A Second Glance: David Brown

Hello my fellow adventurers,

It’s a wild Monday post this time around for my next A Second Glance interview. This time I’m highlighting another Alaska-based author, David Brown. As always, my comments will be in {italics}.

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
David G. Brown grew up and worked in Woonsocket, RI. He has two sons and two grandchildren, and resides in Anchorage, AK with his significant better half, Maureen Hanlon. An avid reader and writer, he credits the Creative Writing program at Cuesta College (CA) and the Alaska Writers Guild for advancing his writing career. Mr. Brown freelanced for the Woonsocket Call, Castro Valley Forum (CA), and Edibles Easy Bay (CA). Fragmento is his latest book to be published. He has also authored a true crime book, Deacon’s Crossbow (2012), as well as Shadowing Dizzy Gillespie (2017), a memoir/biography. Extra curricular activities include politricks, sports (especially fishing), nature worshiping, music, creative writing workshops, and crossword puzzles. {Love the Alaska Writers Guild!! Such an awesome writing organization.}

What got you into writing?
The measles.

What genres do you write in?
True crime, memoir/biography, novel. {True crime is such an interesting genre! Never dived into writing it myself, but I do love to sink into it every once in a while.}

Do you write standalones or series?
Standalone.

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
Three! Fragmento, Deacon’s Crossbow, and Shadowing Dizzy Gillespie.

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
Toughest-Deacon’s Crossbow, easiest-Shadowing Dizzy Gillespie

Why do you keep writing?
I adore writing. {Me too!}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
Dizzy, by far.

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
I don’t focus on tropes. 

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
Music-jazz, classical, roots reggae. {Such a great hobby. Music is awesome, and a magic all it’s own.}

What is your writing process like?
Sometimes fragmented, most times orderly. There is a euphoria…

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
Absolutely.

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
”Make the best of every day.” {Yes, great advice!}

Find David Online!
Author Website

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And that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed this interview. Now go check out David’s work!

Warm regards,
Kellie

P.S. – If you’re an author with more than one book published and you’d like to be featured, sign up here!  If you have any questions, comment below!

A Second Glance: Interview with Dan Walker

Hello my fellow adventurers!

Welcome to the next installment of A Second Glance, this time with Alaska-based author Dan Walker. As always, my comments will be in {brackets}. Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
I’m a long-time Alaskan and taught school in Seward for twenty-two years then spent ten years as a teaching mentor. My family homesteaded on the Kenai Peninsula in the fifties, so I’ve spent most of my life here. I’m married and my two kids live in Alaska, lucky me. 

What got you into writing?
I started making up stories as a kid but never wrote them down. In high school, I worked on the school paper and thought about going into journalism. I majored in Anthropology and wrote a lot for those classes. I dabbled in journal writing all through my teaching and taught lots of kids to write. Soon I was writing short essays, many of which were published in the We Alaskans section of the Anchorage Daily News. {Sounds like a journey!}

What genres do you write in?
I write historical fiction, mostly young adult, though I have a middle-grade novel set in the 1960s that I’m trying to get published. I also have a family memoir and most of my historical fiction is based on my experiences and adventures. I have a couple of Western novels on Kindle that I wrote under a pen name several years ago. My first novel, Secondhand Summer, is highly autobiographical and that character appears in two other books now though they are strictly fiction. 

Do you write standalones or series?
I wrote a series of books about a character, Sam Barger, but it wasn’t intentional; there just seemed to be more story to tell. I really see the books more as standalones about the same character. The two books I’m querying right now are standalone historical fiction, one middle-grade and the other more young adult.

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
Let me see. I have the two Western novels on Kindle that I mentioned earlier, Lost River Legacy and Pecos River Dilemma. They are serial and tell a tale about lost treasure and broken friendships. In paperback under my name, I have Secondhand Summer, a coming-of-age tale set in Alaska, based on my experience moving to Anchorage from the homestead after my dad died. Back Home is the sequel to the first novel and explores the relationships in a family when brothers are divided by politics.  I was against the Vietnam War as a young man and my brother was a decorated Marine fighting in that war. I make the novel using a lot of my experiences with my brother. Just this winter, I released the third Sam Barger story, The One Man Iris Davis Fan Club, which takes Sam (now out of high school) on an adventure across the West to find his pregnant girlfriend whom we met in Back Home. I wanted to write about teen pregnancy in the 1960s from the perspective of a young man. 

Probably my most treasured book is Letters from Happy Valley, a family memoir about homesteading on the Kenai Peninsula. As the title suggests, the heart of this book is a collection of wonderful letters that my parents wrote to my grandparents in Ohio as we traveled the ALCAN, found a place to homestead, and built a home there. This is an important family story and an important historical record. {I love the spread of adventures you have here! They all sound like they stem from very important moments in your life.}

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
Back Home was the toughest to write physically because the editor wanted major rewrites and changes which meant I wrote the novel three times. For example, I changed the whole book from third person to first person. I liked that change, but it was time-consuming. There was another story that was lost in the rewrite, but I learned much in the process.  Secondhand Summer, which is still popular among middle schoolers, was fun and easy to write because I didn’t have any great expectations, I just told the story as I remembered it and then embellished it with some things that didn’t happen.  What I  learned writing my other books made writing Iris Davis a bit easier I think, and the characters really came alive which made the story flow.  {I love that!}

Why do you keep writing?
Hmm, let me think. I write for two reasons maybe three. One, I keep coming up with stories and it makes sense to write them down. For example, I have notes about a prehistoric novel that I call The Fire Thief. There’s another tale about a real person on the Kenai who was a US Marshall and ended up in prison.  Two, I like the process of sitting and composing sentences and paragraphs that make chapters, and then coming back later and revising them and editing. I enjoy that. Maybe a third reason is that hope that someday I’ll write that book that lands with a splash and makes the big time.  Who wouldn’t want that? {It’s true!}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
Well, Sam Barger is my alter ego, so we’re pretty close although Iris Davis I’m very proud of. She’s like a daughter to me. In the last novel, I have a raunchy, no-filter waitress based on my sister that I am proud of because I captured her language and manner so well. 

