Dystopian Fantasy to make your heart race
What was the spark that started The Dragon Game? The Dragon Game is the second installment of The Atlas Dystopia Apocalyptica, and has always been the natural progression of the main character’s Descent Arc. In many respects, it is a bridge as well as its own adventure, but these events have wide implications for Books 3 and 4, and a lot of groundwork is embedded for all that follows. Easter eggs there are aplenty.
Interview with Xander Cross
Name one thing you’re proud of having achieved with The Dragon Game? I adore the big boss fight at the end with the gashadokuro (big skeleton monster), and Hayate’s punchline as he delivers the fatal blow. I feel so satisfied in how I plotted and resolved the storyline. It’s solid and give me warm gut vibes.
Please tell us a little about your writing style. What/who has influenced you? Learning Classical Latin has had the biggest influence on how I write. There are still grammatical constructions, like the passive periphrastic and the ablative absolute, you can find tucked into my use of English. And after listening to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice & Fire on repeat in the summer of 2006, there might be a hint of that in how I skew toward gritty realism in my fantasy, and keeping it aesthetic.
What was the most interesting/random fact you discovered while researching for The Dragon Game? There are so many, honestly. From the real history of the Taira clan, to how Japanese witches self-initiate, to the variety of yōkai required to fill the menageries of the Dragons. I get a lot more references in anime these days that I could never appreciate before. Share something about your main character(s) that is super important to you and why that is. Hayate’s resilience in the face of adversity. Even when he’s lost everything, he finds the strength to carry on, and there is always a new adventure around the corner. Is there something from your own life or experience that has found its way into The Dragon Game? I like to pull out the real life emotions and frustrations we can all relate to. In The Dragon Game, Hayate faces a growing struggle with reaching new levels of maturity, while at the same time he finds himself jaded to everything he thought he stood for. He must continue crossing blurred lines in order to obey a master who truly does not have his best interests at heart, but gaslights him at every turn. By the end of The Dragon Game, Hayate has become aware of his predicament, the tension of which will grow and explode in Books 3 and 4.
What’s next for you and your writing?
Starting the first week of December 2021, I will be writing my submission for the Enchanted Forests anthology, which I’m super stoked for. This vignette will be an artifact of the TADA-verse that a reader can only find in this anthology, and while the particulars won’t make sense until TADA Book 19, it’s actually a very important story. I am also working on Book 4 of TADA while I’m waiting for beta readers to return their comments on Book 3, which I hope to publish early next year.
What book(s) changed your life? I would have to credit the books I read as research for Hayate’s character on how to write power games and political struggles for immortals. Many of them, like anything written by Robert Greene, actually worked almost as accidental self-help guides. So in no particular order: “The 48 Laws of Power,” “The Art of Seduction,” and “The 33 Strategies of War,” by Robert Greene; “The Art of Hunting Humans,” by Sydney Mazzi (strange title, but a great read, and it’s not what you think!); and “The Art of Communication,” by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Is there a cause that’s important to you? Any practical environmental cause is very important to me, especially those aimed at wetlands, rivers, the oceans, and forests. The amount of damage we humans are doing in a short amount of time for the profit of an elite few absolutely horrifies and disgusts me. This world is the only one we’ve got and I believe in protecting it.
Connect with Xander Cross here.
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