Q&A with Nick Stitle

 

 

 

Nick Stitle is the author of the new novel Stormless. He is 17 years old, and he lives in Indiana.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Stormless, and how did you create your cast of characters?

 

A: The story of how Stormless came to be actually goes pretty far back. I have always been an avid reader, and when I was about 12, I decided that I should give writing a shot.

 

Over the following three years, I wrote many expansive stories that contained a variety of exciting ideas, but in the fall of 2021, I decided that I wanted to create a story that was actually worthy of publication. I sat down at my computer and started refining some of my favorite ideas from my previous works. I polished the best aspects of my earlier stories and sort of “reincarnated” them into what is now Stormless.

 

My cast of characters came mostly from my imagination. A few of my characters are once again “reincarnated” from earlier stories, but most of them I just simply made up! Castien, the main character, is largely based on me, and thus he is the one character in the story that is actually based on a real person.

 

Q: How did you create the world of Auris, where the story takes place?

 

A: I created the world of Auris through a process that involved combining a lot of my favorite ideas from both my previous works and other books that I had read. I built the story first, and then constructed the world of Auris around my plot with the goal of creating a continent that would be more involved in the story than most settings.

 

Specifically, the idea of having the magic system relate directly to the weather patterns of Auris allowed me to let Auris actually have a part to play in the book, rather than just acting as a backdrop.

 

Q: Did you know how the story would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I knew the story would end a certain way from the very beginning. I made several changes along the way to the details of the ending, but the ending itself has stayed essentially the same. There were many changes made to smaller parts of the plot throughout the writing process, but one thing that I planned out very far in advance was the conclusion.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I hope that readers ultimately walk away with a message of hope and perseverance. The main character struggles a lot with his mental health and his sexuality, and I think that a lot of readers will relate to that.

 

The character ultimately develops ways to deal with these struggles, of course, which I think will really leave the reader with a lasting sense of hope, as this book is yet another example of the idea that—given enough time—things will get better, regardless of what one might be going through.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am currently working on the second book of the Stormless series. I hope to release book two before the end of the year, as I am almost entirely done writing it. However, I still have a lot of editing and rewriting to do, so this book will likely not be available until late fall at the earliest.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I have an Instagram page where I post everything related to my book! If anyone wants to keep up with me and my journey, @nickstitle_author on Instagram is a great place to start!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb