In this episode of the Creative Writing Wizard Podcast, we sit down with fantasy author E. Scott Clevenger, co-founder of Sainan Books, to talk about how a lifelong Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master became a published novelist—and accidentally built a publishing house in the process.
We dive deep into:
- Co-writing War of Night
- The balance between plotting vs pantsing
- Crafting a queer normative world and layered magic systems
- Lessons from self-publishing, failures along the way, and building a community
- Lifting other indie authors along the way
If you’re a writer, fantasy reader, or indie author, this one’s for you.
💬 Got questions or thoughts? Drop them in the comments!
📚 Learn more about E. Scott and Sainan Books:
👉 https://sainanbooks.com/
📖 Check out War of Night
✨ Available now in its stunning second edition!
https://sainanbooks.com/books/
🔗 Follow E. Scott on Threads and Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/sainanbooks/
Like this interview? Subscribe for more!
Special Thanks to all the Wizards, join the effort to support indie authors and human creativity: https://www.patreon.com/c/CreativeWritingWizard
Looking for a new book to read? Check out these indie authors with recent releases!https://creativewritingwizard.com/2024/11/18/indie-release-radar/
Intro and Outro Themes written and recorded by Glen Weatherhead
Keywords:Fantasy author, self-publishing, creative writing, indie books, writing podcast, author interview, queer fantasy, plotter vs pantser, magic systems, DnD to author, stephen king