📚Author Interview: Hal Olsoe
Every great fantasy begins with a spark — a moment where imagination collides with emotion and something larger than life takes shape. In Library in the Clouds: Children of the Blue Knight, author Hal Olsoe transforms a simple bedtime story into a sweeping tale of myth, memory, and human resilience. What began as a story told to his son grew into a world shaped by grief, hope, and the unbreakable bond between siblings.
In this exclusive interview, Hal shares how personal loss, nursing during a pandemic, and a lifelong love of pseudo‑medieval fantasy shaped Gwen and Landon’s journey. From morally complex antagonists to the mysterious Library in the Clouds, she reveals the heart behind the worldbuilding, the themes that guided her, and the lived experiences that gave the story its emotional weight.
Whether you’re a fantasy reader, a writer seeking inspiration, or simply someone who loves stories built on humanity and myth, this conversation offers a meaningful look behind the curtain of a powerful debut.
Library in the Clouds: Children of the Blue Knight
🌟 Story Origins & Worldbuilding
What first sparked the idea for Library in the Clouds: Children of the Blue Knight?
This novel started as a short bedtime story I told my son. It was a myth about a Library in the Clouds; a place where nearly infinite knowledge was held, in an age where the race of men could do magic and were nearly as powerful as the gods. After I told my son this short myth, I imagined a world where this myth could exist. A lost little boy, named Landon, came to mind and he was recalling his own mother telling him the very same story.
What inspired the feudal setting filled with raiders, beasts, and political tension?
I really enjoy psuedo-medieval fantasy and so naturally my lost little boy and his sister found themselves in such a world.
How do you balance realism and imagination when building a fantasy world?
I think one key ingredient to infusing fantasy with realism is to understand what it means to be human; to observe but also experience life. My other career as a nurse gives me a front row seat to both: joy and suffering, hope and despair, failure and perseverance… But I’m not just an observer I’m also a player. As my coworkers and patients experience all their highs and lows, I have my own and I share theirs.
🛡️ Themes of Family, Loss & Resilience
The story opens with devastating loss. Why did you choose grief and survival as the emotional foundation?
I have my own experiences with loss and endurance. I lost my mom in my mid 20’s right before the pandemic. I also started my journey into nursing school during that time. So I had my own second coming of age moment, where I became a student nurse during a pandemic while still carrying the fresh wounds of such a deviating loss. I might have been in hospitals and long-term care facilities learning instead of a inhospitable kingdom like my characters but I was knee deep in human suffering. Though I wasn’t consciously aware of it while writing, I feel like these experiences incubated inside my imagination and became the basis for this story.
What made sibling loyalty such an important theme for this book?
My younger sister and I have a strong bond that carried us through our personal loss. We also started nursing school together and thought we finished at different times, we were on that journey together.
How do Gwen and Landon’s personal struggles reflect the larger conflicts in the world?
As the story progresses Gwen and Landon have to wrestle with moral ambiguity and violence even though Landon especially wants to believe that there is a clear cut divide between good and evil; enemy and friend. This echos the complex dynamics between the two kingdoms.
🐎 Characters & Companions
How did you develop Gwen and Landon as individuals with distinct voices?
I tried to get a good feel for each character’s personality. One trick I have is referencing the Meyer’s Briggs personality types. I try to pin down which type my character fits and then I research real and fictional people that have that personality. After I have that pinned down I take a page out of a method actor’s playbook and really try to think like my characters and embody my characters during each of their scenes I try to feel what they would feel even if it’s very different to my own personal reaction.
What role do their ponies play in shaping the tone and journey of the story?
The ponies though ordinary and non-magical have developed personalities and serve as supporting characters rather than just instruments for travel. I also felt that along with the sibling bond the bond between horse and rider was special. This is another aspect I pulled from my real life experiences growing up around horses.
10. Which character was the most challenging—or most fun—to write?
I think writing the children’s mother was difficult. Even though she doesn’t have as much page time, she has her own moral dilemmas to deal with. She is very different than me in a lot of ways. Without giving anything away I’ll simply say she makes decisions I would personally wrestle with, even though she has good reasons for making those decisions.
🔍 Mystery, Conflict & Deeper Layers
Without spoilers, what can you share about the deeper meaning behind their mother’s kidnapping?
The mother is keeping a lot of secrets about who she is and what she knows. One of the main themes is the strategic control of knowledge.
How did you craft the antagonists and threats the siblings face?
The children face many different kinds of antagonists with varying degrees of danger involved. The first antagonist we meet is nature. The children are trekking through forests and unfamiliar lands with very little currency or resources. After the childrens’ current situation is established we learn more about the inciting incident and the raiders who burned down their father’s fiefdom. Over the course of the book we learn more about these raiders and get an uncomfortable glimpse that they are infact human beings underneath their dark armor. They have hopes and dreams and suffering all their own. I wanted them to be morally conflicted instead of purely evil. War and conflict put people in situations where they can do and become things they never wanted to be. The real evil comes from the people in control.
