Meet C. Borden, Author of Echoes of Dragons

As part of the Indie Author Highlight, I’m happy to introduce you to C. Borden, author of the fantasy novel Echoes of Dragons. First, tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am C. Borden – a multi-genre author, who spends most of my time creating and writing about the fantasy world of Mythnium. I have been writing all my life but didn’t publish my first short stories until 2010. I published my first print book in 2019, an anthology of all those short stories, and then in 2022, I published my first fantasy novel, Echoes of Dragons. I am an Indie author based out of northwest Montana. My life wraps around my family, writing, and hobbies like gardening, hiking, and nature photography.

What a gorgeous place to live. Does that setting inspire any of your stories?

Yes, it really is a beautiful place, especially if you enjoy a change of seasons with longer, true, winters.  Being able to get out and explore our area has had an impact on my writing. I love nature, and draw a lot of inspiration from different aspects of it, but living here in the mountains has definitely inspired my creative side. In fact, a couple years ago, I took a picture of a “face” in a tree trunk, and that inspired me to learn about dryads and nymphs. Now, I am currently working on a short story about a hamadryad that is bound to a great tree in Mythnium.  

Tell me a little about your current book.

Echoes of Dragons is my debut fantasy novel set in the world of Mythnium. This book follows a series of characters as they set out on journeys from different points, for different reasons. Their paths converge along the way, and they find unexpected friendship, face hardship and loss, and discover that the end of their journey is just the beginning.

Wow, this book sounds amazing! I love multiple plot lines and large character casts. How do you handle switching perspectives when you’re writing? How do you stay consistent with voice?

I actually have a lot of trouble writing perspectives and pov. I am definitely one of those writers who has to really work to keep from head-hopping. All too often I am blind to my mistakes, so I really heavily on my beta readers and editor to help me correct pov mistakes. I’ve found that one way that helps me stay on track with pov is to write within the plot line.  For example, if I have a sub-plot that follows the journey of one character, I will go to those chapters that I have noted out.  I try to write those all first before moving to the chapters that follow a different plot.  This doesn’t always prevent head-hopping, but has reduced it a great deal.  

Did you find it challenging to manage that many characters, and how did you translate that to a focused book blurb?

With Echoes of Dragons, I did not have trouble keeping track of my characters. Nearly all of them were previously introduced through short stories. I was able to use those short stories to help me build each character even more within the novel. Now… the blurb. The current book description is new. The original I had a lot of trouble with because of the nature of the book. But the new blurb was written after I was able to take some online writing classes, and with the help of two very good writer friends. 

I really like the color scheme as well. Very eye-catching!

Sounds like you have quite a few shorter stories out there as well. How many, exactly?

Eleven

How have you changed as a writer since you first began writing?

I am an introvert, so the biggest change over time has been the people I surround myself with. My writing circle has morphed and grown. I am surrounded by writers who have become friends and/or mentors. This circle continually encourages me, challenges me, and engages with me. They have helped me stay focused, stay on track, and have driven me to improve the writing I put out there for readers.

Could you describe the type of books you write in general?

I write mainly Fantasy and Christian fiction, but I also write short stories across several genres. I like to test my skills and push myself to write things I rarely think about. As a result, I have a short story that reflects on the bonds between people and their pets, a short story that explores an alternate side to the bigfoot tales, and a short story that is a lost-then-found romance that touches on the darkness of human trafficking.

Why do you write?

I write to keep my imagination from driving me crazy. Sounds severe, but really, I have a very active imagination. Writing has always been an outlet for that imagination. Plus, I have stories in my mind I believe other fantasy fans will enjoy. So I write. And then decide which things I have written will be shared with readers. LOL And that is a whole different challenge!

I completely understand that. Writing is an expression of the soul, and some souls are very talkative. I swear I’d go insane if I didn’t get the chaos down on paper. Where do your ideas for new stories come from?

What project are you hoping to work on next?

I am currently working on several projects. My main project is the follow-on book for Echoes of Dragons. This one is called Companions of Dragons. I am still on the first draft, so I don’t have a release date in mind yet. My secondary project is the second volume of Short Stories from Mythnium. All the short stories introduce new characters, more world-building, and lore and legends of Mythnium. The second volume will release late fall 2023.

Well, please let us know when you do have a date for either of those. I love that your work is all tied together in the same world. It adds so much depth and allows you to explore characters and aspects of the world that may not be fully relevant/necessary to the main story, but is extremely cool and interesting in its own right.

You have such a great amount of experience with writing and putting your work out there for the world. What was the hardest lesson you had to learn in publishing a book?

