The romantasy author shares advice on how to tackle a complex magical system across a series, making space for creativity, and why a fictional realm is the perfect landscape in which to reckon with the highs and lows of real-world turmoil

It’s safe to say SK Stapar has always been obsessed with magical worlds. After all, there aren’t too many little kids writing vampire stories for their teachers! These days, SK is sharing the Slavic folklore of vampir and vukodlak (vampires and werewolves) that she grew up on in her lavish Midnight Gate romantasy series. But it’s not just about escaping into a world where magic flows and vampires lurk; SK turns to the page to work through real-world tension in scenes where her characters grapple with identity, self-acceptance, oppressive forces and grief.

I was lucky to work with SK on a line and copyedit for the second book in her series, Firedawn Gate, and I was blown away by her detailed worldbuilding, vibrant characters and poetic writing. Here, she shares the backstory to her creative life and her advice for other fantasy writers.

To start, can you tell us a bit about who you are and how you got into writing fiction?

I’m a Yugoslavian-born, Australian-raised, former English teacher and now a romantasy author who’s always been obsessed with magic and fantasy. My first-ever short story was received by my Year 3 teacher with great concern, owing to the rather scary vampires and horror themes. I remember thinking I had done something ‘wrong’ (though I can see why my teacher had been concerned!) and didn’t write creatively again until high school, where I won a short story competition.

Reading has always been a huge part of my life, and I think I read every single fantasy book in my local library. I also read the library’s entire Agatha Christie collection. Love a good mystery puzzle to solve.

It wasn’t until after a career change that my creativity once again found space for itself, and I started writing. Romantasy was a perfect blend of the high-stakes, high-tension of the fantastical and supernatural stories I had always been drawn to, as well as the gorgeous tension and yearning of romance, which holds my heart so fully.

What inspired the Midnight Gate series?

My goal was to write a series that I would want to read, where I could get to put all my favourite tropes and story ideas, and really enjoy the process.

When I started writing, I found myself getting constantly hit with ideas no matter where I was or what I was doing. Nevena and Edric’s story really just wanted to explode into the world!

I also wanted to offer a world with a bit of a twist. Instead of a fantasy typically set in a medieval version of the UK, I gave it an Eastern European setting based on my personal background.

I love that you’ve woven in elements of Slavic folklore. Could you share how that came about and what traditional stories and myths you’ve drawn on?

My favourite fun fact is that one of the first-ever, real-life, documented vampire stories originates from Serbia (which is my ethnic background). In Serbian mythology, vampires and werewolves are the same creature called a vampir, but since it was bad luck to use that word, they were known as vukodlak. The translation for vukodlak is ‘one who wears the coat of a wolf’.

In the Midnight Gate series, I’ve included my own twist on that legend. I’ve also included names of predominant people from these old stories, including Pavle’s name. Don’t look this up if you haven’t read Firedawn Gate, but if you have: search ‘Arnaut Pavle’, and you’ll see a little bit of a connection there!

It’s also interesting that when it comes to Slavic myths and legends, each region will have their own version of a story, so there’s no one ‘true’ source of truth. I find that allows for a lot of creative freedom when blending elements from this folklore.

Your characters are magical – fae, witches, vampires – but they are grappling with issues that affect all of us in the real world, such as grief, self-acceptance, friendship, identity. What draws you to fantasy as the medium for exploring these sorts of themes?

Even though fantasy is certainly a form of escapism for me, I feel like the genre gives us a medium to process the issues we’re affected by in our day-to-day, as well as while we observe the political issues around us.

In a fantasy story, we get to see how both world-level and personal-level issues are resolved, and this leaves me with a sense of relief and hope.

I think a lot of empaths are drawn to fantasy because it allows us to explore an extreme range of emotions, and get to process them along with the character. I personally feel distress towards a lot of societal and political issues, and I think it’s the reason I’m drawn to fantasy. In a fantasy story, we get to see how both world-level and personal-level issues are resolved, and this leaves me with a sense of relief and hope.

What does your writing process look like? Do you have a writing routine or schedule?

It’s important for me to start the day with exercise, as I’ve found it helps my concentration when I get to writing time. (Exercise helps your brain? Quelle surprise!)

A writing day starts with a gym sesh, followed by a meal. I then make a chai latte or hot cacao (Tea by the Bayand Spirit of Cacao are my go-to). The ritual of making a hot drink helps ground and transition me into my creative brain.

The first draft is always the hardest, but once it’s done, everything inside is fixable. With a complete draft, you actually have a book to work with.

I’ll then spend time writing based on my energy levels, which can be a four to eight-hour session, split up with doggie walks, stretch breaks and meal breaks.

During breaks, I like to listen to audiobooks of a similar genre, to feel really immersed in a magical setting. It helps bring that sort of energy into my writing.

Can you share a top writing tip that’s helped you in your process?

Just finish it! Just get to the end!

The first draft is always the hardest, but once it’s done, everything inside is fixable. With a complete draft, you actually have a book to work with.

This framing has helped me move on when I’m stuck on certain scenes or plot points. It gives you the permission to keep going and take the story to the end, which actually makes the writing process faster overall, because you don’t waste as much time stuck on trying to perfect things too early on.

Do you have any advice for building magic systems in fictional worlds?

Advice I’ve found helpful is to know all the history and detail of your magic system, but to not necessarily have to state it all in the book.

I wrote myself a deep history of why the magic exists the way it does, and only the most important parts of it are given to the story. Enough for readers to understand it, and to sense there is a genuine depth to this system.

I loved working on the copyedit for Firedawn Gate – the poetic quality of your writing and the rich imagery of your setting was a real highlight. How do you feel about the editing process and what helps you approach revising and editing?

Thank you! I genuinely enjoy the editing process because it feels like polishing a diamond. The revising and editing process is what truly makes the story shine, and I get really excited thinking about how readers are going to experience the story.

I also find a lot of enjoyment in learning how to improve my craft. Receiving feedback from editing helps me learn how to make readers even more invested in my storytelling, so I see this as a massive positive to look forward.

Were there any takeaways or lightbulb moments from your editing process that you’d be happy to share?

So many takeaways and lightbulb moments! A big one in Firedawn Gate was about writing prose more efficiently. I felt like my sentences were quite gangly at times, and the editing process helped show me how to wrangle them better, while still leaving the manuscript with beautiful prose.

Firedawn Gate was released earlier this year – is there a third book in the series to come?

There is! We shall see more of Pavle, Kavi and Ryker soon. Turns out that Pavle was a crowd favourite, so he will definitely be getting a book of his own.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on a new series at the moment! I wanted to have some creative freedom to work on something different after spending my time in the land of Veligrad for a few years. It’s a Slavic-inspired romantasy too, but this one will lean into the gothic aesthetic quite a bit more.

Where can we buy your books and follow your author journey?

I’m most active on Instagram at @skstapar.author

You can find my books at your favourite bookstore (you can ask them to order one in if they don’t have it), on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited, or at the bookstores listed here on my website: skstapar.com/books