S3, E11: Found Family in Fantasy Worlds: A Chat with E.V. Belknap

6/1/2025

It's time for Episode 11 of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast with your host, Kay!

Today, I’m joined by the fabulous E.V. Belknap, author of the paranormal fantasy novels The Tenfold Tenants and Stake Around and Find Out.

In this episode, we’ll be chatting about:

The inspiration behind E.V.’s quirky and loveable characters, including a coffee-fuelled villain-turned-caretaker and a wannabe vampire.
E.V's writing process, balancing creativity with work & parenting, and the challenges (and triumphs) of bringing indie books to life.
Why found family is such an important theme in E.V's stories.

Plus, peek into E.V's next project, and get three indie book recommendations to add to your TBR.
If you love your fantasy with humour, heart, and a touch of the unexpected, tune in now!

(Please note: We experienced some minor connectivity issues towards the end of the episode. Apologies for any blips in sound quality.)

Listen Here:

Show Notes:

Here are all the links included in this episode.

Music Credit:
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Read the transcript:

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Welcome to episode 11 of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast. Today, I'm joined by indie author, E.V. Belknap to chat about her paranormal fantasy books, The Tenfold Tenants, and Stake Around and Find Out.

E.V. Belknap resides in a library in Belgium where the books live downstairs, the films and series live upstairs, with the leftover cracks, stuffed with Lego. E.V. says there's worse things to be addicted to than creativity, and is currently and always working on the next story.

Hi, E.V., thank you so much for coming along to chat with me today. I've been so excited to chat with you about your books ever since I read The Tenfold Tenants earlier this year, but could you kick us off by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about the books that you write?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Sure. First of all, thank you for having me. This is my very first podcast, but hi everyone. I'm Evie. I'm a 41 year old human living in Belgium. I'm queer, neurodivergent, and I do not know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it anyway. I write funny fantasy because I grew up on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels and I never really left.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, I keep seeing The Tenfold Tenants popping up on Reddit lists and things where people are saying, why is no one talking about this amazing book?

And those feeds are always funny anyway, because clearly people are talking about your book, but I guess the consensus from most readers is that we really want more people to be talking about your book, which is another reason that I really wanted to chat with you. So, how does it feel to have that kind of reception to your first book?

And also could you tell us what The Tenfold Tenants is about?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): The reception is actually really heartwarming because this is the book that I tried to get agented with and then it didn't go anywhere because agents kept telling me, we don't know how to sell this. We like it, but we don't know how to sell this. I'm like, well, neither do I, but you know, I might as well try. I have it, and people are finding it and reading it. So, that's really fun.

It's always exciting when people are like, I read this and I like it. I'm like, you did? That's great. I like it too.

But you know.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): I loved it.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Thank you.

How I wrote it. Oh gosh, talking is hard. Writing is easier. The Tenfold Tenants actually started out as a short story. I was writing something completely different and I was visiting my parents in the United States, and my dad asked if I wanted to go along to visit his mother at the home she was in.

We walked in there and it was just dark and evening, and there was no security, no locks on any doors, which isn't the strangest thing in Wisconsin apparently, but I thought, huh, anyone could just walk in here, and this sudden image appeared of Crowley from Good Omens. It's a tiny little story, you might have heard of it.

I had a sudden image of him just strolling in there and I thought, well, what if he's not here to deliver a baby, but what if he's here to get a baby out? And that became a short story where a shadowy caretaker has to extract a phoenix-like creature after she'd accidentally gotten herself to the point of expiring, you know, just usual stuff.

So, I sent that short story to some friends, just to get a feel of what they thought of it, and they were like like, well, where's the rest of it? You can't just leave us hanging. Who is this? What's his deal? And then, so I had to make up a whole story. Yeah, that's basically how that happened.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, can you tell us a little bit about what happens in the story and who that main character is that you created from the short story?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): All right. Well his name is Corbin, Corvinian Hark in full.

Basically, he's been studying to become a villain. He's been in school, he graduated top colors, all that jazz. But you know how it is, and for eight years now, he's been stuck in a temporary job as a caretaker for the magically inclined, and he's in charge of this building where all these magical creatures live. But he swears it's only temporary. You know, his big break is coming any minute now.

But then he gets stuck with a maybe human, maybe magical, and he has to figure out which way of the coin she falls on, but also she can't know, because if she is human then she's not allowed to know about the magic stuff.

So, you have this whole house of magical beings trying to hide what they are and being annoyed about it and, you know, Corbin just trying to do his job while running on fumes and coffee.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's amazing, and one of the great things about The Tenfold Tenants is the whole found family aspect of it, where all of these different individuals come together.

