The amazing Astrid Scholte chats with us about her new release Shadows of Truth!
A&U: Hey Astrid! Thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us! We are so SO excited for Shadows of Truth! Can you tell us a little bit about the book and maybe also League of Liars for anyone who needs a refresh?
AS: Thank you! The League of Liars duology is set in the nation of Telene where magic can be lured from any shadow to fulfill your desires. But because the results are unpredictable and often dangerous, using edem – extra dimensional magic – is illegal. The Regency enforces the law in Telene and imprisons anyone who uses edem in the prison of Vardean. At the centre of the story is law-abiding teen, Cayder Broduck, who had planned to spend his summer assisting a defence attorney, but gets caught up with three criminals and their cases. One of the criminals is his younger sister Leta.
Shadows of Truth takes places directly after the events of League of Liars where Cayder makes the drastic decision to jump through the portal of their world to the veil world where all dangerous magic comes from, in order to break Leta and their friends out of prison. But the other side of the veil is nothing like what they had hoped or imagined, and the League are separated in this strange new land.
Leta begins a quest to discover if her mother is truly still alive, while Cayder deals with the imminent destruction of the world they hoped would provide salvation from the Regency.
Only time will tell if the League can reunite and stop the Regency once and for all.
A&U: You always create such incredibly vivid and unique worlds like Quadara in Four Dead Queens and Telene in League of Liars, what is that world building process like for you?
AS: World building is my favourite part of writing! As a pantser, it takes me several drafts to completely develop the world and/or its magic system. My process usually begins with a rough “what if” question. For example, in Four Dead Queens, it was “what if one nation was ruled concurrently by four queens?” Then I look at what sort of world this “what if” would be placed in and how that main question impacts the people who live in this world.
In Four Dead Queens, I asked myself why there were four different queens ruling, how this system came to be and why it remained that way. The “what if” question is my north star and what I keep returning to as I develop the details of the world over the first draft and multiple revisions.
A&U: Across your three titles so far, you’ve written in lots of different POVs and switched around with both first and third person (and we LOVE it!). What makes you gravitate towards this style of storytelling?
It’s not something I planned to do! Before I wrote Four Dead Queens, I’d written two manuscripts and both were in first person POV. To be honest, I was intimidated by writing a book with multiple POVs, but I knew I needed to have the queens’ POVs as well as Keralie’s. Keralie is still the main character, so I decided to have her chapters in first person with the queens’ in third person to distinguish their voices. And I discovered I really enjoyed the flexibility of writing with multiple POVs and have written each book with multiple POVs ever since!
When it came to League of Liars, I knew I wanted to do something similar to Four Dead Queens, as I had the main character (Cayder) as well as three criminals who were keeping secrets from both Cayder and the reader, and the best way to do that would be in third person.
I also like to see how characters view each other and you can often reveal more from someone else’s POV than the main character’s thoughts on themselves. For example, in the beginning of League of Liars, Cayder thinks he’s in the right by upholding the legal system, but it’s through the eyes of the criminals that we see he could be wrong, and then he starts to question that himself.
A&U: League of Liars has an amazing magic system. How did you go about creating it?
I wanted to create a world where magic was easily accessible by everyone and there was no skill to using it. But I always wanted to explore the justice system through a fantasy novel so I knew I needed the magic to be inherently dangerous, and therefore illegal. From there, I brainstormed different ways magic could be used and one of the ideas I had was having magic in every shadow.
Because shadows are so prevalent, I needed to build a society that would somehow protect themselves from shadows and magic, as well as a system to deter people from using edem. This led me to developing the harsh laws of Telene, as well as the various technologies to keep shadows at bay. And because I knew the magic came from the other side of the veil, I needed to develop the rules to how the magic works, even though we don’t see the other side of the veil in book one.
A&U: Shadows of Truth is your first sequel. How did you find approaching writing a sequel? Was it easier because a lot of the world building etc. was already done, or was it actually more challenging?
I loved writing Shadows! I already knew my characters and what drives them, as well as the world of Telene. That said, there was still so much I needed to explore with the world on the other side of the veil, particularly what it looked like, which changed quite a bit from my first draft.
I really wanted the world on the other side to be a satisfying reveal, so there was some pressure knowing that readers would have formed their own theories from reading book one – and I didn’t want to disappoint them!
A&U: Time for a fun one! If Cayder, Leta, Elenora, and Jey were to meet Keralie and Varin from Four Dead Queens, and Tempest and Elysea from The Vanishing Deep, what do you think would happen? Would they be friends, or would chaos ensue?
Even if they all tried to be friends, I imagine something would go horribly wrong as there’s some big personalities in that group, particularly with Jey, Keralie and Tempest. I think Elysea would get along with everyone, particularly Elenora, as that’s just who she is. Keralie and Tempest would lock horns as they’d both want to be in control and not be told what to do by the other. I could see the gang reluctantly trying to team up for the greater good, but chaos would most definitely ensue!
A&U: And lastly, what advice do you have for any keen writers who may be reading this post?
Keep writing! As I mentioned earlier, I wrote two manuscripts (and two unfinished sequels) before I wrote Four Dead Queens and landed my first agent. Publishing is a business of luck, patience and determination. Writing is time consuming and can be stressful, but it should also bring you joy. Relieve yourself of the pressure to be published and write what most interests you. Have fun!
Shadows of Truth
By Astrid Scholte
This page-turning sequel to League of Liars takes us beneath the surface of the familiar world of Telene, and into the shadowy realm that is the source of both its magic and its nightmares.
Comments