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Advice from IR Approved Author Daymon Ashcord

author interviewMAKERBORN: Maladies of Empire (Book 1) received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Daymon Ashcord:

What is the name of the book and when was it published?

Makerborn: Maladies of Empire (Book One). June 15th, 2026

What’s the book’s first line?

“What wouldn’t Alandra do to reclaim her stolen child?”

What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.

Two vengeance stories collide in a brutal empire built on magical slavery. Alandra, a bounty hunter, hunts for the freedom of her indentured daughter. Bez, abducted as a child, claws his way toward revenge against those who destroyed his family. As their paths converge, powerful factions seek to exploit their magic—and every setback strips away hope, leaving only vengeance in a grim, explosive finale.

What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?

I’ve had a few false starts writing fantasy books over the years while keeping my day job in the corporate world. Then in 2015, I had heart surgery for a congenital defect. It wasn’t unexpected—but it forced a question I couldn’t ignore: what am I doing with my time? As the great Stoics say, life is short.

So I started again. I traveled the world and the call of storytelling came again. I learned from virtual mentors, including Brandon Sanderson, and began to develop my craft.
And then life hit harder. My grandmother became ill, and I became her caregiver until she passed. Not long after, I developed a severe autoimmune condition triggered by mold exposure. For a long stretch, I could barely function. Fatigue, brain fog—I was close to bedridden.
This sent me into dark places.
What saved my sanity through this dark chapter wasn’t unjustified optimism. It was stories.
Not the easy ones—but the honest ones. The kind that don’t pretend life is fair. The kind that sit with pain and still move forward anyway. The dark humor of Joe Abercrombie. Characters like Kaladin in The Stormlight Archive, struggling just to keep going while being deeply depressed.
That’s when I understood what I wanted to write and that I needed to write.

What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?

Beyond having a fantastical ride in a fictional world with dark humor, this book I believe would be most appealing: For the people carrying something heavy.

For the man who can’t eat without pain.
For the woman fighting cancer and the fear that comes with it.
For those battling illnesses no one else can see.
For anyone enduring something that doesn’t get a clean ending.
And for the people who love them.
I don’t write stories to escape reality. I write them to face it.
And if my books can bring you even a moment of relief, or a dark laugh when you need it most—then they’ve done their job.

What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character?  Who—real or fictional—would you say the character reminds you of? 

Most distinctive about Alandra is she has burn scars on the left side of her face and a lion maw’s tattoo covering it. There’s a traumatic reason for the scar and tattoo, which I’ll share in a reader magnet novelette.

When did you first decide to become an author?

I committed to writing when I had serious health challenges circa 2020.

Is this the first book you’ve written?

Yes. I don’t have scores of drafts hidden in a closet of other books. This is literally the first book I’ve written.

What do you do for work when you’re not writing?

Oof. Corporate stuff. Help me become a full-time author please.

What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie? 

Flexibility is the best. The hardest is all the marketing.

Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?

I would go hybrid. Not sure full traditional makes sense anymore.

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