‘People Definitely Can’t Handle the Truth!’
Author interview with Tycho Dorian, whose adult fairy tale fantasy novella (written ‘out of spite’) is in the 2026 Book Bazaar
This year, I’m part of an author collective called The Book Bazaar. We’ll be crowdfunding our books. Everyone can sign up now for updates, as it’ll heat up in just a couple months.
I’m interviewing some of my fellow authors so you can get to know their projects. Maybe this one — MirrorGaze — is right for you!
Today I’m talking to the author and artist, Tycho Dorian, who tells us:
I’m Tycho, and I love storytelling! My goal is to write dreamy fiction for all ages that is unique, inspiring, and imaginative. I like to write about coming of age, magic, identity, relationships, and changing the world. My books are for readers ages eight to one hundred and eight (and if you’re an immortal, I won’t discriminate).
I have an MA in Publishing, an MA in Visual Development, am an EFA Certified Editor, and the owner of Liminal House Press.
Thanks to Tycho for this interview! — Tucker
A year ago, you started a hybrid press, Liminal House Press, “to turn rebel stories into books that inspire, disrupt, and endure.” You publish authors who “identify as part of a marginalized community,” and you crowdfund the work. As a new entrepreneur, what has surprised you most about running this business?
Indie authors are so resilient! When faced with whatever monstrosity the modern market is — loaded with AI, gatekeeping, low sales, awful social media algorithms, and an insanely low reading comprehension level depending on where you live — indie authors don’t back down from a challenge. The business side of Liminal House is surprisingly predictable to me, but the authors are always the highlight of my week. These people literally will never give up, and it’s super inspiring.
What do you enjoy most about working with authors?
Everyone’s so passionate about their work. Every human on the planet has lived a 100% unique experience, and seeing how people translate those experiences into fiction is really, really cool. I always find indie authors’ works to be way less commercialized and formulaic than some commercial fiction, so my favorite part of the job is discovering my new favorite book.
In your novel, ‘MirrorGaze’, a legend maintains that Astrar split herself into shards. Was this inspired by any real-world religious tradition, or did you invent it for your story?
In a good chunk of my work (like my Braidy von Althuis series), I draw extensively from existing folklore and myth, but in the case of MirrorGaze — as far as I know — this stuff is 100% made up.
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There are plenty of religions that believe in multiple worlds (Norse mythology, for example), born of a single cataclysmic event, but Astrar herself is truly an allegory for anxiety and all the “what-ifs” people ask themselves. What if I had made a different decision? What if I had married a different person? What if I had not failed that exam? In MirrorGaze, the narrative focus is on grief and not being able to live up to expectations of those around you, so Astrar’s shards become a terrible reflection of the worst parts of yourself. She’s not an evil goddess, but people definitely can’t handle the truth!
The narrator is Ayun. She has been blind since she was a small child due to a magical accident, she adores her sister, and she has the urge for adventure. Which traits of hers do you feel represent something about you or are aspirational for you?
Ayun is SO dedicated. She’s the kind of person who, when she sets her mind on something, goes for it. She has incredible wanderlust and is always eager to jump into new cultures and places. I really admire her love of experiencing new things, and I try to reflect that in my own life by never saying no to a new experience, place, or challenge.
There are jaguars in this world too. What attracts you to that animal?
They are so beautiful! Jaguars are considered the epitome of divine authority in a lot of Mesoamerican cultures, which is why Ayun wears a jaguar-fur cloak. This is not only to display to others her royal status, but also to show how connected she is with the gods and with the best qualities of a jaguar: cunning, tactical prowess, and confidence. A lot of MirrorGaze was inspired broadly by Mesoamerican mythology, so there are symbols like this scattered throughout the book.
What was your writing process for this novel? How long did it take? What kind of research was involved? What did you learn from it?
This thing was written actually quite hastily during NaNoWriMo one year (though I don’t remember exactly when). The first version was longer to be suitable for the Wattys contest, and then I cut it down into its current form after extensive editing. I typically approach all writing with a “vomit it out first” approach, and then do a lot of refining later. I’m definitely a planner and love my outlines, but my goal is to go with the flow and let things happen in the story naturally. On average, it takes me around 2–3 months to write a completed manuscript, but in the case of novellas, I can sometimes finish them up in around a month.
Research was the best part of this book! I myself am not blind, so watching lots of interviews and reading firsthand experiences from blind folks with light perception was critical. Many people experience blindness differently, and I wanted to make sure Ayun’s specific perception of the world came across clearly. I also wanted to make the “sight” she gains from using the MirrorGaze not at all a 1-to-1 replacement for actual sight. Researching pitfalls that other authors commonly fall into when writing characters with disabilities was a must.
What do you hope readers will enjoy about ‘MirrorGaze’ or take away from it?
If I’m being 100% real, I wrote MirrorGaze out of spite. I’m an animation professor and professional concept artist, and Disney movies, over the years, have gotten more and more disappointing to watch (for me personally). I enjoyed Frozen on the first pass, but the more I watched it, the more I had questions: why isn’t the focus of the movie more on sisterly bonds? Why is there a shoved-in love interest — is it just because it’s a Disney princess movie? Why is the twist villain so poorly executed? What is the true core message of the film? By analyzing it, I realized that I probably could tell a more consistent story in a punchy, short format and… MirrorGaze happened. If you liked Frozen but want LGBT+ and Disability Rep with a majority BIPOC cast, this is the book for you!
I hope the biggest takeaway people get from this book is that you don’t have to grieve alone. Losing family is one of the worst experiences anyone can go through, but shutting the feelings inside to the point where you want to let the world devour you isn’t always the only path. Family (whether blood or found) is a great resource if you’re suffering, and you don’t have to suffer alone.
How did you learn about the Book Bazaar?
I found out about it from my author friend, T.C. Duck, who wrote Spider Island. We jumped on the summer Book Bazaar collab together, and it was such a good time that I knew I had to release another book in the fall!
Is there anything special that people should watch for during your crowdfunding campaign for ‘MirrorGaze’?
I post lots of content every single week, including character reveals, concept art that I draw, worldbuilding info, and more on my social media! You can find me @tycho_dorian on TikTok and Bluesky.