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
I don’t really think about that when I write, but when I read or watch a movie I really get frustrated with the deadbeat dad, the struggling single mom. I like the villain who isn’t a villain, The reluctant hero, and the useless ally who ends up saving the day. {I adore the reluctant hero trope!!}

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
I like cross-country skiing, small boats like rowboats and kayaks, and puttering around my property doing things like cutting firewood or building a shed. Of course, I like to read and I read a lot of different things. Cooking and baking sourdough bread are my two indoor passions. 

What is your writing process like?
Process? There’s a process?  In the language of the writing community, I am a pantser. I have an idea in my head about where, when, what, and who. Then I start writing. For example, with the Iris Davis story, all I knew was that Sam would get back with Iris and she would get pregnant. The story would be about Sam trying to find himself after high school and trying to ‘do the right thing’ by Iris. Do the Right Thing was the original title. Once I’m into the draft I start a session with some editing and revising of earlier pages and then start writing. Some of what I write is stuff I’ve dreamed up while doing chores and taking a walk. Going for a walk, a ski, or out in the water is a great way to process a story for me. Once I have a draft, I let it set a few weeks or days then go back over it. Rest and repeat. {Pantser FTW! I love that you head outside to process your work, let it settle for a bit. This process sounds really lovely, and healthy to boot!}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
I have traveled some. When I wrote Secondhand Summer I had to drive around on Government Hill to reacquaint myself with the area. That was meaningful. And I took notes when I traveled to New Mexico to help with the Iris Davis book and the middle-grade book I’m working on. The internet is a great tool for research but there is nothing like being in a place that you want to write about. For example, can you really write about walking through the woods in Southcentral Alaska without knowing what it’s like to brush against devil’s club or fight your way through a tangle of moose brush?  

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Here’s two:
The only people who don’t make mistakes are people who don’t do anything.
Learn the rules of grammar so that when you break them it’s on purpose and not out of ignorance.
{Great advice!}

Find Dan Online:
Author website
Blog
Instagram: @dlwalkerak   
X: @danwalkerauthor 
Facebook: /danwalkeralaskanauthor

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And that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed the interview; I did. Now go check out Dan’s work! Remember, if you can’t physically go on adventure, there’s plenty to have tucked within the pages of a book.

Until next time!
Warm regards,
Kellie

A Second Glance: Interview with Brett Revolt

Hello my fellow adventurers,

It’s time for our first A Second Glance interview of 2024! Today I’m highlighting a fellow Alaska-based author, memoir and novelist Brett Revolt. He has some delightful answers to my questions, and I know you’ll enjoy the read. As always, my comments will be in {italics}. Now, onward to the Q&A!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
I’m a middle-aged bachelor from Anchorage, Alaska. My day job is doing graphic design and marketing for the University here. I’m short and completely incapable of growing a beard.

What got you into writing?
Arctic Entries. It’s a big storytelling event they do here, and it’s very popular. I was able to participate as a storyteller and it was super fun. I received a lot of positive feedback, giving me the idea that maybe this was a muscle I could exercise and develop. {Arctic Entries is SUCH a cool opportunity! Congrats on being part of it.}

What genres do you write in?
I’ve done a hard-to-define novel and a weird movie guide/memoir. Only two books, but I feel as though I have covered a lot of ground in both fiction and non-fiction.

Do you write standalones or series?
I prefer standalones. I like the idea of a story being self-contained and complete all by itself. I feel like the ending should always be the best part, and reading a series can sometimes feel like a cop-out. Like the ending isn’t as important, because they just keep going. {Interesting! I love the idea of a standalone being self-contained.}

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
My first one is The Jitterbug Apocalypse and Ten Orders of Kung Pao Chicken, a slightly futurist mystery novel. It’s a little absurd, but sincere. There’s a small amount of sci-fi adventure mixed with humor, and it gets a bit twisty. The main mystery is whether the title has anything to do with the plot, and I will only say that it might.

My second book is Red Herring Smoothie: A Field Guide to Pandemic Survival Through Independent Film (And Memoir). This just got done in December. It’s a straight-up memoir, just telling stories from my life. Of course, I had to make it unique, with the side quest about obscure movies opening every chapter, but that device merely serves to give it a theme and much needed structure. People tell me it’s a fun read. {I love how unique and delightful the titles of your books are; they capture such imagination and humor I’m sure is present in your narrative as well. Also congrats on the recent release!}

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
Remember the summer of 2019? It was super hot and the whole state of Alaska was on fire? I was off-contract at UAA for three months and spent most of my time in my bedroom hiding from all the smoke, writing an apocalyptic novel. I had never attempted such a thing before, and the task seemed enormous. It felt like I needed to power through and not let up, or I would lose my momentum and never complete it. There were advantages to doing a novel that way, but I was kind of stressed out.

