Interview with S.J. Hartland, author of The Last Seer King

What can you tell us about your new release, The Last Seer King?

The Last Seer King picks up where The 19th Bladesman ended.
The Last Seer King is a story of dark magic, obsession, dangerous prophecy, and the redemption found in friendship.
After the events at the end of The 19th Bladesman and the first chapters of The Last Seer King, Val is a prisoner with just one chance to get to Kaell – play out a dangerous, psychological game or reveal the secret that will destroy him.
As for Kaell… fate isn’t quite done with him yet. For the darkness taking over the kingdom can’t be defeated with the sword, only with the heart.

What books are currently on your night stand?

The pile of books on my nightstand is about to topple over.
I’ve picked up a copy of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo at the suggestion of a lovely book blogger I’ve met, I’m a few chapters into Jenn Lyons’ The Ruin of Kings, and my niece just gave me CS Pacat’s volume one of Fence. I’m a fencer so I’m really exited about reading that. I loved CS Pacat’s Captive Prince series. However, I’ve been distracted by all of these by Australian thriller writer Tim Ayliffe’s State of Fear, which so far is pretty good.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

To care less about what everyone except your family and friends think of you.

If you had an extra hour each day, how would you spend it?

The first thing that comes into my mind is “sleep.” But I often imagine how much more writing I’d get done if I only needed to sleep a few hours a night, so most likely, I’d use the time to write.

What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?

There’s joy in music, in an amazing book, in having a day before you when you don’t have any commitments and can just write. But without close friends, without family, none of these things mean anything.

What scene in The Last Seer King was your favorite to write?

I loved writing the verbal tussle between Val and the sorceress Myranthe Damadar. She has all the power, but she still needs something from him that he won’t easily surrender. It felt like a risk, because the scenes are dialogue heavy, rather than action.
I also enjoy writing the scenes between Val and Heath, because Heath exasperates Val so much. Actually, any Heath scene is fun, because he is so witty and sarcastic. Though, I have to shake him off if I’m going to dinner or meeting friends after writing a Heath scene, otherwise I’m still in his head and a bit sharp tongued!

S.J. Hartland is the author of the new book The Last Seer King.

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