In this second part of a two-part interview (part 1 is here), Douglas Seacat, author of the upcoming novel The Blood of Kings, talks about the challenges of writing from the perspective of a spymaster and his top three preferences for what to write next in the setting of the Iron Kingdoms…

1) Do you have a favorite scene in The Blood of Kings?

This was honestly a difficult choice. My favorite scene is a duel in the first third of the novel between Vinter IV and Great Prince Vladimir Tzepesci, taking place on a bridge (of course!). This scene is a really important early turning point, as well as a chance to show just how formidable Vinter truly is. It was vital I establish that Vinter can fight toe-to-toe with a warcaster. All other rationalization aside, it was an extremely fun action sequence, and I fully committed to its unabashed over-the-top glory.

More than the exciting action, this scene sets the stage for several major themes in the book, where “The Blood of Kings” is truly borne out. A portion of this scene is in Vinter’s POV, something I used sparingly but was necessary to demonstrate why he is so dangerous. We haven’t written a great deal of Vinter fiction before, but this scene harkened back to one of my favorite scenes from a Mk I storyline—the scene in HORDES: Metamorphosis where Vinter goes against an entire room of veteran skorne officers. I felt a similar thrill writing this duel.

2) Your book covers a great deal of story—and it takes more than 500 pages to tell it all! Which character in your book was the most challenging for you to write about and why?

I had to think about this one a bit. Overall, I felt quite comfortable writing about these characters since most of them are ones I have used before. I also quite enjoyed the new characters. That said, I think Bolden Rebald presented the largest challenges, though they were also thought-provoking ones.

For those unfamiliar with this character, Scout General Rebald is the spymaster of Cygnar, and he plays an important role in Caine’s story, as the pair of them has entered into several rather dubious conspiracies. I enjoyed bringing this longstanding plot to a close, but it did bring up some tricky complications. One could argue that Rebald evolves into a secondary antagonist in the novel, as his relationship with Caine becomes increasingly strained. Yet, at the same time, he is a true patriot who wants the best for his kingdom. For these reasons it’s hard not to sympathize with him. Complicated as this was, it was also a treat, as Rebald is a character I created more than a decade ago in a short story serving as an epilogue for the Witchfire Trilogy. I’ve always thought of him as a fascinating character, even if his path has gone in a different direction than I expected when creating him.

Writing about Rebald in this novel brought about a number of revelations, as I started to see the strong parallels between what this spymaster evolved into and the Inquisition his organization replaced. I felt this thematic connection created some interesting themes and questions that evolved organically in the course of writing. What does it mean to be the spymaster for a good-hearted but naive king? Are there lines that should not be crossed? What does duty and honor mean for someone in this position?

Related to this, I also faced rewarding challenges exploring Leto’s own perspective and contrasting them with Rebald’s. I’ve always had a soft spot for Leto despite his failings. I think this novel shines a light on this sovereign, and I hope readers will emerge with a better understanding of him, even if they might be rooting for the other sides in the conflict.

3) You’ve been the lead story developer for this setting for many, many years and know so much about the world, possibly more than anyone else. Now that The Blood of Kings is done, what tale from the Iron Kingdoms are you most intrigued to consider writing one day?

Possibly?!

One of the things I love most about this setting is the countless untold stories we could pursue. Because of that, I can’t just give one answer, so I’ll give three. I like threes.

There are things looking forward and backward in our timeline I’d love to explore. In the near future, I need to conclude Goreshade’s story. I’m not completely sure I’ll be the one writing that, but I know I’ll be involved in figuring out the plot, and I intend to carve off a piece of that story for myself, if possible. We left Goreshade in quite an exciting place: the eldritch was lurking around the Iosan capital during their war with the Skorne, about to launch his final plan to kill the last two elven gods.

As for the past, we currently have no plans for this, but if time and opportunity permits, I’d love to write an epic set during the Orgoth Occupation, possibly leading up to the final successful Rebellion. I don’t have a specific story in mind there, but there’s plenty of fertile ground. That era could easily support a trilogy or a longer series.

As my third choice, there’s the Strangelight Workshop. I would love to write fiction featuring this enigmatic and obscure organization. This is a group I know Matt Wilson is also fond of, so maybe that can be arranged eventually. Just need to come up with the best way to feature them.