Books: The Coming of Áed: The Hidden King, Book 1; The Last Prince, Book 2; The Wild Court, Book 3
About The Author: E.G. Radcliff is a part-time pooka and native of the Unseelie Court. She collects acorns, glass beads, and pretty rocks, and the crows outside her house know her as She Who Has Bread.
Her fantasy novels are crafted in the dead of night after offering sacrifices of almonds and red wine to the writing-block deities.
You can reach her by scrying bowl, carrier pigeon, or @egradcliff on social media.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have not read the series, there will be spoilers for the whole series.
ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED
Hi E. G.,
Thank you so much for stopping by to chat about your amazing YA series, The Coming of Áed. It is so special to me and I absolutely loved it!
Aside from the bio that is on your books, can you tell us more about yourself?
I am based in Chicagoland and enjoy traveling whenever possible. I have family all over the country so that’s always a good reason to visit some of my favorite places.
I adore music, and singing in choral ensemble is one of my joys, as is making music when I get together with my brother.
If you follow me on Instagram at all, you know I have a reckless kitty named Sushi, with whom I am totally smitten.
You are so creative! Singing in addition to writing is wonderful. I have seen Sushi on Instagram (everyone follow E. G. Radcliff!) and she’s adorable. We have 3 cats-each with their own personality.
Did you set out to write young adult fantasy or did it just come as a result of the story?
I didn’t set out with the intent to adhere to a genre. I wrote the story I wanted to tell, and did my best to classify it later; classifying it helps it sell. I knew that it would have magic in it, but that’s about it. I never chose to write specifically for an audience of one age group.
That’s so interesting. I never knew that, which is why I love these interviews. I always assumed author’s pick a genre and then write the story. This makes total sense.
I’m always in awe of writer’s stories. I write reviews. I teach students how to write research papers, but I am not at all creative. How did you form the idea of The Coming of Aed series?
The foundation for the first book—the characters, the setting of the Maze, some other basics—came to me in a dream. The dream itself was largely nonsense, but something about it stuck, so I wrote it down. From that came The Hidden King. As I wrote that first book, I became more and more involved in the world and the characters. I discovered more about them. I began to see the arc of the trilogy more clearly. The final book, The Wild Court, was the trickiest, because it involved the most deliberate plotting—so many character arcs, schemes, different motivations, timing, all that. But in general, I’m inspired by my characters. They feel very much like real people to me, and I like people. Once I get to know them, they give me most of my ideas.
Wow! That is so amazing! I don’t even think I dream creatively! I love to see how your world and characters unfold.
I loved this series, as we have chatted about it. Having a son who is gay, and reading about characters who are gay was so inspiring. I think the fantasy genre is very lacking in inclusion and I think this is certainly important in both adult and YA fantasy. Were you at all hesitant about including LBGTQIA+ representation in a YA fantasy?
I have come across many fantasy books with inclusive casts and could recommend a good number. Especially in YA, it’s becoming quite mainstream. I was not hesitant about including LGBTQ+ characters in my books, but I think it’s important to note that I do not see inclusion of any character type only as representation. I didn’t create a character and say ‘oh, there needs to be some queerness in this story; I’ll make them gay.’ That approach would feel off to me, like it’s being dishonest to the character, and I find that will usually show in the writing in a way that feels forced.
I get to know my characters as I write them, and I spend immense amounts of time exploring who they are. I know which characters like fish, and which ones sunburn easily. I know who would be the best pickpocket. I know details that never make it into the book–for instance, Iarlaith was not born blind, but gradually lost his sight over the first twelve years of his life. Fionnuala is fond of daisies. Ronan started growing his hair out when he was thirteen because he wanted to look more like Ninian. All of this knowledge, taken together, allows me to intimately know my characters. If I wanted to write these characters honestly, which of course I did, I would not be able to write them with a different identity or orientation. Ronan is straight; I would never write him as gay, because he is simply not gay. And in the same way, I could not write an Áed who is not attracted to men, because that character would not be my Áed.
When I really started getting into fantasy in the summer of 2020, I did not read many books that had diversity. When I came across The Coming of Áed, it was so beautiful to me. Áed and Ninian had such a loving relationship, and it never felt forced. They were your characters and how they came to life for you, and I find that really wonderful to know them like that. For me, as a reader, it was the first time, and having a son who is gay, and reading this touching love story, was so moving. Since then, I have read more LGBTQIA+ characters and I am happy about that. The Coming of Áed will always hold a special place in my heart.
The world building was wonderful. What was your process of creating the two very distinct aspects of this work, the Maze and the White City?
The basic dichotomy of The Maze and the White City was present in the dream which kicked off this entire project. After that, fleshing it out was a lot of fun. I’m a big believer in observing the real world to power your writing, so that meant I was looking at linguistic tendencies between isolated groups, trends in real-world cultural perception between estranged groups, relevant geographic formations, historical patterns, and the things which, in the real world, could have led to the sort of division between the Maze and the White City. It’s a process of study and balance. You need to observe this world closely in order to know which aspects you wish to emulate, discard, or alter into something uniquely yours.
The outcome was brilliant. You created such a vivid picture of both places.
In the Wild Court, how did you paint such an amazing and beautiful picture of the all the fae courts?
