Roz MacLaren

It’s always a pleasure to meet another indie author in Scotland. Kerry Law is frequently inspired by how beautiful our country is and uses Edinburgh for inspiration in one of her fantasy series. Kerry kindly agreed to be interviewed for my blog and will share top tips for indie authors, where her inspiration comes from and what she’s currently working on.

Can you share more about your background and what inspired you to become
a writer?
I was born and brought up in Scotland which is a magical country full of stories.
When I was younger my Dad shared his fantasy books with me and I devoured
them. I’d spend my weekends exploring other worlds and I was never without a
book.

I read so many books growing up that I think wanting to become a writer was my way
of ‘paying back’. I absolutely love starting a new book and being whisked away into
another world, and I want to give other people that joy too. For me books are the
perfect form of escapism and I love the idea that I could write something someone
else will read and through my words they’ll be taken off on an adventure.

How has your MA in Medieval History from the University of St Andrews
influenced the historical elements in your fantasy novels?
I think having a degree in history has given me a good basis upon which I’ve built my
fantasy worlds. I studied some Scottish history but mostly I enjoyed European and
Asian history. Learning about how different cultures grew and developed has been
useful for when I’ve come to creating my own fantasy world and imagining how it
would grow and change over time, especially how different technologies would
develop.

My Sparks series is pure fantasy based in a world I invented, but my newest book,
Swirls of Magic, is set in an alternate 18th century Edinburgh. I hadn’t done any
proper historical research since university so I really enjoyed getting back into it as I
learned about the real 18th century Edinburgh.

Living in the Scottish Borders, does the local landscape inspire the settings in
your books?
Definitely! I’ve always been drawn to wild landscapes – open mountains, deep
forests, hidden lochs – because even on a dull or rainy day they still look magical. I
spend a lot of my free time running and cycling in the hills near my house and I
always find myself imagining watchtowers on top of craggy outcrops or picturing
dragons swooping across the hillside, their scales shimmering against the heather. I
think being in nature is good for creativity and certainly if I’m struggling with an
awkward plot point or a character who’s not quite working right, I find that heading
out into the hills helps me think.

For readers unfamiliar with the Sparks Series, how would you describe it?
It’s a fast-paced, coming of age series with awesome female characters. In fact, 90%
of the characters are female. The themes of the series are of young women learning
to believe in themselves, discovering how strong they can be, and about the power
women have when they work together.

I think the Sparks Series shows you can be shy, different or an outsider and still be a
hero. The main character is a young woman learning to accept herself, to accept her
uniqueness. To realise that it’s a strength, not a weakness.
And there are lots of dragons!

Your series features strong female protagonists. What motivates you to write
such characters, and how do you develop them?
I grew up reading fantasy books in the 90s and often there weren’t any inspiring
female characters. It always seemed to be the boys who got to go off on adventures!

I often found the female characters to be one-dimensional – they were usually a
beautiful, delicate princess.

I wanted to write books where the female characters were not only front and centre,
but they were real people. And by that I mean they get stuff wrong, they make
mistakes and learn from them, they have grumpy moods, like eating food (often with
their fingers and not dainty cutlery!), sometimes they’re selfish and sometimes
they’re kind, and always after a fight, battle or hard day of dragon-riding, they’re dirty,
sweaty, have messy hair and are tired. Because that’s real! Being beautiful all the
time isn’t.

And I develop these awesome female characters by looking at the women and girls
in my life and taking inspiration from them. I “steal” traits from people on their good
days and bad ones and I think that makes for more realistic characters.

Can you discuss your process for world-building?
I always start with a character and then I build a world around them. I had an image
in my head of a girl and her dragon before I’d even thought what sort of world the
Sky Riders would live in!

I find the best way to build worlds is to brainstorm with a notebook and pencil.
There’s something about physically writing on paper that seems to make my ideas
flow more easily. I sit with a cup of tea, often in my favourite café, and scribble ideas.
Sometimes I draw wee diagrams of buildings or structures, and I always have a
badly drawn map with scribbles all over it.

I then transfer these notes to my Scrivner file (the writing software I use) so I can
easily reference my world while I’m writing.

Dragons play a significant role in your series. How did you develop their
characteristics and integrate them into your world?
In my Sparks series every Sky Rider is bonded for life to a dragon. This means that
the dragons often take on some of their Rider’s personality. This was my play on the
notion that ‘people are like their pets’!

My dragons are also very sensitive to emotions, so if their bonded Rider is angry,
happy, upset etc. then their dragon will be too. I enjoyed the extra dimension this
gave to interactions between characters. For example, if a Rider is feeling anxious
but trying to hide it, their dragon will be feeling anxious too but not hiding it, and thus
will give their Rider away.

The dragons do have traits of their own—typically the males can be more
aggressive—but I liked making them a mirror for their Rider’s emotions. It deepens
the bond between a girl and her dragon.

Can you walk us through your typical writing routine?
I’m an early bird and I’m always most creative in the morning. So most days I’ll be at
my laptop around 7am with a mug of tea. I like the quiet of first thing and find I can
get loads of words written by mid-morning.

I save my afternoons for the less glamorous side of writing, ie. marketing, finance,
and catching up on emails.

What challenges have you faced as an indie author, and how have you
overcome them?
I think there is still a stigma around being an indie author and I’ve come across
people who don’t believe I’m a “proper” author because I’m an indie. That can be tough to deal with because I know that I’ve worked really hard to get to where I’m at
and I’m passionate about what I do.

