Interview with K.D. Edwards – Author of THE HANGED MAN + Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to welcome K.D. Edwards back to the blog today, to celebrate the release of the second book in his Tarot Sequence, The Hanged Man. If you aren’t reading these books yet, then perhaps I can convince you to jump in! And as a special incentive, Keith has offered to give away a signed copy of The Hanged Man to one U.S. reader! Keep reading to find out how you can enter:-D

Happy book birthday, Keith! Today is the release date for The Hanged Man, the second book in your Tarot Sequence. For new readers, can you give us a brief rundown of your story? (I know that’s asking a lot;-))

Absolutely! My story takes place in an alternate version of the modern world in which Atlantis has always existed. It was revealed to humanity in the 1960s, and following a brief but destructive war, Atlanteans resettled on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. Through the act of teleporting abandoned human ruins from across the world, they built the city of New Atlantis, a place of both magic and technology, run by powerful thrones based on the major arcana of tarot cards.

Rune Saint John is the last prince of the Sun Throne. He and his bodyguard, Brand, survived the fall of their court many years ago, and live on the margins of Atlantean society. While Rune has all the power of an Atlantean scion, he has none of the resources or funds, which makes him a bit of powerful outcast.

Following the events of The Last Sun, Rune’s immediate circle of friends and found family has grown bigger. The well-being of his ward, Max, is at stake, which will force Rune and Brand into the orbit of Lord Hanged Man, the Arcana of one of the darker courts in the city.

One of my favorite world-building elements of The Hanged Man is The Green Docks, where vanished ships from history have been magically transported. What gave you this idea and what sort of research did you do?

I wanted it to take place in a red light district, and it snowballed from there. I spend a lot of time on the beaches and outer banks of North Carolina, and frequently drive by the massive NC Battleship museum. Since Atlantis is built from abandoned human ruins, I thought to myself…. What about ghost ships? All of those different needs eventually drifted together into a 3-chapter story arc. It sounds simple, but I’ll be honest: it took me over 9 months to research and create that sequence. Tons of research of human ships lost at sea—and WHY they may have been lost at sea. A TON of research of battleships—I even wrote a big part of one chapter on a battleship. I will definitely be reusing the Green Docks as a setting in future stories!

I’m so glad to hear that! You tackle some weighty subjects in this series, like sexual abuse, predatory behavior and drug use, yet it all feels very balanced by other elements like humor and the emotional bonds of family. How hard is it to achieve this balance?

Well, that’s us, isn’t it? Humanity? We deal with our own darkness by cracking jokes in the face of it. We love gallows humor. It makes us less scared, when we can diminish the fear of a given moment with a quip. All of us do it, to some degree – why not Rune and Brand?

In the beginning, I had to pay a lot of attention to the flow of the scene, to make sure I wasn’t injecting too much levity in a moment that required gravity, and vice versa. It’s easier now, because those two have such a running dialog & banter in my brain. My writing group, though, is still my first line of defense in proofreading and editing! They let me know if I’m being too serious or too irreverent.

There are so many intricate and complex relationships in this series, but I do want to touch on the still evolving relationship between Rune and Brand. What started as almost a “buddy film” vibe between the two is slowly shifting into something else. Do you know where things are utlimately headed, or do your characters surprise you by doing their own thing?

….No. Except to say…. Maybe…. I’ll be examining the different natures of love between people. Is there such a thing as platonic love and soul mates? How does Rune’s growing intimate relationship with his boyfriend fit into that? I’m wading into those waters.

I can tell you that there are many, many secrets I can’t reveal. A lot of them are revealed in TAROT 3. But as how the physical relationships develop, I’m as much an observer as you are….

But Brand and Rune? They were always the heart of the story. And there’s a lot I haven’t told you yet. How’s that for a vague answer?

I can’t wait to see how their relationship unfolds! Many of your fans may not be aware that you have written a novella called The Sunken Mall. Can you please tell us more about it, the thought process behind writing it, and most importantly, CAN WE EXPECT MORE NOVELLAS SET IN THIS WORLD??!!

YES!!! And I’ll write faster next time! That should have been finished last Spring!

My thought here is that I love my readers. I love my readers so, so, so much. They are the biggest ego boost in the universe. They’ve turned the launch of HANGED MAN into such a special event for me. And I want to thank them by providing free content in the mid-year blank period, when the next novel is still far on the horizon.

