On March 1st, Dark Owl Publishing is releasing Jonathon Mast’s fantasy novel, The Keeper of Tales alongside my illustrated pulp-sci-fi collection, The Last Star Warden… This sort of makes Jonathon and I “literary twins,” so we decided to get to know each other better.

JASON J. MCCUISTON: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What process led you to become a professional storyteller?
JONATHON MAST: I have always been a storyteller. My mom drove bus for my grade school, so I was always the first one on. I told stories as the other kids got on the bus. They loved those stories, though I can’t remember any of the tales now! At that point, I knew I wanted to be an author!

JASON: That lifelong call to be a storyteller sounds familiar. Like me, I’m guessing you enjoy reading “How To” books on the craft of writing by famous authors as much as you enjoy their fiction. Do you have any favorite volumes of this kind? Are there any specific authors who have inspired or directly influenced you?
JONATHON: On Writing by Stephen King is one that’s stuck with me, though I tend to watch more Youtube videos on craft these days!
…and I now realize how silly that is, but bite-size helps me!
As far as specific authors go, whew. I’ve read so much and so widely, it’s hard for me to pin one author down. Helpful, I know! I will say I love old pulps, and in particular I’ve been reading the Zorro stories of Johnston McCulley!

JASON: Zorro and pulps, a man after my own heart! Now, your new novel, The Keeper of Tales from Dark Owl Publishing, is an epic fantasy that is as much ABOUT stories as it is a story. Can you elaborate on the particular magic that went into crafting such a tale?
JONATHON: Long ago I watched Return of the King. I love the long ending of that movie. I know there’s debate about it, but I adore the amount of falling action. I wanted to craft something that left readers with a similar feeling. I sat down to write having no other goal. What’s funny is that I pantsed the whole thing. In other words, I had no plan. I didn’t know the characters, the world, none of it. I discovered it as I wrote it!
That first draft was such a mess. You could tell I was wandering here, had no clue what was happening there. But once I had the outline of the story, I revised and polished and amputated until what was left told a strong story.
But something that came out through the entire process: my love for stories as artifacts in themselves. A well-told story will grab my attention, because I love the art of telling stories. I hope that love comes through in the novel!

JASON: Outstanding! So tell us about the protagonist of the novel. From what I’ve gathered, you’ve chosen a rather unorthodox hero for your epic tale.
JONATHON: So many of the fantasy stories I read focused on relatively young adults, either men or women, going on these demanding quests. I wanted to do something different, so the main character became an old man. Adal is past his prime and he knows it. He can’t handle doing a lot of the physical things usually associated with fantasy stories. He’s also not a magician (at least at first), so in many ways he can’t “pull his weight” with the main characters. What value does he bring? He’s a king, so he carries a certain weight with him when dealing with other cultures, and he’s got the wisdom of age. It was fun to write a character so unlike me!

JASON: One of the best parts of being an author, I think. I saw that Publisher’s Weekly recently pointed out the “unique and fascinating” qualities of your magic system in The Keeper of Tales. Considering how many fantasy novels are out there, this is quite an impressive feat. How much time did you spend on world-building versus writing the text? And what were your primary sources of inspiration?
JONATHON: The central premise of the novel: Stories are alive.
From that flows a lot of how the world works. If a story says that kings are good and just, then the kings of that world are good and just. If you want to change the world, you need to start telling other stories.
So magic is really just storytelling. For instance, if you’re injured, you need someone to tell your body the story of what it’s supposed to look like. Your body will match the story.
Of course, that means that if someone starts twisting tales, bad things happen…
So, I mentioned before that I pantsed the story. I made it up as I went. There was no worldbuilding ahead of time! But after that first draft, I sat down and did a full workup of all the cultures and races and the history of the world. In further drafts – and there were many – I was able to incorporate and change things to fit a much cleaner picture. That world-building process took a few months as I asked a lot of questions. “This culture grew up on the waves. What would that look like? How would that affect speech patterns or social patterns?” In fact, several of the characters from that first draft got a full overhaul!