At the same time, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Of course, I had experienced the escape that a good book can bring as a reader, but I wasn’t expecting to get that while writing one! Creating that story was a very pleasant alternative to what was going on outside, and that discovery kind of hooked me. So my first book was kind of both the best time and the hardest time. {I do remember 2019. Lots of heat, lots of fire, lots of staying indoors. Love that it gave you the time and space for an apocalyptic novel! I do appreciate the escapism comment as well, as any loyal readers will know just how important that was for me as well.}

Why do you keep writing?
Because it’s fun! Writing is also a lot of work, but it’s worth it if you’re writing about something you care about. That joy is mandatory for me. I’m too lazy to pour my time into unfun writing projects. {Joy is mediatory, that should be on a mug!}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
There’s a Hungarian mobster named “Shoelace” in my novel. He’s not what you might expect. He’s young, well-mannered, and kind of nerdy. But even the locals call him “Shoelace” because that word is kind of a mouthful in Hungarian. (Try pronouncing “Cipőfűző” five times fast!)

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
For writing, I really enjoy taking well-used tropes and subverting them. The one trope I utilized sincerely was the reluctant hero. {The reluctant hero is always fun to write.}

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
I enjoy sour cream, filing cabinets, and troglodytes.

What is your writing process like?
There’s a lot of stewing involved. With my first novel, I plotted the storyline in my head for about eight months before I wrote a word. Then one day I started to tackle how it might start. Four days later, I had four chapters done. I had to slam on the brakes and make myself write out an outline before I got too far down the road, but I knew where I wanted to go with it from all the prep I did chewing on it beforehand.

I like writing in the mornings. My brain feels more limber when I wake up. I also like to utilize music while I write, but it can’t be just anything. Music with lyrics is out. I have a “time to write” playlist of soundtrack stuff and post-rock. It’s not for everyone, but it works for me. {I always love hearing about writing processes – so much variation and perfect for each writer!}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
No. I didn’t start writing until I was 50, and traveling hurts now. I just complain about how much I miss my bed at home. However, I was quite the explorer in my earlier years, and I have utilized a number of the places I’ve lived or frequently visited as settings in my stories. Write what you know, right? Besides, it’s kind of like a time machine. I get to visit those places all over again.

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
“Don’t expect to make money at this.”

Writing needs to be worthwhile on its own merits. Your motives are important! I think you’ll write something completely different if you’re hoping to profit from it. The truth is most writers are doing well to just break even! But if it’s too fun to not pursue it, whether you make anything doing it or not, then you’re in a good space to feel satisfied with the results. {The way I laughed out loud at the first line. Loved the last, though, it’s so, so true. It’s gotta be fun.}

Find Brett Online!
> Facebook: /viciousfictitious
> X (formerly known as Twitter): @BrettRevolt

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And that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed the interview; I certainly did. Now go check out Brett’s work and celebrate Alaska-based authors! Remember, if you can’t physically go on adventure, there’s plenty to have tucked within the pages of a book.

Until next time!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Well It’s Been A While…

Hello my fellow adventurers!

It’s…been a while. I stopped blogging in July 2023 because of two reasons 1) life got really busy toward the end of the year and I put this blog at the bottom of my ToDo list and 2) I stopped getting submissions for my A Second Glance interview series so it was actually easier to not blog. Honestly, you didn’t miss too much… the last half of the year was lovely, the holidays were cozy, we got a freak ton of snow here in Alaska, and now it’s already February 2024.

I’m still chipping away on Zayla’s story, book four of the Broken Chronicles, and I’m really enjoying how it’s turning out. This weekend I get to create a whole new creature for it and you know how much I enjoy that process. {AND I GOT A PROMOTION IN MY DAYJOB! I’m a marketing associate now! *tips hat*}

But I can’t let the new year pass without mentioning my intentions and goals, as well as some Ins & Out (if you follow me on social, these will look very familiar):

And, I recently re-opened my A Second Glance interview series and I’m pretty happy with the submissions thus far! I’ll start posting those Q&As starting next Friday so check back then!

If you’re an author with multiple books out and you’d like to be interviewed on my blog, I’d love to hear from you!

I’d also love to hear some of your goals and intentions for 2024 or some Ins & Outs! Let me know in the comments. 🙂

Until next time, have a wonderful weekend!
Warm regards,
Kellie

Happy Pride 2023!

Hello my fellow adventurers, it’s June which means two things:

1. It’s Pride 2023!! Pride Month is a time to celebrate, respect, and learn about the LGBTQIA+ community…and it’s a time to party!! With all the festivals, parades, and generally good cheer, I hope you have a lovely Pride Month wherever you are. And if you’d like to support a bi author who writes queer high fantasy books, try out mine: Ink Stains & Ill-Fated Lies! It’s got a plethora of queer rep including bi, gay, lesbian, and nonbinary characters, plus a sapphic romance as well. An arc reader even said it had “chaotic bisexuals” and hell yeah, it does!
2. Summertime has finally arrived here in Alaska, though with all the clouds and rain you might be fooled into thinking it isn’t quite here yet. But it is! Just you wait for the clouds to pass and the leaves, green grass, and flowers to finally pop up. I’ll be sure to take some photos to share for proof that Alaska is sometimes gorgeously green.

