The Lightning Knight follows a young noble who is reluctantly tasked with training a boy that is destined to save the world. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

The story sort of found itself in a way. I love the idea of the classic hero’s journey, but wanted to have a twist on it. I found having Oliver in the role of mentor, and the story from his perspective was super interesting. Beyond that, I loved the idea of having the mentor not really knowing much more than the person he was training. It really makes it seem real and lived in, versus the cookie-cutter this is the hero and you know what his deal is.

Oliver is an interesting and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind his character development?

I really wanted to capture the essence of what it was like to be a teenager – the extreme emotions, the big thoughts and ideas with the lack of experience and maturity, and all of that. He really starts out a bit naïve to how the world works, and his sheltered wealthy life hasn’t done him any favors with what’s really going on in the world. He teeters on the line of extreme emotions, particularly confidence and lack thereof. I wanted someone who really could exemplify the goodness of being a teenager, and the angst and confusion as well.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Some major themes were haves vs have nots, identity, choice, prejudice, and love. The story really tries to touch upon a bunch of different things but ultimately at the end of the day, it’s about adversity and how you handle everything life throws at you, good or bad.

This is book one in The Knights of Nine series. What can readers expect in book two?

Book two will follow a different character to begin with until they meet Oliver and continue his journey. We’ll get to see a different part of the world, and even a different culture or three.

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