Rise of Dresca is a fast-paced fantasy that immediately grabs readers and pulls them along on an incredible journey into a world where magic and haunting secrets prevail. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Most of Rise of Dresca is an origin story, but I wanted to keep the central character shrouded in mystery because of where the story is heading. ​

I like books that suck you in and never let go. It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing walls of text describing the rich worlds we as authors create, diving into the backstory and deeper thoughts of characters. But I find doing so dramatically slows down a good book, sometimes to the point where I’ll stop reading, and it doesn’t feel real to me. I like to read and write books that reveal thoughts and details as they occur naturally in the story. So I’d say my style was inspired more by short thrillers I still sometimes read, or mid-grade fantasy novels I read as a pre-teen, than any fantasy I’ve read in recent years.

As for what inspired the story itself, I spent a lot of time thinking about the darker chapters we face in life and how they shape us. I wanted to write a story about evil trying to create an ultimate weapon and unleashing something (or someone) far more dangerous, to itself and others, than it ever intended. The choice left to this character, and others throughout the book, is how to respond to evil’s schemes, and whether to use newfound powers for good, revenge, evil, or a mix of all three.

And I also wanted to capture how chaotic and confusing life can feel when you’re in the thick of it. You’re still part of a coherent story, but you can rarely see all the pieces or the final destination. So you just put one foot in front of the other and try to do right.

How did you handle the magic in this story, and how did it evolve as you were writing?​
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My driving principle as I wrote about magic in this story was making you, as the reader, feel it for yourself. I tried to write rich, evocative scenes describing the sensations as the characters discover and use their newfound abilities.

I also had to be very particular as I wrote about magic. The characters in Rise of Dresca encounter three expressions of magic that all stem from the same source, something I’ll develop in future books. So for now the magic systems in Rise of Dresca feel incredibly chaotic, and they’re meant to. We only see glimpses as characters fumble with powers they don’t understand. But each glimpse helps build the world up, and I think readers will enjoy how it all comes together in the series.

What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?

Rhynwhen was by far the most enjoyable character to write. Writing in such grim settings from the perspective of a scatter-brained, carefree child was so liberating and refreshing. It let me show the Draemeir world in a whole new way with a fresh tone, and all my readers seem to love her too.

As for challenging characters, Sevora was the hardest to write, though less so than I expected. If anything, she started as a character that frustrated me, a sort of polar opposite to most of how I live my own life. But I grew to enjoy writing her chapters, at times more than most of the others. And lots of my early readers really enjoyed reading about her too, even if plenty found her as insufferable as I do! The more I wrote, the richer a character she became, and the more I was able to get into her headspace and give her a unique direction. I already had big plans for Sevora Embraya, but her destiny in the books evolved as she did, and I’m excited to see it unfold on paper.

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

Book two, working title Seas of the Zovah, picks up right where Rise of Dresca lets off. The survivors from Kartumol fortress regroup and set off for the Siivalan capital, but war and attempted assassinations force the company north to the wild, monster-infested oceans and island territories above the continent of Naevoroth. Lots of the mystery and intrigue introduced in book one gets some closure in the first few chapters of book two, only to have the main storyline blown wide open with new characters, sci-fi elements only hinted at in book one, and some dark turns for key characters.

I’m hoping to release book two in February 2024, but it might come out much sooner at my present pace. Follow me on Amazon or Twitter to know for sure!

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