Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Jackary Salem, whose novel Where the Lightning Goes (The Impossible Series, Book 1) has its debut on May 30, 2023.
Where the Lightning Goes is your first novel. What was the inspiration for the book?
My inspiration for Where the Lightning Goes was to write a book that would reveal so much at the end and have so many double and triple entendres in play that it would be a completely different story the second read through.
Your protagonist, Elle, is trapped in a strange house and has lost her memory. What can you tell us about Elle and how she got there?
How Elle got trapped in the House is actually one of the main mysteries of the book. She entered the House when she was six with no memory of how she got there, then spent ten years acclimating and, eventually, trying to escape. Elle is whip-smart, impulsive, and curious beyond measure, so she never stops pushing forward, trying to figure it out. Ideally readers will hop into the story, knowing only as much as Elle knows, and follow the clues along with her.
When Elle manages to escape, she finds herself in a world both magical and frightening. Where is this world and how does Elle set out to explore it?
The world is an alternate version of Earth. It has only one continent, though Elle has no way of knowing that, and is imbued with sentient magic. Elle’s goal is to find someone willing to teach her magic and, beyond that, to find her memories of who she was and how she got trapped in the House. Her exploration of the world is centered around achieving her goals, and she’ll go wherever that quest takes her.
How much can you tell us about the castle in the sky that appears on the cover?
The castle on the cover is the place Elle and her motley crew are trying to reach all through the book. It’s the castle in her dreams and the place where Elle believes her memories will be.
In the blurb it says: “Magic is everywhere, everyone is out for themselves, and every truth is accompanied by a lie.” What is the significance of this bleak world-view?
I’ve always loved stories where magic is woven into the world in a way that feels real. To me, that means giving magic to people who might not use it kindly and making sure actions have consequences. Humans make just as many bad decisions as they do good, and the duality of a world that’s bright and wonderful while also being cruel and tricky lends me that sought-after feeling of realism.
You mention the importance of grief and the self-destructive spiral that can result in discussing the themes of the book. Tell us more about this.
Too many fiction books shy away from real-life feelings like grief, and when they do tackle the subject, they tend to do it in a very black and white manner. They pretend that there’s a way to reach absolution and that once you reach the “acceptance” stage, you can somehow move on. They also act like there’s only one “right” way to feel grief, and everything else is obviously a bad choice or something to be judged. My story posits that whatever way you move through your feelings, and however long it takes you to start finding your new normal, that’s fine. It's important to accept our emotions, good and bad, and to normalize expressing our feelings for what they are. No happy-filter required.
Where the Lightning Goes is a novel for young adults. What made you choose to write YA fiction?
I love YA for its whimsy and focus on adventure. Once you enter adult fantasy, you tend to get a lot of politics, very technical worldbuilding, and a long, confusing list of main characters. I’ve written what I call “YA for adults.” It’s all the whimsy and simplicity of YA but with the writing level and focus on more complex human emotions of adults.
You majored in neuroscience and now work as a full-time author and freelance developmental editor. How far does your first area of study influence your writing?
My degree in neuroscience influences my writing immensely. The equal emphasis in biology and psychology helps me to understand where a character is at developmentally and how what they’ve experienced impacts them on a neurological level. It helps me write fuller, more realistic characters.
Why did you choose to become a freelance editor and what are the challenges and creative aspects to working with writers?
I became a freelance editor because analyzing and fixing manuscripts is one of my passions. I love discussing stories in terms of writing as a craft, what authors want out of a particular piece, and what they need to do to bridge the gap between their dream story and what they actually wrote. That said, my favorite part of editing tends to be working with the authors after the fact, so I’m actually moving my career toward writing coaching, where I’ll get to spend more time encouraging and actively helping the authors become better writers as opposed to improving a single manuscript.
How do you see the job of a freelance editor and how far has their role become ever more important?
I believe editors are a necessary part of the writing process. Getting feedback is always important, but receiving feedback accompanied by craft explanations and ways to fix the issues help not only the story in question, but the author’s writing as a whole. As more and more authors enter the writing scene, it’s important to remember that selling books and making money isn’t the goal. What authors want isn’t recognition, but to write something that touches readers in the way previous books have touched them, and editors help authors achieve that dream.
Tell us something about your Blog, Too Busy for Books. What made you decide to offer condensed versions of non-fiction books?
The long and short of it is that I don’t like small talk. I have no interest in sharing recipes or what new fads have popped up in the industry. I like actionable information, and I like it quickly. Unfortunately, a lot of the information I find valuable is buried in nonfiction books which are more suited to be articles than novels. Since I’m a fast reader and tend to take notes regardless, I figured the best blog for me is one that relays all the actionable information in a book in a quick, easily fact-checked article. Hopefully it saves a lot of time and trouble for other authors and entrepreneurs making their way in the world.
What made you want to write, and to write Fantasy?
I’ve written for as long as I can remember. The books that influenced me most as a kid were fantasy (e.g., The Keys to the Kingdom by Garth Nix and Poison by Chris Wooding), and the genre has always played a role in my own writing, from childish scribblings in spiral-bound notebooks to present day novels. I love the fantasticism of anything being possible.
There has been a lot of talk about the emergence of AI and bots like ChatGPT. As a debut novelist, what are your thoughts about this?
AI isn’t going away. It’s been evolving for longer than I’ve been alive, and it’ll continue to evolve long after I’m gone. I think the best way to look at AI isn’t as competition—we aren’t every author for themselves—but as a helpful tool. A lot of authors are using it to keep up with the fast-evolving marketplace and to help them make a living. If AI can help someone better themselves and their circumstances, I say more power to them.
What are you working on at the moment? Will Where the Lightning Goes have a sequel?
I am currently working on the companion novel to Where the Lightning Goes. The Impossible series will be a trilogy, with the third novel being a sequel to both Where the Lightning Goes and its as-of-yet unnamed companion novel.
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About Jackary Salem:
Jackary Salem is a freelance editor with a degree in neuroscience. Seeing the problems and systemic issues plaguing traditional publishing, Salem became passionate about self-publishing. Where the Lightning Goes is her first novel.
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