The Empath’s Second Chance follows human Sylas and enigmatic alien Ksa’in as they navigate through love, loss, and healing amid a cosmos teeming with exotic creatures and hostile abductions. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

For me, The Empath’s Second Chance grew naturally from the first book in the series, The Empath’s Lover. In that book, Sylas was presented almost as a bad guy, but really his negative actions were due to jealousy, insecurity, distrust, and just as a result of being a little shaken up by experiencing the unexpected during the mission. This character in my mind was so much more than what readers got to see of him in the first book, so I decided he deserved a book of his own. He is a man who hides his insecurities and weaknesses behind a sarcastic and easy-going facade and, because of this, it’s hard for people to get to know who he really is underneath it all. So, who better to do this than an empath? This is where Ksa’in comes in.

From the plot side of things, in book 1 we learn that the Kyphomi are allied with a species whose planet is on the verge of destruction. They wanted the Earth for themselves and thought the Kyphomi were going to help them get it. They are in a desperate situation, so even if the Kyphomi were able to convince their leadership that their change of heart about humans and the Earth was the right thing, there are bound to be those among them that don’t agree. It is their desperation coupled with their misconceptions about humankind that lead to the abduction.

As for where the series is set up in terms of where they are in time and space and what the humans were doing in the outer solar system, a lot of that was inspired by science documentaries I’ve watched with my sons. In particular, the videos documenting the space exploration humankind has already done and what they hope to do next. From there, I imagined what it might be like in the future if and when we send manned missions to the outer solar system.

The universe in your book is rich with varied planets and creatures; how did you build these interstellar worlds and ensure they provided a vibrant but coherent backdrop to the romance and drama unfolding between the characters?

Since I’m writing MM sci-fi romance, the romance is the focus and the science is soft. That being said, much of what I include about space and planets is inspired by those science fiction documentaries and informational videos I watch with my kids. Also, my set-up for the first book, and thus the series beginning, was a group of 5 astronauts on the first manned mission to the outer solar system encountering an alien species for the first time. This can be very limiting in terms of settings, characters, and creatures. So, instead of just having the enemy aliens abduct him and stick him in a prison somewhere, I had them dump him on a hostile planet as a sort of test–kind of like survival of the fittest. But it was also a test to see how a human would treat a foreign planet and primitive people. By stranding Sylas and having him struggle for survival, I was able to show more of this hostile world and some of its inhabitants.

For inspiration for this planet, I used some of Earth’s own environments, exaggerated some elements, and added the kinds of differences one might see if it was a binary star system instead of a planet with one sun. The kinds of creatures and races I added came from my imagination, but with consideration of adaptations one might see for that type of environment.

Because it was a hostile, alien planet, we got to see more of Sylas’ resilience and strength as he struggled for survival. It also provided an opportunity to show the growing relationship between Sylas and Ksa’in once Ksa’in gets there and locates him. By having them fight for survival, and fight to return to the ship so they can escape, we get to see the two characters each putting the other first. We see them willing to make sacrifices, and even go so far as to sacrifice their lives so that the other can survive.

Sylas and Ksa’in showcase a complex, multi-layered relationship throughout the novel; can you share insights into your process for developing their characters?

In the first book of the series, the relationship between the two lovers was almost instantaneous–it was a love at first sight, bordering on fated mates kind of story. The pressures on their relationship were mostly external.

For the second book in the series, I wanted it to be different. I wanted the readers to experience the characters’ internal struggles. So I made it a second chance romance, but not the kind where it’s a second chance for the same couple. Instead, it was a second chance at love for each of them after losing a love relationship in the past. For Sylas, he’d lost both a romantic love interest and a close family member, and the loss of that potential romantic love relationship was recent enough to still sting.

These losses had to be tragic enough that they would be reluctant to just go with their feelings. Opening themselves up to a new love was an internal struggle for both of them. This struggle allowed me to bring in some of their backstories and better showcase who they are as individuals. It also allowed me to show the inevitability of a love that’s meant to be, so to speak. In the end, they were both powerless to resist the pull they had to each other, and unable to deny or ignore the deep bond that grew between them.

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

The next book I’m working on is book 3 of the series. The setting will be a bit different, in that is will mostly occur back on Earth (kind of). But we will continue to see both the Kyphomi and the humans. The date is still uncomfirmed, but I am hoping it will be next spring or summer.

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