Author of Too Many Shadows, Not Enough Light.
Today, I am pleased to welcome author LC Ainsworth to talk to us about her novel Too Many Shadows, Not Enough Light which was released on January 12th, 2023.
Helen: Welcome LC. I am so excited to meeet you and that we get to chat about your book today!! Tell us about your series and Too Many Shadows, Not Enough Light.
LC: My book series is called A Dark Passengers Story and book 1 title is Too Many Shadows, Not Enough Light.
It is a Fantasy/Sci-fi/Mystery/YA/Romance.
It is the story of a young princess from an empire called Yanar. Yanar is also the only country on Earth where humans have developed supernatural powers. She dreams of being a chef, but her position as the future queen does not allow it and instead is forced to choose between one branch of the Armed Forces. She chooses the Air Force because she loves flying.
She faces her enemies from another planet in Book 1 and has, at the tender age of 17, to learn how to become a leader. By the end of the book, she also faces another challenge. She develops feelings for a boy.
Helen: That sounds like an action packed premise. What inspired your cover?
LC: The cover I chose reminded me of the first scene in Terminator 1, one of my favourite movies. You have the bones of humans covered in some dark grey ashes and a robot just steps on a skull, crushing it while moving toward a group of rebels shooting at it and other machines.
In the early part of the book, the heroine is fighting aliens, and the fighting happens in space. But the war will inevitably reach Earth and the image that kept popping into my head every time I would picture the coming war was the robot crushing the skull. So I picked it and I think it is a good representation not just of book 1 but of the series.
Helen: The cover certainly embodies the threat. It is dark and brooding. I love your title, how did decide on that?
LC: The first title was meant to be The Fire Underneath but the more I wrote the more words like darkness came to me. Eventually, I settled with Shadow and Light but something was missing and my sister “Why not Too Many Shadows?”, I smiled, it was perfect.
Helen: I am so glad your sister piped up. It is a perfect title. What made you write this particular book?
LC: When I was 11, someone discovered the body of a woman near the school gates. My friends and I had a spot hidden where we loved to pretend we were spies. We called it the KGB. That day we found hair in our hiding space, a lot of hair. I remembered hearing my parents talk about the murdered woman. The murderer had cut her hair. We waited until we spotted a police officer nearby and told him about the hair we found; he laughed and ignored us.
We got angry and investigated the matter ourselves. By the end of the school term, we had concluded that our headteacher was guilty; the woman murdered was not his first murder, and he was having an affair with a teacher. Both were married. We proudly walked into a police station and handed over our evidence. They laughed at us and kicked us out of the station but not before complimenting us on our wild imagination and advising that we write books or scripts for tv series.
And this is how the idea of the plot for the first book entered my mind. By the time I gave writing a go, I had gained a passion for fantasy and sci-fi, not to mention romance. So I kept the vibe and the essence of the story alive while adding aliens, creating a new country, and adding some violence.
Helen: I can see why that idea stuck. Quite a traumatic event at such a young age. I’m glad you were able to purge it through your writing. What genre do you typically write?
LC: I write a mix-genre. I love Mystery; I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s books. I am also a huge fan of Jane Austen. Adding that to my love of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, I simply couldn’t stick to one genre. I tried to write a Fantasy book and ended up writing a Fantasy/YA/Romance/Mystery/Sci-Fi book. In a sense, I think the book took a life in itself. And when I got to book two, I had developed a taste in Smut books, so I added some explicit content.
Helen: I think the more we write the more confident we become, and so our writing reflects that. Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
LC: Editing. As someone who is writing in her third language, it is already difficult to put the words on paper. But it is nothing compared to the editing process which in my opinion takes even longer than the actual writing. For each book, I have had to reread, rewrite and delete entire chapters which is so painful because I cherished every word. Yes, for me editing is the most challenging part.
Helen: I am so impressed that you are writing in your third language. May I say that I think it is amazing. I struggle with grammar and English is my first and only language!
Thank you so much for chatting with me today. Final question for you. What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?
LC: I would say I accepted who I was. I suffer from depression and anxiety and always lived in my head. I would create worlds and imagine what life could be if I didn’t have to hide from the world then I would put on a mask and walk among people, pretending to be ok. Writing allowed me to open about my depression and anxiety. I no longer fear to be seen as someone dealing with mental illness. I can accept it and work on getting better without fear of judgment.
Helen: I truly believe writing is carthartic and allows us to express freely what is inside us. I am so glad you found that on your writing journey. Thank you again, LC, for joining me today.
About the Author:
L.C Ainsworth is an author living in Wales surrounded by her loved ones while taking care of her mother’s garden.
You can find her on:
You can purchase the first book Too Many Shadows, Not Emough Light here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook
As an Amazon Associate I may earn commission from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy fantasy romance books then you will love SoulBreather, and my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 