Author Interview with Benjamin Tyler Smith
Welcome to Benjamin Tyler Smith to my blog. He’s the author of the story Cecaelia’s Tears in the Merciless Maidens anthology.
Benjamin Tyler Smith is a writer of fantasy and science fiction. He is mostly known for his Necrolopolis stories, with 14 short tales out in the wild and a novel in the works. He is a husband, a father, a lover of anime, and a connoisseur of fine sweet tea.
Tell me something unique about yourself.
I make maps for the dead. Or at least for cemeteries, but the dead are beneficiaries of it, aren’t they? My job description has me listed as a Mapping Technician, but I prefer the title Necromapper. A lot of the inspiration for my Necrolopolis universe has come from this job.
Oh, and I love station wagons. That seems kind of unique.
Okay, but a Necromapper?? That is so incredibly aweome! And who doesn’t love station wagons??
What are your previous writing accomplishments and/or what are you working on now?
I have two novels published in the post-apocalyptic Fallen World universe through Blood Moon Press, and many short stories published in anthologies across Amazon’s fruited plain. Most of those short stories are set in my dark fantasy Necrolopolis universe, featuring a world-weary necromancer as he tries to keep the peace in the city of the undead. I’m currently working on the first novel to be completed this year (2023), and I just finished a novella set in that world that will soon be available to readers through my mailing list!
What inspired your piece in Merciless Maidens?
Mad Molly is an existing character in the Necrolopolis universe, with “Cecaelia’s Tears” serving as a prequel of sorts, set a century in the universe’s past. Despite all the time that’s passed, Molly continues to exist as a ghost in the undead city of Necrolopolis, running a riverside tavern. I was in the middle of brainstorming some stuff for the first novel in that universe when YouTube recommended Fox Sailor’s “Black Galleons” mix of pirate-themed music. The image attached to it is very close to how I picture Mad Molly, minus the eye patch, and the whole story just clicked into place.
In a few minutes, I’d written a draft of the story’s final clash, with that image as the centerpiece. The locket hanging around the pirate woman’s neck became a magical compass; the glowing stone in her hands became the legendary artifact known as Cecaelia’s Tears; and the defiant grin and wicked gleam in her eye… Well, that last part’s just Molly all the way. I had a long way to go before the story was complete, but I knew what I was writing toward, and it was such a fun journey to get to that moment, and to bring that grin to life for readers.
Please share a short spoiler free snippet to whet our readers appetite.
“I still can’t believe the kings all agreed to this,” Knight-Commander Garrett muttered, his gruff voice almost lost in the splashing of water against the longboat’s hull.
He sat near the bow of the night-shrouded boat, five loyal knights at his back. Lowborn pirates filled the remaining benches. It had been a long ride from the war galleon Fleet Empress to this remote part of the Tritonic Strait. They looked north at the bright flashes illuminating the moonless horizon. Low rumbles and soft booms rolled across the water.
Three coffin-sized chests, filled with the finest treasure the Three Kings Alliance could offer—gold, oil, spices—paid for tonight’s events, from the diversionary action to the north to this longboat full of rowdy brigands. Enough wealth to rebuild all the towns and ships the merfolk had burned since the war began, and it had been given to pirates.
“I can’t believe they agreed to it either,” said a petite redhead from the bench in front of Garrett, her suntanned features bathed in the soft blue glow from the locket she held. Her teeth glinted in the unnatural light. “Since this is bloody merfolk we’re talkin’ about, me and my lads would’ve done this for free.”
Where can people find out more about you and your work?
You can follow me at on my website, where you can also join my mailing list. Currently there’s a free Necrolopolis short story up for grabs, and soon the novella will be available for subscribers, as well!
I’m also on Facebook , on Twitter , and I can always be found on the Three Ravens Discord server, where I’m always posting Necrolopolis stuff, for those interested!