Happy Thursday, friend! Welcome to an interview with author Viktor F. Krown about his book, The Pledge – A Collection of Tales. I love how these stories came to be and am excited to share with you. Let’s welcome Viktor and learn from him.
Get to know the author: Viktor F. Krown
Welcome Viktor! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hello Kriti! First, let me start by saying thank you so much for having me; it’s a pleasure to be here.
My name’s Viktor, I write short stories in what you could say is a very unique format and environment. I run a virtual venue inside a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XIV.
The venue is called Wondrous Tales, and biweekly I host a live story-writing event where I gather prompts from the audience, take a few minutes to come up with a general plot, and then write a story for them in real time.
Often I write in formats that engage the audience with the story either through means of the character interacting directly with the audience/chat (i.e. a story about a streamer livestreaming to the audience) or a ‘Choose Your Own’ Adventure approach where I pause the story and let people vote on what the protagonist should do, or suggest other story-changing events/ideas.
What inspired you to write this book?
My venue was approaching two years, and honestly, it was unbelievable to me that there were people who enjoyed my stories enough to show up weekly or biweekly to read them.
A few audience members asked if I was planning to write a book, expressing their interest in seeing more of my work. After thinking about it, I figured – what better way to commemorate two years of such a unique format of story-writing than to let people choose their favourite stories, rewrite/expand them, and create a book featuring a collection of fan-favourite Wondrous Tales, and thus The Pledge – A Collection Of Tales was born.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
Ouff, tough question. Just the writing on its own probably about 5-6 months of pretty much daily work on the text.
Although the stories were originally written in the real-time story writing format for the venue, they were short and lacking in quality, so I had to rewrite and expand every single one of them to make them the best they have ever been. I added additional details, world-building, character growth, and interactions, things that were impossible to include in their original format due to time constraints.
What makes your book unique?
What sets it apart is the fact that originally those stories were written in a format that most authors would likely not consider attempting. Each story is vastly different from the others in genre and theme, I can only hope that there’s at least one story in it that everyone reading would enjoy.
Did you bring any of your experiences into this book?
Certainly, at least a couple, namely – self-reliance. In multiple stories the characters rely only on their own skills and tools to get through challenging situations, this has been the case for me throughout my entire life. If something breaks – figure it out on your own.
Are there 2-3 stories from this collection that you are particularly proud of?
One of my earliest stories was the Snow Rose. It is also one of the stories I got to rewrite and expand to include in this book and I’m really proud of what it turned into.
The other would be the story of Ananda, a mixture of science fiction and fantasy that I couldn’t be happier about. In all of the stories I have ever written, I don’t think I ever managed to capture these two genres and combine them into something quite as interesting as that tale.
An honorary mention goes to the detective story Snakes On a Search. I’ve always had a good feel for comedy and people told me that one has made them laugh out loud while reading it – a huge success if I say so myself.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
I think most people would find at least a single story in this collection that they’d relate to and enjoy. Whether it is a witch who faces her deepest fears, a relentless rogue who never surrenders, or a whimsical tale of a witty detective and his incompetent sidekick. There’s something for everyone! Well, except maybe horror enjoyers, I didn’t include any of those tales in the book, but people can always find a few horror tales on my website if they go looking.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
Each tale has its own theme and moral, I can only hope everybody finds something they relate to and something to inspire them in my characters and their adventures.
Do you have a favourite quote or chapter or story in the book that you find yourself going back to?
Probably the scene where a god is having a chat with a scientist, and says the following: “Possible, impossible. All the same. Space and time, they work in ways incoherent to the human mind. What you saw was neither reality, nor a vision. It was an existence, one that you witnessed.” – Ananda.
We humans just flow through time, and exist in it. What are the past, present, and future? I think it’s a fun thought to ponder over.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
Would have to be the advice by someone who keeps yelling at me to be more mindful of run on sentences and starting with conjunctions.
The other piece of advice that I like to follow, although not one that I directly received, is a quote that helps me through blockers frequently – “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult.
If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!
The audience of the Wondrous Tales – my venue’s audience. Thank you all, you’ve no idea how much it means to me.
Where can readers find you on the Internet?
The Pledge
Fantasy Short Stories, 2024
Step into the world of wonders and let this collection of five wondrous tales transport you into magical realms where the ordinary meets the extraordinary.
Follow a witch on her journey to confront her deepest fears, discover just how mischievous cats and gods can be, uncover mythical artefacts with rogues, decipher the hidden mysteries alongside a witty detective, or relish in the determination of a young cook fueled with ambition.
With a blend of genres featuring fantasy, adventure, and mystery, this collection is guaranteed to leave you wanting for more. These tales are suitable for all ages, and offer something for everyone.
Content notes: The “Snow Rose” story features a bloody scene towards the end, that’s the only piece.
Book Excerpt from
The Pledge
Groggy, barely able to focus, one eye still closed. His voice a voice that resembled an amateur rock band that was angrily plucking at the strings of their instruments and banging on the drums angrily.
“On it.”
He swung the door open and towered in the doorway, looking sleepily down at the short person before him, with a magnificent beard. It was a mailperson, one of the Dwarf Delivery servicemen. He frowned at the giant that opened the door and then proceeded with business as usual. He raised his arm up at his shoulder, palm facing Jess, and then extended it sideways.
