Interview with Sebastian Nothwell

Published 2024-02-23.
What are you working on next?
A dark academia mm romance with dragons, a third installment in the Oak King Holly King series, and a solar fantasy retelling of Aubrey & Lindsey on my Patreon.
How often do you write orientations or genders outside of your comfort zone? How do you get the details right?
Straight people show up in the background of all my books. Being raised by straight parents in straight culture, I like to think I have a knack for the little details of straight society. (Some of my best friends are even straight!)
Do you feel like it’s most important to have a) strong characters, b) mind-blowing plot twists, or c) epic settings?
STRONG. CHARACTERS.

No one is going to care about plot twists if they don't care about whose plot is getting twisted. Ditto for the epic settings. You can build the most beautiful world, but if there's no one in it worth visiting, you don't have a story.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
In no particular order...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Hilarious satire of academia meets gripping fantasy alt-history. And the meek inherit the earth!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Classics majors at definitely-not-Bennington hold a literal Bacchanal and all hell breaks loose amid lyrical prose.

Pride & Prejudice / Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
I keep going back and forth on which of these is my favorite - usually influenced by whichever one I've read most recently. Regardless, Austen delivers delicious snark with deft sensitivity towards true human feeling.

Valiant by Holly Black
Scary fairies abound in the rare middle book of a trilogy that successfully stands alone with a satisfactory beginning, middle, and end.

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Great American novel aside, Ishmael marries Queequeg. To say nothing of the entangling of bare legs, the sharing of the inn-keeper's marriage bed, the twining of their destinies in the sword-mat and the monkey-rope, and the barely-metaphorical hand-squeezing. It has become my gold standard for canon gay content in fiction.
What was the hardest part of writing your author bio?
Convincing people I'm not a 19th-century ghost.
Would you rather live in a haunted mansion or live in a un-haunted cottage?
Having lived in both haunted and un-haunted dwellings, and having admired many mansions and cottages, I can say with certainty that I would prefer an un-haunted cottage. (And I think the protagonists of The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall would agree with me!)
How do you select the names of your characters?
Whenever I encounter a name I like, I jot it down. Then I research the cultural, historical, and regional origins of the name. Then I enter it into giant spreadsheet with different tabs for first names and surnames organized by culture of origin and time period. When the time comes to name somebody, I go through the spreadsheet to find something that sounds fitting. If I find a first name and a surname that sound good together, I Google the combination to see if it already belongs to someone notable. If not, then we're good to go!

...At least until my cloud storage service randomly deletes the entire spreadsheet I spent five years building, in which case, I am back to square one.

Lesson learned: BACK. UP. EVERYTHING!
What is the best part of your day?
When I get so wrapped up in writing that I don't realize I've already blown past my wordcount goal!
Do you use any special writing software? If so what is it, and what are a few of your favorite perks of it?
None of my books would be possible without Scrivener. Being able to flip from scene to scene with a single click is amazing. Dragging and dropping scenes to re-order them is incredible. Splitting the screen to compare scenes side-by-side, or to have both prose and notes available to scroll through at the same time? Priceless.
What is the best investment you ever made in your writing?
The $30 lifetime license for Scrivener.

Seriously. It's amazing.
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Books by This Author

Fiorenzo
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 174,060. Language: English. Published: September 30, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Fantasy, Fiction » Romance » LGBTQ+ » Gay
(4.00 from 1 review)
Fiorenzo is a queer fantasy-of-manners romance featuring secret identities, hurt/comfort, and a happily-ever-after.
Tales from Blackthorn Briar
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 87,880. Language: English. Published: September 21, 2022 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Fantasy, Fiction » Romance » LGBTQ+ » Gay
(2.00 from 1 review)
Shrike, the fae Butcher of Blackthorn, and Wren Lofthouse, a mortal Victorian clerk, are bound together by love and fate. Their continued adventures (and those of their friends) are told in this collection of fantastical tales following the story of Oak King Holly King.
Oak King Holly King
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 144,800. Language: English. Published: February 14, 2022 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » LGBTQ+ » Gay, Fiction » Romance » Fantasy
Shrike, the Butcher of Blackthorn, is the Oak King - a figurehead destined to die in a ritual duel to invoke the change of seasons. Wren Lofthouse, a London clerk, has resigned himself to a life of tedium. They must fight side-by-side to see who will claim victory - Oak King or Holly King.
The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 91,120. Language: English. Published: July 1, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Gothic, Fiction » LGBTQ+ » Lesbian
(4.00 from 1 review)
A Gothic romance rife with horror and heartache, wherein an American heiress makes an ill-advised marriage to bring herself closer the woman who’s stolen her heart.
Throw His Heart Over
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 53,350. Language: English. Published: February 14, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Historical » General, Fiction » LGBTQ+ » Gay
Sir Lindsey Althorp, spectacularly wealthy baronet, has sat in the saddle since the day he was breeched. Aubrey Warren, threadbare telegraph boy turned engineer, has never ridden a horse in his life and had no intention of starting—until now. When a portrait-painting holiday in the country provides an opportunity for riding, Lindsey is eager to teach Aubrey the ropes.
Hold Fast
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 111,490. Language: English. Published: July 31, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Historical » General, Fiction » LGBTQ+ » Gay
(5.00 from 1 review)
To Evelyn, his unexpectedly handsome agent is the only thing anchoring him to shore. He sees a captain’s soul within Morgan, and his heart is caught upon the hook of command—if only Morgan would return his affections. To Morgan, his new employer’s charms threaten to tear down the thorns that have grown around his heart—thorns he cultivated to restrain his unnatural instincts.
Mr Warren's Profession
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 112,800. Language: English. Published: June 7, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Historical » General, Fiction » LGBTQ+ » Gay
(4.50 from 2 reviews)
Lindsey Althorp, the only son of a wealthy baronet, has never worked a day in his life. Aubrey Warren was born in a workhouse and hasn’t stopped working since. Buoyed by Lindsey's optimism and fuelled by Aubrey's industry, the two men strive to overcome the class gulf between them. But a horrific accident reveals a betrayal that threatens to tear them apart forever