T A Styles earned his B.S. in Elementary Education and Mathematics and his M.S. in Developmental Reading. He taught in elementary and junior high schools for twelve years before launching his own childcare enterprise, TSL Kids Crew, which he has operated since 2009.
He has had a passion for writing stories since he was a teenager, as it was a hobby and skill for which he realized at a young age he had a knack for and loved. He has two grown children and has traveled extensively including to Iceland, Australia, Greece, Italy, South America, and many other places nationally and internationally.
TBE: The Fortress explores both physical and emotional fortification. What inspired you to examine the concept of a “fortress” on multiple levels – not just as a secure building, but as a state of mind and spirit for these orphaned children?
T A Styles: The pledge used in the book is actually a pledge (modified) that I adapted for my childcare business 16 years ago that kids say regularly in our programs today. “As a TSL friend, I pledge to do my best, to have fun everyday, to be helpful to others, as we share and learn together.” My work with children over the last 30 years coupled with my interest in knowledge of writing family dynamics has been an inspiration for me.
The physical fortress and defending it comes from me coming of age as a boy-boy in the 80’s. When boys could be boys. You can’t really be that kind of boy nowadays. G.I. Joe, A-team, War, when we could be boys and explore the neighborhood with fake guns, camo paint…it was a special era.
My inspiration for the fortress of humanity comes from my absolute love and respect of children, family, and the ties that bind humans as social creatures. Particularly, adults and children. There is no greater relationship between kids, who need guidance, love, and mentorship to grow and thrive, and the adults that are willing and capable to provide that to them. We see what becomes of a child who is absent of adult love and guidance vs children who have this and it’s a powerful testimony.
TBE: Sim is a deeply complex character, carrying immense guilt over killing his wife and daughter while also striving to protect and nurture other children. How did you approach writing his internal struggle between redemption and perpetual penance?
T A Styles: I am not sure that Sim ever found redemption, except by his orphans (or at least Ace at the end) assuring him that he had. So, Sim did take that guilt to the grave and who wouldn’t? He killed his wife and child and failed to seal the deal by killing himself as part of that pact. So, it was a betrayal, and ultimately a cowardly act.
The ongoing penance of saving children was a product of that guilt and shame and also in honor of his first orphan, Elizabeth, who showed him the way to the light. I am a father myself, so I inserted myself into the situation he was in and felt very attached to the emotions he experienced in taking his child’s life, in particular, and was easily able to draw what I know my own struggles would be in that situation, so it became easy to write.
I was/am an educator for thirty years and so I also was easily able to establish Sim’s motivation to ease his guilt and shame by not only saving as many children as possible but by loving them and teaching them to love and never give up hope.
TBE: The dynamic between Zagan and Sim presents an interesting contrast – two men shaped by violence who chose radically different paths. What made you decide to connect their pasts through military service, and how does this shared history deepen their conflict?
T A Styles: I concocted this connection as I wrote the story, so it wasn’t a forethought. It happened in the moment, but I thought it would bring dimension to their relationship in having known each other from the other world in such a context.
Especially since each was on opposite ends of the spectrum even in war (Sim showing gentle humanity toward the orphans of war, not interested in killing per say, while Zagan just wanted to dehumanize and kill the enemy). It painted a clear portrait of good vs. evil, guided vs. misguided and the idea, I thought, was perfect. Also, because both men clearly had instincts that would have spoken of a military background, it didn’t make sense to try to build these characters in the absence of having had such former training.
So, once I established that these formidable foes both had military backgrounds, the idea to connect their pasts was a foregone conclusion that I knew would help intensifying the dynamic and struggle. In particular, in detailing their cat-and-mouse relationship, which clearly ended up being more about their weird mutual respect for each other’s position and coinciding history.
TBE: The orphans’ ritual of adding handprints to the banner after “vetting” visitors feels both innocent and chilling. What made you choose this specific tradition to illustrate the duality of childhood surviving in such a harsh world?
T A Styles: In my other business, which is childcare, we do handprint murals all the time, so I drew on that, but also thought it was an appropriate act to initiate children into a new level of maturity for their society.
Ultimately, it was a psychological tool for Sim, who knew as a former teacher, that children are motivated by reward, i.e., trophies, ceremonies, praise, etc., and to get the most out of them, he needed them to have their eyes on some sort of prize, whether it be being able to put a handprint on their mural or earn his respect and admiration.
TBE: The character of Sky emerges as a maternal figure despite being a child herself. How did you approach writing her evolution from orphan to caretaker while maintaining her own vulnerability?