It started off as a small idea: I want to write a holiday story every winter. And it’s grown into: I want to write a substantial story between every novel. Next thing I know, I’ve got SUNKEN MALL, an 80-page adventure set in a lost mall buried in the bedrock of the city.

I am already planning the next novella, only I can’t reveal the subject yet, because it would be a spoiler. Ask me again, after HANGED MAN is out! I can only say this: it will not be a Rune & Brand story, even though it’s set in their immediate circle…

(Tammy’s note: You can read the first four chapters of The Sunken Mall here! The entire novella, including the last three chapters, will drop the week of Christmas)

I cannot wait! I’ve read part of The Sunken Mall and it’s a wonderful “in between” story. Let’s talk about fan art for a moment. I know you have a small but mighty group of talented folks who have produced some mind-blowing artwork. Since your books are based on the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck, have you ever considered Tarot artwork based on your characters? Perhaps there’s a Kickstarter in your future?? (nudge nudge)

I would love to do that at some point, absolutely. MY favorite deck of tarot cards is an out-of-print Vertigo deck, back from the days of Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN. It features a lot of popular Vertigo figures, like Death, the Sandman, John Constantine… It’s absolutely gorgeous, and a creative deck to ruminate over. I would love something similar someday.

(Tammy’s note: Check out some of the wonderful fan art for this series on Keith’s website.)

I know you and I have similar reading tastes. Curious minds want to know, what have been some of your recent favorite reads?

We have SUCH similar tastes. You have almost maxed out the memory on my Kindle with your recommendations! I think you and I love the Murderbot series—I can’t wait for that to be turned into a series of novellas. I’ve been loving—absolutely loving—the Esen Web Shifters books by Julie Czerneda. The deeper you go into that series, the lovelier the element of found family becomes. I’m re-reading some old Ilona Andrews books—I’m a huge fan of the Edge books. I’ve been reading some epic Django Wexler books, including a preview of one that’s not out yet, so I can’t really say anything. Honestly, what I’m really hungry for is a good space opera or zombie novel that I haven’t already read!

In a weird way, though, my reading has been derailed by some exceptional TV series & video games. I am addicted to FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES. I’m on my second massive play-through, and can see myself playing the third house next. And I love shows like WATCHMEN, TITANS, THE MANDOLORIAN…. So much new creativity being invested in older series or graphic novels or world-building….

I suppose I could write a post completely dedicated to this next question, but I can’t interview you without bringing it up. You recently optioned The Tarot Sequence for TV, which is super exciting! Can you tell us about the deal and your thoughts so far?

It’ll be a long while until I know more. I can only say I’m working with a development company which seems to have a lot of passion for the story. I’ll actually be in LA in February, meeting with some of them casually, plus my entertainment & book agents. It’s been an interesting experience seeing the process adaptions go through. But, to put it in a nutshell: if there are 100 steps in this process, I can honestly say I’m nowhere close to Step # 100, nor am I close to Step #1.

There are several shocking twists near the end of the story, which I’m presuming are going to lead into a very exciting book three! No spoilers, but can you give us a peek into the next book?

…..AH! No. Everything would be a spoiler. Once HANGED MAN has been out for a couple months, ask me again, and I’ll drop some exclusive hints. I suppose I can say this much: Quinn has literally named the Bad Guy of TAROT 3 by name on at least 2 occasions. Only he’s Quinn, so it’s hard to know when he’s dropping a bomb, or just speaking in future-riddle-nonsense. And I’ve also said on a couple occasions that I intend Quinn to be a “point-of-view” interlude voice in the next book.

“Everything would be a spoiler.” OK, that statement ramps up my excitement for the next installment! Thank you Keith, for taking the time to answer my questions, and best of luck with your book launch today:-D

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About the author:

K.D. lives and writes in North Carolina, but has spent time in Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado, New Hampshire, Montana, and Washington. (Common theme until NC: Snow. So, so much snow.)

Mercifully short careers in food service, interactive television, corporate banking, retail management, and bariatric furniture has led to a much less short career in Higher Education.

The first book in his urban fantasy series THE TAROT SEQUENCE, called THE LAST SUN, was published by Pyr in June 2018.

K.D. is represented by Sara Megibow at kt literary, and Kim Yau at Paradigm for media rights.

You can find K.D. on Twitter @KDEdwards_NC and at his website kd-edwards.com.

The Hanged Man is out today! Find it here:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | IndieBound | Audible

Read my reviews: The Last Sun | The Hanged Man

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And now for the giveaway: one U.S. resident will win a signed copy of The Hanged Man! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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