Get to Know the Author
I thought with the new year it would be fun to do a little bit of a reintroduction to those who are new and want to know a little about myself as an author and what I’ve written. It’s also fun to see some of the development I’ve done as an author from book 1 to book… whatever number this is now ;)
As always, if you have any questions that you want to ask, feel free to ask them anywhere on social media or reply to my newsletter.
Where to find me: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Discord | Newsletter
What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favorite scenes first? Something else?
I’m a chronological type of writer. I can’t really write out of order without losing my mind. If a later scene changes something that happened in the beginning, I’ll happily go back and rewrite that portion, but other than that it’s all in order. However, I did write one scene in Soul Obscured ‘out of order’ (the opening chapter happens a year into the book’s timeline). When I first started writing that book, it really threw me off and made things really hard. On the third or fourth rewrite, I finally got it into a form I liked.
Favorite character you’ve written?
I think it’s pretty clear if you follow my social media that I’ve fallen in love with Brela (Smoke and Shadow). I think she’s my favorite because it’s the first time I’ve really allowed myself to just let loose and unleash hell on the page. I mean, she’s the Empress of Chaos—it was freeing to allow my brain to take that title and roll with it in everything she does. It’s more about exploring things I’ve never done before in my writing.
One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that whatever character/series I’m writing at the time becomes my favorite. If you had asked me at the beginning of last year, the answer would have been Kiya (Star series). If you had asked me in the middle of 2020, it would have been Kahyr (Warrior series). Before that, it would have been Finnley (Soul series). I think it’s really about which headspace I’m in at the time.
When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?
Beyond enthusiastic. Perhaps to the point I terrify whoever has asked me that question. I have absolutely no hesitations about what I write, including the sex scenes and dark themes that I cover. I’m proud of my work and what I’ve created!
What do you do for inspiration?
Re-read my favorite scenes or even finished books I’ve written. Sometimes I question / doubt myself and my capabilities. It’s nice to go back to my finished work and remember that I’m capable of completing work, of building worlds, and putting words in an order that makes sense. Seeing those little victories on the page (or just rereading what I’ve already created) helps me gain some momentum again.
I’ll even go so far as to write out what else needs to happen in the book and then daydream about it for a while before I get the details hashed out. I’m often traveling with a notebook and pen or using my notes app to jot down ideas that come to me when I least expect it.
Write in silence or with background noise? With people or alone?
Depends on the project. For high fantasy, I need instrumental music (Warrior was written to the Narnia soundtracks, The Curse of Broken Shadows was written with the Assassin’s Creed soundtracks). For my Blue Star series, I can write with lyrics playing in the background, but it has to be familiar music. If I’m really in the zone, I might not even notice that the music has timed out or paused.
I’ve definitely written with people before, but I’m more likely to get more done on my own. My writing group is currently still meeting virtually so we chat for a bit, get off and write for an hour or so, and then hop back on. I definitely get more done in these settings than when we used to meet in person. There’s something so intimidating about hearing another person type type type while you’re struggling to come up with a single word :D
Weaknesses and strengths as an author?
Description is definitely a first draft weakness. I often write bare bones during the first round and go in to add the sparkly details later. Examples: describing setting. I’ll have an idea of the outline and shape of the setting I’m working with, but the execution on the first draft is pretty… rough. I’ll keep writing, otherwise I’ll get hung up and never get anything done, and then during the second pass, I’ll go back and embellish it!
How do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, etc?
Oddly enough, I don’t often do outlines but rather figure it out along the way. I have an unnatural ability to keep it in my head. However, if I come up with something brilliant, I WILL WRITE IT DOWN because I do not want to lose that nugget of information.
With the Soul series, I knew the basic outline and didn’t need to write it down at the start. To keep myself on track, I’d write a chapter then go into my notebook and ‘outline’ the next chapter (what I wanted to happen or the conversations that needed to be had).
The Warrior series was the first time I wrote down the big events on a timeline. Those sections became books with a big action-y thing that needed to happen. In between, I had a vague idea of the smaller events that would lead to those large events but the details were discovered while writing.
For Smoke and Shadow, I had about three massive events and plot twists that I knew, but everything else was created while writing! I kept track of the map, characters, language, and magic, but other than that, the story details were free-flowing.
Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?
I am amazed at anyone who can sit down for only fifteen minutes and chug out words. I need a dedicated time with a far off ending to not feel stressed! I’m a long session kind of writer.
Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about in order to write a better scene/story?
Astrophysics. Okay, not an expert, but I studied so much about supernovas, black holes, blue stars, and other space anomalies for the Blue Star series since I base superpowers off those things. Totally worth it.
Other small things: throwing knives, arrows, landscapes and weather patterns, castles, ships, and I’m sure more to come.
Have you ever picked up a habit from developing/writing one of your characters?
“Four hells” is a swear/exasperated phrase used in the Smoke and Shadow series and I have been known to mutter it instead of other curses.
“Rude” was a common phrase in the Soul series that I definitely started using a lot while I was writing that series.
In the Warrior series, there’s a bit of a language barrier that makes it tricky to translate. And Rhish is still shaky in the language so his phrasing is a bit garbled. While writing this series, I had to get into a certain frame of mind and mess with my parts of speech to write his character correctly… which translated to me being unable to think in proper sentences in real life. There was always an awkward few hours after writing sessions that resulted in some very odd sentences coming out of my mouth.