AND in honor of Pride Month 2023, I’m opening my A Second Glance author interview series once more, this time to specifically to authors who have written two or more books with queer characters.

{You don’t need to say you’re part of the community or not; I don’t believe in outing authors here.} I’d love to highlight more books with queer characters so if you’d like to be interviewed on this blog, please do sign up! I’d love to chat with you.

That’s all, folks! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Warm regards,
Kellie

INK STAINS & ILL-FATED LIES: A One Month Out Update

Hello my fellow adventurers,

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since Ink Stains & Ill-Fated Lies launched!

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No scribe has ever returned from the Sunglade. It’s a continent of burning sunlight and terrifying suncreatures, and the home of the worshippers of Ponuriah, the evil sun goddess. When Adaris Kavari, a disgraced wandering scribe with a lame leg, finds herself following her curiosity too far and gets captured by those worshippers, she’s forced to record their side of history in order to survive. Much to the worshippers’ glee, Adaris is also a Divus—a race whose crafting is used mainly to heal, and sometimes to hurt—and a terrifying young researcher immediately latches onto her because of it.

But Adaris isn’t the only prisoner here. She meets an attractive and snarky painter named Rhonwen with unfortunate link to Adaris’ past. Wanting to save them both, Adaris conforms to the sun goddess worshipper’s ways while looking for an escape. She knows that once she’s free, she’ll have recorded a keystone story that would help restore her tarnished reputation and might even turn the tide of the upcoming war.

The sun goddess worshippers’ influence is strong, though, especially with the new elements of crafting Adaris encounters—elements that could turn her pitiful crafting into something new and powerful—and her scribe’s curiosity twists into something even she didn’t anticipate. As a scribe, she’s recorded many heroes’ adventures. Now, it’s her turn to become the hero—by any means necessary.

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I celebrated the launch day of Ink Stains on April 4 by baking homemade white chocolate chip cookies (which turned out to be quite tasty) and heading out to my weekly Tuesday night critique group meeting. I even had a couple of awesome interviews go live, which you can see here on my press page.

I decided to focus my efforts on the digital sphere for the month of April since I wasn’t too sure when my physical books would arrive (yay living in Alaska!) so I organized four TikTok LIVE conversations with some truly incredible queer and fantasy authors: Astrid Knight, R.A. Desilets, Colin Brooks, and A.K. Mulford. I had some amazing bookish, nerdy conversations with those authors. Honestly it was a delightful time all around, and I’m so glad to have met those lovely people.

The one issue (aside from not knowing how to turn off TikTok LIVE) was that while I did organize those events to be in celebration of Ink Stain’s release, it didn’t really move the needle concerning selling books. I think my issue was how I framed those conversations – chatting about life, asking about writing habits, sharing stories about our books, etc. – instead of really focusing in on celebrating Ink Stains overall. It could have also been the TikTok LIVE aspect itself since those authors hadn’t done a lot of LIVEs (with the exception of A.K.) so perhaps the platform wasn’t the best choice. Or the “in conversation” idea could’ve just fallen flat with my readers. Honestly, the best and worst thing about marketing is you have to try a lot of different things and you never really know what’ll land. Best because you get to try a lot of cool, unique, fun things; worse because you never really know how it’s going to go, if it’ll move the needle concerning selling books. Back to the drawing board!!

I also did an in-person event in Anchorage, AK, at the Writer’s Block, sitting on a Women & Writing panel with some lovely authors (Lolo Paige, Stephanie Thornton, and Jamey Bradbury). I met some delightful bookish people, the audience had great questions, and I did sell some books during that event as well.

Oh! And I’ve been getting some amazing reviews thus far:

“I really enjoyed this book from the start. Adaris is a great character, if a little flawed, but it’s her flaws that keep you engaged. The world world-building was epic and painted such a clear and vivid picture in my mind that I felt like I was experiencing everything alongside Adaris. the magic system in this world was so well described as well. I highly recommend this book!”

“Ink Stains & ill Fated lies was such a great and wonderful read. It was really well written and the pacing was great. The world building was also really good. If you would like a sapphic romance with goddesses, rituals, a great magic system and good characters then you should absolutely read this book!”

“Spell-binding read filled with adventure! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review and I had a wonderful time reading this. If you love goddesses, rituals, awesome character dynamics, amazing worldbuilding and settings, sapphic romances, and great magic systems, this book is for you!”

If you read my book and have a few extra minutes, it would be lovely if you left a review, too! You can review it on any platform you’re comfortable with – Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, etc. – and even a one-line review would be wonderful. Getting reviews help SO MUCH to boost my book in the behind-the-scenes algorithm and get it in front of even more readers. It only takes a few minutes of your time, but it helps my book’s full lifetime.

So April went by in a blink! I intentionally decided to slow down in May since I’m going on vacation and will resume ALL THE THINGS in June for Pride Month. Wish me luck!

For now, I’m going on vacation. 🙂

Until next time…
Warm regards,
Kellie

P.S. – If you’re an author with more than one book published and you’d like to be featured, sign up here! While anyone is able to sign up providing they have more than one book out, I’m specifically looking for more queer authors. If you have any questions, comment below!

