Medieval Fantasy Author Interview: Sydney Witbeck

Today, I’m honored to be sharing an interview with author Sydney Witbeck, and introduce her newest book, The Faithful Exile, a nordic inspired Christian medieval fantasy! A huge thanks to Sydney for being willing to do this and be my guinea pig for my first ever author interview! Do check her out on her Substack and Instagram!

About the Book:

Zander Hvalman does not bend. As Chief of Sedarkia, his word is law—and no law is more absolute than the prohibition of Christianity. So when his own son, Owain, chooses his faith over his birthright, Zander makes the only decision a man like him knows how to he disinherits Owain and banishes him from Sedarkia forever. But in doing so, he leaves his kingdom without an heir—and his wife without her son.

Driven by grief and guilt, Zander sets out to find Owain and drag him back to reason. Meanwhile, Torryn Velgard—a sharp-edged sailor turned smuggler with ambitions far larger than his station—sees the vacant throne as an opportunity he was born to seize. Alongside his older brother, Ivor, Torryn hunts for Owain with a very different agenda in mind. But the journey forces questions Torryn never expected, as Ivor’s quiet revelations begin to unravel everything Torryn thought he knew about himself.

Three men. Three colliding paths. And one unsettling truth spreading like wildfire across the Christianity is no longer so easy to silence.

As faith, power, and identity crash together, the future of Sedarkia hangs in the balance—and no one walks away unchanged.

The Interview:

Question #1: What Inspired You to Write This Story?

That’s actually a tricky question because the original idea for this story (as far as I can tell, from the dates on my Word docs) came to me several years ago. I’d play around with plot and character ideas and then put it on the backburner for a while. Owain was supposed to be the main character, but something kept feeling like it was missing from the story. Then Torryn came into the outline, and the pieces started falling into place. I think the original inspiration came from a phrase I randomly thought of one day and scribbled down in my notebook, “kingdom of fire.” Looking back, I think that little phrase is what started me down a rabbit hole of writing about Vikings and playing around with plot ideas.

Question #2: Who was your favorite character to write? Which one was your least favorite? Why?

Torryn was, by far, my favorite character to write. As I said, for me, the story really came alive once he came into it. He’s funny, reckless, outgoing, and good with a blade – and very different from most of the characters I am used to writing (most of them are bits and pieces of me as a person – Torryn is nothing like me at all!). Least favorite character…Zander wasn’t my least favorite character to write about, but I feel like I struggled writing from his perspective as he’s the “villain” of the story, and I struggle “getting into the head” of villains in general haha.

Question #3: Did any historical facts or figures influence/inspire the novel or any scenes in it? (If so, what were they?)

I wish I could think of any…but, honestly, the characters all showed up in my head, and I wrote them down without thinking.

Question #4: What were some Viking facts you found most interesting?

I learned a lot of very random facts as I was researching this novel, some of which didn’t end up having any bearing on the story itself, but they were interesting, anyway! The two which have mainly stayed in my head are: Vikings didn’t actually set ships on fire and send the burning vessels out across the sea during funerals – the stereotype is mainly a result of films and fictional stories. Also, most Vikings weren’t blonde, but as it was a hair color highly valued, they’d dye it a lighter color if they had brown hair.

Question #5: Did you use an outline to write, or did you just pantser your way through?

I outlined – or rather, I made myself outline first. I tried to pantster my way through my first novel and ended up hitting a massive roadblock halfway through the story when I had no idea where to take the plot next. Since then, I’ve tried to have at least a general outline as a starting point for when I write. It may change over the course of the story, but at least I have a list of general plot points to get me from the beginning to the end.

Question #6: Is there a particular scene you’re incredibly proud of?

I’m trying to think of something that won’t be too “spoilery” haha. Because there is one scene that is one of my very favorites, but I don’t want to give anything away for new readers – other than saying, someone who gets poisoned becomes delirious, which I found quite funny (despite the gravity of the situation). There is one scene where there is a storm at sea and one of the main characters is fighting to keep the ship on course. I had to do some nautical research for that scene, but overall, I am really happy with how it turned out. It’s also very dramatic – waves rolling the ship, people being thrown against the rails, the threat of a capsizing vessel, and lots of lighting. Fun for me to write – not as much fun for my poor characters.

Question #7: Did you have to cut anything significant from the final version of the novel?

In the original version of the novel, Owain has an adopted son named Kade. Originally, when the story was going to be mainly about Owain instead of Torryn, Kade was a little boy who gets orphaned when Zander (the Raider Chief) burns down a village. Owain adopts him before he is exiled. If you look closely, you’ll notice that there is one time in the story where it says “Owain’s adopted son” when referring to Kade. In the end, since I was mainly exploring Torryn and Ivor’s character arcs, I ended up cutting those scenes, but I may use the plot point to write a prequel later…

Question #8: What would you tell someone who’s on the fence about reading your novel to encourage them to read it?

If you’re looking for a character-driven story with themes of redemption, family, and characters going on a journey of learning the cost of living out their faith with a lot of chaos along the way, I’d say you should give my book a try!

Question #9: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

The deeper I got into this story, the more I tried to flesh out what it meant to live as a Christian in the midst of a dark world. We have a tendency to become complacent, relaxed, in our faith today – I know I do – and forget what it means to “count the cost” in our day to day lives. I know most of us won’t have to pay such a heavy price like some of my characters, but I hope it inspires my readers to live out their faith every day – in word, thought, and action!

Question #10: What are you working on next?

The Faithful Exile is the first book in the Sword of Redemption series, and I am currently working on book 2. I have outlined the story, and I’ve just started writing out some of the chapters and scenes.

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A huge thanks to Sydney Witbeck for doing this interview with me! As a fellow pantser, I totally relate to her writing style, and having read her book, I have to say, the nautical scenes in the novel are awesome and I loved the sea storm scene! Torryn is definitely a colorful character, and the message of The Faithful Exile is certainly one needed today! If nordic inspired adventurous Christian fantasy is up your alley, definitely snag a copy of The Faithful Exile, releasing on June 20th!