L.R. Schulz is a Melbourne born fantasy author and primary school teacher with a love for reading and writing. During the covid outbreak, Schulz began writing his very own fantasy novel and then over the last twelve months underwent the daunting process of publishing it himself. A King’s Radiance is his first novel in the Bonds of Kin and debuts Saturday, May 21st, 2022!
Get to know L.R. Schulz and what inspired his first novel
1 – What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A – Vegemite toast (can you tell I’m Aussie?)
2 – Tell us what your debut novel, A King’s Radiance is about?
A – I try to weave in a number of themes throughout my book. I talk heavily about objectification. I talk about one or a group of people holding too much power and how that can impact a world. I write about revolution, racism, genocide, and mental health. But at the heart of the novel is a tale of three siblings finding their way in a harsh world hell-bent on keeping them apart.
3 – Did you draw inspiration from other stories and art forms for your story?
A – Yes definitely. Ever since I started writing I tend to analyse all of the books I love. I observe what makes good writing and try to work out why I love a said person’s works so much and try to use their techniques in my own writing. This is the same for television and especially anime. I am obsessed with stories, so when I am emotionally hit by something I view, I write down notes about what made it so impactful.
The prologue in AKR is actually inspired by an episode of one piece, where a person of higher rank captures a princess in front of their father, and there is nothing he can do to stop them. Of course, my story ends up very different, but I tried to recreate the emotions I felt while watching that episode in my first chapter.
4 – What made you decide to start writing your own fantasy story?
A – I wrote a few chapters of a book back in grade 5 with my best mate. It was a carbon copy of Lord of the Rings…. But instead of ‘orcs’, we called them ‘quarne’ (don’t ask me why, I was 11….) but ever since then I always wanted to write something of my own. Fast forward 15 years later and I realised I had the right attitude when I was 11….
5 – Did you know you wanted to publish it from the beginning?
A – I actually wrote another (120k) book before this one just for fun. It wasn’t finished but was a bit of a mess. I decided to chalk that one down as learning the craft and focused on AKR, which yes, I intended to publish.
6 – A King’s Radiance is receiving lots of positive reviews. I’ve seen hints of a sequel in the works, so is there a plan for how many books will be in the series at this point?
A – I’ve heard whispers of a possible trilogy… 😉
7 – Are there any plans toexpand more on this fantasy world in other spin-off or unconnected series?
A – Hmm, this is not confirmed, but after seeing the success of other novellas and their value as a potential reader magnet, I have been toying with the idea of a novella set 1000 or so before AKR, which would highlight the rise of Gallion and actually paint the ‘Eagles’ in a positive light, rather than how they are perceived in AKR. I dunno, let me know what you think of the idea!
8 – Colour seems to play a significant part in your book, is this something you thought up for the story or was it something you were inspired by from your own experiences?
A – Umm that’s an interesting one. Perhaps I’ve just been reading too much Stormlight Archive (lighteyes) and brent weeks (black prism magic). Colour is everywhere! Why wouldn’t it make for some cool magic?
9 – Characterisations and character relationships are really well crafted, is this something your career as a teacher, communicating with and building relationships with your students daily, has helped in writing your characters do you think?
A – I actually don’t think so. Teaching kids can be rewarding, but sometimes at the end of the day, you just want to shake your head and drink yourself to sleep. Hmm but I am pretty mean to my characters… so yes, maybe you are onto something there!
10 – The novel follows three siblings, Raiz, Dazen and Isha, which character and/or their story was the hardest to get right, if at all?
A – I would say Isha, only because as a male writing a female lead there are certain challenges that come with that. There were a few scenes where I was really unsure how far to go or how it might be perceived from a female’s perspective.
11 – What has been your favourite part of writing your own novel?
A – Honestly connecting with readers and other authors! For a long time it has only been me and my thoughts for company, these days I can share them with people all over the world. I also really love that ‘feeling’ of thinking I am a genius while writing a certain scene, only to find out later that I am not as clever as I thought…
12 – What is one thing you’ve learned about yourself as a writer?
A – That even my god awful spelling and grammar can be fixed clean with a good self-edit and a GREAT editor…
13 – Has the Glaive siblings’ story changed much from when you started writing to now?
A – I would say my first draft was fairly clean in terms of the central structure of the story. In my edits, I mainly added setting details, fixed a few plot holes and cut out the fluff.
14 – What would you say has been the most challenging part of the whole process?
A – Definitely finding the time to write in-between work. It’s hard when I am at school and all I want to do is get home and write, then when I am home I am too tired to move my fingers…
15 – If you could go back with what you know now, is there anything you would do differently?
A – Not spend all of those hours applying to agents who are too damn lazy to read past the first page…
Nah but seriously I was pretty happy with my process, I don’t think I’d change much. Just need to work out a system to be more productive with my time.
16 – What advice do you have for other indie authors wanting to publish their stories?
A – DO IT!
17 – What author/s inspire you to write?
A – Eragon introduced me to fantasy (besides LotR), Magician made me fall in love with it, and Mistborn made me want to write my own.
18 – If you could visit any fantasy world which one would it be and why?
A – Probably Kings of the Wyld so I could join a band and rise to glory fighting monsters (seriously love that book)
19 – Let’s say you could have lunch with any of your characters from A King’s Radiance, who is it and what are you eating?
A – Spike and we’re having a shine sandwich
20 – What is your favourite quote?
A – “If their world was broken, why not fill the hole with another broken piece?”
Or
“There are a dozen definitions for wrong in this world, we just have to find which of them is the right one.”
21 – And finally, can you badly explain your book to those who haven’t read it yet?
A – Hot-tempered youngest child with daddy issues gets a pet lizard. Girl with purple eyes gets taken by a man named after a bird. Posh Prince doesn’t want to marry pretty princess.
Hot-tempered youngest child with daddy issues glows red and rescues Girl with purples eyes from man named after a bird. Posh Prince joins up with hot-tempered youngest child with daddy issues, girl with purple eyes, pet lizard and pretty princess to fight Angry man on big tower.
Follow L.R. Schulz for more news and updates!
Instagram: @luke_schulz_author
Twitter: @L_R_Schulz
Goodreads: L.R. Schulz
Check out A King’s Radiance summary below!
Three siblings…
A rebel
A prince
A prisoner
The sun’s light shines bright over the land of Zapour, and only a select few can harness its power. But all power comes with a cost, and the world is not kind to those who refuse to pay it.
Raiz Glaive, a strong shine wielder, was born into royalty, though even royals have to answer to someone. When the King-Radiant sends one of his precious underlings to the Kingdom of Trost, Raiz quickly learns who holds the true power in the realm. After his sister is taken prisoner simply for having the violet eyes of a mystic, Raiz swears vengeance. But when an unwilling father stands in his way, Raiz promises to take revenge into his own hands.
Dazen Glaive remains heir to the throne of Trost, and a sworn defender of the King-Radiant, but he has not forgotten what happened to his sister, and will not forgive their cruelty.
Forced to be the centrepiece of her “master’s” twisted human art gallery, Isha remains a prisoner. Though she has not lost hope. Finding friends among fellow captives, she begins to formulate a plan for escape. Though what she discovers has a much more sinister bearing on the fate of all of Zapour.
A huge thank you to Luke for answering these questions and having some fun with me to celebrate the release of his debut book! Available from Amazon, Booktopia, Dymocks and Angus & Robertson.
Emily Morrison 
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