Jen Williams is a writer from London currently living in Bristol with her partner and a dramatically fluffy cat. A fan of grisly fairy tales since her youth, Jen has gone on to write dark, unsettling horror thrillers with strong female leads and character-driven fantasy novels with plenty of adventure and magic. The Winnowing Flame trilogy twice won the British Fantasy Award for best novel, and she is partially responsible for the creation of Super Relaxed Fantasy Club. When she’s not writing books, she enjoys messing about with video games and embroidery. She also works as a freelance copywriter and illustrator.

Welcome back, once more, to the Hive Jen! 

First things first, congratulations on your British Fantasy Award win for Talonsister! 

Ah thank you so much! It was a really big surprise (so much so that I didn’t have any kind of speech prepared) and I’m so chuffed that people really took that book to their hearts.

But of course, you’re here today so we can chat about the sequel, Titanchild, out this week from (rather appropriately) Titan Books. 

How does it feel to come to the end of this duology?

It’s always a mixture of feelings. I’ll miss writing those characters and I’ll especially miss the weirdness of that world, and I’m proud of the duology for being, I think, a little bit different (always something that will please some people and annoy others). On a personal level, these books were written during a tumultuous time of my life, with a lot of good and bad stuff happening, sometimes in very explosive ways, and inevitably how I feel about them gets tied up with that. 

At the time of writing these questions, I haven’t yet read Titanchild; I’m still on tenterhooks from the ending of Talonsister! Without spoilers if possible, what can we expect from the sequel? To what extent do I need to prepare myself?

If I’m being honest, I suspect you should always prepare yourself when you’re coming to the end of one of my books… But you can expect war, dangerous magic, and a deeper dive into the unknowable earth of Brittletain. And terrible things happening to the characters you love! Hooray!

Why yes, that is a quote from Beth’s review on the cover!

Let’s address the dragon in the room. Because there’s a dragon on the cover. Jen, are you serving us dragons again??

Well… That would be telling. But I did specifically ask for that dragon on the cover. So make of that what you will.

You’ve featured a great many mythological creatures in your books over the years, and the Talon duology have added plenty more to that roster. Are there any in your research notes you’ve not yet included that you wish you had? 

I’m at the stage now where I’m just making up new ones. The book I have coming out next year, The Sleepless, features all sorts of monsters that I have made from scratch just because that is a fun thing to do. There are however some folklorey things I wish I’d had space for in Titanchild, just because they’re good and creepy: Jenny Greenteeth or Peg Powler for example, hags that inhabit ponds and rivers (although I feel like their cousins do make an appearance) or kelpies, water spirits that disguise themselves as horses in order to drown people. Fun!

You journey such a long way from the start point of a story to the end of the duology; had you planned how each character’s story arc would end, or did this evolve in the process? 

I often describe myself as a planner who ignores the plan (very efficient). With the Talon duology, I had a pretty firm idea of where each of my point of view characters was heading, and I even had a specific notebook dedicated to tracking their arcs. As ever though, no plan survives contact with the writing process, and a few characters – one in particular – did not quite end up where I was expecting.

Your worlds are always incredibly evocative; what tools do you use to help you envisage them? Do you ever create Pinterest boards for inspiration, or do you sketch the worlds yourself?

I have a very visual imagination, and always have; as a kid I spent most of my time daydreaming new worlds. For my fantasy novels I usually start a new pinterest board, and then fill it with character designs and concept art. For me, I think it’s the act of collecting and sorting that helps, as I very rarely refer back to the boards when I’m actually writing. I went to art college and trained as an illustrator, although oddly I don’t draw my own creations very often. Mostly I use drawing and painting as a way to relax these days – plus my artwork is never quite accurate enough for me.

During the publication of this duology, you moved to Bristol – which is an excellent corner of the country for folk tales! Any new favourites you’ve discovered there?

Bristol really is great, I love it. Everyone here is cool and very relaxed about it, in comparison to London, where everyone is cool and slightly stressed about it. One of the folktales I heard when I first moved here concerned the two giants Goram and Ghyston, who clashed over the affections of the beautiful Avona, and in doing so accidentally created the features of the local landscape. Giants appear in Titanchild as a little homage to them and to Bristol. On that note, if you are in Bristol and love stories, get yourself along to the Crick Crack storytelling nights at the Cube theatre – they take in fairytales, folklore and mythology, and I’ve found so much inspiration there.

Speaking of favourites, let’s talk genres. You’ve published fantasy, fantasy with brushes of sci-fi, thriller, and horror; do you have a favourite child? And is there any particular genre you’ve not written that you would like to one day? I’m amazed you haven’t combined your writing and illustrative skills yet! 

Ah I don’t think I’m allowed to choose… But I find writing fantasy particularly joyous. It’s always been my ambition to write and illustrate a comic, but I maintain that doing that is incredibly difficult and I’m not sure I’ve got the chops. One day, maybe. 

I think a multi-award winning cross genre author has plenty of chops and you’d smash it.

If you could visit just one of your fantasy worlds, where would you go and who would you most want to meet?

It’s incredibly hard to choose, but perhaps I would just like to go right back to the beginning and visit a dubious tavern with Wydrin of Crosshaven. We’d drink too much mead, tell ludicrous stories, and she’d probably get into a fight. 

You’ve told us in the past you like to ‘tackle something different’ with each book; you have a YA romantasy coming out next year… what else is on the horizon for Jen Williams? Any closer to capturing that standalone fantasy?

The YA romantasy, The Sleepless, did allow me to do some things I’ve wanted to do for a while: I got to focus on a smaller cast of characters, put their relationships at the forefront of the story, and flex my romance muscles (that sounds slightly weird, please ignore). I also wanted to write something very deeply rooted in magic, and The Sleepless is certainly that. Right now I’m planning the sequel to The Sleepless, but there are a few other projects looming: there’s a SF novella which is a little like Farscape meets Suicide Squad, there’s some nonfic stuff, and a very secret fantasy project that I’m trying to squeeze in around other things. The standalone still eludes, I’m afraid. 

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and joining us here at the Hive. Good luck with the release of Titanchild! 

Thank you! Always lovely to chat to you guys x

Titanchild is available now from Titan Books – you can order your copy on Bookshop.org