I’ve had to learn to take a mental step back and remember that I can’t please
everyone. There will always be people who don’t understand why I’m proud to be an
indie and that’s fine. And for other people I’ve found that when I talk to them about
my writing journey, or the ins and outs of the world of publishing, they can learn
something from me and are often more supportive afterwards.

How has reader feedback influenced your work, if at all?
My books wouldn’t be nearly so good without reader feedback! I have a lovely team
of beta readers who always read my first drafts, give me honest feedback, and I
couldn’t do without them. Sometimes I’ll know in my heart that a scene isn’t working
right, or that a character isn’t behaving the way they should, and my readers always
spot these things, call me out on them, and usually offer advice for how I can fix it.
Writing can be a very solitary profession so I find it really useful to bounce ideas off
readers or work out plot tangles together. I’ve even got a few ideas for new books
currently bubbling away at the back of my brain that came from a throwaway
comment from one of my readers.

Can you share any details about upcoming books or projects you’re working
on?
Yes, I’d love to! The first book in my latest trilogy just came out in Nov 2024. It’s
called Swirls of Magic and is book 1 in the Old Town Trilogy. It’s set in an alternate
18th century Edinburgh, full of magic, monsters and thieves. The main character, Isla,
is one of my favourite characters that I’ve ever created. She’s bold, brash and gets
herself into all sorts of trouble! She often says the wrong thing, but her heart’s in the
right place and she’d do anything for her family.

Currently I’m 75,000 words into the first draft of book 2 in the trilogy and I’m aiming
to have that one will be available in late spring 2025.

How do you approach marketing your books as an indie author?
Marketing has been a steep learning curve for me. It took me a while, with lots of trial
and error, to get a marketing plan that works for me.

My main focus for marketing my books is through Facebook ads. I find that they can
be really effective and drive lots of people to my Amazon page, which is great. But
what I’ve also discovered is that Facebook ads are a great way to interact with my
readers. Loads of people comment on my ads telling me that they’ve read and
enjoyed my books and that’s always lovely to hear. People also tag their friends in
the comments on my ads, recommending my books to them, and I always appreciate
that.

What advice would you give to aspiring indie authors, especially those writing
fantasy?
I would encourage any aspiring indie author to take the time to really hone their craft.

Go to writing workshops, do online courses, join a local writing group, read books
about writing craft and practice every day.

My first published book was actually the 4th book I wrote. I thought the first 3 were
great as I was writing them (they weren’t!) but I realise now that they were my way of
learning how to be a good writer.

I also think that to be a great writer you have to read loads. And not just in the genre
you write in. If you want to learn how to plot really well – read crime. If you want to
get good at world building – read fantasy and sci-fi. If you want to learn how to write
beautiful descriptions – read literary fiction. The more you read the more you
understand plots and what makes a great character, then the better you’ll become as
a writer the more successful you’ll be. And also you’ll enjoy writing more too.

How do you balance your writing career with other aspects of your life?
I’m extremely lucky because I get to write full time. It took me about 10 years to get
to that point, so I have loads of practice of squeezing writing in around a day job and
other commitments.

Now that I can dedicate myself solely to writing I’ve found that having a routine is
almost even more important than it was before. When you have all day to write the
temptation to procrastinate can be strong. And then because I’ve not met my word
count during the day, writing bleeds into evenings and weekends, just like it used to
when I had a day job!

What I’ve found very useful is to work the same hours as my husband. That way my
writing career is kept roughly between 8am and 5pm, leaving me plenty of free time
to recharge. And I’m a firm believer in making sure I have a little time every day to do
something for me—a run, or walk, or yoga—because when I give my brain a rest it
works better when I open up my laptop the next morning.

In what ways do you engage with your readers, both online and offline?
I’ve met almost all of my readers online and they’re a lovely bunch of people. I use
both Facebook and Instagram to share snippets of my writing life and that’s been a
lovely way to get to know my readers. It always makes my day when someone
leaves me a lovely comment or sends me a nice message.

I also have a monthly newsletter which readers can sign up for on my website. In this
I share more detailed writing updates, giving people a real behind-the-scenes look at
my books and my inspiration, along with giving readers exclusive first look at things
like new covers, or maps for my books. Everyone on my mailing list also has access
to 2 free novellas.

I really enjoy when readers reply to my emails and I’ve had some great
conversations with them about my work and other fantasy books we love.

What themes do you explore in your books, and why are they important to
you?
I write YA so the themes in my books are around friendship, first love, family, identity
and self-discovery.

For me these themes are important because they seem to resonate with so many
readers, and not just young adults. People of all ages read and enjoy coming of age
stories.

I think this is because being a teenager is not only a stage we all go through in life,
it’s one that we remember vividly. Our teenage years are when we begin to work out
who we are as people. Often the things we enjoy then will help shape what we like
as adults.

Your teenage years are when you have to start making scary adult decisions but
they’re also a time of first loves and of trying desperately to either fit in or reject the
‘norms’ and stand out. Often it’s when you’re finding your tribe—the people who like
what you like and that you feel comfortable around. I think the trials and tribulations from our own years spent coming of age are baked into us and that’s why we enjoy
coming of age stories. And for me as a writer, that’s also why I love exploring these
themes in my books.

Where do you see your writing career in the next five years?
Hopefully I’ll still be writing and loving what I’m doing. I’d love for more people to
have read and enjoyed my books—having a wider readership is definitely a goal for
me.

Writing-wise, I have the second two books in my Old Town Trilogy to finish. Then I
think I’d like to write a duology and then maybe another series.
That’ll probably keep me going for the next five years!