At the time of writing Kiya, I was still running and I used her activity to support my habit. Writing Brela’s confidence definitely bleeds into my everyday life, so that’s a good thing. Finnley’s love of learning came at a time when I was still in grad school, but it definitely keeps me interested in education and self-directed learning now.
Who was the first character you made?
Finnley! Well, she goes by Clara when we meet her in Soul Forgotten.
Which character do you relate to the most?
Finnley is probably the most like me all around (minus the superpowers, obviously), but all the MCs have a little bit of my personality / life experiences in them.
Finnley - love of learning, sass, headaches, athletic, desire to do everything on her own without help, entire personality is pretty much me
Nate - fiercely loyal to my friends and loved ones
Kiya - sass, aloofness, “would challenge an exploding star to a screaming match”, athletic
Ryder - needs proof, research, or to be exposed to something in a safe setting before making decisions
Kahyr - desire to be the best, desire to exceed expectations, likes cats, athletic
Rhish - love of learning, loyal
Brela - my inner thoughts come to life, confidence, sass
Cason - closed off to everyone but close friends, not easily trusting, stands up for beliefs
Farrah - could kill you with a look but could also be sweet if you deserve it
Elias - my wild side if that were my only trait
Serill - love of learning, underestimated, loyal
Who is your least favorite character?
Oof, this one is tough because I love everyone I’ve created for different reasons. The obvious responses would be the evil characters or side characters that don’t have much involvement in the story, but if I had to choose a main character that I like the least is probably Baeddan in the Warrior series. I found his perspective to be harder to write overall, even if he had the most dramatic character change throughout the ten books.
Do your characters have pets?
Kahyr has Ouba! A winged cat with sass who easily became the most fun to write - and a challenge, because he can’t speak so it’s all about body movements and eye contact while beheading a fish in front of the man who likes his owner.
And maybe Brela has a shadow wolf, since it follows her at a distance… though something tells me that the shadow wolf wouldn’t like to be called a pet.
What’s your favorite relationship/dynamic between characters?
Top favorite has to be the found family between Brela, Farrah, and Elias (Smoke and Shadow), but that series has a lot of interesting dynamics between all of the characters.
Other good ones have to be the romantic relationships (because I’m a sucker for them): Brela/Cason, Finnley/Nate, Kiya/Ryder, Kahyr/Rhish.
What’s your most ambitious project?
The Smoke and Shadow series. The Curse of Broken Shadows was double the size of my longest book, will have a prequel, and will have at least two more books of the same massive size. I think it’s the most complicated plot with a lot of moving parts and characters and potential!
What is your favorite scene you’ve written?
I’ll go by series because they are all my favorites for different reasons!
Soul Series - Dream sequence at the end of Soul Obscured because I have three Finnleys interacting with Nate and it’s hilarious.
Star Series - Ryder and Kiya in the clearing exploring powers. These two had some really good and deep conversations that made for some intense moments.
Warrior Series - Rhish trying to explain ‘love’ to Kahyr and what it means in his kingdom (language barrier) and starting to question if he knows his own language anymore. Also any fight scenes involving Kahyr and Rhish fighting back to back.
How many books did you read last year? Any re-reads? Any dislikes?
Here’s my year in books from Goodreads! I read 101 books with a few re-reads because I loved them so much, which I’ve never done before. I also had several dislikes and DNFs which you can find on my book review page (and an overview of all the series/books I read).
What’s one thing you absolutely can’t do without in your writing?
Some sort of love / found family / romance. I love me some cheesy, cute ships and forged bonds!
Also, sassy/stabby women who are capable and save the guy in the end. Give me some book girlfriends to swoon over, I’m tired of book boyfriends being the same cookie-cutter ‘tall, dark, handsome’.
Which character is the easiest to write?
Brela. There’s no filter with her so if it’s inappropriate, vulgar, and honest, it comes out. Basically, no editing needs to be done with her dialogue. If she thinks it, it’s being said.
Any hidden easter eggs or little things that might be missed in your books?
Soul Series - nod to Star Wars, those are real songs! (playlists here), Blue Star mentions hint to future revelations (including the next series), Finnley being good at softball is a nod to my professional career
Star Series - nod to the previous books with ‘rude’ and a training scene featuring the original characters, nod to Star Wars, ‘it’s a long story’ nod to a previous character’s interactions with Finnley
Warrior Series - the names of Kallie people / animals are variations of Celtic words and can be translated to find their duty (see glossary), Kahyr goes from not speaking to being the most eloquent speech-giver (and she’s funny), Kahyr purposely calls Rhish ‘Fish’ partly because my fingers struggled to find the right patterns while typing his name and I often wrote fish instead of his name
Smoke and Shadow - ‘rude’ nod to Soul Series, purple is my favorite color but also a nod to Finnley’s purple hair, Brela’s comment that Oni is ‘staring at the sun’ is a nod to Elias’s comment to her about the same thing from the start of the book, the smell of magic fire (smoke) is unique to the user but other magics smell the same, if Brela does an odd thing that seems inconsequential it will likely be revealed to be a prank later or the makings of a plan that she’s five steps ahead of, Brela starts out needing a mental fortress to keep herself in control but by the end she starts counting while Cason starts with counting and discovers the fortress method works better, the answer to what the celvusa says is revealed in Serill’s last chapter if you look hard enough
Hope you had fun and learned a few new things about the books you’ve read or a little about how I write! Stop by on social media or reply to my newsletter and ask any more questions you have!