Is found family sort of one of your favorite tropes, and do you have any other favorite tropes?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Oh yeah, found family is definitely such a big trope for me.

My other book has it, my upcoming book has it. I just think it's so important because, you know, you can choose your own family, you can make your own family.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, obviously both of your books that are out now are fantasy. Have you always been drawn to fantasy? Is that a big part of your life?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, it's definitely my favorite genre. It's not the only thing that I read. But as I said, I totally grew up on the Discworld series from Terry Pratchett. That's where I got my morals and my values from, and just the way that he uses fantastical things to talk about very true things; that just resonates with me very much.

I think all books are basically like that, they're all just lies telling a truth.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's a great way of putting it. So, what did you find most challenging then about writing your very first book?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Oh gosh. Well, the very first book I wrote, that wasn't The Tenfold Tenants. I wrote a book and I had just told myself that I was going to do this. I was going to write a book, no more excuses. I was definitely going to do it for sure, and then COVID hit.

So, I was writing this first time book during lockdown, but I was working retail and everybody was in COVID lockdown, and it certainly was a journey, and that book didn't actually go anywhere, but it did teach me that I could actually do this.

And since this was done, you know, I did it during lockdown, I tricked myself into believing, well, then the next one just has to be easier, right?

So, I wrote another one. That didn't go anywhere either, but then I wrote The Tenfold Tenants after that, and apparently that's going places. So, that's very nice.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): And did it get easier?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, yes and no. Every book is a different book. So, you kind of have to relearn writing the book for some reason, which seems unfair, but also like a journey. So, you know.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, quick fun question. Out of all the characters in The Tenfold Tenants, who would you most like to have dinner with and why?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, that's gonna have to be Keith because he actually can cook. That saves me from having to cook because I'm a terrible cook, but he's also a very calm and soothing influence, and I feel like I could really use that in my life right now.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's great. So, you may have already answered that question, but is there a character then in your books that you most relate to? Is it Keith or is it perhaps someone else?
E.V. Belknap (she/they): I think as a writer you have to relate to all of your characters, and I know that's a cliche answer. I'll try to do better.

No, but Corbyn definitely, he has this sense of having put all of his experience point and time into this one career, and then it never really went anywhere, and I think a lot of us can relate to that, not just me, to having to pivot later in life without knowing if you're ever going to pivot back.

Me, for instance, I have a degree in audio visual techniques and I actually worked in film and TV for six years, and then one day I just could not do it anymore, and I ended up working retail while writing books. And to a lot of people that might look like a downgrade, but it's a balance that really works for me and I'm actually very happy.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's great. Yeah, I don't see that as a downgrade at all. If you found time to do something else that you're passionate about, I think that makes perfect sense.

So, can you tell us a bit more about what readers can expect from your newest book, which is called Stake Around and Find Out? How is that different to The Tenfold Tenants?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Stake Around and Find Out is about vampire hunters and vampires. We follow Ava, who wants to be a vampire. It's all she's ever wanted in life, only she's never managed to find even one, and now she's panicking a bit because she feels like she's getting on. She's in her 20s. She's not getting on, but it's what she's feeling.

And she feels like she's out of options, so she thinks, well, why don't I pretend to join the vampire hunters? If anyone can find me a vampire, it's gonna be them.

And, of course, it's not a smooth ride at all. There's this big sharp vampire hunter that takes a special interest in her and proclaims herself her mentor. And then when she finally does run into vampires, they're not at all what she's expecting.

It's not a romance. I know vampires are romantic a lot of the times, but these ones really aren't. In fact, Ava is asexual and it's very heavy on friendships and how it's okay to need people and community, found family, because I definitely have a type.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, what kind of ties the two books together other than found family? Obviously not the storyline, I know they are separate books, but do you have any themes that sort of run through the two?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, the vampires do follow the same rules as the vampires in The Tenfold Tenants, and there's like a little sneaky hint in there to one of the Tenants, because in my head they do play in the same universe, in the same world.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Oh, that's brilliant.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Like, technically, they could run into each other on the street.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Yes, future material there, that's wonderful. So, what inspired you then to go with the vampires? Because obviously Tenfold Tenants has a whole range of different fantasy creatures. So, what inspired you to focus just on those vampires for this next one?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, I tend to go into hyper focus a lot. And I don't know if you know about What We Do in the Shadows, but that's a vampire show that completely took over my brain about two years ago, and then suddenly I was writing about vampires and vampire hunters. And I'm like, Oh, well, I guess I can just run with this and see where it goes, and then it turned out that I had enough there to write a book. So, that's what I did.

