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Author Interview: Brooklyn Quintana
62 Plays2 months ago
In this bonus episode of Book Watch, host Sarah-Daye sits down with tropical fantasy author Brooklyn Quintana to dive into the world of Fynneas Fog—from the inspiration behind the story to what a screen adaptation could look like.
Whether you’ve already read the book or are just discovering it for the first time, you’re in luck—this is a spoiler-free episode!
Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, the magic of tropical fantasy, and how stories make the leap from page to screen.
You can find Brooklyn on Instagram: @brooklyn.quintana, on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebrooklynquintana?si=jjwUlPHAP5JybRdB, and online at www.brooklynquintana.com
Subscribe to Book Watch for more author interviews, adaptation breakdowns, and thoughtful conversations about storytelling in all its forms.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Interview with Brooklyn Quintana
00:00:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, listeners, welcome back to another episode of book Watch. Today's episode's a little different. ah We are having an author interview. I'm so excited to welcome Brooklyn Quintana.
00:00:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Brooklyn, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for being here.
00:01:03
Brooklyn
Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. I'm so excited to sit down and talk with you.
00:01:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes, me too. And I'll introduce your book in a second, but I was so excited for you to reach out and um find out about your book.
Influences and Writing Process
00:01:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And when you did, i mentioned that I'm an adaptation podcast.
00:01:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And i was like, do you still want to come on? And you did want to come on And you mentioned that you had some like cinematography kind of imagery when you were writing this book. And I cannot wait to get more into that.
Series Overview and Inspirations
00:01:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
conversation. But before we do, i want to introduce your book, which is the Phineas Fogg series. The first book is the Nine of Swords. And then you have second book, which is Blood in the Water.
00:01:49
Brooklyn
Yep.
00:01:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
and then your third book is coming out this year.
00:01:52
Brooklyn
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, yeah, it's supposed to come out around Halloween time.
00:01:58
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And what is the name of the third book?
00:02:00
Brooklyn
So book three is called The House of Long Nights.
00:02:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay, so we will have three books by the end of 2025. And this will be a spoiler-free episode because I am only halfway through their first book, which is 700 and so pages.
00:02:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But it's very, very interesting. I'm having a really good time reading it. But, Birkelyn, why don't you give us a little sneak peek into what this series is about?
00:02:27
Brooklyn
So it is, well, at least book one is a tropical medieval fantasy. So think Harry Potter meets Game the Thrones, but with a Jumanji type of setting. And it follows Prince Phineas and his cousin Prince Holland as they attend the Morinci Academy of Military Arts, which is this military training school for the royals and the noble aristocrat, aristocrats.
00:02:49
Brooklyn
The noble class, we're going to say. I'm struggling with words. um And it is on this tropical archipelago that has an enchanted jungle and is filled with monsters. It is a school that 100% makes Hogwarts look safe.
00:03:00
Brooklyn
And then book two is the continuation. So you follow Finn and Holland and their merry band of friends as they take on not only their second year of school, but um the horrible kind of cataclysmic inducing ramifications of how book one ends.
Target Demographic and Genre Discussion
00:03:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. And do you want to talk a little bit about kind of your target demographic? Because the book is, they're 12 year olds, at least in book one, when they're entering their first year of school. um But it was, for me, a little shocking how brutal the first couple chapters were um and a couple of things that happened.
00:03:36
Brooklyn
Thank you.
00:03:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So what is your target demographic for this series?
00:03:42
Brooklyn
So it sounds insane to say as an author who now has two books out working on book three and has established kind of this series for a few years now of that there it flip-flops depending on what bookstore is carrying it and what podcast is talking about it because it really does straddle the line between YA fantasy and classic fantasy.
00:03:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Hmm.
00:04:01
Brooklyn
When I wrote it, it was definitely intended to be like a new adult classic fantasy but everybody always wants to categorize it as YA because the characters are young.
00:04:12
Brooklyn
But it does buck kind of those YA fantasy trends and tropes by not having it you know, it doesn't have a romance. It's not breakneck pace. There's a lot of world building to be done. And then it obviously doesn't have that like,
00:04:25
Brooklyn
anti-establishment rebellion vibe to it because Finn is a prince. He is the establishment. So he's not here to you know tear the monarchy down. He's very much here to uphold it and all of the crazy things that go with it. So it very much straddles the line. It's just how you interpret, I think, the genre, but it definitely could be YA or new adult or just straight classic fantasy.
00:04:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah. And i've I've really been enjoying it. Again, I'm only about halfway through book one and i almost wish we got two copies so that my husband and I could read it together because he's a fantasy reader.
00:04:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I'm more of a romantic reader, but I still have been enjoying this story. I mean, I also grew up on Harry Potter. I know you've said on other podcasts that Harry Potter, um I think you said you're a Slytherin, right?
00:05:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Is that true?
00:05:08
Brooklyn
Oh, hardcore.
00:05:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:05:09
Brooklyn
I don't have, my other bookshelf has all my Slytherin stuff. It's like super green. So yeah, Slytherin for life. I've been a Slytherin since my dad read the books at 10.
00:05:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I don't know if you can see behind me, but my little Hufflepuff badger is sitting on my bookshelf.
00:05:20
Brooklyn
Oh, very nice.
00:05:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So yes, I'm very much enjoying um the story and I'm very much excited to keep being a continued fan of yours.
Transition from Law to Writing
00:05:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But let's put the book conversation on hold for a minute and talk about you and how you came into this path and how you decided you wanted to be a writer.
00:05:44
Brooklyn
So it actually really coincides kind of with what your podcast is about because I grew up always wanting to be an actress. So I was a theater kid. I really enjoyed being on stage and performing, whether it was piano or acting.
00:05:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Um.
00:05:56
Brooklyn
um So i I was really into storytelling of like all different types, you know, performative music, writing, visual arts. I paint and I draw a lot. So I always really wanted to do something in the storytelling genre.
00:06:10
Brooklyn
And as I got older, my desire to be an actress kind of waned and I got really into directing.
Film Interests and Storytelling
00:06:14
Brooklyn
I've always been a big film person.
00:06:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um
00:06:17
Brooklyn
I love movies. There's a lot of film inspiration and references throughout my books. So it was also what really drew me to your podcast because I was like, this is perfect. I could tell people about like how these things influenced a lot of my writing.
00:06:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:30
Brooklyn
um And then I wanted to go to film school and my parents were like, please don't like pick something slightly more realistic.
00:06:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
ah
00:06:38
Brooklyn
So I came back and i was like, guys, guys, guys, a creative writing degree, that's clearly more useful.
