Tell us about your most recent release or an upcoming release.

Brightwork is a standalone in the Primaterre universe. It follows Flora Lark, captain of the Questing Beast, a cutting-edge search-and-rescue submarine patrolling the oceans of a war-torn planet. To save a missing soldier, Lark and her crew must face the uncharted depths of an alien abyss, where they uncover a mystery that could upset the balance of power across the galaxy. It’s a story about finding hope even in the darkest places.

What was your original perception of indie writing and how has that changed?

I grew up in an artsy environment in the Swedish countryside – think artist commune in an old brewery, musicians, circus artists, creatives from all around the world blowing in on the wind. Blazing your own creative path wasn’t just encouraged, it was the norm. My childhood friends have gone on to be snake charmers, glass blowers, and indie movie makers.

To me, indie writing is no different than any other creative pursuit. The idea that a self-published book should automatically be inferior to a trade-published book has never made much sense to me – it’s like saying a family-run restaurant must be worse than a chain because it’s not got a corporate stamp of approval. The more indie writing I read, the more strongly I feel that I just love books, indie or otherwise!

Do you feel like you’ve ‘arrived’ as an author yet?

No, because I have impossible standards and unreasonable expectations. Part of me probably won’t feel like I’ve arrived unless I’m standing on the red carpet at the premiere of a blockbuster movie based on my books, a Hugo in one hand, a Nebula in the other!

That said, scrolling through YouTube the other day, I saw a book video that had Lonely Castles in the thumbnail. My toddler looked at the screen and said: ‘The man is holding mommy’s book.’ For one small moment, that did make me feel like, hey yeah, maybe I really am an author!

Do you have any strange or quirky writing desk habits?

My writing desk currently has half a set of Duplo and an ungodly amount of toys scattered all over it, along with cat treats and assorted clutter. If my house is an ocean, my writing desk is the beach everything washes up on. I squeeze myself into a tiny space in the middle and type, sometimes around a toddler.

One slightly unusual thing might be that I share a desk with my husband/illustrator. His side is much neater, with room for a drawing tablet and an extra monitor so he can create all my covers and maps and whatnot!

What common mistakes should new indie authors watch out for in their MS?

Never* mention a number. Numbers are evil; numbers can only ever trip you up. Seven bad guys are attacking? Well, now you’ve got to account for all seven and hope you don’t accidentally delete one in edits, or change the number halfway through but forget to find/replace it everywhere in the manuscript, and, arrgh… Whereas if a bunch of bad guys attack, whatever you write next works!

*In writing there’s no such thing as never… Always do whatever’s best for the story, but a lot of the time I find non-plot-critical numbers only needlessly complicate things!

What have been your greatest indie author successes/milestone achievements?

The most amazing thing has been readers reaching out to me to talk about my books. When I write, I don’t have a specific reader/demographic in mind, so it’s always a surprise to discover the incredibly diverse and interesting people around the world who’ve read my books.

Winning the SPSFC was also a huge moment, of course – that raygun trophy means the world to me!

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

Most recently? “cow personality quirks”, “do pontoon bridges wobble”, “superoxide dismutase”, “could stimulating the hedonic hotspots cause elation”. My queries swing wildly between the ridiculous and the complex!

If you could collaborate with another indie author, who would it be?

Steve Hugh Westenra. Halfway through his book The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle, I was so blown away that I had to put it down, look him up on social media, and send him a DM asking “What did I just read??” It’s the first time I was ever compelled to reach out to a writer! With Westenra’s fantastic prose and uncompromising voice, and my own tendency to write books others describe as ‘almost too intense’ and ‘brutal’, a collaboration between us might brew a storm of the century in book form!

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

I’m currently working on a sequel to my detective spin-off novel set in the Primaterre universe. It follows Detective Grace Telluride and Detective Protector Pellucid Bloom as they investigate a murder in an asylum seekers’ camp on one of Mars’s moons. Expect murder, mystery and low-gravity mayhem!

I also have a short story featuring Joy Somerset, the main character of the Primaterre series in the works, for which I plan to record an audio version, and after that I’ll be writing the third and final Detective Telluride book.

You can find out more about SA Tholin and her books on her website: satholin.com

This is a shortened version of Sofie’s interview. The full interview is available to our Patreon members. You can find out more about our Patreon and additional content here.