Lit Witches: A Fantasy Book Podcast
Author Bronte-Marie Wesson on her 'dark, queer Zelda book', the high fantasy 'The Ascension of Souls'
09 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What inspired Bronte-Marie Wesson's love for fantasy?
This podcast is recorded and produced on Cammeraygal country. We acknowledge the traditional custodians and the first storytellers of this land and pay our respects to elders past and present.
Okay, I will hold your hand through it. I will explain to you. And then in book two and three, I will progressively not hold your hand.
Chapter 2: How did 'The Ascension of Souls' come to be described as 'dark, queer Zelda'?
We're going through this together.
Are you going to hurt me? A little bit. Oh no.
Chapter 3: What cultural influences shaped the world-building in 'The Ascension of Souls'?
That's such an evil laugh.
There's a lot more violence in this one.
Yeah. Hope they don't mind. I guess that's how I'm going to say all of you authors get us. It's because you build us into it and we're like, we love these people, we love this world.
Chapter 4: How does Bronte-Marie differentiate between fairies and other magical beings?
Hello, and a very warm welcome to Lit Witches, the podcast for fantasy readers, writers, and all things in between. I'm your host, Adelaide Jensen, and this episode I'm joined by Bronte Marie Wesson. Welcome. Hello, hello. Bronte Marie is the beauty influencer star and author of the new high fantasy Broken Cycle trilogy, which begins with The Ascension of Souls, which is out now.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of prophecy in 'The Ascension of Souls'?
I'm so excited to start talking to you about it. Oh, goodness. Wow. Always at the beginning of our podcast, we like to get to know our chosen one. So I'll ask you a question.
Chapter 6: How does the chosen family trope manifest in Bronte-Marie's characters?
To start, who is your favourite fantasy character?
Favourite fantasy character ever? Yeah. Tywin Lannister. Ooh.
Chapter 7: What advice does Bronte-Marie offer to queer writers?
I have a Lannister tattoo on my arm and I got it when I was 17. And it was not... Whenever a Game of Thrones fan is like, really, Lannister? And I'm like, Tywin Lannister from the books. And they're like, oh, okay. Yeah. Fair call. I just loved... It was, like, my first exposure to really intelligent, like, hyper-intelligent fantasy writing as a teenager, and I was obsessed with it.
And I think maybe the daddy issues, probably. Tywin.
Chapter 8: What themes can readers expect in the upcoming books of the trilogy?
He was always my favourite. Charles Dance as well.
Yeah.
Can you go wrong with Charles Dance cast in anything? That scene where you're introduced to him and he's gutting the stag right after... I mean, it's a metaphor for the Baratheons, but he's sitting there gutting the stag, and I'm like, wow, this is doing something to me. I don't know what, but...
Are you questioning your own reality in this moment?
I was like, wow. Wow, as a lesbian, really confusing.
That's such a, like, completely not the answer I thought you were going to give me, but I love it.
No.
Because he is such a powerful figure in those books, and he's like a villain, but he's actually just, he's not really in terms of his own reality.
Yeah, no, I think one of the strengths is that it walks a really fine line. In Game of Thrones, there's not really villains. You have a bunch of people with warring conflicts and interests, but you're not really getting the black and white villain. I've never been a fan of the evil dark lord who sits in his evil dark tower with his evil dark army.
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