A Second Glance Interview: Angelina J. Steffort

Hello my fellow adventurers,

Here we are again at the end of the week and the start of a new A Second Glance interview, this time highlighting bestselling YA/NA fantasy/paranormal romance author Angelina J. Steffort! As per always, my comments will be in {italics}. Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
I’m an award-winning, best-selling author of YA/NA fantasy and paranormal romance. Originally, I come from an engineering and business background, and I’m a strategist through and through, whether it is in my world building, or when I mentor hight-tech startups. Born and raised in Austria, I’ve been surrounded by artifacts of a past monarchy as well as folklore, innovation, and musical tradition. As an author, my job is to make up stories and have tea parties with fictional characters–-the best job in the world. {Love the tea party idea.}

What got you into writing?
A dream on a business trip. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I started writing it down. 

It has been over ten years since I started that first book. Honestly, back then I had no idea what I was doing. I only knew that I needed to get it out. White (Wings Book 1) was never meant to be published. But when I reached out to readers almost seven years later, feedback was great, so I took a leap of faith and published. Since then, I have completed over twenty more novels in five different series and am working on number twenty-six  (The Never Mage, book 3 in my Quarter Mage series) at the moment. 
With a young child at home the main challenge is finding the time to write, but with the wonderful support of my family, I’m able to squeeze in some writing time here and there to get those books done when inspiration hits. One of my more recent challenges is to be compared to big name authors who are also idols. It is a great honor to be named alongside Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series or A Court of Thorns and Roses, or Patrick Rothfuss, but it also puts a lot of pressure, trying to live up to those expectations. However, I am doing my best to make my worlds and characters unique, and focus on the next chapter and the next book. That way I keep productive.

It keeps me going that there are people out there who can’t wait to see what those characters are up to–the same as I always wonder what will be next. It has been such an incredible journey, and I can’t imagine waking up one day and not wanting to write. {Phew, twenty six books?? That’s amazing!!}

What genres do you write in?
Young adult and new adult fantasy and paranormal romance. 

Do you write standalones or series?
I’m one of the writers cursed with vivid imagination and chatty characters, so I’m damned to write series. And I love every minute of it. Although I’m working on a standalone novel for an anthology at the moment. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. {Good luck on your standalone novel! It’s always good to stretch yourself, so while right now it’s probably super hard, I’m sure you’re going to learn a thing or two.}

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
Right now, I have twenty-three books in five series out, plus a couple of bonus scenes in my Shattered Kingdom universe and in the Quarter Mage universe. But I have three more books ready for publishing this year and am working on three more to be released until the end of 2023.

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
Reborn Thorne, book seven in Shattered Kingdom was one of the hardest for me. A lot of hours simply went into trying to figure out if this ill meet reader expectations. Shattered Kingdom is a fully developed universe with a very chatty cast (ten POV characters total), and it was so hard bringing home all the story lines and tying them up. But it was also one of the most fun to write with the sense of finishing something so monumental (over 1Mio words total in the series). One of the most fun was The Hour Mage (release February 28th, 2023). The banter between Sanja and the male lead was simply delightful to write.

Why do you keep writing?
There are simply too many stories to be told. At the moment, I have a line up of nineteen books in five series waiting for me to give them attention. Half of them, already have covers. And the list isn’t getting any shorter. I’m hoping to still be telling stories when I’m ninety-two and my hair is white. It is more than a job to me. {Love this.}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
Please don’t ask me to choose. It is near-impossible to pick a favorite character I’ve written. They all are dear to me for different reasons, be it the heroes, the villains or the side characters dwelling in the shadows. I do have a soft spot for the supporting cast in each of my stories, though. Gordan, Jaden, Kepha, Heck, Seri, Palvin, Clio, Astorian, Naar… You see, the list is already getting too long. Any more time on this question, and I’ll be listing all of my characters.

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
I love writing enemies to lovers, secret identities, lost royalty, found family, and many more. One of my favorite thing to write are strong female leads who fight for agency in their lives. {Found family is always on the favorite list.}

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
When I’m not writing you can find me spending time with my family, reading, singing, or helping high tech startups with their business models and strategy. When my schedule allows it, I bake cookies.

What is your writing process like?
I’m a strategist and pantser. Usually, I know the length of a series and the titles of the books, the feel and tone of the story, but nothing else. Once I dive in, the rest comes on its own. Characters start introducing themselves, and usually they know their stories so much better than I could ever make them up. There is no such thing as a typical writing day or setting for me, even though things have become more routine since that first book ten years ago. I write whenever I get the chance: between meals, when my son is at kindergarten, at night, when my son is asleep. In coffee houses, on trains and trams, and basically everywhere I can fit a laptop for a couple of minutes {You squeeze your writing in when you can, I love it!}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
I visited the Aurora, IL area own a trip to Chicago before I started writing Wings. I have family in Maryland, so I know the town where Breath of Fate takes place quite well. Two Worlds plays just around the corner of my apartment, so I don’t need to go far to do research. As for Neredyn and Eherea… those worlds are inspired by real places some of which I’ve visited over the years and some I’ve only seen in pictures. 

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Sit down and do it. It’s the best advice because it doesn’t focus on everything you can’t influence in the industry but on what you can, and that is sitting down and writing that book. {Yup, love this too. Great advice!}

Find Angelina Online!
Author’s Linktr.ee

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And that’s a wrap! Thanks to Angelina for the fabulous interview, and I hope you, my fellow adventurers, enjoyed it as much as I did. Now stop reading this and go check out her work! 🙂

Until next time!
Warm regards,
Kellie

P.S. – If you’re an author with more than one book published and you’d like to be featured, sign up here! While anyone is able to sign up providing they have more than one book out, I’m specifically looking for more queer and minority authors. If you have any questions, comment below!

