Author Interview with Lydia Redwine | Let’s Talk Epic Fantasy, Religion, and Homeschooling

You guys, I am BEYOND excited for today’s post. A few months ago, an author named Lydia Redwine contacted me to see if I would like to review her book. Naturally I said “yes please” and thus began a wonderful online friendship. I had the privilege of working with Lydia to edit the first book of her series and have gotten to know her in the process. She is such a sweet, talented, and bright person, and I knew right away I wanted to introduce you to her.

Lydia graciously agreed to do an interview here on Once Upon a Yarn, which I am so excited to share with you today! (I’ll post my review of her book next week, so keep an eye out for that!)

About the Author

Lydia Redwine is the author of Spirit Followers and Keepers of the Crown, the first two books in the Instruments of Sacrifice series. She’s also the author of Essence of an Age, a really lovely poetry collection. And she’s only 19 years old! You can visit her website here, as well as clicking the above links to read about her books.

Let the Questioning Commence

Claire: How did you come up with the idea for Spirit Followers? How long do you think it took to go from idea to finished draft?

Lydia: Haha, well, this requires a rather long-winded response but I’ll try to keep it concise. In 2010 this movie came out that wasn’t good at all. The Last Airbender which is an adaption of the show Avatar (which I love). And even though the movie wasn’t great, I was fascinated with the concept of bending elements. From there, my best friend and I plotted a four book series about a lost princess who must defeat a dark lord with her four magical elemental powers that no one has. Super original, right? Well, I figured out that that idea was trash and took the characters from that story whom I had already fallen in love with and paired them with another concept: What if the crown of thorns in the Bible was a magical artifact and was far more important to the death of Jesus than we are told? What if good and evil people have been hunting for it since the existence of the earth? I put this concept in a fantasy world and made up those good and bad people. There is a lot more to it, but that’s what you’ll find in the rest of the series. So all in all, from conception to finished draft, about 6 years. 

Claire: That is an amazing pitch, and it makes me even more excited to read the next book!

The plot for Spirit Followers is quite intricate and plotted down to the last detail. How do you keep all those characters and plot twists straight?!

Lydia: Well, the first thing I would say is that I plotted this book a bit here and there for nearly five years before I actually wrote it down haha, so that would probably be the biggest reason. That is how I knew this story was important: because it had been in my head for so long. Thus, the “big twisty moments” and each character also had to be important. And I guess the more important it was, the better I remembered it. I struggled more with remembering details about the magic system and world-building. 

Claire: I think one of the reasons we hit it off so well is that we’re both former homeschoolers, so we’re used to learning and working in a different way. I benefited enormously from homeschooling and I was curious about your experience! What was your favorite part of being homeschooled? How did it help your writing?

Lydia: My favorite aspects of homeschooling have to do with the amount of flexibility it gave me (to write especially) and the fact that I was also classically educated. I was taught how to learn, not how to not fail a test. I learned how to learn anything else I would want to learn. So even though I am not in college now in order to pursue writing, I’ve taught myself history beyond my high school requirements, how to publish and market, and many more things. 

Claire: YAY for not having to take tests and just focusing on learning! That was one of the best parts of homeschooling. You sure have accomplished a lot for somebody who just graduated high school.

What is your writing process like? Do you have a favorite computer program to use (like Word, Scrivener, or Google Docs)? Or are you a traditional handwriter?

Lydia: Google Docs is my favorite by far due to the fact that it’s fast and I can share it with others. Unfortunately, the way I publish (through Amazon KDP) I have to use Word so eventually I have to copy and paste entire books over there. I’m trying to write more by hand as well though because it helps me just write whatever comes to mind without worrying about editing or sounding “right.” Yes, it’s slower and my hand can’t always keep up with my mind and it cramps a lot, but it is, in a sense, freeing. 

Claire: Cam has a lot of sisters with big personalities, and I absolutely loved reading about their interactions and games. As somebody with a younger sister, I thought it was spot on! Do you have a big family like Cam does? Do you have a favorite one of her sisters to write about? (I’m partial to Terra!)

Lydia: The core of Spirit Followers (and of the next book too) is Cam’s relationship with her sisters so writing about their relationships from personal experience was very important to me. I have 2 younger sisters and a brother so many of the interactions between the five girls (and with Caleb as well) were based on my own relationships with my siblings. My favorite is probably Fiera although Terra comes in as a close second. These two were the first two characters I knew and developed.

Claire: Finally, one of the things that sets Spirit Followers apart is how faith is built into the plot. It plays a huge role but never comes across as preachy, which I so appreciate in a book. Did you intentionally base the Spirit Followers on Christianity? What was it like adapting a real-life religion into a fictionalized version?

Lydia: First off, I just think the Bible is a really cool book haha. [Claire: Haha it’s true! It’s an amazing work of literature!] Whether you believe the things in it really happened or not, most people can agree that there are some crazy and interesting stories in there. The Bible inspires me to write crazy and interesting stories, so as a result, much of what I write is based on Biblical and historical events. I am a Christian so obviously, my faith plays a large part in everything I do, including writing. But as a writer and a Christian, I also aim to share what I love with people in a loving way – so not being preachy and by intentionally aiming to include diverse people and their stories. I want to present my faith in a loving way without portraying it falsely. I am also interested in religion as a whole which you will see a lot more of in the upcoming books as they explore other religions. 

Claire: I think you did exactly that, and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the future books in the Instruments of Sacrifice series.

Thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview here, Lydia, I’ve really enjoyed reading your responses and am honored to have you here. I recommend checking out Lydia’s books, and stay tuned to read my thoughts on Spirit Followers next week.