Dragons, Demons & Demigods follows a mill girl with a sharp tongue and a buried past who learns she’s the heir to a dragon throne and the spark that could ignite a mythic civil war. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The description of Clío as a “mill girl” made me smile. I had considered her many things but not a mill girl. That said, it is an appropriate appellation. The rich, and often unread, landscape of Celtic Mythology and Celtic culture provided the inspiration for Dragons, Demons & Demigods as it did for my prior historical fantasy novels. The difference is that in writing an “urban” fantasy, I had more freedom to explore the rich characters of Celtic mythology.

In Dragons, Demons & Demigods, the supernatural associated with the Land of Immensity is balanced by the reality of wartime Northern Ireland. The alternate location is largely my birthplace—East Belfast, Northern Ireland—although in the awful times of World War II. I lived and played with my mates in the streets named in the story. I lived in the house of my grandfather, Lazarus. His was a name I could never resist as a character. I spent most of my adult life in East Belfast, and to this day, from steamy hot Texas, I love the city and its people.

In hindsight, I probably would have given Clíodhna (Clío) a different name, if only because I missed an opportunity to base a novel around Clíodhna, the Queen of the Banshees.

Clío is brash, funny, and unapologetically raw. How did you shape her voice?

I think Clío shaped her own voice! In essence, she is an amalgam of many of the girls I knew in my home city of Belfast, who could chop you off at the knees with their caustic remarks, and several females, famous in Tuatha Dé mythology. The latter includes her namesake Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees, who, despite her terrifying name, was beautiful, charming, and promiscuous, and Queen Maedbh, whose nickname Maedbh of the Friendly Thighs testified not only to her libido but also her negotiating style.

Clío is a millennia-old adolescent suddenly faced with a harsh reality. She is a paradox in that she is the ultimate party girl but has amassed a wealth of knowledge by witnessing human history for thousands of years. Brianag, in the Blood Queen Chronicles, Clío has a strong moral core at odds with how others perceive her.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I am not sure I have “themes” in any of my books, and I do not deliberately set out to explore specific themes. That said, I am often fascinated to read the theses attributed to them post-publication. From my perspective, being an author is being an entertainer, not a teacher or preacher. My starting goal is always to write a well-researched and excellent “yarn” in the tradition of the ancient Celtic seanchaithe—storytellers— a tale that will take the reader away from their daily lives.

I do not avoid supposed “controversial” topics, e.g., Clío’s lesbian lovers, in the novels, but then, to the times and people of my stories, such issues were not controversial. Maybe civilization has regressed, not progressed.

Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?

Book 2 of the Tuatha Dé Chronicles is titled: Eater of Souls and has an expected release date of Autumn 2026. As might be anticipated by the title, the sequel is several shades darker than the first book. Eater of Souls also has an earthly location. This time, it is mid-1950s Galveston County, Texas, which, by all accounts, was a wild place in the 1900s, with its Red-Light District and widespread criminal networks. The novel provides more backstory on the Goddess, the origins of the Womb-Born and Dragon, and the antagonist An-Ársa, but hopefully, not enough to bore my readers. Eater of Souls brings more interaction between the supernatural and human characters and more moral dilemmas. “How many dead humans are acceptable, Etta? One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand? If we don’t eliminate this nest of vipers, the alternative is a world enslaved and millions butchered by An-Ársa and the Nemed.”—Lazarus

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