Welcome to our interview for this month! We are with this talented author, Unboundwings, who penned the story, Siren Song.

Dark Fantasy Team: Tell us a bit about your writing journey.

Unboundwings: I've always been an avid reader since I was young. To hear my grandmother tell it, even before I could actually read I'd hide books in my bed to read after dark. Once I hit middle school, I found an author, Tamora Pierce, who writes very in depth high fantasy and realized I didn't just want to read it, I wanted to make something like that. Ironically, despite that being my inspiration to start writing, I didn't dive into high fantasy until after my fanfiction years in college. Before then I mostly played with urban fantasy and dystopian fantasy. In high school I started posting those stories on a website called Inkpop, and when that closed a friend suggested we move to Wattpad. I've had accounts here ever since.

DF: How did you get the idea for your story?

U: Siren Song started out as a short story I wrote for a creative writing class in high school. The prompt had been to write a man vs nature piece, so I wrote an excessively long story about a girl pretending to be a boy on a merchant ship when they were attacked by sirens after a storm, leading to everyone's death. Skipping forward to when I was studying abroad in Japan during college, I had a lot of time on my hands and wanted to write something new for National Novel Writing Month. I came across the short story when flipping through old ideas. After throwing some concepts around with my friends, I ended up putting together the initial outline for the book. There are a lot of influences from that time in the book, including some of the names and weapons.

DF: Tell us about your protagonist(s) and their development throughout the story.

U: Siren Song has two main protagonists and several minor characters that accompany them through the majority of their journey.

The first is Iliana who provides the majority of the narration. She starts out as a jaded girl who has no desire to change her current life. She's happy with the simple future of sailing aboard a merchant ship with her newfound family. As the book progresses, however, she's forced out of her comfort zone amongst tragedy and shown a much more complicated world.

Through the actions of the gods themselves, she becomes the linchpin in the threads of fate that guide the very future of her world. The second would be a bit a spoiler, I'm afraid. The easiest way to explain him without ruining a bit of the book would be that he's a cursed prince. Due to the circumstances surrounding his birth, he was sent away from his kingdom and raised as a commoner. While he is aware of his status, it isn't until the events of the series that he begins to come to terms with the fact that he can't avoid the responsibility of the throne for forever.

DF: Have you ever come across a book which deeply inspired you to start writing? If yes, tell us something about it.

U: For me, it was a collection of books by Tamora Pierce. She has a very detailed high fantasy collection that takes place in a country called Tortall. There are more than a dozen novels collectively, and each of them is amazing with detailed world building. I loved how everything from the gods to the life of the common person felt thought out. When I read the books, I couldn't help but want to design such a world myself.

DF: Do you plan on continuing writing in the dark fantasy genre? Why or why not?

U: I do! I love how dark fantasy allows you to dive into the gritty side of life alongside the mystical fun of fantasy. I've tried to write regular high fantasy before, and I always find myself falling back into frightening beasts and unsettling magic. It's just too much fun.

DF: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser? How does that work with writing dark fantasy?

U: A bit of both! Normally, I plot out the basic idea of where the plot starts and ends, but tend to play the chapters themselves by ear. With dark fantasy, however, I find myself creating more detailed plots because of the necessity for research and world building. If I need a monster for a chapter, I need to figure out how they work before I start writing, but in order to decide on how they work, I need to know what should be accomplished through them. So, I've begun to use writing cards that lay out each event in detail.

DF: What would you advise other writers who are looking to write in the dark fantasy genre?

U: Don't be intimidated by it.

My friends and I talk a lot about the effort that goes into a high fantasy in general and for the most part, the issue they tend to bring up being caught in is how detailed they need to be. But, I personally think the details will come as you write. You won't know what you need to design or learn until you have the circumstances of the plot laid out in front of you. And, in the end, it all depends on how you want your book to unfold. Not everyone needs Tolkien levels of world building. Sometimes, all you need for your plot is a bit of magic.

DF: There's a rumor about a cursed pen that makes whatever you write with it come true. However, there's a price to pay with every use. Will you use it?

U: Oh, goodness. I think it would depend on the price. As amazing as it would be to see my writing come to life, I'm not all that sure the dark part of the dark fantasy would be fun to experience, especially if the price is high. I certainly wouldn't want to personally deal with the nightmares or demons of Siren Song.

DF: What is your further plan with writing? Tell us something about it.

U: At the moment, I want to finish this series, before doing a massive edit so that everything feels cohesive and real. During that time, I plan to continue to see how far I can go with posting it on Wattpad. If I reach the end and I'm happy with it, but haven't really seen the book go anywhere on here, I intend to try for traditional publishing. In the end, I just want to see people enjoy the world of Siren Song as much as I do, and will follow whatever path forward allows for that.

Thank you so much, Unboundwings, for being with us and agreeing to our interview. Check out their work, Siren Song, to support our author!

- The Dark Fantasy Team