Tell us about yourself!

I used to think I was a relatively boring person. But when I get into conversations with people, I’ll often end up talking about one of my previous jobs, and I’ve slowly come to realise that not many people have been a professional witch, a scary nurse at a haunted house, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson, all in the same lifetime. So I suppose I should admit at this point that I’ve had an eccentric sort of life?

I’ve managed somehow to swim in many different circles and to meet many different people from various walks of life. I have spent parts of my life in the lower-middle class and parts of it suddenly thrust into the upper-class. Having now experienced the rich and powerful from both sides of the divide, I feel uniquely qualified to comment on how utterly bizarre they can be.

What does NobleBright fantasy mean to you? Why is it important?

NobleBright fantasy strikes me as a return to optimistic fantasy. I find it generally more hopeful and existential, with a sense of at least partially-defined morality (rather than endless shades of grey) and the message that there are things worth fighting for. NobleBright very much has its roots in things like Lord of the Rings, and I think many NobleBright authors take heavy inspiration from Tolkien.

That said, NobleBright does tend to elevate bloodlines and nobility more often than other genres, and—I know, it will shock people—I am very much not a monarchist. I prefer my optimistic fantasy to question the idea that one’s worthiness is ever tied to one’s parents. Noble-born characters can be great heroes, just like anyone else, but I dislike the implication that they are simply born to greatness.

How did you start writing?

I started writing when I was very young. My father ran intricate Dungeons & Dragons games for me and my friends, and I decided that my player character deserved an entire book to herself. I never finished that book—and it was a very terrible book, you should know—but it was my first attempt at writing, and I never quite stopped writing after that.  

What are some of your favorite books/authors? Why?

I think Terry Pratchett is one of my favourite human beings in the entire world. His fantasy is clear, well-written, hopeful, and scathing in equal measures. He had such a way with conveying difficult concepts in very short and understandable ways—and with a laugh, as well. He understood human beings far too well, I think, but he still managed to love them. I can’t help but admire that.

Please tell us about your world and your characters.

Half a Soul takes place in a fantasised version of Regency England, where magic and faeries are real. I took inspiration from actual British faerie tales and belief systems—some more serious than others—and added one or two twists of my own on top of them. The main character of Half a Soul, Dora, is based on old stories of people being permanently altered by an encounter with a faerie. The poem Kilmeny, by James Hogg, had a section that I often remember when I think of Dora:

Kilmeny look’d up with a lovely grace,
But nae smile was seen on Kilmeny’s face;
As still was her look, and as still was her e’e,
As the stillness that lay on the emerant lea.

What is the key theme and/or message in Half a Soul?

I was working through some of my own complicated feelings about the world when I wrote Half a Soul. As such, there are a few messages in it—but I think one of the most important messages is how to take joy in small victories, even while you pursue greater changes that may not come to pass in your own lifetime. People before us planted seeds, never quite certain that they would grow into the trees that we see today. It’s our responsibility to plant our own uncertain seeds, too—but we also need small, daily victories to keep us going in the meantime. Sometimes, you just have to feed one person, and know that they’ll eat today because of you. The knowledge of those small victories is what keeps us going and gives us the endurance necessary to change the world in bigger ways.

What is the best part of your day?

Every morning for a while now, Mr Atwater wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee, and the two of us settle in on the couch to watch exactly one episode of The Great British Bake-Off. Our two cats inevitably join us, and we end up in a comforting little pile. Every evening when I go to sleep, I’m already looking forward to waking up to watch the next episode with them.

What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?

Whatever you do, do not start by trying to finish your magnum opus. When you first start out, you should write something you enjoy but which you don’t have a deep emotional connection to—a silly comedy, a romance written perfectly to template, etcetera. You need to teach yourself that you can finish things, and the great, epic story you’ve always wanted to write will fiercely resist your attempts to finish it at every turn. Treat your magnum opus as an end-boss in a video game. You’ve got to level up a bit first, so you can tackle it with confidence.

Do you have any works in progress? Tell us about them!

I am currently finishing up final edits on Echoes of the Imperium, a steampunk fantasy novel which I cowrote with my husband, Nicholas Atwater. It’s full of swashbuckling hijinks, goblin airship captains, and unnerving faeries, with a healthy serving of questions about empires, power, and the lessons we do and don’t tend to learn from history.

Where can we find you online?

Website: https://www.oliviaatwater.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OliviaAtwater2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliviaatwaterauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/oliviaatwaterauthor

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/olivia-atwater