On her website, Sylvie Cathrall identifies herself as a “romantic fantasy author.”
But while the two novels that comprise her Sunken Archive duology are romantic and fantastical — and other things — the central relationships in them are not between lovers, but two sets of siblings.
And no, these stories don’t get all Game Of Thrones-y.
In the following email interview about the second book, A Letter From The Lonesome Shore (paperback, Kindle, audiobook), Cathrall talks about what inspired and influenced this novel, as well as how it completes the story she started in the first, A Letter To The Luminous Deep.
Photo Credit: Robert J. Cathrall
For people who didn’t read the first book in the Sunken Archive duology, A Letter To The Luminous Deep, what was that novel about, and what kind of a world was it set in?
A Letter To The Luminous Deep is an epistolary fantasy set in a seafaring, scholarly world with a vaguely (emphasis on the vaguely) nineteenth-century feel.
Reclusive E. Cidnosin and anxious Henerey Clel begin a correspondence that concludes when they both vanish from E.’s underwater home. In the wake of the disappearance, E.’s sister, Sophy, and Henerey’s brother, Vyerin, immerse themselves in their respective siblings’ correspondence.
The book’s told entirely through letters and documents that chronicle E. and Henerey’s romance, Sophy and Vyerin’s growing friendship, and the fathomless (ha!) mysteries of the ocean they call home.
And then, what is A Letter From The Lonesome Shore about, and when does it take place in relation to A Letter To The Luminous Deep?
The sequel brings us back in time to follow E. and Henerey immediately after their disappearance, while also moving forward to follow Sophy and Vyerin as they take to the seas in search of the missing couple.
When in the process of writing A Letter To The Luminous Deep did you come up with the idea for A Letter From The Lonesome Shore, and what gave you the idea for this second book’s plot?
I wrote the first draft of Luminous Deep with no plan, hoping the story would just…lead me where it wanted to go, I guess. (It did, mostly. But it also taught me that outlines are actually ridiculously useful things to have.)
Then, as I edited the second of many, many drafts for Book 1, I finally sat down to decide what would come next. Thinking about the next book while editing the first one helped a lot, because it allowed me to weave in mysteries and hints in the first book that would pay off in the sequel.
As for the idea itself…well, to answer in a way that doesn’t give spoilers, I wanted to see how much further I could push the constraints of the epistolary structure while also continuing (and completing) the character arcs from the first book. So I came up with a plot that accomplished both of those aims, essentially!
So, is there a significance to this story being set in an underwater city as opposed to a city on an isolated island or floating in the sky or on a distant planet?
Funnily enough, A Letter From The Lonesome Shore involves all those settings at one point or another. The Cidnosin and Clel families live on an isolated planet covered by a vast ocean. In the second book, E. and Henerey find themselves in an underwater city, Sophy and Vyerin and their crewmates are sailing and island-hopping up above, and — well, I’ll leave the rest for readers to discover. The vast majority of the first book took place either in E.’s underwater home or Sophy’s deep-sea research station, though, so it was fun to introduce some new, fanciful settings for this one.
Also, is there a reason you why Sophy is E’s sister and Vyerin is Henerey’s brother as opposed to the relationships being romantic ones? Or, for that matter, all four being related?
Despite the enduring popularity of love letters, a great deal of the historical correspondence I’ve read has been platonic or familial. Friendship, sibling bonds, and romance are three types of relationships I wanted to explore in The Sunken Archive, and the four characters of Sophy, E., Vyerin, and Henerey collectively (and conveniently!) demonstrate all three in various combinations. I specifically chose to integrate different relationship dynamics so the reader could see, say, what Henerey’s like with his brother versus his manner when speaking with E. — and that’s especially interesting in an epistolary narrative.
Earlier you said A Letter To The Luminous Deep and A Letter From The Lonesome Shore were fantasy stories, and your website calls you a “romantic fantasy author,” but they kind of sound science fiction-y to me…
Years ago, when I was querying A Letter To The Luminous Deep, I struggled to classify my series with a single genre descriptor…and I still do! You could make a case for it being science fantasy or historical fantasy. My publishers positioned The Sunken Archive in the cozy fantasy / magical academia space. The books take place in a fantasy world with some degree of magical happenings, but the narrative structure is modeled on historical epistolary novels and the setting has a bit of a solarpunk sensibility, too. I prefer “romantic fantasy” as a general catch-all because I think that sums up the unifying traits of my writing as a whole (including my next series!).
So, how romantic do these stories get? Are they mushy? Are they sexy?
I’d say “sweetly sentimental” was the right flavor for these particular stories (and there is a lot of both sweetness and sentiment), especially since one of my primary romances is between two asexual people.