00:06:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:06:44
Brooklyn
So I got a writing degree. And then I became I worked in ah law firms and financial firms. So I never used it. And it was absolutely miserable. So I just decided like, I should do what I love, follow my passion. That's what I'm good at. So might as well try to make a career out of it. And so here I am.
00:07:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, here you are um Tell me more about your interest in directing. And is that still on the table down the line one day? Or have you really found your calling in writing?
00:07:15
Brooklyn
So I think writing has very much always been my calling. it's just I took a meandering path to get here. I loved writing short stories as a kid and everything. I
Adaptation Challenges and Series Origin
00:07:24
Brooklyn
really liked the directing aspect of film. So when I was considering film school, I no longer was like, I'm going to go to Juilliard or NYU to be an actor. I was very focused on, I liked film.
00:07:34
Brooklyn
directing because I like being able to set up a shot and the blocking of where you stage people and how just body language without talking can convey so much of a story.
00:07:45
Brooklyn
um i know you said you're only halfway through the book, but maybe you've noticed I like to tell people like what's visually going on and how characters are standing in relation to each other.
00:07:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, definitely.
00:07:53
Brooklyn
Because I really think that conveys so much of the story. So that was a real draw for directing was like how you stage things, how you set things up. um I don't think if, you know, God willing, the books ever really take off and people want to adapt it, I think it'd be a terrible director.
00:08:09
Brooklyn
um But i also think I'd be a terrible screenwriter because I had to take a screenwriting class.
00:08:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Really?
00:08:14
Brooklyn
I'm so bad at it. I really like to get into the nitty gritty of details. And you just don't have time for that when you're writing a script. It's like very...
00:08:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
right
00:08:22
Brooklyn
brisk let's go, what are people saying? So that's not my cup of tea. And if it was ever adapted, i would want people who know what they're doing to do it. And I would just like give input on maybe like, this is how I saw it or this is how I would construct it.
00:08:34
Brooklyn
But I wouldn't necessarily think that I'd be the best person to adapt it, whether it's writing or directing.
00:08:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
that's very interesting. And I'm excited to dive into that conversation a little later when we get into, you know, would you want to see Phineas Fogg adapted? um But I want to talk to you more about where this idea for this book series came from.
00:08:57
Brooklyn
So it was like kicking around an idea that actually took place in ancient Rome while I was still in college. So a lot of the character traits were taken from that original idea and draft of a manuscript and morphed into what this is.
00:09:11
Brooklyn
But like the impetus behind the whole, you know, royal aristocratic military academy came from watching the show The Crown, where they have the flashback of Prince Philip at Gordonston, where inexplicably, for whatever reason, these like
00:09:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh.
00:09:25
Brooklyn
really wealthy kids are running around through the woods in the mud doing an obstacle course and i was like cool but like make it tropical and then it just kind of snowballed from there
00:09:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Huh.
00:09:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:09:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Very cool. And you mentioned, well i mean, we talked a little bit about Harry Potter, but did that, how much of that kind of inspired the story? Because, you know, school in a fantasy setting, and that is ah popular fantasy trope, if you will. But um where how did all the pieces kind of fall into place for you?
Character Dynamics and Growth
00:09:59
Brooklyn
So Harry Potter definitely was the series that got me into reading and interested in fantasy specifically. you know, it made magic really come alive. um And J.K.
00:10:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:10:08
Brooklyn
Rowling's story of, you know, being down on her luck and a single mom. And she was an English teacher and things weren't going for well for her. And she just had this idea and was writing it at a coffee shop. was so inspirational like that she cobbled together this beautiful world and became a billionaire because like this idea just resonated with everybody.
00:10:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:10:28
Brooklyn
of like there's you every There's magic if you look for it, and there's a bit of magic in everybody. And you know Harry wasn't even my favorite character as a kid, so I think it's really interesting that you could write this story
00:10:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:10:39
Brooklyn
four kids that resonated not only with them, but with their parents and their older siblings. And, you know, the protagonist didn't necessarily have to be your favorite character because the world was so rich and the characters had so much life to them, but there was something kind of for everybody.
00:10:54
Brooklyn
So I really liked that and I was very inspired by it. um And it was very motivating anytime I was like, oh, I don't know if I'm going like finish the book or something. i'm like, well, I'm in a better position than JK Rowling was when she wrote this book.
00:11:06
Brooklyn
So like, if I can't do it and I'm already starting out kind of ahead, like I'm not destitute living in Portugal, you know trying to find a way to survive.
00:11:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:11:14
Brooklyn
Like I'm 22. And at that time I was in Texas, I was working at a finance firm. So I was like doing okay. So it just seemed to me like if I can't even... finish a manuscript. It's almost like a failing on my part to be that inspired and not follow through with it.
00:11:30
Brooklyn
So it was definitely a catalyst for me.
00:11:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Sure.
00:11:32
Brooklyn
But I think as I had grown up and had these different experiences with different types of media, the influence of Harry Potter was still there and that magic was still there, but Finn is kind of the anti-Harry.
00:11:45
Brooklyn
um i don't know if you've, like, noticed.
00:11:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
ahh
00:11:47
Brooklyn
ah He obviously, i mean, he has, like, a red-haired best friend and he has dark hair.
00:11:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:11:52
Brooklyn
But, like, where Harry's like, I'm gonna, you know, find out who created the Philosopher's Stone and who's Nicholas Femell.
00:11:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:11:59
Brooklyn
Like, Finn's, like, handed a mystery and Upward's like, I don't want to kind't want to deal with that. Fiona can do it. Like, I'm not... interested in reading or solving mysteries.
00:12:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:12:09
Brooklyn
And Harry's very much like, you know, shirk's authority and I can do it myself. And Finn is immediately like, I should ask somebody for help because I don't know what I'm doing. And these people are more experienced. So in a lot of ways, Phineas is like, Harry flipped on his head. Like, what if, you know, he did the exact opposite, essentially, he had very different personality traits.
00:12:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I feel like Phineas, at least for what I've read and how I've interpreted it, when he gets in trouble, he almost feels a lot more guilty about it. But he he doesn't lose that sense of adventure. Like he's still ah thick he still wants – he turns around and does something else again. Like um I guess this isn't too much of a spoiler, but he keeps leaving the school and walking towards the neighboring town at night.
00:12:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And he gave he keeps getting in trouble. Well, not in trouble, but – They keep saying, why are you leaving the school? And before that, the whole that happened on the hunting trip and straying off the path.