The hardest lesson I have learned as an Indie Author is that no amount of advice, tips, education, etc. can magically give you the thick skin you need when facing negative feedback anywhere along the journey from draft to published book. I think of myself as pretty resilient and practical when it comes to feedback, but the truth is you have to work to overcome even the best intended negative feedback. Every short story, novella, and book is an extension of me, so it can be really hard not to take criticism personally.

What was the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a writer, and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge is always myself. I tend to compare myself to other writers. I take things too personally sometimes. I allow the negative nellies to get to me. I have to fight to stay confident. To overcome this, I rely on my writer’s circle, and I make a habit of keeping track of my goals and tasks. I also work to take advice and criticism with a grain of salt, often setting it aside until I have a clear head to look at it as objectively as I can.

What advice would you give to a new writer?

For new writers: First, know why you are writing. If you are writing to be read, then just keep writing! There are hundreds of things you can do to build your brand, research your target audience, build a launch team, beginning your marketing strategy. But absolutely none of those things will matter if you don’t put out a book you can be proud of for readers eager for the new adventure only you can take them on! So, save all the fluff stuff for after you have your book written and ready to go! If you are writing to make money, then do all that other stuff first, and then write. That fundamental goal makes a huge difference!

I love that advice and probably could have heard it myself before I got this far into the publishing process. I don’t regret all of the marketing I’ve done, but it was all pretty overwhelming early on. I felt like I had to do all the things right away, and it was a lot to get a grip on. You are absolutely right that it can detract from the effort you put into writing, which is what this is all about in the first place!

What is the worst writing advice you’ve received, and what did you learn from it?

The ‘worst’ advice I have ever been given was advice given out of context: Show, don’t tell. The advice should have been to ‘show’ when necessary, and ‘tell’ when necessary. Especially in fantasy writing, there should be balance to showing vs telling. The more experience you get writing out scenes and dialogues, the better you will get at determining which method to use, and when. As a writer who is more prone to tell versus show, I struggle finding the balance, but I learned that swapping one for the other does not work.

That is probably the most over-used and mis-interpreted advice I’ve seen too! I’ve heard it improved as “show emotions, tell feelings” which sort of helps? Like, don’t tell me they’re sad; show me with their hiccuping sobs, their refusal to get out of bed, their withdrawal from their friends. But, please do tell me they’re tired, rather than using a paragraph to explain the torpor of their muscles and lagging of their body after a normal work day. Unless…that’s the point. Really, there’s a place for both in the right situation, right?

How do you approach planning a new story? Do you develop outlines, timelines, journal notes, character profiles, etc.? Do you free write? Somewhere in between?

I am a pantster for most of the things I write. I get the image of a character in my mind, and then a rough path they are on, and I just get going. If I do not complete the story in one or two sittings, then I will jot down notes of where the story was going in my mind originally. For short stories, this works out really well. Afterward, I can go back and alter anything to make it fit with the overall Mythnium timeline and lore. For the novels, I jot down notes for plot and sub-plots, then jot down notes chapter by chapter. Then I go back and fill in the blanks. I use a lot of notes, timelines, and character sketches to help my pantster self stay on track and avoid plot holes.

I could certainly see that more inspirational process being highly effective for short stories, and it sounds like you’ve built some good habits that work with your writing style. What are some of the most useful tools you’ve found that make writing/publishing easier?

There are so many creative tools I love to use, but my daily tools are: Microsoft Word for just writing; ProWritingAid for proofing and self-editing; Trello for organizing all my world-building notes; and Vellum for book formatting/creation

How do you balance writing with the rest of life? Any tips?

I currently treat writing as I would a part-time job. So I set aside blocks of time to just work on my writing/publishing. But I also have to keep it flexible because of family life. To make this work, I create a list of weekly tasks. Then, when I sit down to write, I jot down my daily task list. Anything that is not accomplished simply rolls over to the next day. This allows me to be more fluid and often helps me tap into my imagination more organically.

Who inspires you to write? Who inspires your style?

The first writer that inspired a story out of me was Robert C. O’Brien with his book Z for Zachariah. The storytelling was so captivating and so immersive. It was the first book that left me wanting more, so I sat down and wrote more! From then on, I have been largely influenced by a multitude of Fantasy and Science Fiction authors.

What are your favorite movies?

In no particular order: Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark; Avatar; French Kiss; Stars Wars (all of them); Star Trek (all of them)… I can go on and on.

I love those lists! Avatar is one of my top all-time favorites as well. Sounds like we share a lot of book and movie preferences. I really appreciate your time today and am so happy to get to know you!

Readers, you can check out Echoes of Dragons on a variety of retailers in both print and electronic versions.

Follow C. Borden’s writing and reading updates online wherever works best for you!