T A Styles: From experience, I can say many children her age have maternal instincts and love nurturing children, so it made sense for me to write a teen into the story endowed with this strength and interest. I think it made her a powerful leader and added emotional depth across the board because these were all children that had a great father in Sim, but had lost their mothers, and it further served to illustrate the need children have in that motherly bond.
I think she always knew she had Sim and even Ace and King to fall back on when she needed to, so it helped with her not feeling like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders with nowhere to turn. The job of mother and teacher became her choice and Sim never left her on an island with that. He was always there for her to vent and argue, (as you know they did) and guide like any other of the orphans.
TBE: The novel features several poignant sacrifices, from Kellogg’s explosive end to Ace’s death on the stairs. What drove your decisions about which characters would make the ultimate sacrifice and how their deaths would impact the story?
T A Styles: In the beginning, before I knew The Fortress was to be a series, I had it in mind to kill all of them, honestly, like the Alamo, leaving some message behind. But in the end, I just couldn’t do it. Kellog made sense to me because he had much to pay for, he had died before with an NDE included, and his death was even foreshadowed earlier in the story. Ace made sense because he, though strong, was not going to be the leader that the Fortress needed in the absence of Sim. He was too much a follower of Sim without his own ideas and opinions, which diminished his strength as a future leader.
Big Will though he loved his fortress family, had a coldness about him. He wanted people to pay and he was unafraid. He was fierce and a true warrior, and warriors often die. So, this made sense to me. Shark was the son of a military sniper and had honor and patriotism in his blood. So having him perish in the battle also made sense. Truth is, had I known a part 2 and 3 were going to be written, I wouldn’t have sacrificed as many orphans.
TBE: Much of the tension comes from the contrast between maintaining humanity and surviving at any cost. What inspired you to explore this moral conflict through the lens of children having to make such adult decisions?
T A Styles: I am a fan of literary characters like Gavroche from Les Misérables, and Agu in Beasts of No Nation. The idea of children as soldiers is nothing original or unrealistic. Look at the Vietnam War and all around the world today. Kids fight. Tragically, they do, and they die. I love children and to explore the not so rosier side of childhood life in these kinds of circumstances is extremely interesting to me. But I would not have done this without highlighting the importance of there being an adult in their life who was guiding their moral compasses.
I think that is another important piece. The message I was trying to send is that we, as adults, now, and in the apocalypse, have the propensity to save a child’s life if not physically than moralistically. The bigger message I wanted to share was the love and light that comes from children having strong loving adults in their lives and the humanity that is borne of this. Just the opposite with Zagan, who as a horrifically abused child and watched his mother murdered in front of him…adults also can destroy a child’s humanity such they might never recover.
TBE: Charlie’s heights community presents an alternative model of survival compared to the fortress. What made you include this different approach to rebuilding society after catastrophe?
T A Styles: I think because realistically, multiple communities in the apocalypse would emerge, and many that would echo the Heights philosophies. Without rules, money, requirements, laws, expectations…there are groups that might just want to hunker down, protect what’s theirs, but have no large interest in taking things beyond just living comfortably and surviving with booze, sex, and drugs.
It’s how many communities live now, so the Heights is only a reflection of some of the morals and communities that exist in regular times, and is portrayed as the community it actually was during regular times…i.e. housing authority, lower income…people just wanting to get by.
TBE: The bond between Big Will and Gigi stands out as one of the purest relationships in the book. What role did you envision their connection playing in the larger narrative?
T A Styles: I didn’t really see a larger relationship in the picture. The pair was born out of circumstance with Big Will surviving the way he did in the beginning at the shelter. I recognize our larger society as being a pet-loving society (which I personally am not a pet lover, ironically) so this relationship evolved as my author plan to be inclusive. Haha. That said, Gigi is a special character and I think what Big Will nurtured with Gigi is a reflection of what Sim nurtured with all of his orphans. Loyalty, love, and compassion.
TBE: Through characters like Baby, we see how quickly children must adapt to violence while still retaining childlike qualities. How did you balance portraying both their resilience and their remaining innocence?
T A Styles: I did make it a conscious point to portray kids being kids i.e. the Nerf gun battles, some of their silly behavior, their insecurities, language, lack of experience, social prowess, developmental nature based on their ages…I wanted my readers to see children when they read the story, and not adults posing as children.
I strived to highly nuance my child characters in a way that I feel I can do as a specialty given my background. I drew on my own childhood, my thirty years in childcare and education, and raising two children of my own to bring children to life in my story. Sim was a big part of making sure the kids took their circumstances seriously, but also could be kids when possible.
This is best illustrated with Miracle and Yamil, who are the babies in the family and who are nurtured and overprotected as such. Little do readers know, but will discover in Revenant, that the little ones are not as naïve in this world as readers might think, and have a chance to show exactly what they learned as Fortress orphans.
