Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author Veronica King about her novel, Down the Well. This is the first book in the Adventures in Thimbleton series.
Get to know the author: Veronica King
Hi Veronica! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hello! And thanks for having me, I’m a woman by many names here on the interwebs, but Veronica is the name I use for my Fantasy writing. I am also host of a youtube channel called Ink Steady where we currently get together twice a month, once at the beginning to discuss writing craft and again on the last day of the month to go over our monthly accountability sheet, where we provide a supportive structured environment for folks to reach their long term goals. I am also co-founder of the Write-Ish podcast where my co-founder and I discuss paths to publication both traditional, and indie and the Ish of life that happens in between. We are currently on a hiatus but have a good backlist of content.
What inspired you to write this book?
So on my publisher’s website I made a blog post going in depth about my inspirations. Link for the deep dive here but the fast n loose answer is I owed the younger version of myself answers to some questions I had about Animal Crossing, yes that Animal Crossing with Mr. Tom Nook. I also was heavily influenced by the whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland, and how it comforted some personal trauma. Looking back now I also was exploring grief with this book and how to work through the grief with my characters, though now I see it was more of a subconscious influence on the inspiration.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
The idea for Down The Well was thought up when I was working at a local print shop, while going to college full time. That was right out of highschool, and though during that time this novel took the backseat as I was focusing on another W.I.P, I lovingly call Project Scarlet Death, that was way back in 2015. Between losing jobs, being tempted to drop out of college, and a new relationship my writing took the back seat for like two-ish years, and Down The Well wasn’t drafted until 2019 three months postpartum with my first child and a year after the death of my aunt. This was one of the loneliest times of my life for many reasons paired with the prior two I mentioned, but the light during that time was writing during NanoWrimo and finding a whole community of writers online. Drafting that during such a big event in the online writing community, I did for myself. After finishing that first draft in 2019 that’s when I started taking my writing more seriously. The last edits on Down The Well were roughly the end of the second quarter of this year.
What makes your story unique?
While grief is a common theme in writing, because we all go through it at one time or another, I haven’t seen a YA book in recent years that explores the reflections within grief through anthropomorphic animals.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
I think readers who are looking for a whimsical read with a bit of trauma sprinkled between the pages would enjoy Down The Well.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
It’s very cliche, but in my opinion the cliche things are often so overused because they are true, or true to a point. I hope that readers will walk away with this book knowing that even if they feel like there are events they see looking at them like a mirror in this book, or if they have a complete different list of obstacles in life, no matter what even if they were dropped into a world of talking animals that you will always find those folks you need.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
I really enjoyed writing Mathilde, a mouse with a lot of spice. Every line felt memorable, and like oh yeah this is the one for marketing, this is the line that readers are going to love.
Thinking a little more about the question though, my favorite quote in the whole book is spoken by another character that Mathilde and Lore, my human main character, meet and that line is “Nothing is impossible”.
It isn’t a groundbreaking quote, and it’s been said multiple times, but it’s something that I know I had to keep telling myself when pursuing my dreams for publication and even just shooting to have a content quiet life. So, I thought it was fitting to have in this book in case someone else needs to be reminded that no matter what they are dreaming of, it isn’t unattainable. It may not happen the way you think or want it to, and it will oftentimes be harder than you thought because we all are faced with obstacles. We all come from different backgrounds and perspectives but I think it’s nice that most of us can empathize with the notion that “nothing is impossible” , and rally behind it togeather.
What is something you have learned on your author journey so far?
When working on your projects everyone should FEEL like ‘the one’ because it’s exciting to work on, but keep in the back of your mind that it probably isn’t ‘the one’ and THAT’S OKAY. Your writing journey should be like stepping up a staircase, with each draft, and each story you continue to get better in your craft.
Down the Well is the first book in the Adventures in Thimbleton series. Tell me about the series. Do you already know how many books it will have?
Yes! So Down the Well is the first book and there will be two more books to complete the series.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
That all a first draft has to do is exist. I believe the quote is from Jane Smalley.
I think it’s something all writers should hear because we tend to be our biggest critics and I know from personal experience I was stuck for a long time trying to have a “perfect” first draft, and it just was never gonna be that, and that’s OKAY because all it has to do is exist.
If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!