A Second Glance Q&A: Caitlin Denman

Hello my fellow adventurers,

I hope your week went smoothly because mine sure as didn’t – Daylight Savings Time kicked my butt!! I’ve been so tired! Thank goodness it’s the weekend. But DST woes aside, it’s time for our next A Second Glance interview, this time with young adult and new adult fantasy author Caitlin Denman. As always, my comments will be in {italics}. Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
Hi! My name is Caitlin Denman. I grew up in Southern California. I got my bachelors in Agribusiness Management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 2016. I have three dogs; Melanie, Bailey, and Dozer; a cat: Kitten; and four horses; Olive, Papa, Ali, and Whiskey. {So cool that you have horses!!}

What got you into writing?
I think my story of how I got into writing is a lot like other authors reasoning. I was a voracious reader growing up. I couldn’t get enough of fantasy worlds where anything could happen. Eventually, I decided I wanted to write about my own fantasy adventures.

What genres do you write in?
I write young adult and new adult fantasy. My She Awakens series is both young adult and new adult fantasy. The series starts off as young adult and as my main character Attina ages and grows it morphs into new adult territory. My new series Blood Queen will firmly be new adult.

Do you write standalones or series?
I enjoy writing books in a series, but I’m not against writing standalones. I could definitely see writing one in the future.

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
I released my first book She Awakens in April of 2021 and have written four books and a short story since then. I completed my She Awakens series on January 31^st 2023, there are four books in the series. She Awakens is a young adult/new adult fantasy as I mentioned earlier. It’s the story of a girl, Attina, who finds out everything she thought to be true was really all a lie. We follow Attina as she learns who she really is, struggles with controlling her powers, finds love, and takes on the evil Fae King.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, HEA, mates, magic, coming of age, dark fantasy, secret history

I also wrote a short story for an anthology with seven other authors called Forbidden Fables. Each author was given to fairytales to mash together to make their own brand new story for a more adult audience. I got Hansel and Gretel and The Frog Prince as my two stories. The story I wrote is called Gretel’s Lost Prince. In my version Hansel and Gretel are twins and heirs to their kingdom’s throne. Children begin going missing in the Dark Forest and Gretel is sent to find out the cause. After she’s been thrown down a cliff she meets a talking frog before walking into a witches house, where the story really gets twisted and juicy. Forbidden Fables releases February 14^th 2023.

Tropes: fairytale retelling, new adult, friends to lovers, HEA

Currently, I’m writing a new adult fantasy book called Blood Queen which releases in November 2023. Blood Queen is the story of a feared queen, Layla, who’s also an assassin who takes out those who oppose her kingdom. Since Layla’s parent’s death she’s struggled running her kingdom, so she has her assistant, Brandt, help her. The book follows Layla as she finds out that the targets Brandt sent her to kill were just normal citizens. It’s her realization of how badly she’s failed her kingdom and how she can turn things around and be the queen her people deserve.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, new adult, magic, found family, HEA, dark fantasy {All of these sound amazing, but I’m especially intrigued by Blood Queen. Good luck with the launch!!}

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
I think I had the hardest time trying to write the second book in my She Awakens series. The book is called She Rises and I think I just had so many different directions I wanted to go in and I had a hard time deciding what would be the best route. I’ve had the best time writing Blood Queen. The characters are so dark and twisted I feel like I’ve almost been liberated with these characters, getting to do or say exactly what I want. I’ve been able to really delve into my darkest fantasies with this one. {Sounds fascinating. Writing is really the best time to explore all the facets of humanity.}

Why do you keep writing?
I keep writing because it’s what I love to do. I love sitting down at the computer and letting my fantasies become reality with the tips of my fingers.

Which character of yours is your favorite?
I’ve actually been very vocal about this. My favorite character of mine is Allister. I based him off of my boyfriend. I’ve known my boyfriend for nineteen years so it was fun using his characteristics to create a character everyone loves. I also think he’s the funniest character I’ve written so far. A close second would be Attina’s snarky horse Raven. She’s a Fae horse who can talk and is faster than a normal horse. I based her off of my first horse and her personality really shines through the story. I love the dynamic between Attina and Raven. In the first book they butt heads and Raven is just plain mean to Attina but by book two they are best friends.

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
Favorite tropes: Enemies to lovers, HEA, Dark fantasy, Coming of age, Chosen one, One bed, Found family

Hated tropes: Pregnancy, Love triangle, Miscommunication {Gotta give the One Bed trope some hype. The best romance angle.}

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
When I’m not writing I love to ride and train horses. I got my first horse at twelve years old and I’ve had horses ever since. I’ve competed on horses in barrel racing, breakaway roping, team roping, and mounted shooting.

What is your writing process like?
I’m what they call a pantser in the writing world. I think up an idea then do a very broad outline before sitting down to write the story as it comes to me. I’ve tried really planning my stories out chapter by chapter, but honestly it just gives me anxiety and I feel too constrained when I write like that. Everything seems to flow better and more efficiently for me when I make it up on the fly. {It’s whatever works!! Glad you found a process that resonates with you.}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
I haven’t ever traveled for my writing, but I would absolutely love to travel sometime just for research, it would be so interesting and exciting.