Are there hidden clues or foreshadowing elements readers might notice on a second read?
I think the reader will pick up on the foreshadowing and symbolism they initially missed on the first go around; especially if they read the bonus content at the end of the book.
⚔️ Adventure, Action & Survival
What’s your approach to writing action scenes that feel vivid and emotionally grounded?
Things don’t just happen they unfold due to the interplay between the characters and their environment and the characters and each other. I don’t write action for the sake of action; I write action that is inevitable.
How did you imagine or research the survival elements—hunger, terrain, danger—that shape their journey?
I did do extensive research about hunting, archery, plants, and wildlife. I read books on medieval medicine, period sword fighting, and much more. I rolled that into my experience with outdoor activities like archery, camping, and hiking. I am fortunate to live very near to a National Forest with lots of rugged terrain, waterfalls, cliffs, and many types of micro biomes.
Even though my story is set in a fantasy world with unlimited possibilities I wanted it to feel real.
How do you maintain tension while still giving readers moments of hope? (Author responds here.)
Most of my previous writing experience involved short fiction. I leveraged my experience with the micro arc to give chapters a satisfying trajectory. The big problems span the entire book. Some problems will span the whole series but I give my characters many small victories along the way.
🌌 Magic, Myth & the Library in the Clouds
What does the “Library in the Clouds” represent within the story’s larger mythology?
The library is part myth and part history. It represents the memory of a civilization that came before. The library represents the absolute majesty of knowledge and the danger when people become poor stewards of that knowledge. What good are the answers if people don’t ask the right questions.
18. Are there magical or mythical elements woven into the world, and how do they influence the plot? (Author responds here.)
As Gwen grapples with grief she turns to her in-world gods; one of which she prefers to all others. It is a forest god and patron god of her kingdom. I included plenty of fantasy elements but left some ambiguity as to whether the gods really exist or if Gwen’s view of the world is shaped by her own belief. Objective reality becomes secondary to subjective experiences. I wanted to play with that idea in this book. People in the real world have religious or fantastical experiences all the time and I wanted some of that real world uncertainty.
How much of the world’s lore do you reveal now versus saving for future books?
I included a decent amount of lore within the bonus content at the end of the book. The content is formatted as in-world appendices. Reading this extra content isn’t a necessity to enjoy the novel but it reveals little Easter eggs throughout the book. Some of the in-world myths beyond the my mythical library are included as short stories with in this bonus content. Even with all this extra content there is even more lore waiting to be discovered as the series progresses. Each installment will have its own unique appendices of in world writings.
✍️ Writing Process & Creative Journey
How long did this book take to write from first idea to final draft?
It was actually a whirlwind sprint. I wrote the first chapter on Valentine’s day 2026 and had a finished final draft by early May 2026.
What part of the writing process surprised you the most?
The speed at which I was able to finish and how well I was able to stay to a rigorous writing routine.
What did writing this story teach you about storytelling—or about yourself?
This story helped me realize how important characters are to story. I would even argue they are more important than plot. I had a general outline of where I was going but if my characters had other plans I listened instead of forcing them onto a predetermined path. It also reinforced the importance of lived experience in writing. I have always been a writer but to make something like this book I had to mature.
🔮 Looking Forward
Is this book part of a larger series or world you plan to expand?
I have a larger world. This book is the first in a planned trilogy.
What can readers expect next from you?
I also have one companion book in development with ideas for some others. Book two is also in the works and already has a completed map of the entire continent of Laurentia. Book two is planned for release for early to mid 2027. I am planning on spending more time on it as the sequels have a lot to live up to.
If you could speak directly to a young reader who just finished the book, what would you want them to know?
I would want them to think about the importance of human connection. In our increasingly digital world the relationships that matter are becoming increasingly obscured. Human connection is everything and the bonds we can forge with our family and friends are irreplaceable.
🌙 In Closing
As our interview with Hal Olsoe comes to a close, one thing becomes clear: Library in the Clouds: Children of the Blue Knight is more than an adventure — it’s a reflection of endurance, connection, and the questions we ask when the world feels uncertain. Hal’s blend of myth, realism, and emotional truth creates a fantasy landscape that feels both vast and deeply personal.
With a planned trilogy, companion books, and a fully mapped continent already in development, this world is only beginning to unfold. Readers can expect richer lore, deeper mysteries, and new corners of Laurentia to explore in the years ahead.
But perhaps the most lasting message comes from Hal himself: that in a world increasingly shaped by screens and noise, human connection remains our greatest source of strength. Gwen and Landon’s journey reminds us of that — and so does the story behind the story.
Stay tuned for more from Hal Olsoe, and prepare to step even further into the clouds.