Some Thoughts with ... Carl D. Albert

1.- Could you introduce yourself to the readers of JamReads?
Hi! I’m Carl, a teller of tales and a fool of a Took. More seriously, I’m an epic fantasy author. My debut novel, Truth of Crowns, debuted last May. For my day job I work in the entertainment industry where I’m pursuing a career as a television writer. 

2.- What made you choose self-publishing?
I sought untold riches in the wilds of the Amazon (algorithm). No, honestly, it was the freedom to tell my story the way I want to. I’ve planned out a longer–probably 6 book–series, and those aren’t traditionally published these days unless you’re already a big name. I’m not against trad by any stretch of the imagination, and I would happily accept a book deal depending on what’s offered. 

3.- Could you tell us more about the inspiration behind Truth of Crowns?
The original germ of an idea was rather embarrassingly: “What if Game of Thrones, but Renaissance?” It’s evolved a lot since then, taking elements from whodunnits, Shakespearean tragedies, family dramas, late Medieval and early Renaissance history, philosophical ponderings about power and heroism and human nature, and semi-autobiographical elements from my own life and mixing it all into an alchemical concoction likely to drive the reader mad. Also, dragons! I wanted to do something fun and different with dragons.

4.- Truth of Crowns entered this SPFBO9. Could you tell us more about the experience?
It was neat, and I met a lot of awesome people during the process. The judge who read ToC didn’t connect with it the way I’d hoped, so I joined the wonderful company of folks like Ryan Cahill and Richard Nell in being kicked out in the first round of SPFBO. Of course, you hope to go further, but that’s life. You take your punches and march on.

5.- Truth of Crowns is told in a multi POV style, why did you choose it
Generally speaking, I gravitate towards ensemble stories, both as a writer and reader. Character is the heart of storytelling, and I like to have a breadth of perspectives and personalities coloring the narrative. I find it deepens the emotionality, thematics, and worldbuilding in ways that attract me as a storyteller; a single or dual POV narrative is fundamentally more limited in its reach, though the approach has its positives, of course. Also, villains and side players deserve to have their stories told just as much as heroes do! 

6.- How would you pitch your own book? (Think of a X title x Y title)
Hmmm how to pitch it while avoiding the cliches? I confess I struggle with this. Truth of Crowns is sorta Hamlet meets Dune with a big fuck-off dragon. How’s that? Too pretentious? Did I mention the big fuck-off dragon?

7.- What does Carl D. Albert like to do in his free time?
I read a lot in a variety of genres and subjects. I watch TV and movies. I work out and cuddle my dogs. I’m a big tabletop RPG nerd and an occasional player of videogames. What else? Recently, I’ve gotten into murder mystery parties. Those are super fun.

8.- What can we expect from Carl D. Albert in the future?
Book 2 of The Ash Eternal series, currently titled Prophet of the Apocalypse, is well underway. As of this interview, I have about 140,000 words written. Later this year I’m going to publish a short story set in the same world as my Ash Eternal books, two hundred years before Truth of Crowns. It’ll be part of an anthology with the Page Chewing crew themed around animal companions. There’s also a whodunnit novel I’m working on that I pitch as “What if Sherlock Holmes was raised by the Roys from Succession and he had to investigate his baby brother’s murder?” I plan to write a draft of that while I get notes from beta readers on Prophet. And I hope to have my name in the credits of a TV show or two before the decade is over.