“La-ha-yo-ha,” each part of his phrase accompanied movement he made with his arm, “you’re screwed.” He lowered his arm and reached into his bag, pulled something out of it and angrily cursed.
“Gah! Where is it? Hold this for a minute.” The dwarf handed over a strange, round object with a string sticking out the top of it, it vaguely resembled a Christmas Tree ornament, but heavier. Jess blinked sleepily, trying to focus his blurry vision on the object he was asked to hold as the dwarf continued to dig through his bag in a desperate attempt to find a piece of mail he was meant to deliver to them, or so Jess presumed. He waited patiently.
A slow, exhausted yawn escaped Jess’s mouth, he closed his eyes for the duration of the yawn, listening to the dwarf mumbling to himself, switching between common and Dwarfish tongues. “Akhare denara! What’s this doing here?”
The dwarf seemingly exclaimed, then tossed something over his shoulder. As he dug back into his bag, whatever he threw earlier exploded with a loud bang, sending a shockwave of dust and street debris through the door at Jess who was suddenly feeling rather awake. Simultaneously, the loud bang was a delightful wakeup call for Hatheris who, after the explosion, dove down from the sofa and shouted. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!”
Startled by the sudden shout from his boss, Jess turned around clumsily. His thick, scaly tail hit the dwarf on the head as he turned to call out to his boss, sending the dwarf’s helmet flying across the street. “Boss!?”
The dwarf stumbled backwards, dazed by the unexpected smack. He cursed in Dwarfish, but his frustration was ignored.
“DUCK FOR COVER!” Shouted Hatheris, covering his head.
“Nah boss, no attack, just a dwarf.”
“A what?” he asked, battling the ringing in his ears.
“The DWARF!”
“THE dwarf?” Asked Hatheris, perplexed by the sudden overload of information. Confusedly assuming that somehow, by some miraculous turn of events, the dwarf they were meant to find, showed up at their door.
“No, a dwarf, rather. Dwarf Delivery Service.” Jess corrected himself, walking over to help his boss up, still holding the peculiar, spherical object in his other hand. Hatheris watched him with a bewildered and dumbfounded expression.
After accepting his assistant’s hand and lifting himself backup, Hatheris dusted off and went to pour himself a cup of something hot to drink. Jess returned to the unfinished matter of receiving letter from a dwarf who appeared to be even angrier than before, and now, also, helmetless somehow.
“There it is.” The dwarf pulled out a letter from his bag and threw it at the towering giant before him. “Take the blasted letter and may your day blow.” The dwarf lifted his right hand up in a fist and slammed it against the side of his head. To Jess’s best knowledge, that was a very rude dwarven gesture for may a rock fall on your head.
Jess watched the small man descend the steps of their office and then pick up his helmet off the street and storm off angrily. He turned, closed the door and headed inside to bring the letter to Hatheris, who was leaning back in his chair lazily, sipping on a steaming black liquid in his cup. The coffee’s aroma pleasantly tickled Jess’s nostrils.
“Remarkable wakeup call Jess. An overly dramatic dwarf with a flare for dramatic mail delivery. I sure hope that is not your newly devised method of waking me to discuss our cases.”
“Yes… no! Of course not, boss.”
“More coffee! So, news?”
“Ah, I’m not quite sure, I just awoke…” Jess began.
“No, I meant the letter Jess, the letter.”
“Ah, yes, of course.” He carefully sat the spherical object that was entrusted to him by the dwarf, and then opened the envelope to read the letter.
Hatheris’ sleepy vision desperately tried to make sense out of the mysterious spherical object that was ever so slowly rolling from the center of his desk where Jess sat it down, toward the left edge. He watched it attentively, entertained by it but too sleepy to make sense of it, or to act in any way.
“Ahem… Dear Detective, Hatheris. This is constable Nyn of the City Watch. I am writing to inform you that per order by the mayor, you are to vacate the premises of your office, due to the following reasons: waste of space and city’s resources. Signed – sincerely, Nyn.”
As Jess finished reading, the spherical object reached the edge of the desk. Hatheris held his breath for a moment, watching the sphere come to a halt right at the edge, and once it did, he let out a relaxed sigh. He nervously raised his hand and shook it with no real intent, but Jess interpreted the gesture as look up. “An exceptional timing. I was just thinking of relocating somewhere more, business friendly… a house by the lakeside perhaps?” Jess’s gaze instinctively followed his boss’s gesture. He glanced up at the ceiling.
“Perhaps? But what’s with the ceiling?”
Hatheris just shook his head.
Distracted by the unspectacular ceiling, Jess took a step forward, against the table, bumping it, which in turned caused the mysterious spherical object that he was entrusted with to fall over the edge.
Hatheris watched the object fall to the floor, and then began to hiss. “Oh… Jess, do you know what dwarves like?”
“Uh, gold?”
“And explosives. It would appear we won’t need to worry about moving our belongings. As they say, travel light!” He leaped to his feet, and then promptly jumped out the window behind him.
Jess acted purely on instinct and leaped out the window, following Hatheris. A moment later, a loud bang shook the city block, waking all that still managed to remain asleep.
“Well… So that takes care of the complications of moving offices. With that sorted, off we go.” Hatheris dusted himself off, adjusted his coat and turned to leave without a care in the world.
Interested?
Find The Pledge on Goodreads, Books2Read, Amazon, Barns & Noble.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.
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