Actor & Author Josh Plasse just released his debut fantasy novel Dust.
From the big screen to small, Josh’s career has taken him from memorable films such as Ride and Wildflower to hit TV shows like The Baxters, iCarly, All the Queen’s Men, 9-1-1: Lone Star, AHS, Grey’s Anatomy, Grown-ish, and many more. Josh is also a producer, having produced his company’s first feature film titled Yucca Valley in June 2021.
Published by Forefront and distributed by Simon & Schuster, Dust, where “the epic adventures and ragtag friendships of Guardians of the Galaxy meet the cunning and betrayal of Game of Thrones,”is the perfect recipe for the beginning of a steadfast saga:
The kingdom of Alyonia has long known peace. But when its sovereigns are mysteriously murdered and its young princes are absent, it’s up to the last royal issue Taryn Kaldor to assume the throne in the interim. But Taryn is hiding a dark family secret, one that threatens to pull apart not only Alyonia, but all the kingdoms of Adria and plunge them into a new world swallowed by shadow.
Prince Taaivetti, rightful heir to the throne and commander of the desert fortress at Hann, is torn between his duties: return home to rule Alyonia and stabilize his dying kingdom, or stay to defend Hann against desert terrors like the monstrous Gorsh. In search of answers, Taaivetti discovers the magical dust of legend and the creatures who protect it. Ignoring their warnings, Taaivetti taps into the dust’s power to travel back and forth in time, each trip leading him closer to uncovering the truth of his parents’ deaths, his kingdom’s future — and his own fate.
On the run in the degenerate island of Tourtoufa, Prince Hendrix Kaldor has only his mother’s outlawed book of prophecies, proving strangely accurate of late, to accompany him. With time however, Hendrix grows a band of local misfits and begins deciphering these mysterious prophecies. But as the prophetic puzzles become clear, so too do the horrific shadow gods desperate to hide and destroy them. Secrets and sibyls, pain and prophecy, alliances made and broken sweep through the lands of Adria as its inhabitants face the evil forces that threaten to submerge them into darkness forever.
But how, exactly, do you fight an enemy made of shadow itself?
Check out our interview with Josh:
First off, congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Dust! How does it feel? Did you do anything special to celebrate?
Josh: Thank you so much! Ironically, I was sick with the flu so my celebration was laying in bed and suffering, haha! It made me feel like one of the characters in my book!
What inspired you to write a novel?
Josh: A lifetime of being a nerd. I grew up loving fantasy, and binging the works of C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, R. R. Martin, etc! I also wrote comics when I was younger, so I began blending my love of literature with comics and out came my concept for this manuscript…
Can you briefly explain what Dust is about?
Josh: The brief explanation is that the book follows three siblings of a royal family in the aftermath of their mother and father’s assassination… As each sibling discovers the truth of what occurred, they move towards conflict with one another in an effort to take the now empty throne.
Where did the story for Dust come from?
Josh: A combination of years and years drawing comics, digesting content, and loving various war/ stratagem games!
Dust is said to be “the epic adventures and ragtag friendships of Guardians of the Galaxy meet the cunning and betrayal of Game of Thrones,” were these inspiration for Dust?
Josh: A Game of Thrones most definitely was. I grew up reading those books and I absolutely loved the show. Guardians [of the Galaxy] was not a direct inspiration, but I love that series and definitely drew smaller inspiration from the way they created such a great group of heroes and anti-heroes.
As an actor, you’re used to creating characters, so what was it like creating characters for your novel versus for screen?
Josh: Oh — it was a joy. I think that is where I will ultimately excel the most as I continue to write. The process of creating a character is quite similar in many ways. I love “taking my characters out to lunch” both literally and metaphorically. Asking them questions, and as such, realizing how little I truly know about them. This is and was a great way for me to glean depth on my characters backstories, etc. etc. I’d also say having so much time to craft and develop them was a blessing. In a screen play, you have such little space to build characters, and on screen, you have even less. In literature, and fantasy in specific, you really have quite a bit of time to dive deep!
How did you decide to name the novel Dust?
Josh: Great question. The book is titled dust because the source of magic within the world of the book is found in the “dust” of ancient comets that were once rumored to have struck the Earth… Nerd time!
What do you hope people take away from reading Dust?
Josh: Quite a lot actually. It’s a long read, so I obviously hope readers are immersed in a world that allows them to spend time away from our own… But ultimately I do want them to see reflections of the world we live in as well, and I want them to question the thematics and messages of my work. I think a big problem in modern art is “giving” people something to see or digest directly, as opposed to merely asking questions and letting an audience come to their own conclusions. So my hope is just that… I hope they’ll see reflections of issues in our own world, guised as the fantastical, and be so drawn in that they’re excited to have an opinion of their own.
This is the first installment in the saga, how many novels do you have planned?
Josh: 3!
Is there anything else you’d like to add about Dust?
Josh: Just that it is (in a good way), a slow burn. I’m not interested in catering to what most editors believe is a culture of short attention spans. If someone is going to pick up a book of this length, I’d be doing them a disservice to cut story in an effort to shovel action. I hope readers will appreciate that and find the piece that much more appealing.
I know actors are always busy, so in addition to writing, what other projects do you have coming up?
Josh: Hah! Isn’t that the truth… Well, I have a show coming out called “Butterfly” on Amazon that I have a fun part in. You can also catch me in a few films coming out this year. But the things I’m currently excited about are The Pirate King, a film I wrote and will act in next year, as well as Late Fame, a film I am executive producing. The film stars Willem Dafoe and is a true work of art. I’m excited for audiences to see it!
Pick up your copy of Dust today!