Moving on to every author’s favorite topic, influences, what writers do you consider having the biggest influence on A Letter To The Luminous Deep and A Letter From The Lonesome Shore?
James Gurney’s Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time — and especially its sequel, The World Beneath — are major influences on the style and setting of The Sunken Archive. I absolutely loved those books in my childhood, and couldn’t get enough of them.
Tonally, the quirkily antiquated voice of The Sunken Archive is the result of years spent reading and loving Jane Austen and Beatrix Potter, in particular.
And I really ought to mention Emily Dickinson as well. Studying her life is what sparked my interest in writing a story about siblings managing their relatives’ correspondence. The Sunken Archive is definitely not historical fiction, and E., Sophy, and Arvist Cidnosin are their own unique characters with a family that’s entirely theirs, but there are lots of hyper-specific Dickinson references throughout the first book as tribute to the poet.
And are there any writers, or stories, that had a big influence on A Letter From The Lonesome Shore but not A Letter To The Luminous Deep?
This sounds a bit silly, but I’d say the only such influence was actually just my childhood self! A Letter From The Lonesome Shore contains far more journal entries than the first book, and I kept diaries throughout my childhood. I read through them while rewriting the sequel and definitely found some inspiration from the candor and chaos of my early writings; my character Henerey and I have a very similar journaling style. [laughs]
What about such non-literary influences as movies, TV shows, or games? Was A Letter From The Lonesome Shore influenced by any of those things? Because they sound like they might’ve been influenced by the first two BioShock games.
I’ve actually never played those particular games. The greatest non-literary influence on this particular series (and especiallyLonesome Shore) is my favorite Studio Ghibli film, Castle In The Sky. In fact, I often listened to its soundtrack to help get me into the right mindset when writing the sequel.
As we’ve been discussing, A Letter To The Luminous Deep and A Letter From The Lonesome Shore form a duology called the Sunken Archive. What was it about this story that made you realize it needed to be told in two parts as opposed to one, or, conversely, three or more?
Because of the meandering nature of epistolary storytelling, I knew from the beginning that there ought to be multiple installments. But I was so accustomed to the notion of a “fantasy trilogy” that I always assumed my series would have three books. When I started outlining the rest of the plot in earnest, however, I realized that what I envisioned as separate books—namely, E. and Henerey’s narrative and Sophy / Vyerin / Niea’s narrative — actually fit together quite neatly into a single second volume.
So then, do you think people should read A Letter To The Luminous Deep and A Letter From The Lonesome Shore back-to-back, or is there some reason you think they should put some space between them?
You certainly could read them back-to-back — and I admire anyone who’s keen enough to do so! — but I think taking a little pause is a good approach. For Sophy and Vyerin’s narrative in particular, several months have passed off-page between Luminous Deep and Lonesome Shore, so someone who wants a reallyyyy immersive experience might want to follow a similar timeline before opening Lonesome Shore themselves.
Earlier I asked if A Letter From The Lonesome Shore had been influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But do you think the Sunken Archive could also work as the basis for a movie, show, or game?
I’ve talked about the potential of a Ghibli-esque animated film adaptation in previous interviews, so this time I’ll switch things up and say that I’d love to see it turned into a game.
And what kind of game would you like it to be?
My wildest dream would be a visual novel in which the player takes on the role of a new Scholar at Boundless Campus. You’d interact with characters (sometimes via correspondence! and your choices would lead you on one of several branching narratives that reveal new secrets about the world of The Sunken Archive. There would be mysteries, a little romance, and odd sea creatures aplenty. And since I’m working in the “wildest dreams” realm, let’s say it’d have an extremely cozy, Victorian-inspired pixel art style and would be made by NPC Studio, the creators of my favorite game, Fields Of Mistria.
So, is there anything else you think potential readers might want to know about A Letter From The Lonesome Shore or A Letter To The Luminous Deep?
The Sunken Archive really, truly is a duology — by which I mean that Lonesome Shore is officially the end of the story for these characters. There’s no surprise Book 3 coming, I swear.
That said, I don’t want to write off the idea of returning to this world with completely different characters someday, but only if I feel there’s a story there.
Finally, if someone enjoys A Letter To The Luminous Deep and A Letter From The Lonesome Shore, what fantasy novel or novella of someone else’s would you suggest they check out next?
One of my favorite reads from last year was The Scholar And The Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry. It’s an astonishing historical fantasy novel, and I think Sunken Archive fans (or anyone!) will love the character relationships, the sense of mystery, and the absolutely gorgeous prose.