00:13:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And when that happened, you know he you you feel this sense of guilt and that you know he's the prince and he's supposed to be a leader. And he's like, yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. um But then he just turns around and does it again. And like again, you're 12 years old and that's what typical kids are going to do.
00:13:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um But it is nice to kind of see that contrast and and kind of see now that I'm about halfway through the different dynamics between his personality um and sense of adventure and those around him. um And um I can't think of the the redheaded boys, Lux's cousin.
00:13:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
What is his name?
00:13:43
Brooklyn
Oh, Godric.
00:13:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Godric, yes, the kind the difference between the two of them, but then how they all come together, especially when they go on their first trial um and how the different teams are working together. and It's just really fascinating to see.
00:13:56
Brooklyn
Yeah, Finn's definitely like one of those kids who has a great sense of remorse for doing wrong, but he's going to have to learn the same lesson five times before he realizes like, I shouldn't be doing this.
00:14:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:14:08
Brooklyn
You know, like you said, he does have that internal sense of like, well, people will naturally look to me because of my title to lead them. and I shouldn't lead them astray.
00:14:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:14:17
Brooklyn
So he has that sense of, he doesn't want to lead people into danger, but if it's just him, he has absolutely no problem immediately going into danger.
00:14:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. um I'm excited to see if that comes into play in future books or not.
00:14:31
Brooklyn
Oh, trust me, it does.
00:14:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um
00:14:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So did you face any challenges throughout this process through coming, kind of fleshing out the story and the the process of actually writing it and getting it published?
00:14:46
Brooklyn
So I face a lot of challenges. I think like one of the biggest ones is remembering that Finn is the protagonist and i don't have the time to delve into the amount of detail I want per each like Deuteragonist and like supporting cast. Cause you know, Holland and Godric and Lux and Mariah all have really cool personal lives going on independent of Finn.
00:15:09
Brooklyn
But Finn is the vehicle through which we are going through this journey. So you do have to kind of relate everything back to him. And that's not to say he's not interesting. He's plenty interesting. But it's so fun to explore the different characters. And I have to consciously reel myself back in and be like, no, no, it's Finn's story. Like, we got to you know stay with him.
00:15:28
Brooklyn
We can't have an entire book just about what you know Holland's up to today.
00:15:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:15:32
Brooklyn
So I think that was hard. And then i think one of the biggest barriers to entry into the industry, which led me down the path of self-publishing was the fact that Well, it's a twofold type of thing.
Publishing Challenges and Magical World
00:15:44
Brooklyn
One thing was that they want you to have like a big social media presence and it's all about the platform that you're bringing to the publisher and not necessarily about the writing, which was kind of irritating.
00:15:56
Brooklyn
And then the second thing was, um I kind of touched on it before that the book really straddles
00:15:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
sure
00:16:01
Brooklyn
two different genres, YA and adult fantasy, like you said, kind of because of the gore and the content matter and what they're dealing with, but also their young characters. So it could really go either way, just depending on who's looking at it.
00:16:12
Brooklyn
And a YA fantasy um that doesn't fit nicely into the established tropes is a really hard sell these days.
00:16:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Sure.
00:16:23
Brooklyn
um And especially like you said, you're a big romantic reader. A lot of women now, I think it's really cool.
00:16:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
hu
00:16:28
Brooklyn
A lot of women are getting into reading again and getting into fantasy and book talks exploding and it's like girl dominated.
00:16:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right?
00:16:34
Brooklyn
So it's so cool to see all these people coming to fantasy. It's very frustrating. that they're staying in romanticcy. And so like those classic like Narnia, Harry Potter, even if you could go so far as like Earthsea, Game of Thrones, those kinds of stories are pushed out. And it's kind of now people say romanticcy or it's like a fantasy without romance. And it's like, well, that's just That's fantasy.
00:16:57
Brooklyn
Romanticity is its own thing.
00:16:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:16:59
Brooklyn
We shouldn't conflate one as being the other. So I think that's ah just a smidge frustrating. But, you know, I'm slowly starting to find my audience and my niche and everything.
00:17:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yay.
00:17:10
Brooklyn
And I definitely market it as like, this is not a spicy fairy dragon book. It is not any of those things. It is definitely more towards Game of Thrones Earthsea than it is towards like Akatar or Fourth Wing.
00:17:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right. and But you do have um a lot of magical creatures. like and I'm only, again, halfway through the first book and I've already heard or seen so many different interesting people and creatures and characters, um, that I'm excited. I feel like you're planting a lot of seeds, um, just in some dialogue that's been said between Phineas and these other
Future Plans and Character Development
00:17:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
characters. And I'm, again, I'm so excited to read book two and get book three when it comes out later this year and figure out where this story is going. Um, because I know that you have,
00:18:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Lots of books coming out and I'm like, what is going to be like the overall arc and how are these people that I'm meeting in book one right now going to play ah part in the future books? um Just because of, like I said, things that Phineas is saying to these characters and almost that um like he owes favors to kind of um or vice versa. Yeah.
00:18:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And then even Buttons, I'm so excited to see. I mean, I hope Buttons has a big role to play in future books because I love Bats.
00:18:33
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And I'm like, i as soon as Buttons was introduced, I'm like, heck yes, Buttons is going to be my favorite character. um So yeah I just, it's really interesting to kind of see um how these pieces are coming together.
00:18:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But with that said, do you kind of have a blueprint for your series? Are you kind of writing as you go?
00:18:54
Brooklyn
Definitely. I think, I mean, I definitely know there's going to be nine books. I know how it ends. Books three and four so far are the trickiest, I think, for me to write because they're this, they're very, this very interesting kind of feeling as they're transitioning ah between what's going on from books one and two into what's going on in the greater scheme of the plot.
00:19:14
Brooklyn
So book three and four obviously have their own plots and are very impactful in their own ways, but it's that transitionary books where now the characters are older and more things are going on and you're into more of the world that I think is both very fun to write, but also like very frustrating because I can't throw too much at people at once, but I have to keep things going.
00:19:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
ah
00:19:33
Brooklyn
So it's it's that like a juggling act almost trying to get those done. But don't worry, Buttons is staying around. He's very integral to the plot.
00:19:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yay. Oh, I love that.
00:19:41
Brooklyn
um I'm also a big fan of bats. I think they're adorable. Yeah.
00:19:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
They are so cute. I love their little noses and their ears.
