Faefall: Honey & Iron - Preston Nelson
Author Interview: Preston Nelson on Faefall: Honey & Iron
Today we’re diving into the world of Faefall: Honey & Iron with author Preston Nelson (@lazyknightspublishing). Book one in the Faefall series brings readers a deadly tournament, scheming courts, eldritch forces, and nine champions whose fates are tied to a crown of light and wings of night. Think anime tournament arc meets epic political fantasy.
Q1: For readers just discovering it, can you give us a quick, spoiler-free overview of Faefall: Honey & Iron?
Preston: The story is a love letter to those huge fantasy epics with maps in the front, but with modern sensibilities. It’s generational conflict, it’s politics. But more than that, it’s human stories. You’ve got a grizzled mercenary being blackmailed, you’ve got an abused wife reclaiming her power, you have a Neurodivergent second-son navigating a world that is not made for him. Behind this chaos, serious dark eldritch forces are plotting.
Q2: The book combines tournament-style action with a sweeping political thriller. What inspired that mix?
Preston: Tourneys are fantasy prom, man! Everyone is here, wearing all their best stuff, talking trash about the girl next door, it’s great. Plus everyone is hitting each other! But, seriously, it gets to be a really fantastic way to put a bunch of different characters into a pressure cooker. I can’t think of a better way to start a series.
Q3: “Wings of night. Crown of light.” is such a striking tagline. What does it mean to you in the context of the story?
Preston: Without spoiling too much, I’ll say it’s two sides of one coin.
Q4: The setting of Honeyhome feels both beautiful and dangerous. How did you approach worldbuilding for this story?
Preston: First and foremost, I want my world to feel real. I had forty-five thousand words of world bible before I wrote word one of novel. I know that sounds absolutely insane, but I kind of approached building the world like exploring the world itself. I made a fantasy world that I wanted to see stories in, and once I had my little sandbox, I could build all the castles I wanted.
Q5: The tournament introduces nine very different souls. Did you have a favorite character to write, or one that surprised you along the way?
Preston: I won’t even pretend that Hartwin Saddler isn’t my perfect little daddy’s favorite. I love writing a bad boy, and a bad boy learning that maybe he isn’t so bad is even more fun. He gets the snottiest replies and I love his romance with Lady Joelle. Plus, he gets a little brush of the dark and spooky early on!
But, man, Lady Lilah Stagg came out of nowhere. She was not even meant to be a Point-of-View character, and she is getting more love from readers than anybody else. I needed a person in certain places at certain times, and she slowly became this quiet favorite.
Q6: Faefall blends youthful ambition with ancient eldritch threats. How do you balance those personal character arcs with the larger, darker forces at play?
Preston: When you’re dealing with the nobility, these personal arcs directly affect the way these larger forces get to proceed. Just like in our real world, the people in charge can choose to confront existential threats, or ignore them, to their own peril. But at the end of the day, these people in charge are just people, and they may not realize how far the consequences of their choices go.
Q7: If Faefall: Honey & Iron were adapted into an anime or series, what would the opening theme song feel like?
Preston: About halfway between the opening theme from Dexter and the opening theme from Angel. Actually, just halfway between Michael C. Hall’s dead eyed stare and David Boreanz's early 2000’s smolder.
Q8: What’s been the most rewarding part of writing Faefall: Honey & Iron so far?
Preston: The sense of accomplishment when I opened the first author’s copies, felt the weight, smelled the paper. …It wasn’t quite as good as my kids being born, but man, it’s in the same ballpark.
Q9: What challenges did you face writing such an intricate, large-scale story with so many moving parts?
Preston: I’m kind of lucky, I think. My brain is made for this stuff. As far back as I remember, I’ve been that kind of nerd; Star Wars facts, dinosaurs, all that jazz. Writing this book was just a matter of doing that with stuff I made up.
I will say, that the chain of custody of a certain item in the book gave me friggin' fits, though.
Q10: Without spoilers, what can readers expect as the Faefall series continues?
Preston: Honey & Iron focuses on a few characters in one locale, and as the series goes forward, we get to see them spread out on their individual arcs across the world. As the novel closes, nothing will be the same, for the highest and the low. And as we go forward, we get to see the world from some more common eyes, too.
About Preston
Q11: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
Preston: I won some young author’s award in second grade, and I would like to pretend that was some formative moment, but it was just a fun afternoon with my mom.
Writing has just been something I’ve always enjoyed. And honestly, I’m better on the page.
Q12: What books, anime, or other media influenced Faefall the most?
Preston: There are broad strokes of A Song of Ice and Fire in here, I won’t lie. There’s a certain portion of this book born out of frustration that Martin is taking his sweet time. A little bit of, “Fine, I’ll build my own fantasy series… With blackjack. And hookers.” But, in a totally respectful loving way. And since Martin started his series in response to Tolkien, I feel like that’s fair, right?
And elves and kobolds and dwarves are standard Gygax-ian fare, of course. But if you’re looking, you’ll find all sorts of heroes popping in: Spider-Man, Obi-Wan, Darkwing Duck, and even Homer Simpson.
Heck, the concept for the Lord of Spies, Illystre Coldhearth was ‘What if Varys from Game of Thrones was also Batman?’
Q13: Outside of writing, what hobbies or passions inspire your creativity?
Preston: I’m a huge nerd, which has got to be apparent by now. But, beyond that, I love cooking, grilling. I don’t have the meticulous patience required for baking. I draw, not as well as I write, I think, but well enough. The cover, maps and all the emblems in the book are my own work.
Q14: If you could step into Honeyhome for a single day, where would we find you?
Preston: Rolen’s Flushed Filly, the little red-brick alehouse on the docks. Let me chop onions and I’ll spin some bullshit stories for my supper, man.
Rapid-Fire Round ⚡️
Hero or antihero?
Hero. I feel like we’re re-entering the age of positivity, man.
Morning or midnight writing?
Overnight.
Favorite fantasy trope?
This man, this monster.
Book you’ve reread most?
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Anime you’d rewatch forever?
Dragonball Abridged, the best thing the internet has ever produced. Thanks Copyright theft!
Dream vacation spot?
Grand Marias, MN. The North Shore of Lake Superior. Perfection.
One word to describe Faefall: Honey & Iron?
Human.
One word to describe your writing style?
Ridiculous.
✨ Faefall: Honey & Iron is available now, the first book in a dark, sweeping fantasy series full of tournaments, courtly intrigue, and eldritch shadows.
Follow Preston Nelson on social media at @lazyknightspublishing for updates, teasers, and more from the world of Faefall.