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
The best piece of writing advice I’ve ever gotten was just write. It doesn’t matter what it is, it can be absolute garbage, but getting in the habit of writing is one of the hardest things to do. You can go back and edit garbage. You can’t go back and edit a blank page. {100% agree. Great advice!}

Find Caitlin Online
Author Linktr.ee

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And that’s a wrap! Thanks to Caitlin for the lovely interview and I hope you, my fellow adventurers, enjoyed it as much as I did! Now, go check out her work!

Until next time…
Warm regards,
Kellie

A Second Glance: Gemma Clatworthy

Hi there fellow adventurers,

It’s that time again – A Second Glance Q&A, this time with urban fantasy author Gemma Clatworthy. As always, my comments will be in {italics}. Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself
Hi there! I started writing during the 2020 lockdown (my first book was called The Girl Who Lost Her Listening Ears, which tells you all you need to know about lockdown here!). I soon switched to urban fantasy and love mixing the magical with the mundane, especially if it involves dragons! I live in Wiltshire, UK with my family and two cats. When I’m not writing, I love playing board games, drinking tea and eating chocolate. {I love this! At least something good came out of the pandemic.}

What got you into writing?
I’ve always loved creating stories, even at primary school, and my parents still have some of my first poetry! But then life happened and I sort of stopped, until a couple of years ago. As I mentioned, I started writing in lockdown…At the time, I didn’t realise it but I was very close to burn out during 2020. After months of trying to work full time and home school, I decided I needed to grab an hour a day back for myself and I started writing and have never looked back. {Life happened, yup, I relate. It’s great that the hour of writing recharged you like that! The power of writing FTW!}

What genres do you write in?
I write urban fantasy, which is magic in a modern setting and my latest series has a dash of murder mystery too.

Do you write standalones or series?
I love writing a series, I feel like I get to know the characters as I write and it’s great finding out more about them and putting them in new situations. I have two series out right now… {Yup, putting characters into new situations is so fun!}

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
I have 7 novels out and a handful of children’s books. But let’s focus on the novels! My first series follows a half-dwarf who just wants to run her jewellery shop, but when her best friend is kidnapped, she’s forced into dealing with a cult that wants to raise a dragon. There’s a slow burn romance with a certain arrogant half-elf too…Think Bridget Jones meets Lord of the Rings!

My Omensford series features some witches from Book 5 of my other series, but the main protagonist is a witch who can’t control her electrical powers and loses her job as a result. Then things go from bad to worse when she becomes the main suspect in a murder investigation… think Jessica Fletcher if she worked in IT… and lived in an English village… and had magic. {These all sound amazing!}

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
I really enjoyed writing Fated Bloodlines, which is the final book in the Rise of the Dragons series, it ties up a few loose threads and gives our half-dwarf heroine her happy ending. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers but there is a wedding…

The book I had the hardest time writing is one that I’m writing right now – it’s not published yet and one of the murder mysteries in the Omensford series and the story is not behaving! I’m sure I’ll figure it out but right now, I’m not sure how all the threads come together, which is a bit of a problem when there’s a murderer to bring to justice!

Why do you keep writing?
I love writing. I feel like I have so many characters who want their stories told just whispering in my ear. It’s a great creative outlet and I love hearing from readers who’ve enjoyed one of my books – it’s the best. {Love this!}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
A lot of people like Agent Jones, who’s a badass lynx shifter who runs the Cardiff branch of the Magical Liaison Office. She shows up in several books and short stories and is the main character in Darkest Deception. I love her because she doesn’t take any nonsense, is used to taking charge and knows what to do. Nothing foxes her. {Ahhhh, so cool!!}

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
I really like the unsuspecting hero trope, where someone doesn’t know they’re a hero, and I love friends to lovers too. And dragons – they’re not a trope but I love them! I’m not a massive fan of the teenager who is ‘the best’ at everything, my main characters are in their thirties and still figuring life out.

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
Outside of writing, I love playing board games – escape room type games are my favourites – and reading, and eating chocolate – is that a hobby?! {I can confirm, eating chocolate is in fact a hobby.}

What is your writing process like?
I’m usually a planner so I’ll sketch out a rough plot, and I have a very busy life so I have to be super disciplined. I write in the morning before the kids get up – at least 500 words, then another 500-1,000 in the evening when the kids are in bed. I leave myself notes for the next writing session too, it helps me get back into the flow more quickly. {As always, learning about other creative’s writing process is fascinating. I love the dedication!!}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
I use a lot of locations that I’ve visited or lived as settings in my stories, and a lot of landmarks get destroyed – Cardiff Castle, Stonehenge, Swindon’s Magic Roundabout (google it!), I love that I can do that with urban fantasy and people know what I’m talking about and I can describe it in realistic terms.

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Don’t go to bed with wet hair – seriously, you’ll catch a cold! But in terms of writing, just start writing, you can always rewrite later and no one else can tell a story like you. {Made me chuckle there; but also great advice!}

Find Gemma Online:

Author Website
Patreon
Instagram
Facebook
Tiktok

Links to first books in series:

Awakening
Bedsocks & Broomsticks

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And that’s a wrap! As always, a HUGE thank you to Gemma for this fabulous interview and I hope you, fellow adventurers, enjoyed the read as well. Now go check out her books!