00:19:49
Brooklyn
they're very cute and buttons is small and he's got like a little janky wing so i think he's just like a fun animal companion because it's like you know as finn gets up older and you know up in the years you know he's this you know a big strong guy and he's capable of so much and then his like animal companion is this
00:19:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It'd be wing. He
00:19:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
he is
00:20:06
Brooklyn
absolutely unintimidating tiny little bat with a little gimpy wing and it's just like you don't see it coming and I think as you start reading more into book one you'll see the other characters kind of develop a relationship with buttons also and everybody's just just like yeah it's the bat that Finn talks to of course this is entirely normal don't question it we're moving on you know weirder things are happening
00:20:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:20:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Good.
00:20:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I'm very excited and I can't wait to touch base with you when I finish. I will, I'll send you a message. Um,
00:20:33
Brooklyn
oh I look forward to it
00:20:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. um And then again, when my, I definitely want my husband to read it because I think that he's going to be a fan of this book as well. Yeah. So we've kind of talked about the characters and Phineas um being one of the main the main character. It's his series.
00:20:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um Now you mentioned Holland and how you you have you struggle with going down, not writing a whole novel on Holland. um But talk to me um about your your key characters and kind of how you came up with them and how you balance that, especially knowing you want to write more about Holland And would you would you ever have maybe a novella of somebody else's perspective?
00:21:18
Brooklyn
So yeah, I'm going to touch on both because I have a lot to say about these things. So definitely Finn is, is your, he's set up as your very stereotypical fantasy boy protagonist, you know, dark haired, bright eyed, ready to take on the world kind of kid.
00:21:34
Brooklyn
But I think what makes him kind of an interesting protagonist is that he is very sensitive. So things that happen and the trauma that he faces, he doesn't just shirk it off and keep going. Like he's very permanently affected by everything that happens to him and every compounding problem really weighs down on him. And it very much like forms his character over the books, especially books one and two. You see how all the kind of terrible things and like atrocities and gore and everything that he faces at such a formative age like 12, 13, 14 years old really starts to affect how his personality changes as he's hitting like 15, 16.
00:22:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:22:14
Brooklyn
then Holland is very much kind of a foil to Finn in many ways. He's also a prince but whereas Finn draws people to him with his like natural rambunctious charm, and he's like sweeter and more empathetic, even if he's a bit brash sometimes.
00:22:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:22:30
Brooklyn
Holland is just like a very take-charge, naturally very confident and very talented person, so whereas people... are drawn to Finn because he's got a sunnier personality. People are drawn to Holland because he's very competent and he's good at what he does. And he's not just a prince, he's you know worthy of people following him because he has shown that he's strong and resilient and very smart and strategizing.
00:22:53
Brooklyn
So they kind of counteract each other where one is failing, the other picks up. So they have a very interesting relationship that, as the books continue, very much morphs almost into a weird codependency where they very much recognize, you know, I am fire and you're ice. And if we come together, we're very competent, but apart, we have struggles.
00:23:13
Brooklyn
um And then I think the other really important character of their year is Godric. I think Godric is a foil to both of them because he's just a happy, sunny kid. And he's just along for the ride and is happy to have friends.
00:23:28
Brooklyn
And, you know, he's so buddy, buddy with Finn. They get along really well. They've had very similar upbringings. They both lost their mother and they're both, you know, Finn has a sister, but he's the boy in a royal family.
00:23:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:23:42
Brooklyn
So of course he was a little bit more favored and his sister coddled him and Godric is an only child. So they really kind of bond over that shared kind of life experience. And Finn likes the stars and Godric likes the clouds. So they tell each other, they're kind of essentially their coping mechanisms of, you know, different sky themed things that they like.
00:24:01
Brooklyn
And Godric and Holland also kind of contrast each other because Godric's also smart and he's capable he may not be as capable as holland but he's more easygoing and easier to deal with so people usually go to finn or godrick before holland because holland's just a bit more abrasive about things and super super competitive and here to like just wreck people and godrick's just like as long as we don't die like we're doing fine um and i think of the adult cast mariah is definitely my favorite
00:24:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:24:28
Brooklyn
People have told me that he's like the Snape character.
00:24:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
How can he not be?
00:24:31
Brooklyn
And I'm like, no, he's good looking, guys. That's the only difference, I guess.
00:24:36
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Well, it is very funny that you say that because I do.
00:24:36
Brooklyn
but
00:24:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I don't picture like Alan Rickman as Snape for Mariah, but I do picture that like very poised. I do picture long hair. I'm not great at following descriptions, so I apologize if that's not how you described him.
00:24:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But I do see him as and I don't see him, of course, like Snape and Mariah as very different characters completely end of the spectrum. um But yeah, i do kind of see where they're coming from.
00:25:01
Brooklyn
Yeah, I think like from a surface level in aesthetics, definitely Mariah has Snapey vibes, but personality types, they're just, especially from like book Snape, who like has the propensity to freak out and yell.
00:25:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:25:13
Brooklyn
Mariah is a lot more like even keeled. If Mariah is upset, something has gone terribly wrong.
00:25:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So chill.
00:25:19
Brooklyn
Like anytime he shows genuine emotion, it's like, oh, that's not good.
00:25:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:25:23
Brooklyn
Like we have to be concerned about it. So I think Mariah and Holland are probably my favorite characters to write just because they have very interesting personalities and dynamics with everybody else. um I don't even remember the second question. I'm so sorry. I got so into the characters.
00:25:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, um the you had mentioned that you you struggle with wanting to write more about Holland. So I was wondering if you ever have plans for maybe a novella on another character's perspective.
Prequel Series and Release Strategy
00:25:50
Brooklyn
Yes. So actually do. They're not novellas, but they're definitely going to be shorter novels. I have a um three-part prequel planned to a character that you do not meet until book four, but who I am absolutely, i am obsessed with this character.
00:26:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, wow.
00:26:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
ah wow.
00:26:07
Brooklyn
And I told my friends and I was like, this is the one i think is so cool. And I want to do an entire like trilogy, just touching on it, but I can't work on it or release it till after book five comes out because it would give the whole big plot twist in the series away but essentially it has like a you know the brendan fraser mummy it has that vibe to it because it's like the expedition to the east and we we found some stuff and things go crazy so i can't wait to get to that because i'm just so excited it's already mapped out i'm ready to go i just got to finish a couple more books first
00:26:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh. o
00:26:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow, that's amazing. And that's so funny because that you said we don't even meet this character until book four, which isn't even, you know, book three is coming out right now.
00:26:50
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So um because when you first said you have a prequel series, my first thought was Moriah and his family and like what happened to all of them because he has a huge family and I'm like, baby.
00:26:50
Brooklyn
yeah
00:27:00
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And he knew You know, there's a lot of history there with the royal family and his family. um So I thought that was where you were going. um
00:27:10
Brooklyn
Now we're going hundreds of years before that even crops up.