People always ask me, where do you get your ideas? I'm just running to catch up, really. I mean, the ideas have me. Not the other way around.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's great. So, what does your, you know, typical day in the life of Evie, what does your writing schedule look like?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, my writing schedule is I write whenever I can, because I work retail I do not have a set schedule for that. So, if I have a day off, I'll write more. If I don't have a day off, I'll write before or after. If I have a particularly busy day, that I know that I'm not gonna have time in the evening, I do tend to just take my laptop to work and use my lunch hour.

My colleagues are used to me sitting in a corner with my headphones on, and they know, okay, no, no bothering her today.

I write whenever I can, but I do try to write every day because my head is a diesel and if I don't keep going, I stop.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): At the moment, what book or character, or maybe both, are you most proud of and why, out of the two that you've released so far?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Okay, so this is a bit like picking a favorite child, and this is why I only have one child, you know.

It's mostly like, you want me to pick, but I'm a non-binary, pansexual with ADHD, we don't pick. We don't pick in our life if we can help it. Okay, let's just go with Tenfold Tenants because it just keeps finding readers that can relate and that want to live in a house just like this.

And yeah, I already said this, but it's the book that got me a hundred rejections from agents and they didn't know how to sell it. I don't think I know how to sell it, but somehow I'm doing it, and it's just amazing that it's going and it's still going. People are still finding this book and it's been a year since release. So, that's just great.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Oh yeah, I think people are definitely going to keep on finding it. It's so great, and I think this is one of the things that people are on about in the Reddit feeds and Goodreads lists. More people need to read it because it's so good and so much of it just resonates. There's so much in there that just sort of feels like, oh, I get it, it gets me.

So, what are you working on then at the moment, now that both of those books are out there in the world?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): I am working on the next one. It's also a standalone. This one is not going to be contemporary. It's rather fantasy medieval, and the main character here is a demon who gets in over their head with the sort of deals they've been striking.

It's written, but I'm still editing it. I'm really hoping to be able to get it to my editor next year.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): So, when you're not writing then what is it that you get up to?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Well, there's work and then next to work there's parenting, which is a shared job. So, that's just a 50/50. That's great. I also dance. I do burlesque. I do choreography for my own solos and other group dances, which is a different sort of writing, but it's also a lot of fun. Then I'm also into RPG, both as a player and a GM. I write for those as well. And I read, I go to the movies, and way too much Lego.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): I didn't expect the Lego. I knew that you played RPGs because I follow you on Instagram. I didn't know about the Lego, that's really fun.

So, can you recommend three other indie books for readers who might like those if they've read yours also?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): All right, so this was very hard just to pick three, because there's a lot of amazing indie books out there. But let's start with, Maya Darjani's new book, The Star-Crossed Empire, which is sci-fi. It's a romantic space opera with court intrigue, split loyalties, and it's only just come out.

I haven't read it yet, but Maya is an amazing writer. I've read a lot of her stuff, and I've heard snippets. I know it's gonna be good. So, if that is your thing, pick it up.

Second, I'm gonna go with Tale of Three Ships by Darcia Laucerica, which has a found family of pirates, and they're all queer and are neurodivergent. So, if you like pirates, that one is a really fun one.

For something a bit different, Arikala Academy: A Wave of Courage by Jacob Ryckman. It's a middle grade book, because indie books are for kids as well, and it has a magic school. It's Witchlings in the Owl House meets Avatar the Last Airbender. So, if you have kids and you're looking for a book for the kids, maybe pick this one up, because selling indie books for kids is actually so much harder than for adults, but it's really good.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Also, adults like middle grade too.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): I read Middle Grade. I read Young Adult. I read everything though. I like a lot of things.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): That's great. So, where can our listeners find out more about you and your books and everything that you're working on?

E.V. Belknap (she/they): I do have a Linktree: EV Belknap. I'm also on Instagram, I'm on BlueSky, I'm on TikTok. Feel free to just come shout at me on any of those. I'm always happy to talk about, you know, the tenants or any other thing.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Thank you so much, Evie.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): I just want to thank you for having me. This was really fun, and I'm really happy to hear that you like my book and I hope you like the next one. I hope other people like my next ones too.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Oh, I absolutely do. I've already ordered Stake Around and Find Out, so I'm desperate to read that. Thank you so much for coming along to chat with me. It's been so much fun to get to know you and your books a little bit better, and your writing process.

Thank you again for being a wonderful guest and for chatting to us about your worlds and your characters. I hope to speak with you again really soon.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): All right. Thank you very much.

Kay M. Weston (she/her): Thank you, bye.

E.V. Belknap (she/they): Bye.

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