Beware the Golden Tigers follows the Protectors as they uncover histories spanning centuries and realities, challenging the Golden Tigers’ conviction that the Hunger Witches must remain enemies. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wanted both sides to have a point. Right or wrong – none of that matters. A person’s point of view is backed by reasons they find perfectly valid. Stealing from human history of waging wars or even killing so-called witches in the name of religion, I used the Bhaskari to reflect those ideals while having the Soma to very naturally fight back in force. There are wars going on right now and all sides think they’re right. As long as that’s the case, people cannot come together. The Bhaskari and Soma are victims of that same rigidity. And that melded well with the Protectors having a witch group member, forcing Ishan and Bombastus to act accordingly in reverence to their faith. Any time a reader tries Ishan and Bombastus for a heinous act, I want them to consider how we humans did, and do, the very same thing. Regularly.

How did you decide which parts of Torvinia’s history to reveal before readers could see their consequences in the present?

It’s all part of the flow. When I wrote “Protectors Of The Light Crown,” I vaguely touched upon that reality’s Middle Ages, knowing I wanted to dip back into it with “Beware The Golden Tigers.” And I’m using various bridges to connect both eras. Easy was part of the team in modern times in the first book, but in book two, he’s been transported to medieval days. Oath is the leader of the team in the present, but he’s the king’s cabinet member Peneth Ralston in the past. I include a number of links every time I jump timelines. There are many clues as to what the reader should look for next. In book one, Harlan the Arm and Roguesheart seemed to have a familiar relationship. Book two efforts to explain why. And so on. I’ve had people tell me how much they enjoyed re-reading the books in order to uncover certain Easter Eggs that pointed them down hardened paths. Torvinia’s history reveals, as with all the others, not only move the story along, but they also reward the reader. One person told me she liked how the more she reads, the more she finds out. That’s by design. And I’m ecstatic that she noticed.

What drew you to make Dexter’s meditation with Nadaniel a source of change in how he judges his enemies?

You write what you know, and that’s part of my own personal spiritual journey. As a student of theology, esoterics and science, I studied for years on how I could prove to myself that they were all saying the same things using different words. In trying to level myself up, I decided I would become a better person by taking the words of Jesus Christ to heart and love everyone. I couldn’t do it. I failed. So, I thought deeply about the process. It seemed to me that if I could stop judging others, I could readily accept them. If I could accept them, I could understand them. If I could understand them, I could learn to like them. And ultimately love them. With that, Dexter is mirroring my own personal journey.

How did you approach Ishan’s centuries of experience while allowing the Protectors to question the beliefs he formed from it?

I had to accept that, as Ishan developed spiritually, albeit via questionable means, he also had to gain particular insights. As the story goes on, Ishan is shown to have endured the hateful ways of the Lavandra as a means of following the path of his religion. Then, he lived through the unabashed hedonism of Vati Carnelia. When he became Citri, he and Bombastus were deeply duty-bound. But as a consequence of advancement toward the lighter traits of their color-coded progression, there must have been minute sparks of divinity sprinkling before their feet. As dead-set stubborn as both Ishan and Bombastus were when it came to their faith, they also couldn’t deny the bits of evidence flashing right before their eyes. I like to think that, during those times, both of them could listen to morsels of reason. Perhaps that came from being golden Citri, as “reason” is seemingly nonexistent to the red Lavandra and orange Vati. 

Author Links: Instagram | Website