Livia J. Elliot writes literary speculative fiction that fuses political theory, psychological depth, and philosophical horror for readers who read to solve. She’s currently releasing two series: Records of The Orders (a literary speculative fantasy,) and Tales of the Bookshelves (psychological fairy tales for adults). Livia is also the host of the award-nominated podcast Books Undone, offering thematic analyses of literary speculative fiction. Finally, she’s the lead writer of Unearthed Stories, a mobile app publishing interactive speculative fiction.

Who was the first author that you remember reading?

Sometimes, I joke I must have been born with a book already in hand; I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember, and rarely age-appropriate things. Early on, I gravitated toward mysteries and supernatural mysteries. One of the first books I recall loving, to the point of rereading a few times, was The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, though I can’t be certain it was truly the first.

The earliest piece of speculative fiction I do remember, however, was Dune, in a well-worn Spanish translation I found on my family’s shelf when I was around twelve. I was no stranger to science fiction shows, but Dune was an entirely different experience. It took me a few years, but after reading the first two trilogies, Dune Messiah and God Emperor of Dune became my early favourites. Those volumes were more… esoteric, more willing to interrogate power, identity, and historical recursion. Even then, they hinted at the strange and formidable range of speculative fiction. 

What’s the weirdest thing in your Google search history?

I write about eldritch intellects in a Roman-inspired world, so my search history includes philosophical puzzles, academic papers (for both my novels and my podcast), and an alarming number of gruesome medical queries. My setting is quite dark, and so the research follows.

Allow me to tell you about one search…

As I was writing The Omens of War, my upcoming release, I shaped a character in the tradition of a Roman Senator: devoted to the glory of his nation after serving it for a lifetime and now occupying a high-ranking position… one that is, of course, not free of rivals. As the events unfold, he decides that a deliberate, ‘useful’ death would serve his heir and their country better than a quiet decline due to his illness. 

Because the setting draws from Rome, a stabbing wound felt appropriate. I, however, needed him to live just long enough to reveal his assassin to his heir.

That sent me into an afternoon of searching: the correct entry point for a blade that could graze the heart, the likely blood loss, how long consciousness might persist, whether the lungs would collapse, even the scents that would linger in the air. Would the blood stay fresh, so the heir could slip on it? Could the old man talk in those final moments? I found the answers, then I wrote it while keeping my findings at hand.

What’s a myth about the writing process you’d like to dispel?

One myth I’d like to dispel is that there is a single ‘correct’ way to write. Prescriptive advice can be useful, but it can also limit speculative fiction’s natural instinct toward experimentation. For me, there isn’t one right path through the creative landscape, since each story may demand something unique or unexpected. 

All in all, the stories that always remain with me are those moving past prescriptive advice to dare be different. Speculative fiction is at its strongest, I think, when it poses new questions, distorts familiar patterns, and dares to reach beyond the conventional. 

What should people expect from your books?

I’m currently publishing two very different series. Tales of the Bookshelves are psychological, literary fairy tales for adults. Each standalone story follows dolls brought to life by elven or fae magic and kept on shelves for their owners’ amusement. Though the settings are whimsical, the themes are not: emotional abuse, anxiety, depression, survival, and the long, uneven work of mending.

My primary series is Records of The Orders: a literary speculative fantasy set in a Roman-inspired world. It currently includes a prequel novella (The Genesis of Change), a standalone interactive novel (Mien), and the opening volume of the main cycle: The Omens of War. This is a series shaped by ideas: political theory, psychological depth, and minds in conflict. I often describe it as: “A philosophical fantasy of Thucydidean politics, eldritch intellects, and psychological horror woven into fractured timelines.”

Early readers have called it “Complex, detailed, bold,” a story that “veers away from common storytelling to explore philosophy, politics, and an entirely different realm of being.” I draw inspiration from Gene Wolfe and Jorge Luis Borges, so I wrote the series with one guiding principle: re-readability. As a reader myself, I love fiction that rewards the patient reader, the pattern-seeker.

What have you got coming up or what are you working on?

I have two more books under development for my series Records of The Orders: a novella, and the next full instalment. I’m hoping to share more about them in the upcoming months.

I’m also considering additional works for Unearthed Stories: a mobile app publishing interactive fiction for readers drawn to literary and speculative narratives. I developed this app alongside my significant other. Unearthed Stories is a different medium, but one that lets me experiment with structure and perspective in ways prose alone doesn’t always allow.

You can find Livia’s works here.