For the niche that it is, the authortube sphere on youtube is bigger than we sometimes think, so I’d like to shout out Jordan Feigehen who roped me into jumping head first into the Authortube space and of course, Zara for being among the very firsts of now many friends I adore within the community and to my alpha readers Amanda, Hannah, and Stig who offered really great feedback and for daring to look at such a rough draft of the now polished book.
Where can readers find you on the Internet?
My youtube channel is Ink Steady
You can find me on IG and Threads by the same name @_inksteady
Down the Well
Portal Fantasy
Published December 2023
Lore Deoradán wants to be happy when she grows up. But navigating her parents’ mercurial moods, moving to a new town just two weeks before her high school graduation, and dealing with her beloved grandma’s declining health all make that dream seemingly impossible. Will her new job be the first step toward happiness, or will it be yet another disappointment?
When she falls down a well into a magical world with talking animals that haven’t seen a human for years, she must clear her name of the mayor’s murder. Although, how anyone believes she killed a Herculean-sized alligator is beyond her. Now, her survival is tied to a mouse with a chip on her shoulder. There’s also a cat who owns a pub where the animal patrons might be cannibals, a giant snake librarian who probably wants to eat her, and sentient lampposts who are never there when you need them.
Can Lore prove her innocence, help a newfound friend save the town from a dark and dangerous schemer, and find her way home?
Trigger warnings: Verbal and physical domestic abuse, predatory/creepy behavior by older (male) characters toward the younger (female) main character, description of drowning, graphic description of a murder victim
Book Excerpt from
Down the Well
“Mathilde,” Lore hissed.
Her companion turned, her large round ears high and alert. “What?”
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Lore said as she crossed her arms, shifting her weight back and forth. “We shouldn’t be here.”
Mathilde rolled her eyes. “It’s fine, Human.” As the mouse walked into the center of the room among the sheet-covered furniture, the floorboards let out a ghastly groan. Her eyes shot wide open a moment before she disappeared through the floorboards.
Lore’s stomach flipped and flopped on itself. “Mathilde?!” she shouted, her voice being carried on the crisp night air that was blowing through the cracks of the boarded windows.
She didn’t even scream.
Lore’s brows pulled tightly together as she set one foot further into the house. So far so good.
Another step in and the wood splintered under her weight. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Mathilde?!” she called again. Her voice was strained as she remembered her promise to Minifred.
Still no answer.
Another step from Lore made the rundown house let out a miserable moan. The butterflies in her stomach swirled together like a little tornado as she took another few careful steps to peer over the Mathilde-sized hole. Lore squinted, searching for her friend. Where is she?
As Lore was thinking about all the ways Minifred would bite her head off for failing to keep her sister safe, Mathilde ran into view.
“Human! You have to come down here!”
Lore’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the broken wood. “I was just yelling for you!” she growled. “Why didn’t you answer?”
The mouse’s ears drooped as Lore scolded her, but it wasn’t long before a sly grin painted itself on her face. She folded her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. “Why don’t’cha come down here and see for yourself?”
Lore rolled her eyes, but before a semi-witty response could fall from her mouth, the choice was taken from her when the boards collapsed under her weight and she hit the cold dirt with a loud thud. It felt like a baseball bat had knocked the wind from her chest. She huffed and rolled over on her back. Her head pounded in agony, and the shower of splinters around her pricked at her skin and stung like a million little paper cuts against her legs and cheeks.
I’m really done with falling. She began picking wood chips from the long-sleeved flannel. Falling through floors, out windows, and through realities. She tossed the pieces carelessly in all directions around her. It’s tiresome, and the only thing I want to fall into is a deep sleep.
Mathilde leaned over, her emerald, sass-filled eyes sparkled with delight. “Glad you could join me,” she teased before offering a hand up.
As Lore stood to her feet, she quickly realised she would have to hunch over to walk under the house. The pale moonlight trickled through smudged windows and her eyes fell on a grime-covered table that had piles of books, a handful of beakers, and bundles of herbs covering it.
Above the table, a large square painting hung. The subject’s large, gold, almond-shaped eyes bored into her.
Lore felt like an icicle had pierced her heart. There it was. The shadow that brought her here. A bitter cold spread to her fingertips, making them tingle.
Down the well to Charmsend.
Interested?
Find Down the Well on Amazon, Barns & Noble, Bookshop, Goodreads and Bookhype. It is out in December! I am very excited for my copy. 🙂
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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