I was lucky to get an interview with L. James Rice, the author of The Contessa of Mostul Ûbar, one of this year’s #SPFBO9 entries.

Please, tell us a bit about yourself…
I live in the middle of the US where I attended the University of Northern Iowa as an English Major before foolishly skipping the possibility of joining the Iowa Writers Workshop. Then I studied screenwriting at UCLA before opening a small winery in the Midwest… go figure. My debut novel, Eve of Snows, won the 2020 Next Gen Indie Book Awards for Fantasy while taking second place grand prize for Fiction. It also won the 2019 Epic Fantasy Fanatics Reads Choice Award and pulled in a Bronze Medal at the Independent Publisher Awards.

Why should I buy your SPFBO9 entry?
The Contessa is an Epic Fantasy that may be read as a stand-alone novel or as part of the greater Sundering the Gods Saga. The story mingles elements from several genres, such as thriller, horror, and classic murder mystery folded into an epic fantasy world. The span of the story runs concurrent to the first three books in the Sundering the Gods Saga with some crossover chapters—the Contessa first appears in Whispers of Ghosts—so if you’ve read those, you’ll want onboard with this tale.

What got you into writing? And how long have you been doing it?
I was twelve years old when I decided I was going to be a writer. In large part, this was due to Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Life took me in many directions, but my brain was always headed for a single destination. Once Hollywood said they loved my stories, BUT they needed to be novelized to create a fan base to sell, I dropped the 120 page screenplay habit and went back to my true love, doorstop Epics.

Have you participated in the SPFBO before and where did you hear about the competition?
A reader first introduced me to SPFBO, but I kept missing entry until last year, so this is my second go around.

Why did you choose to write fantasy?
While I wrote westerns, cozy mysteries, thrillers, and urban fantasy vampire comedy in screenwriting, Tolkien and Martin style epic fantasies are where my brain functions best. Long, complex stories with deep histories are what I live, breathe, and dream.

Which other author has had the biggest influence on your writing?
As you might guess by now, The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire. A shout-out to Tad Williams is necessary as well, but Tolkien and Martin are my heavy influences along with Monty Python. People who know me will pick up a lot of subtle references and Pythonesque humor.

If you were to win the SPFBO, what impact do you think this would have on your writing career?
The exposure could change everything. My first novel won several awards, a couple of them major in the Indie world, and while an honor to win, SPFBO’s exposure to readers is orders of magnitude greater. I don’t know if I would ever sign with a traditional publisher, I’m a bit of a control freak, but I guess winning might test those waters.

What challenges did you face during the writing or publishing process, and how did you overcome them?
This time around I had more health issues. Not life-threatening, but capable of stalling my brain for months on end and breaking any rhythm or groove my writing would fall into. So, The Contessa took about a year and a half longer than expected.

Do you have any tips or an author app, tool, or resource that you can really recommend we try?
I am a contrarian to one of the most popular recommendations that authors receive: Just finish the book. I have no doubt that this works for some folks, but when I wrote Eve of Snows I wrote and rewrote the first several chapters over and over until I had the voice and style I wanted. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close to what I was aiming for before I went ahead and finished the book. For me, staring at a finished 150k+ word book where the writing style changed too much, I’d go nuts. Find your voice, then write. It saves a helluva lot of editing.

And now it's time to yank out your Palantir! Let’s talk about the future. What new projects are you working on?
The working title is Dark Cloud Dancing, but that isn’t the final name. This book will jump off where Whispers of Ghosts and The Contessa of Mostul Ûbar both leave off.

Apps that are based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGTP and Midjourney, along with apps aimed specifically at authors, have caused quite a stir. Do you expect these new technologies will make your life as a self-published author easier or harder, and do you expect that they’ll mean you’ll earn more or less?
I’ve established a bit of a reputation already, and I’m glad for that. Writers publishing for the first time over the next few years could take more of a beating than others. AI writing has a long way to go; it’s far more complex than visual images, but I’m guessing a whole lot of people will imagine that a computer can make them great storytellers and writers. Better yet, make them rich… good luck with that. AI won’t affect my writing since I won’t use it. Income? Hell, pirated books are already bad enough, I can only hope the flood of AI books to come doesn’t pollute the waters any further.

Do you have any dreams you’d like to share?
I’d like to see my world and stories as an MMORPG or HBO series. Good fun, that.

Anything else you would like to say before we close?
May the wind forever be in your sails, and the pirates in your wake.

Thank you, matey!

I wish you good health always…and the very best in the SPFBO! A lot of readers are bound to discover your writing. Thanks for doing the interview.