The Sturm Awakens follows a woman with a dangerous job, a corruption hunter, who speaks to eradicate her world of the sinister animal abominations that are taking over her world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wanted to do a story about the Sturm and the light and darkness in my universe for some time. Back when I storyboarded the idea, all of the characters had a part in it; Inos, Rayeen, Kosinki, Shamooga, etc, but none of them were at the forefront. I wanted to give Inos that focus because I felt like her adventures were interesting and relatable, and I love her development and struggles with her own corruption.

Inos Sevrence is a woman with strength. What do you think makes her a valuable and worthy heroine?

I listed some of these in the prior answer, but one thing that stands out to me about Inos is her empathy and compassion, even for beasts and creatures. Despite being this brutal corruption hunter, she does not leap to violence in every situation. She would sooner opt for a civil solution, even if her hired job at the time is to fell a troublesome beast. Her fight is with corruption, and to her, everyone else—beast and man, are simply caught in it.

The creatures in this book were very intriguing. How did you go about creating them for this book?

I take a lot of inspiration from video games I enjoyed as a kid. Castlevania is one that resonates with me to this day; the gothic designs and fearsome beasts you encounter stuck with me! I tried to come up with creatures I considered “realistic” for a fantasy world, ones with fur to protect them or ones that might live under water. Figuring out how the corruption might affect and alter them was another story, though.

What will the next book in that series be about and when will it be published?

The next book in the series is in the process currently. It’s titled: Paragon’s of the New Moon, and begins immediately after the ending of The Sturm Awakens. Now that Rayeen is ready for action, Shamooga tasks him with finding Kosinki and bringing him to safety. We will get deeper backstories for both Rayeen and Shamooga as we see them both develop. While Rayeen scours Anotrris for clues, Kosinki continues his journey to Shaddoir to confront the Elementalists and uncover the truth behind their plan. Along the way, there will be plenty of trials, new faces, and epic battles! Kosinki will have to become a master of the magic inside him if he’s to overcome it. I’m excited for readers to take on this journey, slated for March 2025. I will likely do a Kickstarter for it in Jan/Feb 2025, similar to what I did for The Sturm Awakens.

Author Links: Goodreads | X | Facebook | Website | Newletter