Paul Krueger is a Filipino-American author and a lapsed Chicagoan who may now be found literally herding cats in Los Angeles. His first novel was 2016’s urban fantasy Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge. His new book, Steel Crow Saga, came out in September and Paul recently agreed to talk about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Steel Crow Saga?
It came in pieces. The very first was in 2013 when I decided I wanted to write a Pokémon novel, which I tried and failed to do on and off for four years. Separately, I wanted something that emulated Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, a series with a sprawling scope that succeeds by grounding itself in deeply realized and memorable characters. And eventually, in 2017, I synthesized the two notions into a project I codenamed Fullmetal Pokémist. What really all bound it together was the theme of forgiveness: can someone do something truly unforgivable? And if so, can one forgive them for it anyway? Anytime I got out into the weeds, that theme guided me back to my story.
Are Tala, Lee, Xiulan, Jimuro, or any of the characters inspired by or based on specific individuals?
Nope! They’re all different parts of me, arguing with each other while also going on a 600-page epic fantasy double date.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
The book changed wildly as I stumbled towards the fully realized version of “a Pokémon novel.” Whole sets of characters and worlds were created and tossed out from draft to draft. But once I hit on the first iteration of what you’d recognize as Steel Crow Saga, it all stayed relatively the same. I’m pleased to report that the version of my story that made it to print is exactly the story I wanted to tell, without any compromise. Not every author is lucky enough to say so.
The world-building in The Steel Crow Saga is amazing! It has a timeless quality that is common to a lot of Fantasy works but also seems to be a bit more contemporary than anything other than Urban Fantasy. What was your process for creating this world?
The political circumstances of the book were inspired by the fight against Imperial Japan in World War II. Since I hadn’t seen a ton of fantasy set in a 20th-century milieu, I thought it’d be a fun and fresh place to set this story.
For each of the nations, I drew from a real-world country as a starting point: naming conventions, cuisine, etc. But then, I twisted them a little bit. The Sanbu Republic, for instance, is directly based on the Philippines. But I’m an American, so there are bits of Americana in its culture, too. Shang is China, but I also took some cues from Tsarist Russia when organizing its political structure.
I know some folks aren’t fond of this approach to worldbuilding, but my priority here was clarity. I was throwing the reader into a very deep pool and asking them to swim like Katie Ledecky. I needed to give them some touchstones of familiarity, and four different conlangs weren’t gonna do that.
Did you do any research for your world-building? If you did, what was the most interesting thing you learned while doing your research? Was there anything you discovered that you wanted to include but, ultimately, were not able to?
I’m not much of a research-forward writer. I make it all up as I go. When I hit a point where I need more information, I’ll google that specific question and decide if I like the answer. If I do, it goes in. If I don’t, then I make up something else to be my world’s answer to that question and keep on chugging. The way I see it, my priority is to tell an interesting story centered on emotionally engaging characters. What kind of a storyteller would I be if I let the truth get in my way?
What’s currently on your nightstand?
At this very moment, it’s my cat, Wrigley. But she’s sitting on a pile of lovely books, including Emily Skrutskie’s Bonds of Brass, and a rulebook for the tabletop RPG Blades in the Dark. I try to keep my reading diverse, you see.
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
My actual favorite would be the entire Animorphs series. But since I’m about to shout that out two questions from now, I’ll give you a single volume: E.L. Konigsburg’s The View From Saturday. Not a mystery, but something of a puzzle box in how the readers gradually revealed themselves to the reader, and each other. Her characters were so vivid; it’s been twenty years, but I could still tell you so much about each of them and their lives. Random snatches of its prose are still tattooed in my memory. I’d put it right up there with Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
No, not really. My parents were always very encouraging of my book habit. My mom was the one who dropped the first two Harry Potter books in my lap and told me to dig in. Sometimes, they’d try to encourage me to consume more classic literature instead of the steady diet of pulp I was on. But I read the pulp anyway, and now I write pulp, so I don’t think any of us are upset with how things worked out.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
I’ll certainly try:
- KA Applegate. Her work on her Animorphs series is why I’m a novelist today.
- Hiromu Arakawa. An absolutely sterling builder of worlds and observer of human character. Also, she has a really deft touch with humor.
- JK Rowling. Ignoring some of the unfortunate latter-day additions to her world, Harry Potter combined my two favorite genres: fantasy and mystery.
- Leigh Bardugo. She’s the most recent name on this list, but I love the way her mind works. Every time I read a new Bardugo book, I close it and think, “I need to be that good.”
- Rumiko Takahashi. Not only is her work funny, but she also gave me my first real taste of fantasy set outside of a European backdrop.
What is a book you've faked reading?
It’s probably safe now, but Wuthering Heights. I tried, I really did, but the sheer density of Catherines and Lintons was too much for teenage Paul to keep straight. Maybe I’d have better luck if I tried it now.
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
V.E. Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic. Really, Tor does excellent cover work; they have another series, K. Arsenault Rivera’s Their Bright Ascendancy, which I originally picked up because of how striking her covers are.
Is there a book that changed your life?
I cannot possibly overstate how much that answer belongs to Animorphs. Applegate’s work was what inspired me to write my own stories. And the themes she worked with—questioning authority, the horrors of war—inform my personal politics to this day. Reading Animorphs was like the first time I listened to punk rock.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
I’m actually quite the opposite of that. Many conversations that begin with “What do you mean, you haven’t read XYZ Book?!” have soured me greatly on the idea of “required” reading and book evangelizing. A reader’s journey should be a personal one, shaped by their preferences and curiosities and not the peer pressuring of some bookish busybody. So what if that person hasn’t read Flannery O’Connor, but has read every single volume of My Hero Academia? Who are any of us to say that that reading is inherently lesser?
That said, I do think Fonda Lee’s Green Bone series is doing visceral, inventive work, and the rest of the fantasy field should be trying to get on her level. I certainly am.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
This year, I was lucky enough to read Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea, and it felt like eating a magical tart where the flavor of jam inside changed with each bite. It was beautiful like a half-remembered dream is beautiful, and I felt love and magic on every page.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
I wish I had an extravagant answer to this question: time traveling back to Victorian London and solving a mysterious murder, or breaking bread with some dead luminary. But what actually gives my life quality is the company with which I share it. If my friends and I spend the day playing D&D, and then I serve up something for us to share for dinner, I can go to bed calling that day a win in my book.
What is the question that you’re always hoping you’ll be asked, but never have been? What is your answer?
I don’t know if there is one. I hope someday someone will ask me it, so the moment I hear it I can say, “At last!”
What are you working on now?
It’s another fantasy standalone in a different world, currently untitled. But the very boiled-down pitch is this: “Two wizards who are mad at capitalism and each other, not in that order.”
