Stars and Soil: An Author Interview with Dax Murray
- Swords & Sapphics team
- Jun 20
- 10 min read
Today, Dax Murray tells us all about the world-building, political intrigue, and representation featured in the Scions and Shadows series, including what you can expect from the first two sapphic fantasy instalments and how queer and disabled characters became the heart of the story!
Thank you for joining us, Dax! Could you start by introducing yourself?
Thanks for having me! I’m Dax, a sapphic fantasy author. If you’ve read my books, you’ve probably figured out that I studied political science in addition to creative writing. I have a way-too-smart dog named Shadowbringer and a too-cute cat named Stormy.
We would love to know more about the Scions and Shadows series and what inspired you to write it!
I wanted to write a series that focused on social justice and what direct action could look like in a fantasy setting. I’ve also spent way too much time complaining when reading books that killing the king should just be the first step. Many fantasy settings are based on late-middle ages Europe, usually England or France, a time and a place where many don’t believe social services and mutual aid existed. Except, they did. The Catholic Church was basically the department of health and human services. They provided food, shelter, and clothing when the kings and queens didn’t. (This is one of the reasons for the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion during the reign of Henry VIII–when he dissolved the monasteries during his conversion to Protestantism, he was essentially cutting social security/food stamps/medicaid!) I wanted to explore what would happen if it was the people themselves that organized this mutual aid and how it could lead to revolutionary movements and the potential overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of something better. It’s a series about change and how people can be the agents of it. We don’t need to wait for a prophesied hero or a chosen one!
This series begins with a sapphic novel, Stars and Soil. Tell us more about this instalment and how it came to lead the series!
Stars and Soil was supposed to be a 10,000 word prequel short story to the actual book I was writing at the time. That book I was writing has been changed so many times and warped into something completely different and you can find traces of it in Smoke and Steel and Shackles and Shards now. But I wanted to expand on Caitlin’s story. Caitlin is a wealthy heiress going through extreme grief and suddenly finds herself embroiled in a rebellion movement. It starts out as many romantasy books do–the prince finds her incredibly alluring and ‘not like other girls.’ Except she wants nothing to do with him and resents the implication that women can be flattened into a monolith. Clearly, the only way out of an unwanted royal wedding is killing the prince and so the rebels are the perfect allies for this. I felt it was a good starting place for the series as it established the world of Ahnlisen as it was immediately before the return of magic.
What drew you to the fantasy genre, and what do you love most about writing in this setting?
I cannot remember which of these books I read first, but I credit them with my love of the fantasy genre: The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, and Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl. I read them all around the same time when I was in elementary school (I probably shouldn’t have been allowed to read The Summer Tree so young but…) and I couldn’t get enough fantasy after that! I love the fact that you can create anything you want in fantasy. I want a race of unicorn-people that have metal-magic? I can do that. No one can stop me! I want a death goddess that provides counseling services to the recently deceased? No one to tell me no!
What did the world-building process look like for you, and what interested you about exploring revolutionary movements and democracy within a fantasy setting?
I started writing this book in late 2017. I live in the US. I don’t know how better to put it that I became interested in writing about the need for revolutions and researching the French Revolution specifically. I feel like 2025 has only proved my thesis that we need to be thinking about ways to become our own heroes and thinking about what revolutions can look like. When I wrote the Red Front, the revolutionary movement in Stars and Soil, I was thinking about how a rebel movement could make sure that those with chronic illnesses could still get their medications–for example, one of the rebel leaders, Diarmuid, had his medical training paid for by the rebels so he could lead up a task force to ensure the people still got their medications. It was just as fun as doing the worldbuilding to establish the royal court! I think a lot of people assume that Fantasy = Examining the Past and Science Fiction = Examining the Future. Fantasy has Kings and SciFi has Galactic Republics. Even if that is the case, and it’s not, history is full of democracies–the revolutions of the 1700s and 1800s wouldn’t have happened if the Enlightenment thinkers hadn’t been so enamored with ancient Greco-Roman art, and therefore, their democracies.
Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? Which, if any, do you identify with most and why?
In Stars and Soil, I identify most with either Lady Arlina or Kegan Moore. Both of them had very traumatic upbringings but cope with their C-PTSD in different ways. Lady Arlina often resorts to fawning and dissociation, while Kegan has difficulties with emotional regulation and can easily spiral, lashing out at their loved ones. But both find ways to channel their own passions and desires despite the restrictions their circumstances place around them.
And which characters do you hope your readers will connect with the most?
I hope readers connect with Caitlin. She grew up not having to think about the privileges she has, and she has a bit of guilt when she realizes that while she was bartering in gold, others were bartering with bread. But as she spends more time with the revolutionaries, she learns how unproductive guilt is and how important direct action is. Through her direct action work with the revolutionaries, she learns how to be a better advocate for herself and discovers that she has agency in her own life, and that translates to better strategies as the revolutionaries plan their overthrow.
The story features a diverse range of representation, with non-binary, sapphic, and disabled characters. Why was it important to you to include this in your books? Was it a conscious choice to make this world queer-normative?
All of my books are queer-normative. I grew up in the DADT/DOMA era in the US, when maybe 3 queer books came out a year, and they were all books about coming out and facing queerphobia. I face enough of that in my real life. If I can have a world with magic and dragons, I can have a queer-norm world. I am also someone who lives with multiple disabilities and chronic illnesses. Aine, one of the revolutionaries, has POTS, same as I do. It’s not called POTS in the book, but the symptoms are all there. I have a web serial with a protagonist with POTS, too. My POTS baffled doctors for over a decade, with many throwing up their hands and not seeming to care. But in Stars and Soil, the other revolutionaries take the time to accommodate Aine’s condition, even if they don’t know the cause or reason for it. She’s able to use her skills to their fullest and do the best work she can because her comrades don’t see her as a burden and value the contributions she can make. She might not be able to fight on the front lines, but her job in the rebellion is just as valued and appreciated. It was really important for me to show that people with disabilities aren’t worthless or lazy. Especially in the current political climate.
Is there any additional representation that you’d like to see or write more of in the future?
I really want to write more sapphic polyamorous representation! I featured it in A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams, my debut novel. But while it’s hinted at in Smoke and Steel, that novel didn’t have the room to fully feature the way that Sari, Nanshaie, and Tinanna grow from comrades to wives. I’m working on an epilogue novella that will show that, however! And as I write Shackles and Shards, I am making sure that it’s obvious there is a sapphic romantic triad!
Your second instalment, Smoke and Steel, is also available to read now! What can readers expect from this epic standalone?
Trauma recovery! I mean, epic adventure, ancient prophecies, lost cities, and magical artifacts! And also trauma recovery. Smoke and Steel features a very unlikeable protagonist who grew up in an abusive environment. While the surface of her quest is “claim my crown,” she realizes what she’s actually seeking is acceptance, she just doesn’t know what healthy love looks like. It is a sort of homage to Xena: Warrior Princess. I felt like Xena’s redemption from villain to chaotic good hero was a little too fast, and I wanted to explore that a bit more deeply.
Have you come across any challenges while writing this series so far? How have you overcome them?
A lot of my challenges have been finding the energy to write. I live with several chronic illnesses, and while I have ample time, it’s not always time I can use. Fun Fact: I wrote about 2/3rds of Stars and Soil while in the hospital. I was there for several months, and hand-wrote much of the middle section in a notebook. I use dictation for days when sitting upright to type is impossible. I’ve been able to get a nice set up with a lap desk and tablet that I can use to write on days when I am bed-realmed. I use offline-only software for the most part (Scrivener) so syncing between my desktop and tablet can be difficult some times, but it’s worth it.
Are you a plotter or pantser, and did any additional research go into the series?