Until next time…
Warm regards,
Kellie

A Second Glance Interview: Andrew Kirschner

Hello again fellow adventurers,

I hope you’re all doing splendidly well this Friday evening. It’s that time again, another A Second Glance interview this time with superhero author Andrew Kirschner. As always, my thoughts will be in {italics}. Enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself!
I am a husband, father of three, and a NYC social studies teacher. I live in Queens. I created a superhero named Ms. Infinity.

What got you into writing?
I’ve always had some kind of creative outlet. When I was a kid, I drew comic strips. For years starting in my late teens I wrote songs.

I never thought I would write a novel. But for years I had an idea for a superhero that came from a few things. It came about because I was a longtime fan of Wonder Woman and I had a huge career disappointment, and I was working as a cashier in a grocery store, and then that with this idea for a very powerful superwoman with a low-paying retail job.

One day I thought I would sit down and bang out a few simple ideas, but then I just kept writing. I kept coming back day after day, and next thing I knew I was sixty pages into this thing, and not even halfway through the story. I felt like I was possessed by it, like the story was forcing me to write it! {I love this!}

What genres do you write in?
I write superhero fiction, which means it’s heavy on the science fiction and urban fantasy. There is also some romance, and naturally there is comedy, since I can’t help but crack jokes.

Do you write standalones or series?
I write a series, but each book is a self-contained Ms. Infinity story. I went out of my way to make each book an easy jumping-on point.

How many books do you have out right now? Tell me about them!
Three Ms. Infinity books, with the fourth on the way.

Ms. Infinity: Earth’s Greatest Hero: The first Ms. Infinity book. Introduces the characters, Ms. Infinity/Bonnie Boring has to save the Earth from Misery, her old enemy from her native planet.

Ms. Infinity: Where Infinity Begins: The prequel, and the origin story. She goes up against Johnny Gunn, real estate billionaire and megalomaniac.

Ms. Infinity: Infinite Moon: Our hero is against Ellen Wahia, a werewolf with designs on her.

Coming this summer: Ms. Infinity: Childhood in Infinity: Bonnie fights Nancy Proper, an evil Mary Poppins-like nanny who kidnaps children to her cartoon pocket universe and transforms them into brainwashed cartoons. {All of these sound amazing!}

Which book did you have the hardest time trying to write? The best time?
The current book, Childhood in Infinity, has taken me almost four years to get right. It’s been a struggle. The first one, Earth’s Greatest Hero, was the one where the inspiration was almost fanatical. I would say Infinite Moon might have been the most fun.

Why do you keep writing?
Because I need to. I live with these characters, and I feel lost without them. {Beautiful!}

Which character of yours is your favorite?
My lead character, Bonnie Boring/Ms. Infinity. She’s exciting on so many levels. She has all those powers, but she also feels real. I’ve always felt that it’s important that you sense her blood pumping. You can sense when she’s getting impatient or restless, or when the wheels are turning in her head. She’s got a temper, but she also has a great heart. There’s so much going on with her, and the more I write, the more I discover her.

What are your favorite tropes? Hated tropes?
Ms. Infinity is a traditional superhero in many ways, so she has many familiar tropes. She has superpowers, a costume, a secret identity, and a love interest who frequently needs to be saved. However because of her gender, I use these things to challenge gender norms. She is a woman with godlike powers in love with a man with devastating good looks. Think about the statement being made there.

Since I write a form of fantasy, I guess I’m inclined to think of fantasy tropes. I get impatient with the “chosen one” trope. I just see this entitlement vibe there. Also the alpha male thing really rubs me the wrong way. I even use Ms. Infinity to refute it—for both genders. Some of the villains are that archetype—Johnny Gunn from the second book comes to mind. But I don’t see that a woman acting that way is any better. Bonnie’s mother is constantly on guard partly for that reason. She never wants her to feel entitled. {I love that you challenge the gender norms!}

What kind of hobbies do you have outside of writing?
I like to hike. I also like to play music. Besides that, I’m a “roadgeek,” meaning I’m fascinated by trivial details about highways.

What is your writing process like?
Very haphazard. Because I’m a teacher and a dad, I have to fit in writing time wherever I can, and it’s usually just a little here and a little there. I find that persistence is the key. Keep doing this consistently and it all adds up.

I’m very much a “pantser.” When I wrote the first book, I didn’t even know that outlining was something people did. Even now, I couldn’t outline if I tried, nor do I really want to. I have the idea. I sit down, and I let the characters take me for a ride. I’ve been surprised by my own plot twists. {That sounds like a fun way of writing!}

Have you ever traveled as research for your writing?
Not beyond New York City! It was probably a good idea to set this thing in my own borough (Queens.) There are also bits of it in deep, deep space and imaginary worlds, but traveling there is a little on the impossible side. {In a galaxy far, far away…if only we could actually visit there!}

Last question, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
I can think of some practical advice I’ve gotten from my writing group. Watch the pacing. If I’m not careful, my stories can really race by. You want to let the scenes breathe. Don’t forget to include some scene setting, character thoughts, sensory images. Let the scene breathe. {Yup, 100% agree.}

Find Andrew Online!
Website
Sign up for newsletter at www.andrewkirschner.net/sign-up
Goodreads
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

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And that’s a wrap! Many thanks to Andrew for this lovely interview and I hope you, fellow adventurers, enjoyed this as much as I did. Now, go check out his work!

Until next time…
Warm regards,
Kellie