This March 21st Dark Horse publishes Chad Corrie’s next novel in the Tralodroen universe:The Shadow Regent. A standalone tale that introduces readers to new locations along with a few familiar faces, we took a moment to chat with Chad about just what readers—both new and old—can expect from the story.
To begin, why don’t we get into just what The Shadow Regent is about. And if it ties into anything else you’ve written thus far?
Well, The Shadow Regent is a standalone novel that explores another part of Tralodren and how it is affected by the aftermath of the Wizard King Trilogy. That said, the idea was to have the story be set up where you didn’t have to know what happened previously, allowing you to enjoy this tale on its own. I tried to make sure new readers didn’t miss out on anything and older readers, who have read the series, had some sense of connection and reward for any previous knowledge.
Another way this story is different is that it deals with the gods and their realms, delving into the lore, history, and other aspects of just how things operate in the greater cosmos and then how that has been altered or challenged by recent events.
How did you come about the story to begin with? Was it part of the planning in what you were writing for The Wizard King Trilogy?
The story, in many ways, came as an outworking of some notes and ideas as I finished up Wizard King and was looking at what came next in the series of stories on my “to do list”. The more I fleshed out other projects the more I realized what could be done with this particular story.
At first it was more personal in nature, something akin to a private history or series of notes and sections of text that would serve to inform me on other things. But soon enough it grew and grew until I realized I needed to start writing it down and finishing it up as a novel.
And this is your first standalone work in the Tralodren story universe. What was it like only having to work on one novel instead of a series? And did you find yourself liking it over the longer series work?
In some ways writing a standalone story can be challenging because you have to get the entire story into one novel. You can’t spread it out or try and leave too many loose threads to pull for future plot lines in upcoming installments. So you have to have a slightly tighter story on one hand but on the other it can be rather liberating as you don’t have to concern yourself too much with keeping some legs on the story for the next volume. In that sense you can just write until the story is finished and that’s it. When you’re done, the story is too. And that was a refreshing experience.
Besides being your first standalone tale it’s also the first novel based in Tralodren without a map. Was it harder writing something that had such a larger scope of real estate to cover without a helpful guide for your journey?
Not really. As I previously mentioned, I wasn’t really flying blind as I have notes and my own personal maps and things that I use for guides and self reference when writing. So there might not be a map for the readers to see—at least not yet—but I was just fine as I wrote.
As you said, The Shadow Regent deals with a great deal of things outside the world of Tralodren. And while you mentioned you have guides and notes, how much of that reality do you have figured out? And was it hard trying to stay within the lines of things already established in your other works?
Yeah, The Shadow Regent really steps outside the planet of Tralodren to some degree. But Tralodren is also a cosmology—a whole story universe, if you will—which I’ve been working on for some time. So stepping into it wasn’t as daunting as it could be. And since I also had notes on what has been going on or will be going on in various planes and realms during this time, it made it easier to jump into things in that part of the cosmos.
As to trying to stay in the lines, as I mentioned, I have those notes to help keep me on task and a rough idea of where things were going as well as what just transpired in the previous series to serve as the foundation for what came next. So it wasn’t as hard as it could have been but was fun getting to paint with a larger brush in a greater part of the cosmos.
This novel is also unique in that it includes an appendices. Was this something you were originally planning for the title or did it come about more organically?
It’s something I’ve had in the back my mind for a while—even since the start of the Wizard King Trilogy. I’ve always liked the idea of having something extra in a book that not only builds into more of the story but fleshes out more of the world in which it takes place. And since we’ve stepped into a wider part of the sandbox with this story I thought it appropriate to finally add some additional material to the book.
The challenge was in limiting what I shared as I had plenty to choose from but only so much room available in which to share it. So it became more an exercise in seeking the essentials and from there seeing what fit. The added bonus is not only will what is shared benefit the readers of The Shadow Regent but also help expand the world and story of the Wizard King Trilogy in various ways too, creating a win-win scenario for all involved.
Thanks, Chad!
Look for The Shadow Regent this March 21st in book stores and comics shops—as well as online. And feel free to learn more about the story and Chad’s other forthcoming works by following him at: chadcorrie.com and via social media: @creatorchad.
Source: Dark Horse