00:27:10
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But now you completely threw me. oh wow. Oh, I'm so excited.
00:27:15
Brooklyn
So we're like going to like maybe like the third or fourth generation of the fogs being the kings of Asteria and their foundation of when they built Morincy and um kind of the story behind that and the story behind kind of the darker things and aspects and the cult that comes up in book two.
00:27:36
Brooklyn
So that's what I want to explore because I think it's,
00:27:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, I'm so excited.
00:27:40
Brooklyn
It's so cool because it has, I'm going to, sorry, I'm going off on a tangent. I'm just so in love with the idea.
00:27:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
No, I love it.
00:27:45
Brooklyn
It's like I said, it's got like a Brendan Fraser mummy kind of deal going on. If you like mixed in some ancient Rome, but also like 1920s prohibition era United States.
00:27:56
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow. Okay, awesome. I cannot wait. And so will you be kind of releasing these simutation simultaneously or will you have – You said you can't do it until book five.
00:28:08
Brooklyn
Mm-hmm.
00:28:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And then will this mini trilogy come out and then you'll go to book six or will they be coming out kind of at the same time?
00:28:15
Brooklyn
I think
00:28:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I know this is so far in the future. I'm sorry. Right.
00:28:18
Brooklyn
i think I don't want to hold like future me to this exact plan, but from me right now, if I was strategizing how I would do it, I would probably...
00:28:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:28:27
Brooklyn
do book six and book one of the prequel simultaneously and then release prequel book one few like six or eight months before book six because ah prequel story does flesh out and have a lot of bearing on things that happen in the second half of Phineas's series and it's not necessarily like a compendium you have to read this prequel to understand it it's just like oh that like two second reference that this character made in book six
00:28:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay.
00:28:57
Brooklyn
is an entire different book that happens, but you don't have to but read both of them. But it would just be cool because you could pick it out and be like, oh, I get this reference.
00:29:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay.
00:29:04
Brooklyn
I get this reference.
00:29:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, and I'm totally the type of person that will
00:29:05
Brooklyn
I know who these people are.
Reader Engagement and Adaptation Ideas
00:29:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
be.
00:29:07
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah i i And that's why this podcast came to be because I am the type of person that I need to know. I need to find all the Easter eggs. So if there's all these prequel series, I need to go read them um because i like to i like to so I like to find those.
00:29:23
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And that's why I always try to read the book first and then go see the film so I can see see all those little Easter eggs that might not be explicitly written. said or told in the film, but like there's a picture hanging on the wall, which references this part of the book or something like that.
00:29:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Um, so yeah, I'll be reading all those trilogies when you release them.
00:29:44
Brooklyn
I'm glad to hear it.
00:29:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Um,
00:29:45
Brooklyn
You're my exact target already. I love my Easter eggs. I like just dropping like little hints, be like, this isn't going to come up for a while, but it will come up.
00:29:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Well, and you had mentioned earlier that you do have kind of some references, cinematic references throughout the series. um So I'm like, oh, I need to go reread. And like, did I miss any so far?
00:30:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um I have another question that I want to ask before i forget because we've been getting really excited. And for me, it's so hard not to be like, Well, what happens?
00:30:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Like, I want to know this, this and this.
00:30:12
Brooklyn
Yeah.
00:30:14
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Is it hard for you not to, as you're you're talking about things and talking about the future, especially not to just blurt it out?
00:30:22
Brooklyn
It's really hard. I get like, I think I'm so lucky I have the outlet of my parents and my boyfriend who I'm like, let me tell you, let me, this is going to be super important.
00:30:28
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:30:32
Brooklyn
Did you notice this? Like, look look at look at this one sentence right here. And they're all like, nobody's going to remember that one sentence. I'm like, no, no, no. But when you reread it, like, it's going to come back.
00:30:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:30:42
Brooklyn
It's going to be super important. And I get so excited.
00:30:43
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Yes.
00:30:45
Brooklyn
And I tell them like things and they're like, nobody's, nobody else is remembering this. I'm like, yeah, yeah, but... Like, again, like hearkening back to Harry Potter, there's like, um I don't know if you're familiar with the YouTube channel, the Super Carlin Brothers, who go back and they like, you know reread and they pick apart things chapter by chapter.
00:30:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
huh
00:31:00
Brooklyn
I'm like, well, one day, if people do that to my books, they'll find that like that character I'm talking about that has a prequel series. is mentioned by title in book two and referenced by name once in book three, and yet is so integral to the plot for everything else that it's like, if upon rereading it, you're like, oh, I see how we're we're getting there.
00:31:16
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow. Yeah.
00:31:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:31:22
Brooklyn
It's just, it seems like a nonsense detail.
00:31:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Well, that makes a good story.
00:31:24
Brooklyn
Yeah, i think it's fine.
00:31:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah, of course. And so like the first thing that comes to my mind referencing Harry Potter is that Sirius Black was actually referenced in book one and then, of course, becomes such a big character later on in the series.
00:31:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And that's the – absolutely. Yes, exactly. So, um yes, I am – I do love that kind of thing. And like I said, I already have my theories about things that have – conversations that have happened that I think are going to come into play. And I can't wait to touch base with you and – Five years from now, I'd be like, I was right. Remember that podcast you came on? said
00:31:38
Brooklyn
Yep, Hagrid took his motorbike.
00:31:59
Brooklyn
I look forward to that email that's like, is this what's happening? is this and I could be like, no, it's a good guess though, but you're not going to get it.
00:32:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
it. Yes, I'll start. I'll start sending you my theories. um
00:32:12
Brooklyn
I love it.
00:32:12
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But. um
00:32:12
Brooklyn
I'm always here for it. My dream is for people to theorize about the story.
00:32:18
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So um is there anything else you kind of want to talk about your process or about the book before we kind of get into if it were to be adapted and that kind of conversation?
00:32:28
Brooklyn
don't know. I think kind of maybe maybe we can circle back because I think maybe the things that I'm thinking that I could bring up might actually fit better into talking about like adaptations and the movies and all of that.
00:32:41
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Well, let's start with would you want to see it adapted?
00:32:46
Brooklyn
In an ideal world, I mean, that'd be so cool. I think it'd be a terrible movie because you'd have to condense so much, but like a limited series or, I mean, my absolute dream is that they would make it an animated series.
00:32:58
Brooklyn
I think it'd be, it's perfect to be animated, um but yeah, terrible movie because there's no way you're getting 800 pages of all of those things happening into two hours, three hours, absolutely max.
