Veil of Embers follows ranger Sorcha and her allies as corruption spreads through Lumora and the wilds, forcing them to confront the cost of power and step into a dragon-lit realm where the real war begins. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I always knew the story would revolve around Samhain. From the beginning, I wanted Sorcha and Riona’s journeys to mirror each other while showing how differently people process grief. Circumstance shapes us, and the paths we choose often come from what we have lost and what we think will fix that loss. The world itself grew out of conversations with my mom, who is Irish, about traditions, folklore, and the deeper meaning behind Samhain. Once I started exploring druids, boundaries between worlds, and the mythology of the battle Mag Tuired I knew exactly what I wanted this story to become.

Kyron’s relationship to dark magic is steeped in grief and consequence. What was the first image or moment that unlocked his arc for you?

Kyron was originally written to move the plot forward, but he quickly became much more than that. As I drafted, I realized his actions needed emotional weight behind them, so I went back and rewrote many of his chapters to give him the depth and history he deserved. Alenia’s storyline actually came later, during revisions, when I understood what kind of loss and guilt would shape him into the person he is. Once that piece was there, his choices made sense, and his grief became central to his connection to dark magic.

Riona’s pull toward the forbidden grimoire reads like addiction without glamorizing it. How did you calibrate that line, especially for older teen readers?

Riona’s connection to the grimoire was never meant to feel like temptation for power alone. It comes from grief and from the desperate need to protect the people she loves. She is watching the world fall apart and feeling completely powerless, and the book offers her something she thinks will keep others safe. At that point, where the power comes from matters less to her than what it might allow her to do. I wanted readers to understand her perspective even if they disagree with her choices. When you are hurting and afraid of losing more, you start looking for anything that might stop that pain. Riona convinces herself she can control it, that she is using it for the right reasons, and that makes her decisions feel justified to her. Her story is really about how grief can push someone into morally gray territory when they believe the alternative is losing everything.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

The next book is Crownless Heirs, the second installment in the Threadfire series. It is already written and is currently planned for release in spring 2027. The story expands beyond the events of Veil of Embers and explores the consequences of the choices made in book one and even before then as the larger conflict begins to unfold.

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