I am a huge plotter! I usually start with a concept for a protagonist and a rough idea of what I want their character arc to be. I then come up with a few scenes that will move them along on their development. Once I have the “tent poles” or “mile markers” for the story, I then outline what I want to happen to get the protagonist from one mile marker to the next. Once I have then, I come up with sub plots that amplify the themes or provide contrasting viewpoints for the protagonist to consider. Once those are woven in, my outline is usually 25,000-30,000 words. The outline I’m using while drafting Shackles and Shards clocked in at 29,000 words. I usually outline each scene, tagging it and color coding it so I know who is in the scene, where it takes place, when it takes place, and which plots/sub plots are touched upon in it.
We’d love a hint about what readers can expect from you next! What are you currently working on? Have you got any more standalones planned for this series?
I’m working on the third novel right now! Shackles and Shards follows Sresca, a priestess of Dana, the goddess of death, and Nadia, the body-double/decoy for the princess and secret revolutionary spy. This dual POV spans 15 years, with Sresca’s story happening years after the revolution is successful but when counter-revolutionaries are planning to reinstate the monarchy while Nadia’s story happens in the midst of the revolution itself. It will be the first book in the series that is dual-POV, so that’s been a bit of a challenge. I’ve got at least 3 more books planned in the series, and am working on a web-serial set in Ahnlisen, but several hundred years before the events of Stars and Soil. I don’t plan on leaving this universe any time soon.
These books are published with Kraken Collective. What made you decide to pursue indie press publishing, and have you learned anything since your journey began?
I was querying my first book back in 2011 and 2012, and many agents said, “This is great, can you make it straight, though?” It was frustrating to be told my writing was excellent but could be improved by removing all those queer characters. I didn’t want to self-censor, so releasing my books independently seemed like the best way to remain true to my vision. Traditional publishing just didn’t seem like an option I could do while being my authentic self. I’m queer, I’m sapphic, I’m non-binary and those are the characters I write. Traditional publishing has come a long way since then, but I’ve found I enjoy being an indie publisher. The Kraken Collective is an alliance of queer speculative fiction authors and being in the collective is a truly awesome experience. We all write vastly different flavors of spec-fic, but the support in the group is second to none. Not something I would ever trade!
According to your author bio, you can be found listening to the same seven songs on repeat (we get it!), so we have to ask: which songs are they right now? Any that link to your books or serve as inspiration?
Right now: Shadowbringers (Masayoshi Soken, Shadowbringers OST), To The Edge (Masayoshi Soken, Shadowbringers OST), The Dark Which Illuminates the World (Masayoshi Soken, Shadowbringers OST), Coral Shrine (Go Shiina, Harvestella OST), The Power (Borislav Slavov, Baldur’s Gate 3 OST), Raphael’s Final Act (Borislav Slavov, Baldur’s Gate 3 OST), and Weeping Dawn (Borislav Slavov, Baldur’s Gate 3 OST). As you may have noticed, mostly I listen to video game soundtracks. I would say they all in some way have inspired my writing of Shackles and Shards right now! I have a scene in it where Petra is playing the piano after sie and Sresca visit the opera and sie says sie is composing hir villain song, definitely inspired by Raphael singing his own villain song in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Our podcast focuses on media we’re currently loving. Are there any books, shows, movies, or games you’re enjoying at the moment? Any recommendations for our audience? Bonus points if it includes sapphics!
I’ve got book recs! Some of my recent favorites of the sapphic sword and sorcery genre are Name Her Holy by Aubrey Ennis, The Revenge of Captain Vessia by Leslie Allen, On Wings of Fallen Stars by Vaela Denarr and Micah Iannandrea, A Crimson Covenant by Aimee Donnellan, and Fire Heart by Joyce Ch’ng!
About the Author
Dax is a bestselling and award-winning author of revolutionary fantasy that focuses on trauma, healing, and leftist political advancement... plus sapphic and lesbian characters. While Dax dreamed of being a curmudgeonly hedge witch and cursing evil-doers, they have had to make do with being an author and making readers cry. Dax studied political science, creative writing, and music and is a member of the Kraken Collective. When not writing, they can be found at the Crystarium in Norvrandt.
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