00:32:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:33:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
100% and I always am a fan of books turning into shows because you you have way more hours to fit that stuff into it. And so I agree I would um choose a show and animation in particular is such a good way.
00:33:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
You can do some much more with animation like yes CGI has come so far, but you can still do so much more with animation than you can live action.
00:33:34
Brooklyn
Definitely. I mean, like i I wanted to go one of the things many one of the many career thoughts I had was to be an animator.
00:33:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:33:40
Brooklyn
So I've always been very in love with animation and the process and art and everything. But that is not to say that if anybody wanted to Game of Thrones it and put it on HBO, that I would say no, I think it'd be so cool to see it brought to life.
00:33:52
Brooklyn
And I think the setting is visually interesting, like nights on a tropical island is kind of a weird juxtaposition. So I think it would at least intrigue people visually.
00:34:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, absolutely. um Who, so this next question might be a little tough because voice actors are a lot different than live action actors. But um have you thought about if this were to happen, who would be as of now? Because, you know, five, 10 years from now, 12 year old now is going to be too old to play Phineas.
00:34:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
But as of now, if you were to have your dream cast, are there any particular actors and actresses that come to mind for any of your key players? Yeah.
00:34:29
Brooklyn
I think so. This is going to sound insane. I actually do have a folder on my phone of pictures of actors who I envision um when I'm writing, but it would involve like we need to invent like a time travel machine to cherry pick exactly who I would want so we can put them at the right age into the story.
00:34:38
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:34:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:34:46
Brooklyn
But I mean, like ideally, a young Asa Butterfield is the perfect Phineas. Like he's got black hair. he's you know, concerningly pale all has freckles, super, super blue eyes. Finn's eyes are gray, but you could get away with it.
00:34:59
Brooklyn
So I think he would be like a absolutely perfect Finn. Um, a very like a 20 something like 25 year old Tom Hiddleston. Like when he just did Loki for the first time is the perfect Mariah deep voice, slick back, black hair, tall, weirdly muscular, but gaunt at the same time.
00:35:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, you know, as as a opposed to saying Snape is Mariah, Loki as Mariah, I think is a much better comparison, if you...
00:35:27
Brooklyn
Yeah, I think like people always like when I've done other podcasts or when I talk to readers, people always jump to the Snape comparison. And I'm like, guys, he has a green motif with slicked back black hair, deep voice, muscular, but thin.
00:35:41
Brooklyn
He's like he is a young Loki. Like that's the visual I would jump to immediately.
00:35:44
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I love that.
00:35:47
Brooklyn
and then for his sister Dot, I think. um A young Charlize Theron is who I have picked when she had her hair like short and slicked back and it's blonde as well because she matches Tom Hiddleston in the you know cheekbone eye department and Dot and Mariah are supposed to look very, very similar.
00:35:55
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:36:03
Brooklyn
And she's also like tall and lean. So I think she
Artistic Process and Cinematic Influences
00:36:05
Brooklyn
fits. And then this is going to sound and so stupid. A young ah Hugh Grant is who I had pictured in my brain as the character of Noel.
00:36:09
Sarah-Daye McDougall
No.
00:36:14
Brooklyn
Because he had that floppy you know brown hair and the big blue eyes. And he just looks like happy. And Noel's just like a ah golden retriever guy. you know Being cute, running around, not interested in like um partaking in his siblings' apathy towards the world.
00:36:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:36:29
Brooklyn
So I think those are the main ones. And then the the girl who played Anne with an E... she's she's the perfect luxe because like in Anne with an E everybody's like she's not she's such an ugly girl and she's like she's really not she's just gangly with freckles and red hair and that's what everybody always says about luxe they're like she's not pretty and it's like no she's cute she's a she's a strong-willed little ginger girl it's adorable so I think that girl would like she's my prime luxe like perfect
00:36:40
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh.
00:36:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh.
00:36:55
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, I just pulled up a picture of her and I do, I can totally see her as Lux. When I had been reading it, I kind of imagined Sadie Sink, um who's in Stranger Things.
00:37:04
Brooklyn
Oh, she'd be a good luxe too. Yeah. She has a personality for it too.
00:37:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:37:07
Brooklyn
Like that fiery kind of, you know, I can get it done. I don't need your help kind of mentality.
00:37:11
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Absolutely. Yeah. And I did pull up a picture of Asa Butterfield and I totally recognized him, but I didn't recognize the name. um But yeah, I can see that. And then somebody that I had in my mind is Joe Locke.
00:37:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Now he's he' too old to play 12 year old, but I can see him as being an older Finn.
00:37:26
Brooklyn
i could see it.
00:37:29
Sarah-Daye McDougall
I mean, I assume each book is going to be about a year.
00:37:32
Brooklyn
Mm-hmm.
00:37:32
Sarah-Daye McDougall
So we would get into those older years and that's how envision. Phineas um aging into a a Joe Locke type look.
00:37:40
Brooklyn
See, and I could almost see if you change Joe Locke's hair to like an orange color, I think he would be a really good Godric because he has like more of that like kind of goofyish cutesy vibe about him.
00:37:48
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Yeah.
00:37:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. ah
00:37:52
Brooklyn
And Finn's a lot more like, I will end you.
00:37:52
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:37:55
Brooklyn
And Godric's like, well, maybe we don't do that. So like I feel like, yeah, Joe Locke, but I would switch him to being a red hair Joe Locke. And I think he'd be a great Godric.
00:38:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, that's awesome. That's a lot of fun. i That's one of my favorite things when it comes to adaptations is seeing who's going to play these characters and who's going to bring these characters to life. Because, I mean, they' that's big shoes to fill. No matter the adaptation, you know, you're bringing these authors' ideas of these characters to life.
00:38:25
Brooklyn
Yeah, definitely. i think there's like never going to be 100% right casting because I think the great thing about books is everybody's going to interpret it just slightly differently.
00:38:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And
00:38:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:38:34
Brooklyn
No matter how many times I'm like, this is what I see as Finn, people will immediately, like you said, Joe Locke, and I said Asa Butterfield, and they have similarities, but yet they're still very different looking people.
00:38:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:38:45
Brooklyn
And neither of them you could say is objectively 100% because it's how you're envisioning and interpreting the writing. And I think that's both one of the really fun things about adaptations, but also dangerous, because you're gonna upset somebody.
00:38:57
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, that's true. i don't think I've seen a casting announcement that hasn't had some sort of not controversy, but back and forth between fans.
