The Moreva of Astoreth is an intriguing fantasy novel. Why was it important for you to write this book?

It wasn’t so much that the novel was important for me to write as it was the book demanded to be written. That may not make much sense, but it is so. I was working on another project when the idea for this book came to me. I filed it away in my mind for the future. But I kept coming back to it until it was interfering with my work-in-progress. So I lay that project aside and wrote The Moreva of Astoreth.

Moreva Tehi despised the hakoi, even the parts of herself that were hakoi. How did this idea develop in The Morevea of Astoreth and why is it important to the characters development?

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I have always believed that some forms of bigotry—in this case, hatred for another people—is but a reflection of what one hates within oneself. This is precisely the problem Moreva Tehi must overcome. As she realizes, if she does not find a way to resolve her interior division, her hate will eventually destroy her. By overcoming her hatred of herself, by finding her self-love, she is saved from her own destruction. So, a large part of the story is about her journey to wholeness.

In the novel there is a second language that is used. Can you explain it’s creation and how you decided to us it in the story?

The language is Swedish. I used it for two reasons. One, I like Swedes. Second, the book describes two distinctly different people. Just as the peoples of Earth speak in different tongues, it would not be realistic to expect the two peoples in my book to speak the same language. While it is true I could have used a “universal translator” or some kind of translating implant, I wanted to emphasize to the reader—make them feel—Moreva Tehi’s sense of isolation while in the Syrenese Perritory. Hence the constant need for translation in the dialogue, which I provide. I am aware some readers might feel alienated by my linguistic gambit, or might even put the book down because of it, but I think it was necessary to the believability and credibility of the story.

What is one pivotal moment in the story that you think best defines Moreva? Did any of the characters development occur organically through the story?

The point at which Moreva Tehi realizes her bigotry is killing all that is good within her, and immediately takes action to heal herself. We see this kind of behavior throughout the book—her taking action in the face of a particular situation. As for Laerd Teger, I knew he could be cold and harsh as well as warm and loving, but what I did not know was his “I know best” attitude. Perhaps it stems from his being Laerd of the village. In any event, it almost cost him Moreva Tehi’s love. We can only hope he learned his lesson.

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In the world-building spirit of Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. LeGuin, The Moreva of Astoreth is a blend of science fiction, romance, and adventure in a unique, richly imagined imperialistic society in which gods and science are indelibly intertwined. It is the story of priestess, scientist and healer Moreva Tehi, the headstrong granddaughter of a powerful deity who is banished for a year from her beloved desert home to a volatile far northern corner of Peris for neglecting to perform her sacred duties, only to venture into dangerous realms of banned experimentation, spiritual rebirth, and fervent, forbidden love.