Beyond the Gloaming Pass follows the adventurous journey of an aspirant mage and a humble laborer as they navigate a mystical land and face imminent threats to their homeland. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wanted a classic narrative, reminiscent of some of the older fantasy works people know and love, but with some deliberate twists and deviations from common tropes. My goal was to create a world with the alluring opulence of high fantasy, yet grounded enough to feel relatable and inhabited. You rarely see mature characters with adult problems and adult relationships as the focal point in fantasy. I handed the reins of my story to two headstrong women with complex emotions and a lot of baggage accumulated over their lives, then let them drive the narrative.

The relationship between Molindra and Rubriel is unique. What were some driving ideals
behind your character’s development?

Examples of real-life friendships that transcend life stages and changing circumstances inspired me to dig deeper into the substance of a bond like that. There are people who come and go from your life as you grow up, move, change jobs, etc…but now and then–if you’re lucky–you meet someone whom you adopt as family. You’re so in sync with each other, that it feels like they’re part of you. That kind of relationship, while purely platonic, is exceptionally beautiful. I wanted to celebrate that beauty.

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

As I mentioned earlier, the power of friendship is a big one, as well as the sense of inner truth that goes along with knowing someone so completely. The idea that if you strip away all external influences in a relationship, all motivations, all logic and reason, you’re left with this…purity; a shared truth built upon foundations of love and trust. It’s not easy to find, but if you are lucky enough to experience it, it stays with you forever.

The other concept, which is perhaps more subtle, but will persist throughout the Equilibria series, is the idea of balance in all things. There is a symmetry in Beyond the Gloaming Pass. The world exists on a spectrum, and straying too far in either direction causes people and systems to start to break down. This, in turn, leads to an understanding that people are more similar than they are different because everyone is trying to find balance on the same spectrum. The most good for the least harm, where every hero is someone else’s villain.

What can readers expect in book two of the Equilibria series?

Expect to see the aftermath of events in book one fully explored and have a profound impact on the world and characters. No one will get off lightly. Some minor characters from the first book will have a more central role, while others will see a temporary hiatus until they return to center stage later in the series. Beyond the Gloaming Pass raises a bunch of unanswered questions, which book two, Under an Emerald Sky, will slowly unravel.

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