Today I am interviewing K.D. Edwards, author of the new fantasy novel, The Hourglass Throne, final book in the first trilogy of The Tarot Sequence, which has been planned as a 9-book series!
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DJ: Hi K.D.! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview!
For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?
K.D. Edwards: Absolutely! I’m…. Well, what am I? I’ve lived in a lot of states, and held a lot of jobs. Eventually I settled into HR, and built a life around that in higher education in North Carolina. I’ve wanted to be a published writer as long as I can remember–and set out to fulfill that dream over 10 years ago when I began planning this series of a reimagined, modern-day Atlantis.
DJ: What is The Hourglass Throne and then the Tarot sequence about?
K.D.: It’s the world as we know it – with an Atlantis. The island, which had remained hidden for all of human history, was finally revealed in the 1960s. In the modern day, my story focuses on the fallen prince of the Sun Court, and the found family he builds as he grows closer to reclaiming his family’s mantle. It’s series built around several core concepts: broad world-building, humor, found family, and queer identity. The HOURGLASS THRONE marked the climax of the first trilogy in the planned 3-trilogy series.
DJ: What were some of your influences for the Tarot sequence?
K.D.: Definitely the major arcana of the tarot deck. I use the archetypes as models for the power centers in my series. The main character, Rune, is the last prince of the Sun Throne. I was also inspired by the great urban fantasy series – Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, Ben Aaronovitch’s River of London…
DJ: Could you briefly tell us a little about your main characters? Do they have any cool quirks or habits, or any reason why readers will sympathize with them?
K.D.: Oh good grief, I hope so. I try to make each of my characters as distinct as possible. I think I succeeded? I know my readers have their favorites, which is always a good sign. But the main character is Rune – the fallen prince. His most profound relationship is with his human bodyguard, Brand. They were bonded at birth in the crib, and have spent nearly every moment of their life together. They are not romantically intimate–but they are, in many ways, the love of each other’s lives. The sphere of characters expanded from there: the quirky prophet; the knight-like boyfriend; the accidentally-adopted teenaged ward…. I’m also trying to show, as the series progresses, greater representation of queer identity. Rune is best described as demisexual; Addam as pan sexual; Quinn as ace; Layne as non-binary…
DJ: Aside from the main characters in the story, who is a favorite side character or a character with a smaller role in the story? Why?
K.D.: One of two things drive that: reader reaction, and ease of narration. Some reader favorites are hard to write from a first or close third-person perspective. Rune is clearly the main voice of the story, as it’s first person. But I have begun experimenting with alternate POVs for interlude scenes, as well as “expansion novellas” that tell other stories in my world. Ciaran is the most fun to write – he’s wicked and arch, and loves stealing scenes. I thought Quinn, the prophet, would be nearly impossible to write (from a third-person perspective), but it actually worked out easier than I expected to internally narrate his thoughts. (I do have storylines from his perspective planned in future stories.) But I suppose I’d go with Ciaran as the most fun. It’s a special kind of joy when a character lives in your head so distinctly. For example: I think of writing the words “Bless his heart”, and Ciaran decides to say instead, “Bless his scratched little heart.” I love when my characters interject and take over.
DJ: What is the world and setting of the Tarot sequence like?
K.D.: In my mythology, the true Atlantis was destroyed during the Great Atlantean War – which happened after Atlantis revealed itself in the 1960s. They’ve since relocated to the island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts. They’ve rebuilt the island in their image – by teleporting ancient ruins from across the world, rehabilitating them, and building a city from them. I wanted the setting to be fantastical–a dramatic city skyline, places imbued with real human history… Over the course of ten (ten PLUS, now) years, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking how every element of our world would be represented in New Atlantis. What’s the line like at bakery stores? Are there parking meters? Do they have office supply stores? What type of household wards can magic create, to help with cleaning and cleanliness? What type of magic could scour pollution from the sky–and how would the act of that magic affect the population? The last example is a good one here, because it shows how world-building deepens over time. I knew that the city has a magic called the Cleansing, which periodically scours the city clean. But as I developed the cut-throat nature of Atlantean society, I realized their magic would mirror this. So the Cleansing is a mix of a holiday and city-wide threat. Everyone gets the day off and stays inside; but anyone caught outside during the abrasive cleaning process could die. I look forward to working that into an action scene….
DJ: How have the reviews been from readers, bloggers, and reviewers for the first two books of the Tarot sequence? Is there anything that your audience seems to be particularly enjoying or is eager to find out more about?
K.D.: Amazing. Humbling. Awesome. Mind-blowing. I get so much love from my readers. The found-family element is popular, along with the representation. I can’t get over how amazing the review have been. (Thankfully, since I make it a policy to read every single review on Amazon and Goodreads, at least.) Within the first week of HOURGLASS being out, I had over 500 Goodreads ratings, and an average a 4.7 out of 5. I am just so grateful to my readers.
