Interview with A.B.B. Olson
Published 2015-03-04.
How do you approach cover design?
With terror and reluctance.
What do you read for pleasure?
Everything, though I tend toward dark fantasy. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, George R.R. Martin, Stephen R. Lawhead, Anne Bishop and Jacqueline Carey are my most read books. I also read historical text books for fun, usually centered around the Crusades and the Assassins. I read mystery every now and again, some romance, science fiction. I tend to stay away from pop fiction. It makes me angry in ways I can't explain.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
My iPhone.
Describe your desk
200 year old roll-top and covered in stuff. Usually maps, books, pens, bloodline charts, notebooks, pictures, a mug of coffee, and my thumping speakers.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in Mountain Home, Idaho, on a farm. It gave me the freedom to run amok for miles and never encounter a soul. I loved it. The openness there allowed me to escape into my head and write up a storm.
When did you first start writing?
I was three.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Telling stories about people who have no other voice than yours.
What do your fans mean to you?
The world.
What are you working on next?
Aidyn's trilogy. It's going to be a blast. A dark, bloody blast.
Who are your favorite authors?
J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Stephen R. Lawhead, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Anne Bishop, Jacqueline Carey, J.K. Rowling, and many many more.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
The fact that I get to spend the day with a hundred of my closest, pointy-eared, bad-a' friends.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Reading, and thinking about writing. Also sword-fighting and hitting my punching bag.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Yes, it was terrible. It was called Raiders of Gillock and it was about a mouse warrior who traveled to space and fought raiders.
What sort of music did you listen to while writing Nkayt'hei? What about it inspires you?
Pretty much the same I listen to for all my books. Rock mostly, some instrumental, alternative, ballads that sort of thing. Typically my characters are pretty badass, so listening to weepy pop music isn't going to get me anywhere. While writing Nkayt'hei specifically I had Starset, BVB, Shinedown, Kaleida, Marilyn Manson, Egypt Central, Gemini Syndrome, Avenged Sevenfold, The Taking, Transi-Siberian Orchestra, Two Steps From Hell, Downplay, Florence + The Machine, Breaking Benjamin, and the single Runnin' by Adam Lambert. That's my Nkayt'hei Playlist.
What is one song that you would use to describe Nkayt'hei?
The One Who Laughs Last, by Downplay.
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Books by This Author
Nkayt'hei
by A.B.B. Olson
Tryztyn Nkayt'hei, known as the Archer, is obsessed with the sky, for he once saw it turn blue and bright. In a world that has been shielded away from the sun for centuries, Tryztyn will be forced to suffer greatly at the hands of his kin and king, while depending on the dubious company of four human outcasts. But when fear and suspicion turn to friendship and love, Nkayt'hei unleashes the sun.
