Konn Lavery - Fast-Paced Dark Fantasy with a Conspiracy-Driven Plot
Konn Lavery, a writer and graphic designer, was named by his Star Trek fan parents after the villainous character Khan, whose superhuman abilities fascinated them. Inspired by this character, they put their own twist on the name, resulting in “Konn.” It’s fitting, then, that Konn writes about dark and sinister themes. He also has a passion for transmedia storytelling, creating a unified narrative through words, music, and art that together build a “super story.” As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, Obsidian's Command.
Please give us a short introduction to what Obsidian's Command is about.
Obsidian’s Command is the second book in the Ash Born series, which also works as a standalone novel. It continues the events found in Crystal Moth Conspiracy. Lola Cabello, the protagonist in the story, dives deeper into the old world.
A one sentence pitch is:
A darkness calls to convict Lola Cabello from beyond the fabrics of reality, whispering words of power, she’ll ignore the consequences to herself, her loved ones, and the world, to assassinate the fallen angel who shattered her life.
Obsidian's Command is packed with complex themes like conspiracy, dark fantasy, and mythology. What inspired you to create such an intricate and layered narrative?
The Ash Born series is an idea that has floated in the back of my mind for around 16 years. I wrote Crystal Moth Conspiracy, book one, in 2020 and published it in 2023. I waited so long to write it because it covered topics I wanted to do a good job at and needed time to mature as a writer.
I’ve always had an interest in mythology and conspiracies because they are deeply rooted in our core. Myths are classic forms of storytelling which humanity has used throughout the ages through symbolism, spoken word, and artwork. Our minds are wired to find patterns for survival. In our industrialized world, we have a habit of connecting ideas that don’t correlate.
This book I wanted to blend the gritty terrors of my horror novels with the richness found in my dark fantasy series Mental Damnation since they existed in the same universe. My previous works had the vazelead people (intelligent reptiles) which worked for a starting point with conspiracies.
Lola Cabello is a convict on a mission to assassinate a fallen angel. Can you tell us about her evolution as a character from Ash Born Book One to Obsidian’s Command?
Without spoiling the end of Crystal Moth Conspiracy, the novel left her in quite the unfortunate situation, jaded and angered. Book two, she encounters the ash drug again, reinforcing her fixation on needing it. For better or worse, she doubles down on the substance, transforming her mind from the familiar reporter-girl we got to know into something new. She continues down her path of revenge, leading her to make character-defining choices being pivotal points in her personality.
The ash drug and its connection to Lola’s bloodline play a key role in the plot. Can you elaborate on the significance of the drug and how it shapes the events of the story?
The ash drug is central to the Ash Born series. It comes from the scales of the vazelead people, where they discovered that if humans consume them; they get high. This gave the reptilians an edge in the black market.
Neither the vazeleads nor the human Major Crimes understand what the drug does. The reptilians use it as currency while the police and scientists strip it to its basic makeup, uncovering the negative long-term effects.
For Lola, she uses it for the immediate usage of enhancing her pain resistance and pushing her mind’s capabilities. Its power comes at a price, wearing the user down and increasing the body’s demand for it.
A new character in Obsidian’s Command gives some answers to how it ties to Lola.
How do you incorporate elements like music and art into your writing process to create an immersive story experience?
I’ve been a huge fan of transmedia storytelling for most of my life, which is the art of blending multiple medias to tell a bigger story. Most people know what this is, think of Star Wars or Marvel. On a smaller scale, with one person and a limited budget, you can only do so much.
My graphic design skills and musical interests let me incorporate various mediums to support the novels. Some books have scores written by me and my musician friends. All of my stories include illustration work of some kind, too. I do some while other times I work with artists. The cover art for Obsidian’s Command and Crystal Moth Conspiracy were done by Lee Neilsen.
The music I listen to while writing influences what the novel scores will be. For the artwork, those evolve while I write the book and move into the editing phase, being a slow process of experimentation and thumb sketches to find what best suited the themes of the story.
Obsidian's Command is part of a larger Macrocosm Story Timeline. How does this book tie into the broader universe, and how much do readers need to know about the other books to fully enjoy the Ash Born series?
The Ash Born series works as a standalone series without a need to read the previous works. Each of the novels within The Macrocosm is written this way because the story comes first. The Macrocosm itself is a universe that spans space. Ash Born we see a drastic change from, say, my dark fantasy Mental Damnation series, which takes place hundreds of years prior.
For fans that have read my previous works, the Ash Born series has fun cameos and expands the mythos of The Macrocosm. New readers will get a great introduction to the universe.
Scalebane’s loyalty is questioned in the novel. Without giving too much away, what inspired the complexity of her character, and how does she impact the overall story arc?
Scalebane is a fun character because she is an antagonist to Lola Cabello throughout both books, working for the Crystal Moths who Cabello is after. Scalebane has her own agenda which grows in Obsidian’s Command to protect her people, the vazeleads. She is one of a handful left in the world and fears the Crystal Moths do not have their best interest at heart. Since vazeleads age slowly, she sees signs humans are blind to, like the end-of-the-world, and her research ties her back to Lola.
The conspiracy in Obsidian’s Command spans various aspects of society, from economics to government to military control. How do you think this resonates with real-world concerns about power and corruption?
Good question! Power and corruption are age-old negative traits of humanity. I think with the rise of the internet and fast-paced communication, we’re seeing real-world events unravel faster than they can be hidden. This makes it more difficult for the powers that be to conceal intention while others outright don’t hide their malicious intents.
Art is influenced by our lives, whether it's from global scale events, local ones, or from personal experiences. The Ash Born series is being written during some unprecedented times from 2020 onwards. Like many artists, it’s almost impossible not to be inspired by the world developing, for better or worse.
The fusion of science fiction elements, such as tech and drugs, with mythology and dark fantasy creates a unique blend. What inspired this fusion, and how did you ensure these elements worked together seamlessly?
Genres are great for understanding tropes and working within frameworks. Blending genres can either make a real mess or create something fresh and fun.
I wanted to cover a lot of interesting themes in these books and the modern world contains many technological advancements that appear scifi only 30 years ago. Since the Ash Born series pulls from the fantasy past within The Macrocosm, the two extremes ended up colliding.
Down the road I want to write science fiction, and cosmic horror, and The Macrocosm has short stories in a scifi setting. At some stage, I had to write a pivotal moment where the world changes forever.
The Macrocosm universe is expansive and interconnected. What future projects do you have in mind for this universe, and how will they expand on the themes explored in Obsidian’s Command?
Currently, I am writing a cosmic horror novel and outlining Ash Born Book Three.
The next upcoming releases are short stories (which also exist in the shared universe). The first is Respect the Monkey found in Violent Advents: A Christmas Horror Anthology by L. Stephenson, available in December 2024. In 2025, I have Freosan in Hauntings and Hoarfrost by Tyche Books in January 2025.
Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?
Readers can find my work on my website at konnlavery.com where they can buy direct or sign up on my newsletter for a 3-pack Macrocosm Introduction Collection. My novels are also available on Amazon. For social media, I am most active on Facebook and Instagram.
Ebook and signed print copies of Obsidian’s Command can be found on my site at: https://konnlavery.com/product/obsidians-command/