00:39:09
Brooklyn
ah definitely, especially in the last like five years, everybody now just loses their mind. and It's like, well, can we just enjoy the thing, please?
00:39:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, exactly. i know. i Like, just let's let's see how the acting is. Yeah.
00:39:20
Brooklyn
Yeah, if they're terrible, then they're just terrible and you can complain about it.
00:39:22
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Then you can complain. Exactly. Now, something that I really like about your Instagram as we're talking about visualizing these characters is you draw your characters and you post that on your Instagram.
00:39:34
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And that's been very helpful to me, um especially when I first started to read. I was like, okay, who are these characters? And I can't wait to meet these characters. And then I think there's one image I saw on your Instagram and they don't come until book two. And I was like, oh, I don't get to meet them for a whole book if I'm remembering correctly. But that's really neat that you do that and you are the artist of these characters and you get to – share with us your vision of these characters um do you want to talk a little bit about because you've talked a lot about how you are art in all kinds of forms has always been very a passion of yours it seems um so how did you start these drawings and what came first the drawings or the story
00:40:22
Brooklyn
So the story definitely came first. Like I said, I really wanted to be an animator for a while. And I even thought about switching my major over from creative writing to animation. I went to UCF, ah the University of Central Florida. It's a very big animation school. They actually feed a lot of people into Disney.
00:40:38
Brooklyn
So Disney kind of plucks the animation students a lot. ah So I really thought about that, but I don't like people telling me what to draw, which is probably not great for that career. So I stuck with creative writing, but I really like drawing the characters.
00:40:51
Brooklyn
I always did paper and pen, so I'm trying to adapt to digital art, which has been a slow process. And it's definitely has a learning curve, but. The ultimate goal, I'm just, I'm setting myself up for a life of like no sleep because I already said I'm writing a trilogy prequel.
00:41:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
a
00:41:06
Brooklyn
The ultimate goal is also to adapt everything into like an ongoing many, many volumed graphic novel. So there's that. And I definitely, if I'm not the sole artist, want to be the main contributing artist to it
00:41:21
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, that's amazing.
00:41:21
Brooklyn
So, so it's just really when I can't find the will to write, I'm trying to draw. So at least I'm still being productive and honing that craft if I'm not turning out chapters.
00:41:31
Sarah-Daye McDougall
How would you break up the the graphic novels? Would you have a like three or four per book?
00:41:39
Brooklyn
I think it'd probably have to be, i would try my hardest to condense like five chapters into one volume. But I think the nature of writing and the nature of ah graphic novel, visual storytelling, they they go hand in hand at the same time, they kind of don't.
00:41:47
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Okay.
00:41:57
Brooklyn
So whereas I think the story, or at least from my bias per perspective perspective, is very much well told in the way it needed to be for a written story, I think to have a visual interpretation of it, events may need to be just switched up a little bit or condensed here and there so that the flow of it isn't a start and stoppy.
00:42:16
Brooklyn
Because you were reading the book, there's a lot of times where you spend a decent amount of time with Finn's introspective on things.
00:42:17
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh,
00:42:24
Brooklyn
And you can't necessarily have a graphic novel where Finn is just standing there midway through an event happening, just cogitating upon the nature of life.
00:42:24
Sarah-Daye McDougall
right.
00:42:31
Brooklyn
And if he would prefer to be drowning, which he does worrisome frequently for 12 year old, he's like drowning would be good right now. So you need to like keep action going for a graphic novel.
00:42:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
oh right
00:42:41
Brooklyn
So I think I just kind of, once I get far enough into the written series, I think I would go back and start parsing out how I would pick these pieces apart and transition them and translate them into a visual medium.
00:42:56
Brooklyn
But I think that would probably take at least a year. And I don't want to just stop at like book six and take a year off to not only write a prequel, but also be doing this.
00:43:03
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Right.
00:43:06
Brooklyn
So it's just going to be a lot of juggling my time and time management, which I'm not super great at, but I'm working on it.
00:43:06
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:43:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Are any of us really great at time management? and
00:43:16
Brooklyn
Some people, the lucky few.
00:43:19
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um So I kind of want to wrap up the conversation by talking about the fact that you did have um cinematic inspiration as you were writing the series and kind of kind of um combine in our two conversations here as we end. So can you talk to me a little bit more about...
00:43:37
Sarah-Daye McDougall
What kind of cinematography or directors or what about film helped you write the series?
00:43:46
Brooklyn
Definitely. I'm going to sound like ah the biggest like goth kid emo cliche you've ever heard. um i was really into The Crow when I was a kid, the Brandon Lee Crow movie.
00:43:57
Brooklyn
I loved the aesthetic and the grungy goth vibe of it.
00:44:01
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:44:01
Brooklyn
um I also really like the Underworld series, which I feel like has a lot of aesthetic overlap.
00:44:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:44:08
Brooklyn
like The Mordres are always dressed head to toe in leather despite the fact they live on a tropical island.
00:44:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:44:13
Brooklyn
um So that very much kind of grimy, everything's dark, filtered aesthetic, I think, played a lot into how I set the tone for certain things and how I write um and the kind of characters I'm drawn to from an aesthetic perspective.
00:44:28
Brooklyn
I also like the the brooding kind of Byronic hero in black, which is definitely Mariah to a And then um i think the biggest visual and storytelling and aesthetic kind of influences that i had from cinema where anything made by Tim Burton, like I said, super cliche, love my Tim Burton movies, especially like Sleepy Hollow, I think has a lot of, I like that, like, everybody's concerningly anemic, pale and looks tired vibe.
00:44:46
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:44:51
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Mm-hmm.
00:44:58
Brooklyn
And I i just ah scattered it throughout my book. i'm like, this is just a country of people who need to see sunlight. but they all live on a tropical island. And then Guillermo del Toro. I love Pan's Labyrinth.
00:45:10
Brooklyn
There's definitely Pan's Labyrinth references when Finn and Holland go into the jungle and they meet the king of the jungle ah in the caves. I think it's so whimsical and brings that like harry potter magic to the screen but it's very kind of dark and brooding and you're not entirely sure if the magic is a good thing and that was kind of the the feeling i wanted for finn's world is there's magic but you're not entirely sure if the magic is a good thing we should give into and embrace or if it's a foreboding kind of menacing force and if you should trust
00:45:43
Brooklyn
you know, the monsters in the jungle or the mermaids and things like that. So like things that aren't human, are they good? Are they natural? Are they bad? So are really liked how Guillermo del Toro plays with, you know, the woodland fairies inviting Ophelia into this magical world. But should she be?