There’s a traditional structure of Faerie that’s backed by folktale, and it’s that of the Seelie and Unseelie courts. I love this idea, but I didn’t want to adhere entirely to that mythos, since I’ve taken so many liberties with faerie lore. That Seelie/Unseelie divide, though, inspired the high and low courts. After establishing that, I had a great time setting up the more intricate social structures and their accompanying physical/magical/cultural differences, as well as figuring out how the courts interacted. I knew I wanted seven low courts, since seven is a very significant number, and that meant I wasn’t overly tempted to organize them into something thematically iconic like dark/light, air/water/fire/earth, or similar. This freedom gave me the room to settle on whatever seemed right–and I know that’s vague, but it’s what I’ve got–leaving me with Bone, Moon, Sand, Gold, Glass, Meadow, and Garnet.
As for how I wrote them in a way that felt unified, that’s mostly a learned skill. I could not provide all of the details about all of the courts; it would be too much. I needed to find the balance between letting the perception of complexity add richness to the world, providing detail where it would deepen the story, and omitting information that was irrelevant.
I was only vaguely familiar with the Seelie and Unseelie Courts from folklore. I loved the the different courts you created. They were truly intricate and detailed. You drew the reader into each court, feeling like we were a part of them.
The battle scene at the end of the Wild Court was great. I think it was perfect for a YA audience. How did you create such an amazing scene and strike a balance between making it feel real without all the horrible violence and “gore” in adult fantasy?
You’re not the only one who commented on this, so I’m glad it seems I did a good job! Thank you very much. I personally don’t mind gore–big Game of Thrones fan, here–but I also know that to make the battle too brutal would be a huge stylistic shift from the rest of the writing. I try not to shy away from bad things happening, but I think being excessive is a good way to ruin a story if it doesn’t fit with the rest of the context.
When I was writing the battle, it was easy to picture a scene from a movie: mostly a blur of action around the focal character, with the occasional moment or action clearly described. Doing that tends to convey urgency, adrenaline, and the hectic nature of the fighting while enabling a degree of vagueness that doesn’t require super-specific descriptions of violence or gore.
It definitely fit with the tone of the story. It was perfect. There were somewhat brutal part in the series, mostly in the Maze. The battle was just the right balance for the series.
For me, besides being an amazing story, the big take away was that love is love. That no matter who you love, to love and be loved in return is the greatest gift we can give each other. Aed mourns Ninian and for 7 years does not have a relationship. It was so wonderful to have Ronan trying to “set-up” Aed with Eamon. I loved it because of the total acceptance of who Aed was. Was there any “take aways” that you wanted the readers to have from the trilogy?
I did not actively pursue take-aways in the sense of any moral messages, but there is a consistent theme of family in all its forms. Found family, biological family, adopted family, loss of family… this theme appeared sort of on accident as I just explored the relationships between the characters, but it is a strong presence in all three books.
Families come in all forms. One parent, two parents, adoption, two moms, two dads-but they are all family. I did sense this strongly in the books with Áed & Ninian’s relationship and their adoption of Ronan.
Will there be any more stories about Aed’s world? It ended perfectly, but I just love him! Are there any projects that you are working on?
As of now, I am finished with Áed’s story! I will have more works in the future, but they take place in different worlds, with different characters. I believe I’ve grown a lot as a writer since I began The Coming of Áed, and I’ll never quite stop thinking about it, but for now, it is time to move forward to new things!
I am looking forward to your new work!
Thank you so much for stopping by. I loved reading about your creative process. I highly recommend this series!
The Hidden King (Book Summary)
On the shores of a rusty sea, in the streets of a starving city, a young man named Áed scraps to build a life for himself and the makeshift family he loves. Scarred by a trauma he cannot remember, and haunted by the brutal damage it left behind, he has no idea of the courage his future will demand.
When a heart-wrenching tragedy shatters his family, a desperate Áed risks a treacherous journey to seek a kingdom of legend—and a new beginning. But an ancient legacy smoldering within him is about to turn deadly, and neither he—nor the legends—will ever be the same.
(Book One, YA, High Fantasy)
The Last Prince (Book Summary)
In a hellish city, the fate of a young boy rests on the very thing he fears most…
Robbed of his childhood by tragedy and betrayal and forced onto the streets, only fury makes young Ninian feel whole – and in a world of gangs and fae, Ninian is more than willing to fight for his life.
But it doesn’t take much to topple a life which is already balanced on the edge of a knife. And by the time a desperate Ninian realizes he’s crossed the wrong person, it is much, much too late.
In his frantic struggle to right his collapsing world, Ninian’s furious, bloody efforts are dredging up history he’d rather forget – the past is tired of being held at bay, and even fighting cannot protect Ninian from himself.
So when he meets a crimson-eyed stranger, a boy so broken he refuses even to speak, Ninian does not believe he has the capacity to care.
He is wrong.
The Wild Court (Book Summary)
What perils lurk on the other side of the Veil?
In the seventh year of Áed’s reign, night descends on the autumn festival. But a time of revelry turns into one of fiery destruction—as fae pour across the veil and the Gut becomes a battlefield in an otherworldly war.
Determined to protect his kingdom and the people he loves, Áed finds himself catapulted into a realm as unfamiliar as it is dangerous, where magic is king and wild courts vie for supremacy.
While the faerie Queen’s missing consort holds the key to life and death, tenuous alliances raise questions about Áed’s connection to the mysterious Bone Court. His survival hinges on cunning as much as illusion.
On a mission like no other, only one thing is certain: no one will survive unscathed.
You can purchase amazing Coming of Áed merchandise here: https://www.egradcliff.com/merchandise
I have the candles and they smell so amazing!
Link to E.G Radcliff’s Wonderful Drawings: There is no need to sign up, just click the link on the landing page
E.G. Radcliff’s Website
Review of The Hidden King & The Last Prince
Review of The Wild Court
Purchase The Coming of Áed Trilogy on Amazon
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