Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Anthony Lowe
Book Title: What Was Your Name Downriver?
Released: 04/15/20
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “What Was Your Name Downriver?”?
Lowe: An article by Ursula K. Le Guin happened to catch my eye when I was younger. I'm super-paraphrasing, but she discussed the European foundations of the fantasy genre, and it was enough at the time to make me wonder what a high fantasy story built upon a foundation of American myth and history would look like. Over the years, I occasionally poked at the idea: building up some research, an outline, and the first couple chapters, but a recent stint teaching English in Japan gave me the time to actually sit down and write it through to completion. We got a new emperor and began a new era while I was there, so I had a lot of free time on my hands during an especially long Golden Week.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process, or your book?
Lowe: This book is on the shorter side, but it's a big first step for the rest of the series. A major part of the writing process was getting the setting and the "long game" in place so that I can easily build upon it. I'm also hoping that the book keeps folks wondering what crazy little forgotten corners of Old West history could've possibly inspired some of the scenes. For instance, a version of the rather disturbing conversation that takes place at the outset really transpired.
If "What Was Your Name Downriver?" were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Lowe: For Evaline Cartwright, I think my favorite actresses for the part would be Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, or Janina Gavankar. For Trivan Esterhazy, Julia Garner and Margaret Qualley are the closest. Some of Garner's lines from Ozark are pretty much spot-on for how I imagine Trivan sounding and acting.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Lowe: When writer's block hits me, it hits hard. Like, really hard. One of my favorite authors, Matthew Stover, talked about writer's block as a malady that's not so much brought on by the story ideas themselves but the author's confidence in them. To get out of the writing funk, I usually read a lot more for pleasure rather than research and try to write a little something everyday. Writing anything, regardless of length or grammar or intelligibility, as much or as little as possible has done wonders for me lately. Even if it's just a hundred words a day that make no sense at all, as long as it's comfy and maybe even fun, you'll steadily build up your confidence again.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Lowe: Whether it's a door-stopper or a page long, finish writing your story through to the end. Maintaining that self-confidence and focus over such a lengthy and draining process is the toughest part of any writing project, but once you make it through to the end, that's it! Don't worry about typos or the small details, just finish. You can fix a rough first draft, but you can't fix what's not there.
What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?
Lowe: I think my favorite book would have to be either True Grit by Charles Portis or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I absolutely love the fantasy genre; it's introduced me to some of my favorite authors, but I can reread those two books frequently without getting bored.
What are you working on next?
Lowe: I'm actually just getting the ball rolling on publishing the sequel to What Was Your Name Downriver? It's called A Bad Rune at Angels Deep and I'm hoping to publish it within the next couple months. After that's all wrapped up, I'll probably get started on the third book in the series sometime during the summer.
Learn More About the Author and What Was Your Name Downriver Here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AntonymLowe
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