Special notice for readers: Beauty’s Thief is discounted from 17-21 July.
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Q: How did you get into fantasy?
As a child my Dad would read to my siblings and I. The one book I remember above all is The Hobbit. I loved the adventure, the magic, Dragons! And when I got old enough to read it on my own I did. This was my introduction to fantasy, and once I decided to write, I knew I wanted to write fantasy so I could tell stories with those same elements.
Q: What is your latest fantasy release?
Beauty’s Thief ~ a retelling of Beauty and the Beast!
Not every monster has claws—not every beauty is kind.
Born a princess, raised to be queen, but living as a servant, Avalyn never realized she would pay the price for her father’s mistakes. Now Avalyn is living in a castle not her own, a slave to an evil witch who wants revenge on the man who betrayed her trust and ruined her.
For Avalyn, her real punishment has yet to begin.
She will be cursed to work for the witch for the next one hundred years unless true love can find its way into the castle and into her heart.
Now the princess’s freedom rests in the hands of a lowly thief who cares only for himself.
Q: What inspired you to write your first fantasy book? How long did it take?
I have always loved dragons. But growing up it seemed that all the books I could find made dragons out to be evil. I wanted to write about dragons that were good. This inspired the character, Fuentes. Along those same lines, I was tired of reading about princesses needing saving. Which inspired Shanice. These two characters are the stars of my debut fantasy, Missing Royal.
Q: What sub-genre of fantasy do your books/series fall under? Is there a different sub-genre of fantasy that you would like to experiment writing in and why?
Most of the Finding Gold books fall under Fairy Tale Retellings. I would love to be able to write an epic fantasy like Lord of the Rings, or the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson.
Q: What makes your books stand out?
I like to take popular tropes, clichés, and origin stories and flip them on their heads. Such as princesses saving the prince and dragons being good.
Q: What was the worst piece of advice you had been given?
That probably has to be “Write what you know”. If I followed that advice I’d never be able to write about different worlds, magic, mythical creatures, or quite a few other things. Instead, I make sure to know what I write.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Know what you write. Research is key. Get the small things (colors, smells, emotions, textures … etc) right, so the big things (dragons, magic, mythology …etc) are believable.
Thank you Konstanz Silverbow for participating in this author interview.