What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
When I wrote The Spiral Awakens: Spirals of Aztalun (Book One), I originally planned to write a series of related books about the adventures of the main heroine, Alayna Archuleta. However, while writing that first book, I fell in love with each of the main characters. That’s where my desire to write a series of books from the point of view of each of the main female characters from the first book comes from.
I felt a special affinity with Sasha Kahn and wanted to explore her magical-healer side more fully, so I first outlined Spiral Energy Rising to continue the Hexad’s connection to the realm of Aztalun while allowing Sasha’s character to shape the book’s direction. This is why I tapped into the idea of a sisterhood or coven, since Sasha was an only child who had always longed for siblings, especially sisters. Also, with Sasha’s background as a personal trainer, there was a natural synergy between her and Elijah Taylor, a martial arts instructor. It was interesting to try to predict how their relationship would develop.
It was so fun writing this book that I couldn’t wait to write the next one, with Blair Grindall as the main character, so I finished the outline for that third book almost at the same time as the outline for Spiral Energy Rising. I’m currently writing book three in the series and am outlining a fourth book, which will be set in the past (compared to the first three books) and explore what happened to Caslista before she was imprisoned in the obsidian fortress. So, that’s a little preview of what’s coming next for Aztalun.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I’m not fond of favorite questions. I don’t even like being asked for my favorite food or favorite color because it changes from day to day and sometimes hour by hour. I enjoy nearly all types of literature. It just depends on what I’m in the mood for. That said, I enjoy speculative fiction, which, to me, can include fantasy, science fiction, and even historical fiction (after all, even a well-researched book set in a specific historical period is speculative when it comes to questions of what could have happened). I also enjoy romance novels. Perhaps I should just say I primarily enjoy speculative fiction, with some romance tossed in.
Based on this, it’s no wonder that I have so much fun writing fantasy, and in addition to the Aztalun series, I’m currently working on a paranormal-historical romance, as well as what I hope will turn into a science fiction space opera; although I’m mostly in the world-building stages of that project, so who knows where it will end up going.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
I’ve read several Adrian Tchaikovsky science fiction books, but haven’t yet read the Children of Time series. So, I have the first two books of that series downloaded on my Kindle app waiting for me. I enjoy some of Nora Roberts’ paranormal romances and last year read the Lost Brides series. Currently, I have one of her older standalone novels, Divine Evil, downloaded, and I look forward to it since it is supposed to be darker and include more suspense. I know it’s over 30 years old, but I have to pick and choose which of Roberts’ books to read since not all of them are as complex as I prefer. Finally, I’ve started listening to audiobooks from Pierce Brown. Even though I had already read the original Red Rising trilogy, I wanted to listen to them on my long daily commute. This summer I listened to Red Rising and Golden Son, and now I’m listening to Morning Star.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
I don’t want to give any spoilers, but there’s a scene where the Hexad faces a trial, and Denali Kwaan has to choose between being the natural rule-follower he is and breaking the rules to save another. I also had a fun challenge with the battle scenes between the witches and the Hexad versus the army of the gods. That’s all I will say. I’m not sharing how the battle turns out.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
Peanut Butter, my orange tabby cat, is nearly always with me when I write. He prefers to lie right on my keyboard. I’m sure he is trying to figure out why my fingers are pushing the keys instead of petting him. However, I can’t write while he’s on the keyboard, so I coax him onto my lap, where he is usually well-behaved and falls asleep.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
That is as changeable as what my favorite book genre is. Today, I really like this quote: “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
An element in all the books I’ve written in the past and that I am currently working on is the concept of strangers coming together, becoming friends, and more than that, becoming family. I’m not sure where this saying came from, but I think it captures the spirit of the found family and friendships the Hexad is building: “Sometimes life gifts us with people who become our family — not through blood, but through love, kindness, and shared moments that turn into memories.”