Local Author Publishing Debut Fantasy Novel

Cover of “Fallen Light” and author headshot both provided by Zachary Coffin.

WILTON — J.R.R. Tolkien. George R.R. Martin. Z.R. Coffin.

A Wilton resident will soon join the ranks of published fantasy authors when his debut novel, “Fallen Light,” is released the week of March 16.

The novel centers on Isaac, an arcanist tasked with retrieving an artifact located inside an ancient temple hidden in a remote forest. When attempting to grab the artifact, Isaac is ambushed and soon realizes there is a traitor amongst his arcanist clan. 

“It’s a very character-driven story,” Coffin told Saratoga TODAY. “I have magic and all these different races, like elves and orcs and dwarves and the typical high fantasy stuff. But what I focus on the most is how these characters interact with each other.”

Coffin got the fantasy bug when he was a kid, beginning his education with “Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars.” He sparked his creativity by playing “Dungeons & Dragons” and other roleplaying fantasy games. He put his imagination to the test in a high school writers group, which joined other local school districts for conferences that included author-led workshops. In college, he grew from short stories to novels, drawing upon ideas he generated during D&D campaigns.

“I started trying to storyboard, and I wrote probably three novels that will never see the light of day because they’re not very good,” Coffin said. “But I refined that over the years and eventually got to [“Fallen Light”].”

Although many would-be novelists tend to kick around a book idea before tossing it into a desk drawer, Coffin realized his vision by a simple but effective method: Love of the game. 

One of Coffin’s favorite fantasy authors, Brandon Sanderson, posts writing courses to YouTube. In those lectures, Sanderson says he asked himself an important question: If I could never publish my books, would I still write? The answer, for both Sanderson and Coffin, was an emphatic “yes.”

“There’s an intrinsic kind of enjoyment to me doing it,” Coffin said of his writing. “Even if I just shared it with my friends and family, that’s good enough for me.”

Sanderson is something of a hero to self-published authors. His 2022 Kickstarter campaign to self-publish four novels earned him more than $41 million donated by 185,000-plus backers. Last month, the rights to Sanderson’s “Cosmere” books were picked up by Apple TV. The deal, described as “unprecedented” by The Hollywood Reporter, grants Sanderson near-complete creative control over the forthcoming adaptations of his work.

Coffin isn’t necessarily setting his sights as high as the singular Sanderson, but the self-publishing route is an increasingly popular one for many writers. Some authors with work released by major publishers have told Saratoga TODAY that despite the backing of a traditional publisher, they still spend a lot of their time marketing their own books and pouring countless hours into growing their social media followings. Many of them also have to work full-time jobs outside of their busy writing schedules, just to make ends meet.

“Figure out what you want to do first,” Coffin advises first-time authors. “Don’t really prescribe to what people are telling you you have to do. Figure out what aligns with how your life works and your interests, and then go from there.”

Coffin utilized the services of The Troy Book Makers, a company that aims to produce “attractive, well-designed books at a low cost” and has released dozens of titles. 

From conception to completion, Coffin estimates he spent about five or six years working on “Fallen Light.” With the book’s release imminent, prospective readers are advised to visit Coffin’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/zrcoffinauthor) for publishing updates. The novel will soon be available on Amazon and at local bookstores.