DJ: What was your favorite part about writing The Hourglass Throne?
K.D.: That’s a hard question. Finshing it? This was not the happiest of novels. There’s a lot of love and support – but it’s also the climax of the first trilogy, and huge things happen. There will be a need for healing and recovery in the next book. So I enjoyed finishing it…. because I know THE MISFIT CARAVAN (Tarot #4) will be FULL of comedy and love and healing. It’s important to me to represent trauma and trauma recovery in my writing.
DJ: What do you think readers will be talking about most once they finish it?
K.D.: HAH! You’ll need to ask them. But I think I guessed right. I made it clear, right from Book 1, that Rune is a slightly unreliable narrator. He’s hiding something about the night that his court was destroyed. (Back when he and Brand were fifteen. Rune was held and tortured for a night; the estate was savaged; his father was killed.) What Rune has been hiding is revealed in this book. Readers seem to really be reacting to that. It’s such a damn compliment when you hear how many people stayed up all night to read something you read. Or when you hear how you made readers cry; or laugh; or believe in the world a little more.
DJ: Did you have a goal when you began writing Tarot sequence? Was there a particular message or meaning you are hoping to get across when readers finish it? Or is there perhaps a certain theme to the story?
K.D.: I started with the idea of bringing more queer representation to mainstream urban fantasy. But it became more, over time. It started in a dark place, but quickly grew into one of survival and love. That’s what I want to write now: huge stories, huge action, huge plots – but all orbiting a core of a rag-tag family that has each other’s backs.
DJ: I’m always curious when authors finish a series, how close to the original course they stayed when it is finally completed or if it ended up evolving and changing. Did the plot stay the same as you had first imagined it? How about the ending? The evolution of your characters?
K.D.: All nine books are planned, right down to the last scene. Nothing has significantly changed, but some characters definitely became bigger than I expected. And some characters survived when they were supposed to die. And Rune, damn him, always pushes his own plot forward quicker than I expect. But the core of each novel is on track.
DJ: When I read, I love to collect quotes – whether it be because they’re funny, foodie, or have a personal meaning to me. Do you have any favorite quotes from The Hourglass Throne that you can share with us?
K.D.: “My guys.” I can’t provide any more context, but readers will get it.
DJ: Now that The Hourglass Throne is released, what is next for you?
K.D.: I’m under contract (print and Audible) for both TAROT 4 and TAROT 5. I’ll also be announcing a new series soon. My dance card is freaking full for the next decade.
DJ: Where can readers find out more about you?
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/K-D-Edwards/e/B00BMVSKRQ/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17261493.K_D_Edwards
Twitter: @KDEdwards_NC
Website: https://kd-edwards.com/
DJ: Before we go, what is that one thing you’d like readers to know about The Hourglass Throne and the Tarot sequence that we haven’t talked about yet?
K.D.: Stay tuned. I have some exciting announcements (well, they’re exciting to me!) about future content, including the titles of Books 4 and 5 on June 4.
DJ: Is there anything else you would like to add?
K.D.: Yes – thank you!!!
DJ: And you are most welcome! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to answer my questions!
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***The Hour Glass Throne is published by Pyr and is available TODAY!!!***
Buy the Book:
Amazon | Goodreads
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About the Book:
As Rune Saint John grapples with the challenges of assuming the Sun Throne, a powerful barrier appears around New Atlantis’s famed rejuvenation center. But who could have created such formidable magic . . . what do they want from the immortality clinic . . . and what remains of the dozens trapped inside?
Though Rune and his lifelong bodyguard Brand are tasked with investigating the mysterious barrier, Rune is also busy settling into his new life at court. Claiming his father’s throne has irrevocably thrown him into the precarious world of political deception, and he must secure relationships with newfound allies in time to keep his growing found family safe. His relationship with his lover, Addam Saint Nicholas, raises additional political complications they must navigate. But he and Brand soon discover that the power behind the barrier holds a much more insidious, far-reaching threat to his family, to his people, and to the world.
Now, the rulers of New Atlantis must confront an enemy both new and ancient as the flow of time itself is drawn into the conflict. And as Rune finds himself inexorably drawn back to the fall of his father’s court and his own torture at the hands of masked conspirators, the secrets that he has long guarded will be dragged into the light—changing the Sun Throne, and New Atlantis, forever.
The climax of the first trilogy in the nine-book Tarot Sequence, The Hourglass Throne delivers epic urban fantasy that blends humor, fast-paced action, and political intrigue.
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. The third installment, THE HOURGLASS THRONE, is expected soon.
K.D. is represented by Sara Megibow at kt literary, and Kim Yau at Echo Lake Entertainment for media rights
Bookworm M.D. 
Awesome interview! I’m a huge fan of this series, and I love hearing that the rest of the books are already plotted and planned😁
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