In the month of May, I’m participating in a read-along for The Alchemists of Loom (2017) by Elise Kova. It’s a steampunk fantasy full of intrigue, dangerous rogues, and the most fascinating magical system in a city where blood is currency. So far, I love the main characters and the world of Loom. It’s making my little gamer fan girl heart sing to its fullest potential.

As part of the blog tour, Elise took time to answer questions about inspiration and how a book evolves throughout the writing process.

Chapters Scheduled for the Read-Along: 8-9

What was your favorite scene to write in the book so far? What was your favorite overall?

So far of what we’ve read in the read-along… I would actually say the first chapter. The scene of Arianna standing on top of the building, looking down over New Dortam, is one of the most vivid in my mind and because of that it’s certainly a favorite.

Overall, to date, the end of Florence’s final chapter in Nova. It gave me CHILLS to write!

What came first: The world or the characters?

The characters, specifically Arianna’s story. Originally I thought her backstory was going to be the overall plot for The Alchemists of Loom…But after outlining it, I realized there was something far greater to tell by focusing, rather, on what came after her original story’s conclusion. Her story is very much, “What happens when the ‘chosen one’ fails” and I thought that was way more interesting to tell.

I read that video games heavily influenced Nova and Loom, specifically Zelda and Bloodborne. How did you translate those atmospheres and play-styles from console to page and what was it like?

When a video game inspires me, it’s usually a result of an element of the world that I think is particularly nifty, or the overall tone. For Bloodborne, it was very much the overall atmosphere of the game that helped inspire the world of Loom. This notion of a dark and gritty place where blood is a very central component to survival, commerce, and relationships.

Zelda inspired much more of Nova, specifically Skyloft from Skyward Sword. That and the floating islands from the movie Avatar really helped give me some mental pictures for the bright and magical realm called Nova.

Are there any differences from the first draft to the finished work that surprised you as a writer and as a reader?

The biggest one that comes to mind is an unlikely and temporary ally for Arianna while she’s on Nova in book two. Without giving any spoilers… I needed to get Arianna from point A to point B, but my editor was right in saying that the way I did it originally made no sense for her character. It was a fairly last-minute rewrite that required major edits to about 5 chapters. But I think it works so much better the way that will be published.

You can buy The Alchemists of Loom here: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound.

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win a SIGNED copy.