Interviewing Jeremy Szal
Helllooo!
I recently reviewed Broken Stars by Jeremy Szal (https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2024/11/3/broken-stars-by-jeremy-szal )a dazzling set of SF and even fanatsy tales in short story form. I’ve been a fan of Jeremy’s work for many years now since I read their SF novel Stormblood (https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2020/6/8/stormblood-by-jeremy-szal?format=amp ) which fans of Babylon 5 and Mass Effect should check out. It was a delight to chat to Jeremy about the book and ask that power armour question!
Hello!
How do you like to booktempt people into reading Broken Stars?
Eighteen stories, full of bounty hunters and warriors, horse mercenaries and deceitful aliens, killers and kings. Good people doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, and bad people who desperately want to be better. Human monsters and monsters with humanity. AIs based off Islamic mythology and planets inspired by Thai culture. It’s not a meal, it’s a buffet, and there’s something for everyone.
Many of your stories very very quickly create fascinating new worlds or futures- is this something you enjoy doing in short fiction and how do you look to make a world come alive in just a few pages?
I always take a character-oriented approach to my work. People are always products of their environment, their culture, so I merge that aspect of them with whatever it is that they’re trying to get, and go from there. It’s why the vast majority of my fiction is written in first person, because it allows the broader world to fold around the character, in a sort of stream of consciousness way.
That said, doing so in a short story is much harder than doing it in a novel, and I was often forced to strip the stories back of extraneous details to make them work.
Power armour – why does this appeal so much to you and appears in many stories?
Because it’s damn cool!
My longer answer is that I’ve always loved the look and feel of power armour, as seen in countless video games and books like Halo, and I’ve always wondered what it must be like to wear it, to be wrapped up in this badass suit of metal and reinforced carbon and tech. That said, I’m also interested in exploring how it is used to control people, as a means of dehumanization or merging consciousness into a machine.
A number of the stories take us into an alien or non-human mindset. How do you approach creating such a character and their perspective on the world?
I write to imagine what it’s like to be in their shoes, in this moment. Let’s take Yharv, for example. He’s a badass horse-like mercenary, but since he doesn’t live in his homeland, but resides in human territory, he’s also persecuted and hunted, a victim of prejudice. That means he needs to use violence to survive, which puts him on edge, and has also made him cynical and curt, so he has no time for anyone’s shit. That means he practically tells me what he needs to do when a dangerous situation arises.
Again, for me, it’s all about becoming the character. And when it works and the words are flowing, it’s the best damn feeling in the world!
Does short fiction writing compliment novel writing or are they very different skillsets?
Very different. Novels are about immersion and creating a world and characters that can sustain a long journey. Short shorties are quick gut-punches, a way to swiftly and briefly explore an idea or a concept. They’re not condensed novels, and I’m not sure I’d be able to sustain some of these worlds and characters for an entire novel. Their brevity and sometimes experimental nature is what makes them so appealing. That said, long form is ultimately where I’m most comfortable, and where I feel I’m most skilled as a writer.
What else can we look forward to from you in the future and where can we find out more in this weird age of social media?
Wolfskin, Book 3 in the Common Saga, is coming very soon! I’m just wrapping up my first round of edits on it before sending it back to my publisher. I’m also working on the next thing, that I aim to have traditionally published, as well as something very different that’s on the side. All I’ll say about this side project is that it’s secondary world fantasy, with a female protagonist and slightly stronger elements of romance that one would typically expect from me. We’ll see where it goes.
The best way to stay in touch is to sign up to my newsletter (link below). All subscribers get a free novella, and you’ll get information about my stories, cover reveals, etc, before anyone else.
Otherwise, I’m on Bluesky, and pretty much everywhere, as @jeremyszal
Link: https://t.co/aDxLljrQJW
What greatbooks have you read recently?
I’m reading The Will of the Many by James Islington at the moment. I’m loving it. It’s very Red Rising, but very much its own thing. I also read the extravagantly rich Demon in White by Christopher Ruocchio, and Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky. They’re both space opera novels, and while they couldn’t be more different, they’re both excellent in their own ways.
