Cursed Mage thrusts Kaija Jokiharju into a hidden world of magic and danger, where secrets and power struggles collide with her fight for survival and self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Quite a few works inspired the setup, but they all shared common denominators. The main character grew up in a less-than-ideal situation, their parent(s) (or relatives) were, at best, somewhat reliable, and they’d always dreamed of getting out of such conditions.

For Kaija, I added elemental magic and built upon magical systems I’d used in previous books that I’d written that I mainly launched to my small mailing list. The Maalivahti concept, a Mage who could control one of the elements plus the spirit element, was rather new so after I wrote the first draft of Cursed Mage back in 2023, I wrote and released a few smaller works to really understand what a Maalivahti was. 

Once I managed to flesh out exactly what made a Maalivahti and what they were capable of, I went back and inserted the concept into Cursed Mage. 

How did you approach blending real-world struggles like Kaija’s home life with the fantastical elements of her journey?

For years, when I was writing for my core audience, I almost always wrote by the seat of my pants. The formula was simple: Put characters into less-than-desirable situations, then write to see how they get out of those situations. 

When I started writing the first draft for Cursed Mage, it wasn’t going to be that easy. The plot was way too complex. And here we have a character in Kaija who not only has no idea what she is, but nobody’s saying anything to her anytime soon. 

So for this one, I had to do more than just write, but create a specific outline, which after some trial and error, perfected that blend. First, Kaija had to realize that something was up, but one she wouldn’t dwell on too much. 

Then, Marko arrives and not only is she seeing ghosts, but now, a million different questions just opened up. With my previous books, I had a bad habit of ‘telling’ too much, so I knew Kaija needed these questions answered organically.

That’s when she comes across runic talismans, and later discovers her heritage as a Mage, and slowly but steadily, a world she never knew she belonged to and a legacy she never knew she had opened up. But, even following Book I, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.  

The world-building is so layered. Did you map out the entire series from the start, or did it evolve while writing?

This one involved a lot of mapping. Luckily, all of my previous works contained similar formulas and worlds, so I knew the elemental magic system going into it. The same thing held true for the technological elements, like holographic wristwatch phones. 

Unearthing the Maalivahti concept required a few more of those books that I circulated to my mailing list. So this one took years of perfecting. As for the series itself, I also needed a roadmap, since Kaija needed to start at Point A, which is seen in the Prologue, to Point B, which would be where the series ultimately wraps up. 

The shift I made to becoming an outliner was easier than anticipated. Part of me was convinced that, as far as the story and series went, Kaija would take me in another direction. But when she ended up exactly where I needed her throughout Book I, I was pleasantly surprised. 

What can readers expect in book two of the Catenarian Chronicles?

I just finished the first of what will be quite a few edits of Book II, Astray Mage. Something I’ll say here is to expect the unexpected, and that nothing is as it seems. 

If you remember the TV show Lost, you might recall that right when it looked like something was as it seemed a twist would occur and the viewer would find themselves back at Square One. That’s the kind of surprise that will be in store for readers when Book II is ready to roll. 

Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon | Website