Haunted By Shadows
Secrets Burn follows a troubled teen with amnesia and recurring visions, who learns that her human life has been carefully constructed to conceal her connection to the fae world of Kenor, a realm divided by war. What first inspired Eliora’s story and the world of Kenor?
Eliora’s story being haunted by shadows was inspired by a reoccurring nightmare I’ve had since I was young. I thought I’d see where it would take me.
I love the mythology around faeries since I was young and fascinated by questions about the after life they heavily influenced the direction the story went it.
I also realised at the time of writing I had never really come across a book that blended faerie mythology and angels specifically the way I wanted it to.
Overall there was just a lot of inspiration from things I’d been curious about and experienced over the years developed into kenor and its mythology from there.
Eliora worries that recovering her memories could erase the person she’s become. What interested you about that conflict?
Ive always struggled with the idea of finding who I am, rather than becoming the person other people wanted or expected me to be. That made me ask the question, what if I finally discovered who I was meant to be but I didn’t like the person I’d become?
For Eliora recovering her memories is t simply about find out who she is. It about questions whether the person she is now is still with holding on to. Putting her in the positions where she has to decided whether her past defines her.
Grief influences several characters in dramatically different ways. Why did you want loss to have such a significant role in the conflict?
I wanted loss to be realistic beyond simply being sad moments in a book. Everyone processes loss differently how I process it is very different to the way my sister does. Grief can change people and fear of change was what really influenced me when writing Secrets Burn.
Without revealing too much, which aspect of Eliora’s powers, relationships, or history are you most excited to explore next?
Definitely her history. There so much about Eliora’s past that we don’t know yet and there are pieces of her story the reader doesn’t fully understand until later.
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Until the past starts crawling back and something breaks through.
Eliora’s world begins to unravel. She is forced to face the truth: her life isn’t real. Her nightmares are memories. And the person she’s been pretending to be… never existed.
Taken to the fae realm of Kenor, she finds herself at the centre of a conflict she doesn’t remember but everyone else does. To some, Eliora is a long-awaited answer. To others, a reminder of what was taken.
But to Cael, the one tasked with protecting her, she’s something far more complicated. A duty. A risk. A past he won’t explain.
As Eliora’s magic awakens in dangerous, uncontrollable surges and fragments of her memories begin to surface, one thing becomes clear: whatever she did before she forgot still matters.
Because the war isn’t over.
And the closer she gets to the truth, the more it threatens to destroy everything.
Posted on September 30, 2026, in Interviews and tagged A.J. Mortimer, author, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, ebook, fiction, goodreads, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, read, reader, reading, Secrets Burn, story, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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