Interview With an Author: C.L. Polk

C. L. Polk wrote the Hugo-nominated Kingston Cycle, including the World Fantasy Award-winning Witchmark. They are also the author of the CBC Canada Reads finalist The Midnight Bargain and the Nebula-winning, USA Today bestseller Even Though I Knew The End. Before writing fantasy novels, they worked as a film extra, a costermonger, and also identified lepidoptera by eye. Mx. Polk lives in Calgary, on the territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, and the Métis Nation (Region 3). Their latest novel is The Feywild Job, and they recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.

What was your inspiration for The Feywild Job?

Oh I get to expose myself as a tiny lore argument nerd already! I was thinking about the argument that can spring up among D&D players about what happens if a warlock breaks their pact, and is it the same as what happens when a paladin breaks their vow?

I was thinking about it as I played hours and hours of Baldur's Gate 3, because one of the player companions is a warlock, and the question of him breaking his pact comes up in the game. This choice is locked behind the choices you, the player, make as part of the story, but I did have *opinions* about it.

And then there I was, staring at an invitation to pitch an idea to Wizards of the Coast. So here's my argument and my take on the question, wrapped up in a heist novel about what loyalty to someone who doesn't deserve it costs you.

Are Saeldian, Kell, Jubilee, Lorzok, or any of the other characters in the novel, inspired by or based on specific individuals?

I try not to pick people out of whole cloth and reproduce them—I prefer to stitch them together from little pieces from everywhere. Maybe this one thing that this one character does, mixed with this other thing this other character does...but this time I did a little random tarot card draw for a few of the characters. I didn't let myself base the whole character on the card, but Saeldian's patron, Osalor the Beautiful, got the nine of cups.

How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?

I really wanted to spend more time with Kell's adoptive father and brother. I had hoped that they could have spent some time together, but once everyone arrived at the Feywild, everything was moving as swiftly as possible. I would have liked a little more time for the three of them to take a breath together.

The Feywild Job has been released as a Dungeons & Dragons novel. What was it like to write within such a well-established franchise?

It was a really cool experience! I had to use a very different process for this novel than my usual wandering discovery because we had to know how the story held together on different levels before I got started. But once I knew that, I got to spend time thinking about the little details as I took a very long synopsis and made it a story.

Do you remember where/when you first heard about Dungeons & Dragons?

Yes! I was in the movie theater watching E.T. for the first time. I was really taken with the game even though we only caught a glimpse of it. I really wanted to play, but I didn't get a chance until years later...

How familiar were you with Dungeons & Dragons before writing The Feywild Job? Did you have to do a bit of research, or were you already familiar with the game and its world? If you had to do research, what was the most surprising or interesting thing you learned during your research?

I don't know if anyone at Wizards of the Coast knew this, but I had posted about this on Twitter years ago. Chuck Wendig was writing a Star Wars book, and a bunch of us writers started chatting about IP we would write if we had the chance. I said that I would have a very hard time saying no to being asked to write a D&D book.

By the time I was asked, I had already gone over 1200 hours played in Baldur's Gate 3. I was hooked in a "Which companion were you intending to romance in your latest run and why is it Astarion again" kind of way.

Do you play Dungeons & Dragons? Any other role-playing games? If so, can you tell us a bit about your characters?

I do play Dungeons & Dragons, but the last few times I have played, I've been the DM. I have done a fair bit of DMing or Storytelling. I have also played old school World of Darkness, and Shadowrun. I love Shadowrun, actually. You can play it zany and overpowered, you can play it with a serious theme in mind, and you get to say things like "That was a fraggin' dragon, chummer!"

If I got to be on the other side of the DM screen, I think I could have a lot of fun playing an overly interested wizard. A social creature who eats gossip like air and solves mysteries—but would I run divination school, or enchantment? There's a good argument for either.

Your biography says that you live in Calgary. Do you have any favorite places? A hidden gem that someone visiting should not miss, but would only learn about from a resident?

Hm. That might depend on the time of year. In the right season, I would tell them to get tickets to a show at the Vertigo Theatre. They do mystery and suspense theater, and it's a mix between original plays and adaptations. Last year, their first show of the year was The Brothers Paranormal, and I absolutely refuse to tell you a single thing about it besides: go see this play, even if you have to make a weekend of it, because the production is out of town. This year, Vertigo is doing an adaptation of The 39 Steps, and I cannot wait. I swear they're not paying me for this endorsement.

If you're unlucky and you show up during the summer? Sled Island. Calgary is at its best during Sled Island. Though maybe that's world famous, and I just don't know because I'm used to it.

If/when The Feywild Job is adapted to film or a series, who would your dream cast be?

Oh hm. I don't know. But I would need people who are funny. It's not that I think the Feywild Job is a humor book, but everyone on the pages has great comedic timing, even if they never crack a smile.

Is there a chance readers will be able to follow Saeldian, Kell, Jubilee, Lorzok, and Timtim on another adventure? Is The Feywild Job the first of a new series?

Anything is possible! I'd love to let Lorzok take charge while he fulfills the promise that he made in the book, and have his friend Timtim as his stalwart companion.

What’s currently on your nightstand?

One confidential manuscript and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, which I have never read until now! No spoilers, I'm just on chapter fourteen, and it's so great.

What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you’ve experienced or that has impacted you?

The ending of Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. I'm not crying—no wait, yes I am. I'm finally going through the main story quest with friends, and I have been thinking about grieving ever since—well. People who have played know who I mean. I'm pretty new to Final Fantasy, and I'm enjoying the story very much.

What are you working on now?

I am playing this one pretty close to the vest because I don't know how it's going to turn out or if anyone will ever get to read it. No one is asking for this book, but I'm writing it anyway.