JASON: Most people don’t realize just how much hard work goes into telling a good fantasy story. Speaking of which, what is it, do you think, about the High or Epic Fantasy genre that so attracts authors and readers, generation after generation?
JONATHON: Fantasy may be the only genre that truly says, “Whatever you can imagine.” You might argue that science fiction fits that as well, but there I’d say you’re usually tied to some sort of science. Else it’s really science fantasy. But in fantasy, you simply say, “This is the way the world works!” and it does.
Many fantasy works also have relatively clear protagonists and antagonists. Who are the bad guys? Who are the good guys? Generally you can tell fairly quickly. I think we look for that kind of ease in our fiction, at least sometimes. I want to cheer for the good guys!
There’s also something about the epic scope that fantasy welcomes. You can see fantastic lands, meet fantastic cultures, and many kinds, all in one volume. There’s something attractive about exploring what’s beyond the horizon, and fantasy invites the reader to do that.

JASON: Exactly. So, aside from fantasy, do you have any other genres or subgenres you enjoy?
JONATHON: I just praised fantasy… but science fiction is huge for me! I grew up on Star Trek and Star Wars (though Star Wars counts more as science fantasy).
I also mentioned before I love old pulp stories. Give me some of that adventure! Star Trek led me to love sailing adventures, too. I’ve recently started enjoying Westerns as well.

JASON: Clearly we have a lot in common. Your website says that you are a pastor as well as an author. As a man of faith, myself, I sometimes worry when I write villains doing villainous things. How do you approach the delicate balancing act of being a good guy writing bad guys? Do you ever lie awake at night asking yourself, “Where did that come from?”
JONATHON: I am a pastor. It’s true. And honestly, I’m not surprised when it comes to thinking up villainous things. I’m sinful. There’s a reason I’m Christian: I recognize my sin and that I need a Savior. I have darkness inside me. It’s not who I am, but I do have it. And it is forgiven!
It’s also something I love about the Bible: It doesn’t shy away from showing the evil humans are capable of. It doesn’t condone; it describes. And so when I’m crafting stories, I do the same. Hopefully by the end of a novel I’m not condoning evil, but I won’t shy away from describing it.

JASON: Well said. Okay, after that hard-hitter, let’s do some fun ones rapid-fire. What’s your:
*Favorite novel?
JONATHON: Um… um… I’m currently reading By Winged Chair by Kendra Merritt and greatly enjoying it. The Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks is fantastic, as is the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. Horatio Hornblower by C. S. Forester. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and Unwind and Scythe, both by Neal Shusterman… This was supposed to be an easier question?!
*Favorite movie?
JONATHON: AAAAAAAAAAA! All right. Let’s narrow it down: The Mask of Zorro. The Return of the King. What’s Up Doc? Music and Lyrics. Ernest Saves Christmas. Inside Out. Clearly some of those are more high-brow than others!
*Favorite TV show?
JONATHON: Either Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Babylon 5. Finally, an easier one!
*Favorite line of action figures from when you were a kid?
JONATHON: Thundercats!
*Favorite superhero?
JONATHON: Whew. This one changes constantly. For comic superhero, I’d go Batman or Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner). For movie superhero, I’d go Captain America.
*Favorite movie monster?
JONATHON: Brendan Frasier’s Mummy. I like things a little goofy.
*Favorite video game?
JONATHON: My family finally got a Switch for Christmas, and I’ve fallen in love with Zelda all over again!
*Favorite literary character?
JONATHON: Jonas from The Giver
*Favorite movie quote?
JONATHON: “Life is pain. Anyone who tries to tell you differently is trying to sell you something.” I should have listed Princess Bride up there with my favorite movies…
*Favorite contemporary author?
I keep returning to Neal Shusterman’s books. His imagination and scope are amazing.
*Favorite food?
I crave Chinese food. Also Mexican food. Burgers. Pasta. Food.

JASON: And finally, what one thing do you want to tell everyone about The Keeper of Tales to make them rush right out and get it?
JONATHON: If you love stories, you will love this story about stories!

JASON: Thank you, Jonathon. Now let’s go sell a million copies of our respective titles.

You can find Jonathon online at https://jonathonmastauthor.com . And The Keeper of Tales will be available from Dark Owl Publishing or on Amazon.com on March 1st. https://www.darkowlpublishing.com/the...