soul’s Turning. My first draft went well, and I’m thinking about how to hone or flesh out certain concepts, ideas, and scenes. It’s a complex novel to write, but I’m hoping it won’t be a slog to read.
Titled “Blaming the Victim,” the Literary Titan Q&A appears here. Read the Q&A to find out why that title.