00:46:00
Brooklyn
Because it doesn't go well for her and there's monsters and things, but then she ultimately belonged there.
00:46:04
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:46:05
Brooklyn
So I really liked... I like how he tells stories and I like that dark magic feel. And i I think there's just such beauty, even in like the grim and the macabre. And he definitely brings kind of a light to that side of fantasy.
00:46:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Well, I have to say, I think you were successful because as I'm reading this, i I am one of the people that can see like with their mind's eye. And I definitely had that more darker, pale skinned people um look as I'm reading. So as you were describing the this was your inspiration, like, yeah, you nailed it.
00:46:42
Brooklyn
Well, I'm glad. I'm glad I could bring that like creepy dark fantasy 90s grunge goth kind of feel to my story. Mm-hmm.
00:46:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, and I think ah you designed the cover of your book as well, correct?
00:46:54
Brooklyn
Yeah.
00:46:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah, and so I think even from the first, you know, the cover gives off that feel too. So maybe it's kind of I was predisposed to have those feelings based on the cover because I feel like this cover really fits that vibe as well.
00:47:07
Brooklyn
Well, thank you. Yeah, I always say that like my greatest ambition and I know i have made it is when they start selling Phineas Fogg merch and Hot Topic. Like that's my pinnacle.
00:47:15
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:16
Brooklyn
I'm like, if I make it there, like my little 90s kid elder emo heart will be so happy. Like that's what I've made. I can stop at that point. I've made it. I don't need, you know, billions or a yacht.
00:47:25
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes.
00:47:27
Brooklyn
I need to be in Hot Topic. That's that's it for me.
00:47:30
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. Well, I call dibs right now when they start selling the hot topic merch, I would like you to send me a button stuffy.
00:47:37
Brooklyn
Girl, I'm down for that. i mean, I'm also going to need one.
00:47:39
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Thank y'all.
00:47:41
Brooklyn
gonna need one of Buttons. I'm gonna need one of Doug the Fox, Mischief the Raccoon.
00:47:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh my God. I've totally, yes, Doug. Oh, okay. I haven't met a raccoon yet, but um I do.
00:47:48
Brooklyn
Oh, he's coming.
00:47:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Okay. I can't wait. um Yes. I'll have a whole line on my, you can't see it, my my bookshelf behind me, um but I definitely need um ah buttons and yes, Doug.
00:47:59
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I can't wait to meet the raccoon. So um I hope there's just like a whole army of ah woodland creatures coming soon.
00:48:05
Brooklyn
Oh, yeah, we're piling on animals like each book somebody else comes in with their weirdly named autonomous animal companion.
00:48:13
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Love that so much. um Oh, and I wanted to note also the magic is so interesting because it's not –
00:48:15
Brooklyn
hmm.
00:48:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
It's not ah the main – they barely mention it. um There's one scene earlier in the book where there's evidence of magic and then it's almost not talked about again um for a while. um And even now, I'm halfway through, it's still not a main part of the story. And so I'm really excited to see where – I'm just really excited to finish this book. And I did try really hard to finish it, but, you know, Life with Kids – um But yeah, i'm I'm just very, I mean, the the book is really interesting. There's little seeds of mystery and adventure.
00:48:54
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I'm just really excited to see how this particular book ends and get started into the next one and just see where this story for Phineas goes.
00:49:03
Brooklyn
I am so excited to hear it. Hopefully you're surprised because I haven't heard of a single person who's guessed how book one ends. um I think like one of the funnest things of being about ah an author and a creator is setting things up.
00:49:15
Brooklyn
And then, you know, people are like, oh, i know how it ends. It's such a stereotype. And it's like, no, you don't watch this.
00:49:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yeah
00:49:20
Brooklyn
And then like book two, everybody's like, I know how it's gonna go. It's like, no, you don't watch this. And I think that's like one of my favorite things is being like, you think you know, but you definitely don't know.
00:49:26
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Oh, I love that.
00:49:30
Brooklyn
So I love hearing back from readers what their reaction is, especially to how book two goes. I think I had known so many people and then they read book two and they're like, oh my God, i was not thinking this is where we were going.
00:49:44
Brooklyn
i was like, yeah, so much fun.
00:49:45
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Wow. Yeah. I mean, I, and I really have no idea um where, like, like I said earlier, I don't know what the overarching arc is going to be. Like, I understand there's, there's, like I said, there's, you've planted some mystery seeds um with the book earlier and his sister is on her own investigating that. And like, I'm like, I'm, I really want to see where this is going, but he's just,
00:50:08
Sarah-Daye McDougall
living his best life at school right now. And so it's really interesting to see how these little pieces are going to come together. And I am, that's why I'm like, I really want to get to the end so I can see like what that book one cliffhanger is going to be.
00:50:20
Sarah-Daye McDougall
um And I'm so excited that you already have two, almost three books out that I don't have to wait a year for the second one.
00:50:26
Brooklyn
I'm so excited for your excitement. And I really, i genuinely want to hear back about how your your thoughts on how the magic kind of plays back into the story and how it comes out.
00:50:35
Sarah-Daye McDougall
yes
00:50:36
Brooklyn
Because it's, like you said, it's not the main focal point of book one or really book two. It's very much like a built upon world building deep lore like i said they had this prohibition era type deal but their prohibition era was like on the mystical and the occult and everything so it's that slow build to bring magic back in and for people to now be stuck in this world that is just like insane and just ah kind of balls to the wall weird is is what i'm going for at this point
00:50:53
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah.
00:51:05
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yeah. Well, okay. Yeah. I'm very excited and I can't wait to message you, but for my listeners, would you please share with them where they can find you and your work?
00:51:15
Brooklyn
Definitely. So I am on Instagram at brooklyn.quintana. I am on TikTok at thebrooklynq, YouTube at brooklynq. um And then I have a website where I am relatively good about posting updates. It's brooklynquintana.com.
00:51:30
Brooklyn
There is also phineasfog.com, which really is just a link to where you could buy the books. And then the books are available on Barnes & Noble online, Amazon Prime, and most online book retailers.
00:51:42
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I did get my copy from my local bookstore. So the local bookstores are also able to get it, I would assume.
00:51:48
Brooklyn
Oh, very cool. That's really cool to hear.
00:51:49
Sarah-Daye McDougall
Yes. Yes. Yeah, I was very excited to see that. So um yeah, well, everybody go follow Brooklyn Quintana. And please, please check out Phineas Fogg, The Nine of Swords. It is very fascinating.
00:52:02
Sarah-Daye McDougall
And I will see everybody next week. Thanks for joining us.